What is Law?

What is Law?

Law is the set of rules that a society or government develops to deal with crime, business agreements and social relationships. The word is also used to refer to the people who work in the legal system. Law is a complex and diverse field, and its precise definition is the subject of long-standing debate. The precise nature of law is defined in a variety of ways, including as a body of rules backed by threats of sanctions, or as the product of a social consensus, or as an expression of natural justice, among other things. The philosophy of law has been influenced by utilitarianism, existentialism and naturalism, and the concept of law is a central theme in many philosophical and religious traditions.

The modern legal system consists of various components, each with its own subfields and specialists. Some examples are family law, corporate law, intellectual property law and criminal law. The legal profession is regulated by both governmental and independent disciplinary bodies. Legal education is typically highly specialised and involves an intense study of textual and historical law, as well as the practice of law. Lawyers are qualified through a series of procedures, often including passing a bar exam or equivalent, and are regulated by the law societies, bars or bar councils in their jurisdiction.

A key aspect of law is the rule of reason, a principle that guides judicial interpretation and analysis. This requires judges to use objective criteria to decide cases. However, this has been challenged by recent criticisms that legal decisions are too often based on emotion and bias. The prevailing view is that judges should strive to make decisions based on the facts of each case and apply the law evenly.

The earliest legal studies were mainly discursive treatises that analysed older English court decisions, a tradition that continued into the 19th century, even in newer common law systems that developed through nationalisation of formerly local custom and the adoption of Roman-derived civil law. During this period, Henry II of England institutionalised common law by elevating it to the national level, thereby removing local peculiarities and incorporating ancient maxims into a set of rules for the entire nation.

There are a number of legal journals and publications, many of them edited or run by academics. The most prominent include the “Law Quarterly Review” and the “Modern Law Review”. There are also numerous periodicals for students, some of which have been around for decades. In general, law studies is a highly interdisciplinary field, drawing on the disciplines of sociology, history, philosophy, economics, religion and politics, as well as jurisprudence. The anthropology of law is an important subfield, investigating the role of legal systems in cultural and historical contexts.