Law refers to the set of rules and principles recognized as regulating human behavior within a particular community or nation, in the form of legislation, custom, judicial decisions or religious precepts. While Judaism’s Halakha and Sharia laws explicitly outline their laws while other religions such as Christianity utilize interpretative techniques like Ijtihad (reasoning by analogy), Qiyas (deducing rules from existing ones) consensus or precedent in creating their legal systems.
Law is essential in order for society to maintain an orderly and just society, helping its inhabitants make choices that serve both themselves and society as a whole. Law must be strictly enforced so people abide by it; also important is making sure anyone found breaking the rules are punished in an equitable manner.
Definitions of law can be complex and ever-evolving, which makes describing its essence difficult. Definitions differ based on social wants and purposes being served by law; Roscoe Pound wrote in his essay, The Problem of Law, that law was a social institution which by nature is coercive.
Law is an instrument of social control; its existence depends on the physical world and the limitations it places upon people. Law must not demand behaviors which are impossible, nor force people into doing things they are incapable of. Furthermore, state authority to pass and enforce laws creates special challenges to accountability that earlier writers such as Locke or Montesquieu did not anticipate.
Modern nations entrust lawmaking to legislative bodies who represent their community’s best interests. Laws passed into law are then interpreted and implemented by the judicial branch of government, who ensure that individuals and organizations abide by them and any violations are punished accordingly. There are various branches of law such as criminal, taxation, family and tort law which enforce them. Each branch of law serves different aspects of public interest. Criminal law addresses offenses against the state while tort law safeguards victims of harmful conduct such as car accidents or character defamation. Other areas of law involve international affairs, environmental protection and corporate finance – each intended to meet the social needs and purposes of their particular community or nation. All are open for debate about their appropriateness and effectiveness while being determined by power structures and political landscape of each nation.
