Law is the body of rules created and enforced by a community to govern relationships, governance, commerce, property, and individual rights. It shapes politics, economics, society, and culture, and is one of the fundamental building blocks of civilization.
The word is commonly used to describe a specific set of government regulations, but it can also be applied more broadly to any strong rule that someone must follow, such as a parent’s house rules or the laws of physics. The term can also refer to the legal profession, as in Zola was really killin’ it in law school.
State-enforced laws may be enacted by a legislature, resulting in statutes; imposed by the executive branch, resulting in decrees and regulations; or established by judges through precedent, in common law jurisdictions. Private individuals can also create legally binding contracts and arbitration agreements.
A number of different approaches to law exist, with varying degrees of philosophical basis. Utilitarian theorists, such as John Austin, define law as “commands, backed by threat of sanctions, from a sovereign, to which people have a habit of obedience”. Others, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, advocate a more naturalist theory, arguing that law reflects the unchanging moral principles of human nature.
Laws can be interpreted in many ways, and the method of interpretation determines how the law is applied in practice. The most important principle is the plain meaning rule, which states that a statute means what it says and nothing more. When interpreting a statute, courts will typically use dictionaries and other resources to determine the most likely meaning of a phrase. Likewise, they will consider the intent of the legislator and look at what other legislation was enacted around the time the statute was written.
In addition to these principles, there are other important rules of statutory interpretation. For example, if two statutes conflict, the most recent one will prevail. In other cases, a court will not interpret a statute to abridge long-held constitutional or state rights or make a major policy change, unless the legislative history indicates that this was the intent.
The law is constantly changing and evolving, as societies and economies develop and change. The field encompasses a wide variety of areas, including contract law, which regulates the exchange of goods and services; criminal law, which defines offenses and sets punishments; labor law, which governs the tripartite industrial relationship between employer, worker, and trade union; and tort law, which compensates citizens when they are injured or defamed by another’s actions. Other areas include civil procedure, which establishes how courts conduct trials and hearings, and evidence law, which dictates what materials are admissible in court. These fields are all connected, as the development of one area of law usually influences the development of other areas of law. This interconnectedness is one of the reasons that law is so important and has such a profound impact on human life.