Law is a body of rules enforced by the state and designed to form a framework for a peaceful society. These rules are backed by the threat of punishment if they are broken. They include both criminal and civil laws, which cover everything from a minor traffic violation to a major crime such as murder. These laws are meant to protect people and their property, prevent war, keep the status quo, and provide for orderly social change. Some legal systems work better than others at achieving these goals.
Different legal scholars have outlined many different ideas about what is law, and they often disagree with each other. Some, such as Hans Kelsen, have created a ‘pure theory of law’, which focuses on the societal aspects of the law and not its formalities or enforcement mechanisms. Others, such as Friedrich Karl von Savigny, have focused on historical law. This includes an analysis of the way customs shape and influence law. In addition, he has written about the way the law is influenced by its environment and the way it grows organically through popular consciousness.
It is also possible to view the law from a more scientific angle. For example, certain natural processes are ‘laws’ in the sense that they always lead to a particular outcome. These are called ‘natural laws’, and they can be understood through a scientific explanation, such as an experiment, or a mathematical formula.
Other scientists have focused on the concept of law in a moral sense, and they have offered definitions of law that incorporate elements of ethics. For example, John Austin’s utilitarian theory of law states that law is a set of commands, backed by the threat of sanctions, from a sovereign who has the right to command because of his or her position as a natural ruler. The philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, on the other hand, argued that ‘natural law’ is a set of fundamental principles that are part of human nature and can be revealed through experience.
The way a person interprets the meaning of a law will affect how they act. In a democracy, for example, laws are made by the people, through a legislative process that results in statutes. They are then enforced by the executive through decrees and regulations, or by the courts through judicial decisions that become binding on lower courts under the “doctrine of stare decisis”. In some societies, a largely military and police-based system is used to control society. In others, an extensive judicial system is used to ensure that everyone has access to justice. There are also some nations that rely on a mix of these systems.