Law is the system of rules and customs enforced by social or governmental institutions that regulate human behaviour. Laws are a complex area of study, shaped by numerous viewpoints that reflect on rationality, justice, order, morality and more. From a societal viewpoint, law is defined as the practices and set of rules that people know to be binding, such as contracts and statutes. From a judicial viewpoint, it includes court rules, decrees and judgements.
The precise nature of Law is a topic of debate. Some philosophers argue that the law must incorporate some form of morality or fairness. John Austin, for example, argued that a law is a command, backed by the threat of sanctions, from a sovereign, to whom people have a habit of obedience. Others, such as Jeremy Bentham and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, argued that laws are natural, reflecting an unchanging principle of fairness.
From a practical point of view, Law is an essential component of any modern society. It governs all aspects of people’s lives, from the way they interact with each other to the ways in which property is governed. It is an essential mechanism in resolving disputes and in creating peace and order.
The Law can be divided into many areas, such as labour law, which involves the tripartite industrial relationship between worker, employer and trade union, regulating collective bargaining and the right to strike. Other areas include contract law, which covers all agreements to exchange goods or services, such as a contract for hire or buying a car; criminal law, which governs the actions of the police and courts in cases of crime; and evidence law, which concerns what materials are admissible in court proceedings.