Law is the body of rules and principles that governs the behaviour of people and the relationships between them. It is the basis of all systems of government and forms a fundamental component of civil society. Law is an interdisciplinary field that draws on the disciplines of political science, philosophy and history in order to understand how laws are created, enforced and changed.
Laws are created by human beings, and their content reflects the beliefs and values of the people who create them. They are designed to guide us in a safe and ethical manner, while also protecting our rights and liberties. The philosophies and ideas that underpin the creation of laws vary from culture to culture, but they all have certain things in common.
The term law is often used to refer to the legal system of a country or a region, but it can also be used to describe any set of rules that dictates a particular behaviour. In this sense, a law is a rule that must be obeyed, and it can be based on any type of belief or value system. The word can also be used to describe a legal action taken by a person or group against another person or organisation.
In modern times, the practice of law is usually overseen by a legal professional body. A lawyer obtains a distinct professional identity through specified legal procedures (such as successfully passing a qualifying examination), and a high level of academic achievement in a relevant field (e.g. a Bachelor of Laws, a Bachelor of Civil Law or a Juris Doctor degree).
Lawyers are typically members of legal associations which are independent from the government. These organisations typically regulate their members to ensure that they adhere to strict codes of conduct and ethics. Lawyers can also gain professional recognition through awards such as Esquire, Master of Laws or a Doctor of Laws, which confer additional prestige.
Historically, the sources of law were custom and case law, although some societies developed a coded system of law for a limited number of areas of practice. This system was based on a small number of legally authoritative sources that were codified into legal books, and it became the basis of civil law systems worldwide in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Some countries have special courts which deal with specific crimes such as terrorism, but for the most part terrorist cases are heard in the same way as other criminal cases. Other countries have specialised courts that handle all terrorism cases, and these are often slightly different to the normal courts in the country.
Despite the judicial community’s ideal of objectivity, there is poor concordance between legal reality and judicial theory. For example, it would be hard to predict the results of experiments that test the equality of rich and poor defendants in the same court, given the wildly variable odds that are applied to each experiment. This makes it difficult to know how valid a law is, and whether it is operating properly.