Law is the set of rules that govern a society and ensures peace, order, and harmony.
It also helps in regulating the behaviour of people in a society to avoid any conflict and provide them with fairness and equality.
In most cases, laws are made by a government. This can be done in the form of statutes or through decrees and regulations.
Some governments also have a system of enforcing the rules of their countries by means of courts. These courts have the power to judge whether a person or a group of people has broken a law and can make them pay penalties.
There are many different definitions of law, some of them include:
Pure Theory of Law – Hans Kelsen defined law as a ‘normative science’. This means that it does not seek to describe what must occur, but rather defines the rules that individuals have to abide by.
Sociological School of Law – The sociological school commenced in the nineteenth century and its main focus is on law as it affects society. This is a very important branch of study as it takes law as an instrument of social progress.
Historical Law – According to Friedrich Karl von Savigny, law is a body of rules not formulated by a determinate authority but as rules consisting partly of social habitat and partly of experience.
In the United States, laws are bills that have passed both houses of Congress, been signed by the president, or been passed over the president’s veto. Regulations are rules made by executive departments and agencies and are arranged by subject in the Code of Federal Regulations.