Law is the set of rules that are created and enforced by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior. Laws vary from country to country and even within a single country, but they generally have similarities based on historically accepted justice ideals. Legal systems can also be divided into groups or patterns that have some similarities, including common law and civil law.
While laws can help to ensure a peaceful society, they can also cause controversy. This is particularly true when different people disagree about something. When this happens, the law allows people to resolve disputes in a way that is fair and impartial. This helps to protect the rights and freedoms of everyone in society.
The law can govern all sorts of aspects of our lives. For example, contracts law deals with agreements to exchange goods or services. Property law defines people’s rights and duties toward tangible property, such as land or vehicles, and intangible property, such as bank accounts or shares of stock. The law also protects us from dangerous or harmful products, from discrimination and from unfair treatment by government officials. Laws can also regulate political activities. The law can be the source of scholarly inquiry, including legal history, philosophy and economic analysis. The legal system can also raise issues of equality, fairness and justice that are complex to address. These are often the subjects of debates in the media and in the courts.