Editing Law

{{short description|System of rules and guidelines, generally backed by governmental authority}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Legal}}
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{{use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{use British English|date=January 2014}}
[[File:Justice-2060093_1920.jpg|thumb|Iustitia ("[[Lady Justice]]") is a symbolic personification of the coercive power of a [[tribunal]]: a sword representing state authority, [[weighing scale#Balance|scales]] representing an objective standard and a blindfold indicating that justice should be impartial.<ref>Luban, ''Law's Blindfold'', 23.</ref>]]
'''Law''' is a [[system]] of rules that are created and are [[law enforcement|enforceable]] by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,<ref name="ReferenceB">Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90.</ref> with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate.<ref name="willis">{{cite journal |last1=Willis |first1=Hugh Evander |title=A Definition of Law |journal=Virginia Law Review |date=January 1926 |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=203–214 |url=https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2248&context=facpub |doi=10.2307/1065717 |access-date=3 January 2020 |jstor=1065717 |archive-date=12 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212165001/https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2248&context=facpub |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="jpgibbs">{{cite journal |last1=Gibbs |first1= Jack P. |title=Definitions of Law and Empirical Questions |journal=Law & Society Review |date=1968 |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=429–446 |doi= 10.2307/3052897 |issn=0023-9216|jstor=3052897 }}</ref><ref name="akers">{{cite journal |last1=Akers |first1=Ronald L. |title=Toward a Comparative Definition of Law |journal=Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology |date=Fall 1965 |volume=56 |issue=3 |pages=301–306 |url=http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5313&context=jclc |access-date=3 January 2020 |doi=10.2307/1141239 |jstor=1141239 |archive-date=19 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719212013/https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5313&context=jclc |url-status=live }}</ref> It has been variously described as a [[Social science#Law|science]]<ref>See for example {{cite book |last1=Spooner |first1=Lysander |author-link1=Lysander Spooner |title=Natural Law; or The Science of Justice: A Treatise on Natural Law, Natural Justice, Natural Rights, Natural Liberty, and Natural Society; Showing that All Legislation Whatsoever is an Absurdity, a Usurpation, and a Crime. Part First. |date=1882 |publisher=A. Williams & Co. |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Natural_Law;_or_The_Science_of_Justice:_A_Treatise_on_Natural_Law,_Natural_Justice,_Natural_Rights,_Natural_Liberty,_and_Natural_Society;_Showing_that_All_Legislation_Whatsoever_is_an_Absurdity,_a_Usurpation,_and_a_Crime._Part_First. |access-date=31 December 2019 |archive-date=31 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231072121/https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Natural_Law;_or_The_Science_of_Justice:_A_Treatise_on_Natural_Law,_Natural_Justice,_Natural_Rights,_Natural_Liberty,_and_Natural_Society;_Showing_that_All_Legislation_Whatsoever_is_an_Absurdity,_a_Usurpation,_and_a_Crime._Part_First. |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Vaquero">{{cite journal |last1=Núñez Vaquero |first1=Álvaro |title=Five Models of Legal Science |journal=Revus. Journal for Constitutional Theory and Philosophy of Law / Revija za ustavno teorijo in filozofijo prava |date=10 June 2013 |issue=19 |pages=53–81 |doi=10.4000/revus.2449 |url=https://journals.openedition.org/revus/2449 |access-date=31 December 2019 |language=en |issn=1581-7652 |doi-access=free |archive-date=31 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231075003/https://journals.openedition.org/revus/2449 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the art of justice.<ref name="mlcohen">{{cite book |last1=Cohen |first1=Morris L. |author-link1=Morris L. Cohen |title=Law : the art of justice |date=1992 |publisher=Beaux Arts Editions |isbn=9780883633120}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/basharubin/2015/01/13/is-law-an-art-or-a-science-a-bit-of-both/ | title=Is Law an Art or a Science?: A Bit of Both | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181103170800/https://www.forbes.com/sites/basharubin/2015/01/13/is-law-an-art-or-a-science-a-bit-of-both/ | archive-date=3 November 2018 | url-status=live|first = Basha|last = Rubin| website=[[Forbes]] |date = 13 January 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_oR0LAAAAIAAJ | page= [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_oR0LAAAAIAAJ/page/n196 525] | quote=Roman ars boni et aequi. | title=Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law| publisher=American Philosophical Society | isbn=978-0-87169-432-4| last1=Berger| first1=Adolf| year=1953}}</ref> State-enforced laws can be made by a group [[legislature]] or by a single legislator, resulting in [[statute]]s; by the executive through [[decree]]s and [[regulation]]s; or established by judges through [[precedent]], usually in [[common law]] jurisdictions. Private individuals may create legally binding [[contract]]s, including arbitration agreements that adopt alternative ways of resolving disputes to standard court litigation. The creation of laws themselves may be influenced by a [[constitution]], written or tacit, and the [[rights]] encoded therein. The law shapes [[politics]], [[economics]], [[history]] and [[society]] in various ways and serves as a mediator of relations between people.

Legal systems vary between countries, with their differences analysed in [[comparative law]]. In [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]] [[jurisdiction]]s, a legislature or other central body [[Codification (law)|codifies and consolidates]] the law. In [[common law]] systems, judges make [[Legally binding|binding]] case law through [[precedent]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mason AC, KBE |first1=The Hon. Sir Anthony |title=The Judge as Law-maker |journal=James Cook University Mayo Lecture |date=1996 |url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/JCULRev/1996/2.pdf |access-date=31 December 2019 |archive-date=31 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231082120/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/JCULRev/1996/2.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> although on occasion this may be overturned by a higher court or the legislature.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Devins |first1=Neal |title=Congressional Responses to Judicial Decisions |journal=Faculty Publications |date=1 January 2008 |url=https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs/1633 |access-date=31 December 2019 |archive-date=31 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231082120/https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs/1633/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Historically, [[religious law]] influenced secular matters,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Berman |first1=Harold J. |title=Religious Foundations of Law in the West: An Historical Perspective |journal=Journal of Law and Religion |date=1983 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=3–43 |doi=10.2307/1051071 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|jstor=1051071 }}</ref> and is still used in some religious communities.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fox |first1=Jonathan |last2=Sandler |first2=Shmuel |title=Separation of Religion and State in the Twenty-First Century: Comparing the Middle East and Western Democracies |journal=Comparative Politics |date=1 April 2005 |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=317 |doi=10.2307/20072892 |jstor=20072892 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cox |first1=Noel |title=Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction in the Church of the Province of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia |journal=Deakin Law Review |date=2001 |volume=6 |issue=2 |page=262 |url=http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/DeakinLawRw/2001/14.html |access-date=31 December 2019 |archive-date=31 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231152654/http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/DeakinLawRw/2001/14.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Sharia law]] based on [[Islam]]ic principles is used as the primary legal system in several countries, including [[Iran]] and [[Saudi Arabia]].<ref name="sharia-inc">{{cite book |editor1-last=Otto |editor1-first=Jan Michiel |title=Sharia incorporated: a comparative overview of the legal systems of twelve Muslim countries in past and present |publisher=Leiden University Press |isbn=9789087280574|year=2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Raisch |first1=Marylin Johnson |title=Religious Legal Systems in Comparative Law: A Guide to Introductory Research - GlobaLex |url=https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Religious_Legal_Systems1.html |website=Hauser Global Law School Program |publisher=New York University School of Law |access-date=31 December 2019 |archive-date=31 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231153027/https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Religious_Legal_Systems1.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Lex Heraldry.svg|thumb|Classic symbol of law in heraldry.]]
Law's scope can be divided into two domains. [[Public law]] concerns government and society, including [[constitutional law]], [[administrative law]], and [[criminal law]]. [[Private law]] deals with legal disputes between individuals and/or organisations in areas such as [[contracts]], [[property]], [[torts]]/[[delicts]] and [[commercial law]].<ref name="horwitz-pp">{{cite journal |last1=Horwitz |first1=Morton J. |title=The History of the Public/Private Distinction |journal=University of Pennsylvania Law Review |date=1 June 1982 |volume=130 |issue=6 |pages=1423–1428 |url=https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4677 |access-date=3 January 2020 |doi=10.2307/3311976 |jstor=3311976 |archive-date=3 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200403211743/https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4677 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This distinction is stronger in [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]] countries, particularly those with a separate system of [[administrative courts]];<ref name="merryman">{{cite journal |last1=Merryman |first1=John Henry |title=The Public Law-Private Law Distinction in European and American Law |journal=Journal of Public Law |date=1968 |volume=17 |pages=3 |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/emlj17&div=5 |access-date=3 January 2020 |archive-date=12 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212093232/https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals%2Femlj17&div=5 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Saiman |first1=Chaim N. |title=Public Law, Private Law, and Legal Science |journal=American Journal of Comparative Law |date=6 July 2008 |volume=56 |issue=961 |pages=691–702 |url=https://ssrn.com/abstract=1155203 |access-date=3 January 2020 |publisher=Social Science Research Network |language=en |doi=10.5131/ajcl.2007.0023 |archive-date=28 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200428195450/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1155203 |url-status=live }}</ref> by contrast, the public-private law divide is less pronounced in [[common law]] jurisdictions.<ref name="harlow">{{cite journal |last1=Harlow |first1=Carol |title="Public" and "private" law: definition without distinction |journal=The Modern Law Review |date=1 May 1980 |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=241–265 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-2230.1980.tb01592.x |language=en |issn=1468-2230|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Samuel |first1=Geoffrey |title=Public And Private Law: A Private Lawyer's Response |journal=The Modern Law Review |date=1 September 1983 |volume=46 |issue=5 |pages=558–583 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-2230.1983.tb02534.x |language=en |issn=1468-2230|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Law provides a source of scholarly inquiry into [[legal history]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gordley |first1=James |title=Comparative Law and Legal History |journal=The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Law |pages=752–774 |date=16 November 2006 |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199296064.013.0024 |isbn=9780199296064 |url=https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199296064.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199296064-e-024 |access-date=31 December 2019 |language=en |editor1-last=Reimann |editor1-first=Mathias |editor2-last=Zimmermann |editor2-first=Reinhard |archive-date=31 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231074358/https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199296064.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199296064-e-024 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[philosophy]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bor |first1=Fredric L. |title=The nexus between philosophy and law |journal=Journal of Legal Education |date=1974 |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=539–543 |issn=0022-2208|jstor=42896964 }}</ref> [[economic analysis of law|economic analysis]]<ref name="rubin">{{cite web |last1=Rubin |first1=Paul H. |title=Law and Economics |url=https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/LawandEconomics.html |website=The Library of Economics and Liberty |publisher=Liberty Fund, Inc. |access-date=31 December 2019 |archive-date=2 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702122019/https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/LawandEconomics.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[sociology of law|sociology]].<ref name="law+sociology">{{cite book |last1=Banakar |first1=Reza |title=Merging law and sociology : beyond the dichotomies in socio-legal research |date=2003 |publisher=Galda and Wilch Publishing |location=Berlin/Wisconsin |isbn=1-931255-13-X}}</ref> Law also raises important and complex issues concerning equality, fairness, and [[justice]].<ref name="pound1914">{{cite journal |last1=Pound |first1=Roscoe |title=The End of Law as Developed in Legal Rules and Doctrines |journal=Harvard Law Review |date=1914 |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=195–234 |doi=10.2307/1325958 |issn=0017-811X|jstor=1325958 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Justice and Injustice in Law and Legal Theory|date=1996|publisher=University of Michigan Press|isbn=9780472096251|pages=18–19|doi=10.3998/mpub.10283|jstor=10.3998/mpub.10283|editor1-last=Sarat|editor1-first=Austin|editor2-last=Kearns|editor2-first=Thomas}}</ref>

== Philosophy of law ==
{{main|Jurisprudence|Philosophy of law}}
{{quote box|bgcolor=#c6dbf7|width=22em|salign=left|quote=But what, after all, is a law? [...] When I say that the object of laws is always general, I mean that law considers subjects en masse and actions in the abstract, and never a particular person or action. [...] On this view, we at once see that it can no longer be asked whose business it is to make laws, since they are acts of the [[general will]]; nor whether the prince is above the law, since he is a member of the State; nor whether the law can be unjust, since no one is unjust to himself; nor how we can be both free and subject to the laws, since they are but registers of our wills.|source=Jean-Jacques Rousseau, ''[[The Social Contract]]'', II, 6.<ref>Rousseau, ''The Social Contract'', [http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/r/rousseau/jean_jacques/r864s/book2.html#section16 Book II: Chapter 6 (Law)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080222135803/http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/r/rousseau/jean_jacques/r864s/book2.html#section16 |date=22 February 2008 }}</ref>}}

The philosophy of law is commonly known as jurisprudence. Normative jurisprudence asks "what should law be?", while analytic jurisprudence asks "what is law?"

=== Analytical jurisprudence ===
{{main|Analytical jurisprudence}}

There have been several attempts to produce "a universally acceptable definition of law". In 1972, [[Dennis Lloyd, Baron Lloyd of Hampstead|Baron Hampstead]] suggested that no such definition could be produced.<ref name="Jurisprudence. Third Edition 1972. Page 39">[[Dennis Lloyd, Baron Lloyd of Hampstead]]. ''Introduction to Jurisprudence''. Third Edition. Stevens & Sons. London. 1972. Second Impression. 1975. p. 39.</ref> McCoubrey and White said that the question "what is law?" has no simple answer.<ref>Mc Coubrey, Hilaire and White, Nigel D. ''Textbook on Jurisprudence''. Second Edition. [[Blackstone Press Limited]]. 1996. {{ISBN|1-85431-582-X}}. p. 2.</ref> [[Glanville Williams]] said that the meaning of the word "law" depends on the context in which that word is used. He said that, for example, "[[early customary law]]" and "[[municipal law]]" were contexts where the word "law" had two different and irreconcilable meanings.<ref>Williams, Glanville. International Law and the Controversy Concerning the Meaning of the Word "Law". Revised version published in Laslett (Editor), ''Philosophy, Politics and Society'' (1956) p. 134 et seq. The original was published in (1945) 22 [[British Year Book of International Law|BYBIL]] 146.</ref> [[Thurman Arnold]] said that it is obvious that it is impossible to define the word "law" and that it is also equally obvious that the struggle to define that word should not ever be abandoned.<ref>Arnold, Thurman. ''The Symbols of Government''. 1935. p. 36.</ref> It is possible to take the view that there is no need to define the word "law" (e.g. "let's forget about generalities and get down to [[Case law|cases]]").<ref>[[Dennis Lloyd, Baron Lloyd of Hampstead|Baron Lloyd of Hampstead]]. ''Introduction to Jurisprudence''. Third Edition. Stevens & Sons. London. 1972. Second Impression. 1975.</ref>

One definition is that law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behaviour<!-- HIDDEN UNTIL VERIFIED, wherever possible-->.<ref name="ReferenceB" /> In ''[[The Concept of Law]]'' Hart argued law is a "system of rules";<ref>Campbell, ''The Contribution of Legal Studies'', 184</ref> Austin said law was "the command of a sovereign, backed by the threat of a sanction";<ref name="jap" /> Dworkin describes law as an "interpretive concept" to achieve [[justice]] in his text titled ''[[Law's Empire]]'';<ref name="Dworkin, [[Law's Empire]], 410">Dworkin, ''[[Law's Empire]]'', 410</ref> and Raz argues law is an "authority" to mediate people's interests.<ref name="jra" /> Holmes said, "The prophecies of what the courts will do in fact, and nothing more pretentious, are what I mean by the law."<ref>Holmes, Oliver Wendell. "The Path of Law" (1897) 10 ''Harvard Law Review'' 457 at 461.</ref> In his ''[[Treatise on Law]]'' Aquinas argues that law is a rational ordering of things which concern the common good that is promulgated by whoever is charged with the care of the community.<ref>Aquinas, St Thomas. ''Summa Theologica''. 1a2ae, 90.4. Translated by J G Dawson. Ed d'Entreves. (Basil Blackwell). Latin: "nihil est aliud qau edam rationis ordinatio ad bonum commune, ab eo qi curam communitatis habet, promulgata".</ref> This definition has both [[positivism|positivist]] and naturalist elements.<ref>McCoubrey, Hilaire and White, Nigel D. ''Textbook on Jurisprudence''. Second Edition. Blackstone Press Limited. 1996. {{ISBN|1-85431-582-X}}. p. 73.</ref>

=== Connection to morality and justice ===
{{See also|Rule according to higher law}}
[[File:Laki-patsas.jpg|thumb|"The Law" sculpture at interior of the [[Presidential Palace, Helsinki|Presidential Palace]] in [[Helsinki]], [[Finland]].]]

Definitions of law often raise the question of the extent to which law incorporates morality.<ref name="twtaylor">{{cite journal |last1=Taylor |first1=T. W. |title=The Conception of Morality in Jurisprudence |journal=The Philosophical Review |date=January 1896 |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=36–50 |doi=10.2307/2176104 |jstor=2176104 }}</ref> [[John Austin (legal philosopher)|John Austin]]'s [[utilitarianism|utilitarian]] answer was that law is "commands, backed by threat of sanctions, from a sovereign, to whom people have a habit of obedience".<ref name="jap">Bix, [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/austin-john/#3 John Austin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070626133909/http://plato.stanford.edu//entries/austin-john/#3 |date=26 June 2007 }}</ref> [[Natural law]]yers on the other side, such as [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]], argue that law reflects essentially moral and unchangeable laws of nature. The concept of "natural law" emerged in ancient [[Greek philosophy]] concurrently and in connection with the notion of justice, and re-entered the mainstream of [[Western culture]] through the writings of [[Thomas Aquinas]], notably his ''[[Treatise on Law]]''.

When having completed the first two parts of his book ''[[Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes]]'', which he intended to be the end of the entire work, [[Honoré de Balzac]] visited the [[Conciergerie]]. Thereafter, he decided to add a third part, finally named ''Où mènent les mauvais chemins'' (''The Ends of Evil Ways''), entirely dedicated to describing the conditions in prison.<ref name="Pleiade">{{Harvsp|Pléiade 1977||pp=1310–1312}}.</ref> In this third part, he states:

{{blockquote
|The law is good, it is necessary, its execution is poor, and the manners judge the laws based on the manner in which they are executed.<ref>[[Honoré de Balzac]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZzpOAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA1 ''Scenes de la vie parisienne et scenes de la vie politique, Tome XII: Splendeurs et Miseres des Courtisanes. Un Prince de la Boheme. Une Esquisse d'homme d'affaires. Gaudissart II. Les Comediens sans le savoir. Scenes de la vie politique: Un episode sous le terreur. Une tenebreuse affaire. Z. Marcas. Envers de l'histoire contemporaine: 12 : La comedie humaine Etudes de moeurs''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809144805/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZzpOAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA1 |date=9 August 2021 }}, p. 22</ref>
}}

[[Hugo Grotius]], the founder of a purely rationalistic system of natural law, argued that law arises from both a social impulse—as Aristotle had indicated—and reason.<ref>[[Fritz Berolzheimer]], ''The World's Legal Philosophies'', 115–116</ref> [[Immanuel Kant]] believed a moral imperative requires laws "be chosen as though they should hold as universal laws of nature".<ref>[[Immanuel Kant|Kant, Immanuel]], ''Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals'', 42 (par. 434)</ref> [[Jeremy Bentham]] and his student Austin, following [[David Hume]], believed that this conflated the [[Is-ought problem|"is" and what "ought to be"]] problem. Bentham and Austin argued for law's [[legal positivism|positivism]]; that real law is entirely separate from "morality".<ref>Green, [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/legal-positivism/ Legal Positivism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609094650/http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/legal-positivism/ |date=9 June 2007 }}</ref> Kant was also criticised by [[Friedrich Nietzsche]], who rejected the principle of equality, and believed that law emanates from the [[will to power]], and cannot be labeled as "moral" or "immoral".<ref>Nietzsche, ''Zur Genealogie der Moral'', Second Essay, 11</ref><ref>Kazantzakis, ''Friedrich Nietzsche and the Philosophy of Law'', 97–98</ref><ref>Linarelli, ''Nietzsche in Law's Cathedral'', 23–26</ref>

In 1934, the Austrian philosopher [[Hans Kelsen]] continued the positivist tradition in his book the ''[[Pure Theory of Law]]''.<ref>Marmor, [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lawphil-theory/ ''The Pure Theory of Law''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609130143/http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lawphil-theory/ |date=9 June 2007 }}</ref> Kelsen believed that although law is separate from morality, it is endowed with "normativity", meaning we ought to obey it. While laws are positive "is" statements (e.g. the fine for reversing on a highway ''is'' €500); law tells us what we "should" do. Thus, each legal system can be hypothesised to have a basic norm (''[[Grundnorm]]'') instructing us to obey. Kelsen's major opponent, [[Carl Schmitt]], rejected both positivism and the idea of the [[rule of law]] because he did not accept the primacy of abstract normative principles over concrete political positions and decisions.<ref>Bielefeldt, ''Carl Schmitt's Critique of Liberalism'', 25–26</ref> Therefore, Schmitt advocated a jurisprudence of the exception ([[state of emergency]]), which denied that legal norms could encompass all of the political experience.<ref name="F171">Finn, ''Constitutions in Crisis'', 170–171</ref>

[[File:Jeremy Bentham by Henry William Pickersgill detail.jpg|thumb|Bentham's utilitarian theories remained dominant in law until the 20th century.]]

Later in the 20th century, [[H. L. A. Hart]] attacked Austin for his simplifications and Kelsen for his fictions in ''[[The Concept of Law]]''.<ref>Bayles, ''Hart's Legal Philosophy'', 21</ref> Hart argued law is a system of rules, divided into primary (rules of conduct) and secondary ones (rules addressed to officials to administer primary rules). Secondary rules are further divided into rules of adjudication (to resolve legal disputes), rules of change (allowing laws to be varied) and the rule of recognition (allowing laws to be identified as valid). Two of Hart's students continued the debate: In his book ''[[Law's Empire]]'', [[Ronald Dworkin]] attacked Hart and the positivists for their refusal to treat law as a moral issue. Dworkin argues that law is an "[[interpretivism (legal)|interpretive]] concept",<ref name="Dworkin, [[Law's Empire]], 410" /> that requires judges to find the best fitting and most just solution to a legal dispute, given their constitutional traditions. [[Joseph Raz]], on the other hand, defended the positivist outlook and criticised Hart's "soft social thesis" approach in ''The Authority of Law''.<ref name="jra">Raz, ''The Authority of Law'', 3–36</ref> Raz argues that law is authority, identifiable purely through social sources and without reference to moral reasoning. In his view, any categorisation of rules beyond their role as authoritative instruments in mediation are best left to [[sociology]], rather than jurisprudence.<ref>Raz, ''The Authority of Law'', 37 etc.</ref>

== History ==
{{main|Legal history}}
[[File:Milkau Oberer Teil der Stele mit dem Text von Hammurapis Gesetzescode 369-2.jpg|thumb|King [[Hammurabi]] is revealed the [[Code of Hammurabi|code of laws]] by the Mesopotamian sun god [[Shamash]], also revered as the god of justice.]]

The history of law links closely to the development of [[civilization]]. [[Ancient Egypt]]ian law, dating as far back as 3000&nbsp;BC, was based on the concept of [[Ma'at]] and characterised by tradition, [[rhetoric]]al speech, social equality and impartiality.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Théodoridés|title = law | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt}}</ref><ref>VerSteeg, ''Law in ancient Egypt''</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lippert |first1=Sandra |title=Egyptian Law, Saite to Roman Periods |journal=Oxford Handbooks Online |date=11 February 2016 |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935390.013.48 |url=https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935390.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199935390-e-48 |access-date=3 January 2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-993539-0 |language=en |archive-date=3 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103123820/https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935390.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199935390-e-48 |url-status=live }}</ref> By the 22nd century&nbsp;BC, the ancient [[Sumer]]ian ruler [[Ur-Nammu]] had formulated the first [[Code of Ur-Nammu|law code]], which consisted of [[Casuistry|casuistic]] statements ("if … then ..."). Around 1760&nbsp;BC, [[Hammurabi|King Hammurabi]] further developed [[Babylonian law]], by codifying and inscribing it in stone. Hammurabi placed several copies of his law code throughout the kingdom of Babylon as [[Stele|stelae]], for the entire public to see; this became known as the [[Code of Hammurabi|Codex Hammurabi]]. The most intact copy of these stelae was discovered in the 19th century by British [[Assyriologists]], and has since been fully [[transliterated]] and translated into various languages, including English, Italian, German, and French.<ref>Richardson, ''Hammurabi's Laws'', 11</ref>

The [[Old Testament]] dates back to 1280&nbsp;BC and takes the form of moral imperatives as recommendations for a good society. The small [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] city-state, ancient [[History of Athens|Athens]], from about the 8th century BC was the first society to be based on broad inclusion of its citizenry, excluding women and [[Slavery in ancient Greece|enslaved people]]. However, Athens had no legal science or single word for "law",<ref>Kelly, ''A Short History of Western Legal Theory'', 5–6</ref> relying instead on the three-way distinction between divine law (''thémis''), human decree (''nomos'') and custom (''díkē'').<ref>J.P. Mallory, "Law", in ''Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture'', 346</ref> Yet [[Ancient Greek law]] contained major [[Solonian Constitution|constitutional]] innovations in the development of [[Athenian democracy|democracy]].<ref>Ober, ''The Nature of Athenian Democracy'', 121</ref>

[[Roman law]] was heavily influenced by Greek philosophy, but its detailed rules were developed by professional jurists and were highly sophisticated.<ref>Kelly, ''A Short History of Western Legal Theory'', 39</ref><ref>Stein, ''Roman Law in European History'', 1</ref> Over the centuries between the rise and decline of the [[Roman Empire]], law was adapted to cope with the changing social situations and underwent major codification under [[Theodosius II]] and [[Justinian I]].<ref name="St107">As a legal system, Roman law has affected the development of law worldwide. It also forms the basis for the law codes of most countries of continental Europe and has played an important role in the creation of the idea of a common European culture (Stein, ''Roman Law in European History'', 2, 104–107).</ref> Although codes were replaced by [[custom (law)|custom]] and [[case law]] during the [[Early Middle Ages]], Roman law was rediscovered around the 11th century when medieval legal scholars began to research Roman codes and adapt their concepts to the [[Canon law of the Catholic Church|canon law]], giving birth to the ''[[jus commune]]''. Latin [[legal maxim]]s (called [[brocard (law)|brocards]]) were compiled for guidance. In medieval England, royal courts developed a body of [[precedent]] which later became the [[common law]]. A Europe-wide [[Law Merchant]] was formed so that merchants could trade with common standards of practice rather than with the many splintered facets of local laws. The Law Merchant, a precursor to modern commercial law, emphasised the freedom to contract and alienability of property.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hgapDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA14|first1= M. A.|last1= Clarke|first2= R. J. A.|last2= Hooley|first3= R. J. C.|last3= Munday|first4= L. S.|last4= Sealy|first5= A. M.|last5= Tettenborn|first6= P. G.|last6= Turner|title= Commercial Law|page= 14|publisher= Oxford University Press|year= 2017|isbn= 9780199692088|access-date= 10 December 2020|archive-date= 15 April 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210415014329/https://books.google.com/books?id=hgapDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA14|url-status= live}}</ref> As [[nationalism]] grew in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Law Merchant was incorporated into countries' local law under new civil codes. The [[Napoleonic Code|Napoleonic]] and [[Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch|German]] Codes became the most influential. In contrast to English common law, which consists of enormous tomes of case law, codes in small books are easy to export and easy for judges to apply. However, today there are signs that civil and common law are converging.<ref name="mattei71" /> EU law is codified in treaties, but develops through ''de facto'' precedent laid down by the [[European Court of Justice]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=McAuliffe |first1=Karen |title=Precedent at the Court of Justice of the European Union: The Linguistic Aspect |journal=Law and Language: Current Legal Issues |date=21 February 2013 |volume=15 |issue=29 |isbn=9780199673667 |url=https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199673667.001.0001/acprof-9780199673667-chapter-29 |access-date=1 January 2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |archive-date=1 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101105552/https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199673667.001.0001/acprof-9780199673667-chapter-29 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Constitution of India.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Constitution of India]] is the longest written constitution for a country, containing 444 articles, 12 schedules, numerous amendments and 117,369 words.]]

Ancient [[Law of India|India]] and [[Chinese law|China]] represent distinct traditions of law, and have historically had independent schools of legal theory and practice. The ''[[Arthashastra]]'', probably compiled around 100&nbsp;AD (although it contains older material), and the ''[[Manusmriti]]'' (c.&nbsp;100–300&nbsp;AD) were foundational treatises in India, and comprise texts considered authoritative legal guidance.<ref>For discussion of the composition and dating of these sources, see Olivelle, ''Manu's Code of Law'', 18–25.</ref> Manu's central philosophy was tolerance and [[Pluralism (political philosophy)|pluralism]], and was cited across Southeast Asia.<ref>Glenn, ''Legal Traditions of the World'', 276</ref> During the [[Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent]], [[sharia]] was established by the Muslim sultanates and empires, most notably [[Mughal Empire]]'s [[Fatawa-e-Alamgiri]], compiled by emperor [[Aurangzeb]] and various scholars of Islam.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Chapra|first1=Muhammad Umer|title=Morality and Justice in Islamic Economics and Finance|date=2014|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|isbn=9781783475728|pages=62–63|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Jackson|first1=Roy|title=Mawlana Mawdudi and Political Islam: Authority and the Islamic State|date=2010|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136950360}}</ref> In India, the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] legal tradition, along with Islamic law, were both supplanted by common law when India [[British Raj|became part]] of the [[British Empire]].<ref>Glenn, ''Legal Traditions of the World'', 273</ref> Malaysia, Brunei, [[Law of Singapore|Singapore]] and [[Law of Hong Kong|Hong Kong]] also adopted the common law system. The eastern Asia legal tradition reflects a unique blend of secular and religious influences.<ref>Glenn, ''Legal Traditions of the World'', 287</ref> Japan was the first country to begin modernising its legal system along western lines, by importing parts of the [[Code Civil|French]], but mostly the German Civil Code.<ref>Glenn, ''Legal Traditions of the World'', 304</ref> This partly reflected Germany's status as a rising power in the late 19th century. Similarly, [[traditional Chinese law]] gave way to westernisation towards the final years of the [[Qing Dynasty]] in the form of six private law codes based mainly on the Japanese model of German law.<ref>Glenn, ''Legal Traditions of the World'', 305</ref> Today [[Law of the Republic of China|Taiwanese law]] retains the closest affinity to the codifications from that period, because of the split between [[Chiang Kai-shek]]'s nationalists, who fled there, and [[Mao Zedong]]'s communists who won control of the mainland in 1949. The current legal infrastructure in the People's Republic of China was heavily influenced by [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Socialist law]], which essentially inflates administrative law at the expense of private law rights.<ref>Glenn, ''Legal Traditions of the World'', 307</ref> Due to rapid industrialisation, today China is undergoing a process of reform, at least in terms of economic, if not social and political, rights. A new contract code in 1999 represented a move away from administrative domination.<ref>Glenn, ''Legal Traditions of the World'', 309</ref> Furthermore, after negotiations lasting fifteen years, in 2001 China joined the [[World Trade Organization]].<ref>Farah, ''Five Years of China WTO Membership'', 263–304</ref>

== Legal systems ==
{{main|Comparative law|List of national legal systems|Comparative legal history}}
[[File:Map of the Legal systems of the world (en).png|thumb|Colour-coded map of the legal systems around the world, showing civil, common law, religious, customary and mixed legal systems.<ref>Compiled based on the {{cite web |title=Alphabetical Index of the 192 United Nations Member States and Corresponding Legal Systems |url=http://www.juriglobe.ca/eng/syst-onu/index-alpha.php |website=JuriGlobe |publisher=University of Ottawa |access-date=1 January 2020 |archive-date=22 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722022209/http://www.juriglobe.ca/eng/syst-onu/index-alpha.php |url-status=live }}</ref> Common law systems are shaded pink, and civil law systems are shaded blue/turquoise.]]

In general, legal systems can be split between civil law and common law systems.<ref name="pejovic">{{cite journal |last1=Pejovic |first1=Caslav |title=Civil Law and Common Law: Two Different Paths Leading to the Same Goal |journal=Victoria University of Wellington Law Review |date=2001 |volume=32 |issue=3 |page=817 |url=http://www.nzlii.org/nz/journals/VUWLawRw/2001/42.html |access-date=31 December 2019 |doi=10.26686/vuwlr.v32i3.5873 |doi-access=free |archive-date=8 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190908062918/http://www.nzlii.org/nz/journals/VUWLawRw/2001/42.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Modern scholars argue that the significance of this distinction has progressively declined; the numerous [[legal transplants]], typical of modern law, result in the sharing by modern legal systems of many features traditionally considered typical of either common law or civil law.<ref name = mattei71>Mattei, ''Comparative Law and Economics'', 71</ref><ref name="inprol-intro">{{cite web |title=Introduction to Civil Law Legal Systems |url=https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/2015/Introduction%20to%20Civil%20Law%20Legal%20Systems.pdf |website=Federal Judicial Center |publisher=INPROL |access-date=1 January 2020 |date=May 2009 |archive-date=18 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618025404/https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/2015/Introduction%20to%20Civil%20Law%20Legal%20Systems.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The term "civil law", referring to the [[Civil law (legal system)|civilian legal system]] originating in continental Europe, should not be confused with "civil law" in the sense of the [[civil law (common law)|common law topics]] distinct from [[criminal law]] and [[public law]].

The third type of legal system—accepted by some countries without [[separation of church and state]]—is religious law, based on [[scripture]]s. The specific system that a country is ruled by is often determined by its history, connections with other countries, or its adherence to international standards. The [[sources of law|sources]] that jurisdictions adopt as authoritatively binding are the defining features of any legal system. Yet classification is a matter of form rather than substance since similar rules often prevail.

=== Civil law ===
{{main|Civil law (legal system)}}
[[File:Mosaic of Justinianus I - Basilica San Vitale (Ravenna).jpg|thumb| Emperor [[Justinian]] (527–565) of the [[Byzantine Empire]] who ordered the codification of [[Corpus Juris Civilis]].]]
[[File:Code Civil 1804.png|thumb|First page of the 1804 edition of the [[Napoleonic Code]].]]

Civil law is the legal system used in most countries around the world today. In civil law the sources recognised as authoritative are, primarily, legislation—especially [[Codification (law)|codifications]] in constitutions or [[statute]]s passed by government—and [[custom (law)|custom]].<ref>Civil law jurisdictions recognise custom as "the other source of law"; hence, scholars tend to divide the civil law into the broad categories of "written law" (''ius scriptum'') or legislation, and "unwritten law" (''ius non-scriptum'') or custom. Yet they tend to dismiss custom as being of slight importance compared to legislation (Georgiadis, ''General Principles of Civil Law'', 19; Washofsky, ''Taking Precedent Seriously'', 7).</ref> Codifications date back millennia, with one early example being the [[Babylonian law|Babylonian]] ''[[Code of Hammurabi|Codex Hammurabi]]''. Modern civil law systems essentially derive from legal codes issued by [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] Emperor [[Justinian I]] in the 6th century, which were rediscovered by 11th century Italy.<ref name="econ-cc-diffs">{{cite news |title=The Economist explains: What is the difference between common and civil law? |url=https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2013/07/16/what-is-the-difference-between-common-and-civil-law |access-date=1 January 2020 |newspaper=The Economist |date=17 July 2013 |archive-date=22 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222150215/https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2013/07/16/what-is-the-difference-between-common-and-civil-law |url-status=live }}</ref> Roman law in the days of the [[Roman Republic]] and Empire was heavily procedural, and lacked a professional legal class.<ref>Gordley-von Mehren, ''Comparative Study of Private Law'', 18</ref> Instead a lay [[magistrate]], ''iudex'', was chosen to adjudicate. Decisions were not published in any systematic way, so any case law that developed was disguised and almost unrecognised.<ref>Gordley-von Mehren, ''Comparative Study of Private Law'', 21</ref> Each case was to be decided afresh from the laws of the State, which mirrors the (theoretical) unimportance of judges' decisions for future cases in civil law systems today. From 529 to 534 AD the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] Emperor [[Justinian I]] codified and consolidated Roman law up until that point, so that what remained was one-twentieth of the mass of legal texts from before.<ref>Stein, ''Roman Law in European History'', 32</ref> This became known as the ''[[Corpus Juris Civilis]]''. As one legal historian wrote, "Justinian consciously looked back to the golden age of Roman law and aimed to restore it to the peak it had reached three centuries before."<ref>Stein, ''Roman Law in European History'', 35</ref> The Justinian Code remained in force in the East until the fall of the [[Byzantine Empire]]. Western Europe, meanwhile, relied on a mix of the [[Codex Theodosianus|Theodosian Code]] and Germanic customary law until the Justinian Code was rediscovered in the 11th century, and scholars at the [[University of Bologna]] used it to interpret their own laws.<ref>Stein, ''Roman Law in European History'', 43</ref> Civil law codifications based closely on Roman law, alongside some influences from [[religious law]]s such as [[canon law]], continued to spread throughout Europe until the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]]; then, in the 19th century, both France, with the ''[[Code Civil]]'', and Germany, with the ''[[Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch]]'', modernised their legal codes. Both these codes influenced heavily not only the law systems of the countries in continental Europe (e.g. Greece), but also the [[Law of Japan|Japanese]] and [[South Korea|Korean]] legal traditions.<ref>Hatzis, ''The Short-Lived Influence of the Napoleonic Civil Code in Greece'', 253–263</ref><ref>Demirgüç-Kunt -Levine, ''Financial Structures and Economic Growth'', 204</ref> Today, countries that have civil law systems range from Russia and Turkey to most of [[Central America|Central]] and [[Latin America]].<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2100.html The World Factbook&nbsp;– Field Listing&nbsp;– Legal system] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518174611/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2100.html |date=18 May 2014 }}, CIA</ref>

==== Anarchist law ====
{{main|Anarchist law}}

Anarchism has been practiced in society in much of the world. Mass [[anarchist communities]], ranging from [[Rojava|Syria]] to the United States, exist and vary from hundreds to millions.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}} Anarchism encompasses a broad range of [[socialist|social]] political philosophies with different tendencies and implementation.

Anarchist law primarily deals with how anarchism is implemented upon a society, the framework based on decentralized organizations and [[Mutual aid (organization theory)|mutual aid]], with representation through a form of [[direct democracy]]. Laws being based upon their need.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Tamblyn|first=Nathan|date=April 2019|title=The Common Ground of Law and Anarchism|journal=Liverpool Law Review|volume=40|issue=1|pages=65–78|doi=10.1007/s10991-019-09223-1|s2cid=155131683|issn=1572-8625|doi-access=free}}</ref> A large portion of anarchist ideologies such as [[anarcho-syndicalism]] and [[anarcho-communism]] primarily focuses on [[decentralized]] worker unions, [[cooperatives]] and syndicates as the main instrument of society.<ref>Rocker, Rudolf (1938). [https://mirror.anarhija.net/theanarchistlibrary.org/mirror/r/rr/rudolf-rocker-anarchosyndicalism.lt.pdf "Anarcho-Syndicalism: Theory and Practice. An Introduction to a Subject Which the Spanish War Has Brought into Overwhelming Prominence"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130083636/https://mirror.anarhija.net/theanarchistlibrary.org/mirror/r/rr/rudolf-rocker-anarchosyndicalism.lt.pdf |date=30 November 2020 }}. Retrieved 17 October 2020 – via The Anarchist Mirror!</ref>

==== Socialist law ====
{{main|Socialist law}}

Socialist law is the legal systems in [[communist state]]s such as the former [[Soviet Union]] and the [[People's Republic of China]].<ref name="austin">{{cite journal|doi=10.1146/annurev.lawsocsci.3.081806.112849|title=The Death of Socialist Law?|journal = [[Annual Review of Law and Social Science]] |volume = 3|pages = 233–253|last = Markovits |first = I.|date=December 2007 }}</ref> Academic opinion is divided on whether it is a separate system from civil law, given major deviations based on [[Marxist–Leninist]] ideology, such as subordinating the judiciary to the executive ruling party.<ref name="austin" /><ref>{{cite journal|jstor=840224|pages=781–808|last1=Quigley|first1=J.|title=Socialist Law and the Civil Law Tradition|volume=37|issue=4|journal=The American Journal of Comparative Law|year=1989|doi=10.2307/840224}}</ref><ref name="gbsmith">{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=G. B. |title=Soviet Politics |date=1988 |publisher=Palgrave |isbn=978-0-333-45919-5 |pages=137–162 |chapter=Chapter 7: Socialist Legality and the Soviet Legal System|doi=10.1007/978-1-349-19172-7_7 }}</ref>

=== Common law and equity ===
{{main|Common law}}
[[File:Joao sem terra assina carta Magna.jpg|thumb|left|King John of England signs Magna Carta.]]

In [[Common law#1. Common law as opposed to statutory law and regulatory law|common law]] legal systems, decisions by courts are explicitly acknowledged as "law" on equal footing with [[statute law|statutes]] adopted through the legislative process and with [[Regulation (law)|regulations]] issued by the [[Executive (government)|executive branch]]. The "doctrine of precedent", or ''[[stare decisis]]'' (Latin for "to stand by decisions") means that decisions by higher courts bind lower courts, and future decisions of the same court, to assure that similar cases reach similar results. In [[Common law#2. Common law legal systems as opposed to civil law legal systems|contrast]], in "[[civil law (legal system)|civil law]]" systems, legislative statutes are typically more detailed, and judicial decisions are shorter and less detailed, because the judge or barrister is only writing to decide the single case, rather than to set out reasoning that will guide future courts.

Common law originated from England and has been inherited by almost every country once tied to the [[British Empire]] (except Malta, [[Law of Scotland|Scotland]], the U.S. state of [[Louisiana law|Louisiana]], and the Canadian province of [[Quebec law|Quebec]]). In medieval England, the [[Norman conquest of England|Norman conquest]] the law varied-shire-to-shire, based on disparate tribal customs. The concept of a "common law" developed during the reign of [[Henry II of England|Henry II]] during the late 12th century, when Henry appointed judges that had authority to create an institutionalised and unified system of law "common" to the country. The next major step in the evolution of the common law came when [[John of England|King John]] was forced by his barons to sign a document limiting his authority to pass laws. This "great charter" or ''[[Magna Carta]]'' of 1215 also required that the King's entourage of judges hold their courts and judgments at "a certain place" rather than dispensing autocratic justice in unpredictable places about the country.<ref>[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/magnacarta.html Magna Carta] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140910155351/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/magnacarta.html |date=10 September 2014 }}, Fordham University</ref> A concentrated and elite group of judges acquired a dominant role in law-making under this system, and compared to its European counterparts the English judiciary became highly centralised. In 1297, for instance, while the highest court in France had fifty-one judges, the [[English Court of Common Pleas]] had five.<ref>Gordley-von Mehren, ''Comparative Study of Private Law'', 4</ref> This powerful and tight-knit judiciary gave rise to a systematised process of developing common law.<ref>Gordley-von Mehren, ''Comparative Study of Private Law'', 3</ref>

However, the system became overly systematised—overly rigid and inflexible. As a result, as time went on, increasing numbers of citizens petitioned the King to override the common law, and on the King's behalf the [[Lord Chancellor]] gave judgment to do what was equitable in a case. From the time of [[Thomas More|Sir Thomas More]], the first [[lawyer]] to be appointed as Lord Chancellor, a systematic body of equity grew up alongside the rigid common law, and developed its own [[Court of Chancery]]. At first, equity was often criticised as erratic, that it varied according to the length of the Chancellor's foot.<ref>Pollock (ed) ''Table Talk of [[John Selden]]'' (1927) 43; "Equity is a roguish thing. For law we have a measure... equity is according to the conscience of him that is Chancellor, and as that is longer or narrower, so is equity. 'Tis all one as if they should make the standard for the measure a Chancellor's foot."</ref> Over time, courts of equity developed solid [[Maxims of equity|principles]], especially under [[John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon|Lord Eldon]].<ref>''[[Gee v Pritchard]]'' (1818) 2 Swans. 402, 414</ref> In the 19th century in England, and in [[West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish|1937 in the U.S.]], the two systems were [[Common law#1870 through 20th century, and the procedural merger of law and equity|merged]].

In developing the common law, [[Common law#Contrasting role of treatises and academic writings in common law and civil law systems|academic writings]] have always played an important part, both to collect overarching principles from dispersed case law, and to argue for change. [[William Blackstone]], from around 1760, was the first scholar to collect, describe, and teach the common law.<ref>Blackstone, ''Commentaries on the Laws of England'', [http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/blackstone_bk1ch1.asp Book the First&nbsp;– Chapter the First] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705141310/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/blackstone_bk1ch1.asp |date=5 July 2011 }}</ref> But merely in describing, scholars who sought explanations and underlying structures slowly changed the way the law actually worked.<ref>Gordley-von Mehren, ''Comparative Study of Private Law'', 17</ref>

=== Religious law ===
{{main|Religious law}}

Religious law is explicitly based on religious precepts. Examples include the Jewish [[Halakha]] and Islamic [[Sharia]]—both of which translate as the "path to follow"—while Christian [[canon law]] also survives in some church communities. Often the implication of religion for law is unalterability, because the word of God cannot be amended or legislated against by judges or governments.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ferrari |first1=Silvio |editor1-last=Huxley |editor1-first=Andrew |title=Religion, Law and Tradition: Comparative Studies in Religious Law |date=2012 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-13250-6 |page=51 |language=en |chapter=Chapter 4: Canon Law as a Religious Legal System |quote=Divine law... is eternal and cannot be changed by any human authority.}}</ref> However, a thorough and detailed legal system generally requires human elaboration. For instance, the [[Quran]] has some law, and it acts as a source of further law through interpretation,<ref>Glenn, ''Legal Traditions of the World'', 159</ref> ''[[Qiyas]]'' (reasoning by analogy), ''[[Ijma]]'' (consensus) and [[precedent]]. This is mainly contained in a body of law and jurisprudence known as [[Sharia]] and [[Fiqh]] respectively. Another example is the [[Torah]] or [[Old Testament]], in the [[Pentateuch]] or Five Books of Moses. This contains the basic code of Jewish law, which some Israeli communities choose to use. The [[Halakha]] is a code of Jewish law that summarizes some of the Talmud's interpretations. Nevertheless, [[Israeli law]] allows [[litigant]]s to use religious laws only if they choose. [[Canon law]] is only in use by members of the [[Canon law (Catholic Church)|Catholic Church]], the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] and the [[Anglican Communion]].

==== Canon law ====
{{main|Canon law}}
[[File:Graverat titelblad till &quot;Kanonisk rätt&quot; - Skoklosters slott - 93238.tif|thumb|The ''[[Corpus Juris Canonici]]'', the fundamental collection of canon law for over 750 years.]]

Canon law (from [[Greek language|Greek]] ''kanon'', a 'straight measuring rod, [[ruler]]') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by [[ecclesiastical jurisdiction|ecclesiastical authority]] (Church leadership), for the government of a Christian organisation or church and its members. It is the internal [[ecclesiastical]] law governing the [[Catholic Church]] (both the [[Latin Church]] and the [[Eastern Catholic Churches]]), the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] and [[Oriental Orthodoxy|Oriental Orthodox]] churches, and the individual national churches within the [[Anglican Communion]].<ref>Boudinhon, Auguste. [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09056a.htm "Canon Law." ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331231326/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09056a.htm |date=31 March 2019 }} The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 9 August 2013</ref> The way that such church law is [[legislative power|legislated]], interpreted and at times [[court|adjudicated]] varies widely among these three bodies of churches. In all three traditions, a [[Canon (canon law)|canon]] was originally<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Gender in History: Global Perspectives|last=Wiesner-Hanks|first=Merry|publisher=Wiley Blackwell|year=2011|pages=37}}</ref> a rule adopted by a [[church council]]; these canons formed the foundation of canon law.

The [[Catholic Church]] has the oldest continuously functioning legal system in the [[western world]],<ref>Raymond Wacks,
''Law: A Very Short Introduction, 2nd Ed.'' (Oxford University Press, 2015) pg. 13.</ref><ref name=White>{{cite web |last=Peters |first=Dr. Edward, JD, JCD, Ref. Sig. Ap. |url=http://canonlaw.info |publisher=CanonLaw.info |title=Home Page |access-date=24 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928005444/http://www.canonlaw.info/ |archive-date=28 September 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> predating the evolution of modern European [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]] and common law systems. The [[1983 Code of Canon Law]] governs the [[Latin Church]] ''[[sui juris]]''. The [[Eastern Catholic Churches]], which developed different disciplines and practices, are governed by the ''[[Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches]]''.<ref>{{cite web|author=Blessed John Paul II, Ap. Const.|url=https://archive.org/stream/ApostolicConstitutionSacriCanonesJohnPaulIi1990/Sacri_Canones_Apostolic_Constitution_John_Paul_II_1990#page/n7/mode/2up|title=Apostolic Constitution Sacri Canones John Paul II 1990|year=1990|access-date=26 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324090532/https://archive.org/stream/ApostolicConstitutionSacriCanonesJohnPaulIi1990/Sacri_Canones_Apostolic_Constitution_John_Paul_II_1990#page/n7/mode/2up|archive-date=24 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[canon law of the Catholic Church]] influenced the [[common law]] during the medieval period<ref>Friedman, Lawrence M., ''American Law: An Introduction'' (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1984), pg. 70.</ref> through its preservation of [[Roman law]] doctrine such as the [[presumption of innocence]].<ref>William Wirt Howe, ''Studies in the Civil Law, and its Relation to the Law of England and America'' (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1896), pg. 51.<br />«In one of his elaborate orations in the United States Senate Mr. Charles Sumner spoke of "the generous presumption of the common law in favor of the innocence of an accused person;” yet it must be admitted that such a presumption cannot be found in Anglo-Saxon law, where sometimes the presumption seems to have been the other way. And in a very recent case in the Supreme Court of the United States, the case of Coffin, 156 U. S. 432, it is pointed out that this presumption was fully established in the Roman law, and was preserved in the canon law.»</ref>

==== Sharia law ====
{{main|Sharia}}
[[File:1879-Ottoman Court-from-NYL.png|thumb|A trial in the Ottoman Empire, 1879, when religious law applied under the [[Mecelle]].]]

Until the 18th century, Sharia law was practiced throughout the [[Muslim world]] in a non-codified form, with the [[Ottoman Empire]]'s [[Mecelle]] code in the 19th century being a first attempt at [[Codification (law)|codifying]] elements of Sharia law. Since the mid-1940s, efforts have been made, in country after country, to bring Sharia law more into line with modern conditions and conceptions.<ref name="AA">Anderson, ''Law Reform in the Middle East'', 43</ref><ref>Giannoulatos, ''Islam'', 274–275</ref> In modern times, the legal systems of many Muslim countries draw upon both civil and common law traditions as well as Islamic law and custom. The constitutions of certain Muslim states, such as Egypt and Afghanistan, recognise Islam as the religion of the state, obliging legislature to adhere to Sharia.<ref>Sherif, ''Constitutions of Arab Countries'', 157–158</ref> Saudi Arabia recognises Quran as its constitution, and is governed on the basis of Islamic law.<ref name=Jurist>[http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/world/saudiarabia.htm Saudi Arabia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060830232216/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/world/saudiarabia.htm |date=30 August 2006 }}, Jurist</ref> Iran has also witnessed a reiteration of Islamic law into its legal system after 1979.<ref>Akhlaghi, ''Iranian Commercial Law'', 127</ref> During the last few decades, one of the fundamental features of the movement of [[Islamic resurgence]] has been the call to restore the Sharia, which has generated a vast amount of literature and affected [[Global politics|world politics]].<ref name="H1">Hallaq, ''The Origins and Evolution of Islamic Law'', 1</ref>

== Legal methods ==
There are distinguished methods of legal reasoning (applying the law) and methods of interpreting (construing) the law. The former are [[legal syllogism]], which holds sway in civil law legal systems, [[analogy]], which is present in common law legal systems, especially in the US, and argumentative theories that occur in both systems. The latter are different rules (directives) of legal interpretation such as directives of linguistic interpretation, teleological interpretation or systemic interpretation as well as more specific rules, for instance, [[golden rule]] or [[mischief rule]]. There are also many other arguments and cannons of interpretation which altogether make [[statutory interpretation]] possible.

Law professor and former [[United States Attorney General]] [[Edward H. Levi]] noted that the "basic pattern of legal reasoning is reasoning by example" - that is, reasoning by comparing outcomes in cases resolving similar legal questions.<ref>Edward H. Levi, ''An Introduction to Legal Reasoning'' (2013), p. 1-2.</ref> In a U.S. Supreme Court case regarding procedural efforts taken by a debt collection company to avoid errors, Justice [[Sonia Sotomayor|Sotomayor]] cautioned that "legal reasoning is not a mechanical or strictly linear process".<ref>''[[Jerman v. Carlisle]]'', 130 S.Ct. 1605, 1614, 559 U.S. 573, 587 (2010), [[Sonia Sotomayor|Sotomayor]], J.</ref>

[[Jurimetrics]] is the formal application of quantitative methods, especially [[Probability theory|probability]] and [[statistics]], to legal questions. The use of statistical methods in court cases and law review articles has grown massively in importance in the last few decades.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Heise|first=Michael|date=1999|title=The Importance of Being Empirical|url=https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1445&context=plr|journal=Pepperdine Law Review|volume=26|issue=4|pages=807–834|access-date=18 December 2019|archive-date=25 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225055124/https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1445&context=plr|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ericposner.com/the-rise-of-statistics-in-law/|title=The rise of statistics in law|last=Posner|first=Eric|date=2015-07-24|website=ERIC POSNER|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-16|archive-date=20 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220060506/http://ericposner.com/the-rise-of-statistics-in-law/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Legal institutions ==
{{quote box|bgcolor=#c6dbf7|width=22em|salign=left|quote=It is a real unity of them all in one and the same person, made by covenant of every man with every man, in such manner as if every man should say to every man: I authorise and give up my right of governing myself to this man, or to this assembly of men, on this condition; that thou givest up, thy right to him, and authorise all his actions in like manner.|source=Thomas Hobbes, ''Leviathan'', [http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/hobbes/leviathan-c.html#CHAPTERXVII XVII]}}

The main institutions of law in industrialised countries are independent [[courts]], representative parliaments, an accountable executive, the military and police, [[bureaucracy|bureaucratic]] organisation, the [[legal profession]] and [[civil society]] itself. John Locke, in his ''[[Two Treatises of Government]]'', and [[Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu|Baron de Montesquieu]] in ''[[The Spirit of the Laws]]'', advocated for a [[separation of powers]] between the political, legislature and executive bodies.<ref>[[Montesquieu]], ''The Spirit of Laws'', [http://www.constitution.org/cm/sol_11.htm#006 Book XI: Of the Laws Which Establish Political Liberty, with Regard to the Constitution, Chapters 6–7] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203190914/http://www.constitution.org/cm/sol_11.htm#006 |date=3 February 2007 }}</ref> Their principle was that no person should be able to usurp all powers of the [[State (polity)|state]], in contrast to the [[Absolute monarchy|absolutist]] theory of [[Thomas Hobbes]]' ''[[Leviathan (Hobbes book)|Leviathan]]''.<ref name="H17">Thomas Hobbes, ''Leviathan'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20021125191001/http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/hobbes/leviathan-c.html#CHAPTERXVII XVII]</ref> [[Sun Yat-sen]]'s [[Constitution of the Republic of China|Five Power Constitution]] for the [[Republic of China]] took the separation of powers further by having two additional branches of government - a [[Control Yuan]] for auditing oversight and an [[Examination Yuan]] to manage the employment of public officials.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Caldwell |first1=Ernest |title=Chinese Constitutionalism: Five-Power Constitution |journal=Max Planck Encyclopedia of Comparative Constitutional Law |date=2016 |url=https://ssrn.com/abstract=2828104 |access-date=8 January 2020 |archive-date=25 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225080817/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2828104 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Max Weber]] and others reshaped thinking on the extension of state. Modern military, policing and bureaucratic power over ordinary citizens' daily lives pose special problems for accountability that earlier writers such as Locke or Montesquieu could not have foreseen. The custom and practice of the legal profession is an important part of people's access to [[justice]], whilst civil society is a term used to refer to the social institutions, communities and partnerships that form law's political basis.

=== Judiciary ===
{{main|Judiciary}}

A judiciary is a number of judges mediating disputes to determine outcome. Most countries have systems of appeal courts, with an [[Supreme court|apex court]] as the ultimate judicial authority. In the United States, this authority is the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]];<ref>[https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/briefoverview.pdf A Brief Overview of the Supreme Court] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706180812/https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/briefoverview.pdf |date=6 July 2017 }}, Supreme Court of the United States</ref> in Australia, the [[High Court of Australia|High Court]]; in the UK, the [[Supreme Court of the United Kingdom|Supreme Court]];<ref>[https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/briefoverview.pdf House of Lords Judgments] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706180812/https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/briefoverview.pdf |date=6 July 2017 }}, House of Lords</ref> in Germany, the ''[[Bundesverfassungsgericht]]''; and in France, the ''[[Cour de cassation (France)|Cour de Cassation]]''.<ref>[http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/entscheidungen.html Entscheidungen des Bundesverfassungsgerichts] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061121164330/http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/entscheidungen.html |date=21 November 2006 }}, Bundesverfassungsgericht</ref><ref>[http://www.courdecassation.fr/jurisprudence_publications_documentation_2/ Jurisprudence, publications, documentation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070209144055/http://www.courdecassation.fr/jurisprudence_publications_documentation_2/ |date=9 February 2007 }}, Cour de cassation</ref> For most European countries the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg can overrule national law, when EU law is relevant. The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg allows citizens of the [[Council of Europe]] member states to bring cases relating to human rights issues before it.<ref>Goldhaber, ''European Court of Human Rights'', 1–2</ref>

<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Public hearing at the ICJ.jpg|thumb|left|The judges of the [[International Court of Justice]] in [[the Hague]].]] -->
Some countries allow their highest judicial authority to overrule legislation they determine to be [[constitutionality|unconstitutional]]. For example, in ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'', the United States Supreme Court nullified many state statutes that had established [[Racial segregation in the United States|racially segregated]] schools, finding such statutes to be incompatible with the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth Amendment]] to the [[United States Constitution]].<ref>Patterson, ''Brown v. Board of Education''</ref>

A judiciary is theoretically bound by the constitution, just as all other government bodies are. In most countries judges may only [[interpretivism (legal)|interpret]] the constitution and all other laws. But in common law countries, where matters are not constitutional, the judiciary may also create law under the [[doctrine of precedent]]. The UK, Finland and New Zealand assert the ideal of [[parliamentary sovereignty]], whereby the unelected judiciary may not overturn law passed by a democratic legislature.<ref>Dicey, ''Law of the Constitution'', 37–82</ref>

In [[communist state]]s, such as China, the courts are often regarded as parts of the executive, or subservient to the legislature; governmental institutions and actors exert thus various forms of influence on the judiciary.<ref>E.g., the court president is a political appointee (Jensen–Heller, ''Introduction'', 11–12). About the notion of "judicial independence" in China, see Findlay, ''Judiciary in the PRC'', 282–284</ref> In Muslim countries, courts often examine whether state laws adhere to the Sharia: the [[Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt]] may invalidate such laws,<ref name="ReferenceA">Sherif, ''Constitutions of Arab Countries'', 158</ref> and in Iran the [[Guardian Council]] ensures the compatibility of the legislation with the "criteria of Islam".<ref name="ReferenceA" /><ref>Rasekh, ''Islamism and Republicanism'', 115–116</ref>

=== Legislature ===
{{main|Legislature}}
[[File:Chamber of the House of Representatives of Japan.jpg|thumb|The Chamber of the [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]], the [[lower house]] in the [[National Diet]] of [[Japan]].]]

Prominent examples of legislatures are the [[Houses of Parliament]] in London, the [[United States Congress|Congress]] in Washington D.C., the [[Bundestag]] in Berlin, the [[Duma]] in Moscow, the [[Parliament of Italy|Parlamento Italiano]] in Rome and the [[National Assembly of France|''Assemblée nationale'']] in Paris. By the principle of representative government people vote for politicians to carry out ''their'' wishes. Although countries like Israel, Greece, Sweden and China are [[unicameralism|unicameral]], most countries are [[bicameralism|bicameral]], meaning they have two separately appointed legislative houses.<ref name="Riker101">Riker, ''The Justification of Bicameralism'', 101</ref>

In the 'lower house' politicians are elected to represent smaller [[constituency|constituencies]]. The 'upper house' is usually elected to represent states in a [[Federal republic|federal]] system (as in Australia, Germany or the United States) or different voting configuration in a unitary system (as in France). In the UK the upper house is appointed by the government as a [[House of Lords|house of review]]. One criticism of bicameral systems with two elected chambers is that the upper and lower houses may simply mirror one another. The traditional justification of bicameralism is that an upper chamber acts as a house of review. This can minimise arbitrariness and injustice in governmental action.<ref name="Riker101" />

To pass legislation, a majority of the members of a legislature must [[vote]] for a [[bill (proposed law)]] in each house. Normally there will be several readings and amendments proposed by the different political factions. If a country has an entrenched constitution, a special majority for changes to the constitution may be required, making changes to the law more difficult. A government usually leads the process, which can be formed from Members of Parliament (e.g. the UK or Germany). However, in a presidential system, the government is usually formed by an executive and his or her appointed cabinet officials (e.g. the United States or Brazil).<ref>About "cabinet accountability" in both presidential and parliamentary systems, see Shugart–Haggard, ''Presidential Systems'', 67 etc.</ref>

=== Executive ===
{{main|Executive (government)}}
[[File:Dmitry Medvedev 2 April 2009-1.jpg|thumb|left|The [[G-20 major economies|G20]] meetings are composed of representatives of each country's executive branch.]]

The executive in a legal system serves as the centre of political [[authority]] of the [[State (polity)|State]]. In a [[parliamentary system]], as with Britain, Italy, Germany, India, and Japan, the executive is known as the cabinet, and composed of members of the legislature. The executive is led by the [[head of government]], whose office holds power under the [[Motion of no confidence|confidence]] of the legislature. Because popular elections appoint political parties to govern, the leader of a party can change in between elections.<ref name="Haggard71">Haggard, ''Presidents, Parliaments and Policy'', 71</ref>

The [[head of state]] is apart from the executive, and symbolically enacts laws and acts as representative of the nation. Examples include the [[President of Germany]] (appointed by [[Federal Convention (Germany)|members of federal and state legislatures]]), the [[Queen of the United Kingdom]] (an [[Hereditary monarchy|hereditary office]]), and the [[President of Austria]] (elected by popular vote). The other important model is the [[presidential system]], found in the [[President of the United States|United States]] and in [[President of Brazil|Brazil]]. In presidential systems, the executive acts as both head of state and head of government, and has power to appoint an unelected cabinet. Under a presidential system, the executive branch is separate from the legislature to which it is not accountable.<ref name="Haggard71" /><ref>Olson, ''The New Parliaments of Central and Eastern Europe'', 7</ref>

Although the role of the executive varies from country to country, usually it will propose the majority of legislation, and propose government agenda. In presidential systems, the executive often has the power to veto legislation. Most executives in both systems are responsible for [[Foreign policy|foreign relations]], the military and police, and the bureaucracy. [[Minister (government)|Ministers]] or other officials head a country's public offices, such as a [[Foreign minister|foreign ministry]] or [[Defence minister|defence ministry]]. The election of a different executive is therefore capable of revolutionising an entire country's approach to government.

=== Military and police ===
{{main|Police|Military}}
[[File:South african police may 2010.jpg|thumb|Officers of the [[South African Police Service]] in [[Johannesburg]], 2010.]]

While military organisations have existed as long as government itself, the idea of a standing police force is a relatively modern concept. For example, [[Medieval England]]'s system of travelling [[Criminal law|criminal court]]s, or [[Assize Court|assizes]], used [[show trial]]s and public executions to instill communities with fear to maintain control.<ref>See, e.g. ''Tuberville v Savage'' (1669), 1 Mod. Rep. 3, 86 Eng. Rep. 684, where a knight said in a threatening tone to a layperson, "If it were not assize time, I would not take such language from you."</ref> The first modern police were probably those in 17th-century Paris, in the court of [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]],<ref>[http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=219522 History of Police Forces] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061229014447/http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=219522 |date=29 December 2006 }}, History.com Encyclopedia</ref> although the Paris Prefecture of Police claim they were the world's first uniformed policemen.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080506215949/http://www.prefecture-police-paris.interieur.gouv.fr/documentation/bicentenaire/theme_expo4.htm Des Sergents de Ville et Gardiens de la Paix à la Police de Proximité], La Préfecture de Police</ref>

[[Max Weber]] famously argued that the state is that which controls the [[monopoly on the legitimate use of force]].<ref name="mwp154">Weber, [[s:Politics as a Vocation|Politics as a Vocation]]</ref><ref>Weber, ''The Theory of Social and Economic Organisation'', 154</ref> The military and police carry out enforcement at the request of the government or the courts. The term [[failed state]] refers to states that cannot implement or enforce policies; their police and military no longer control security and order and society moves into anarchy, the absence of government.<ref>In these cases sovereignty is eroded, and often warlords acquire excessive powers (Fukuyama, ''State-Building'', 166–167).</ref>

=== Bureaucracy ===
{{main|Bureaucracy}}
[[File:Qing Dynasty Mandarin.jpg|thumb|The [[Mandarin (bureaucrat)|mandarin]]s were powerful bureaucrats in imperial China (photograph shows a [[Qing dynasty]] official with [[mandarin square]] visible).]]

The etymology of ''bureaucracy'' derives from the French word for ''office'' (''bureau'') and the [[Ancient Greek]] for word ''power'' (''kratos'').<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=bureaucracy&searchmode Bureaucracy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115175023/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=bureaucracy&searchmode |date=15 January 2009 }}, Online Etymology Dictionary</ref> Like the military and police, a legal system's government servants and bodies that make up its bureaucracy carry out the directives of the executive. One of the earliest references to the concept was made by [[Friedrich Melchior, baron von Grimm|Baron de Grimm]], a German author who lived in France. In 1765, he wrote:
<blockquote>The real spirit of the laws in France is that bureaucracy of which the late Monsieur de Gournay used to complain so greatly; here the offices, clerks, secretaries, inspectors and ''intendants'' are not appointed to benefit the public interest, indeed the public interest appears to have been established so that offices might exist.<ref>Albrow, ''Bureaucracy'', 16</ref></blockquote>

Cynicism over "officialdom" is still common, and the workings of public servants is typically contrasted to [[private enterprise]] motivated by [[Maximization (economics)|profit]].<ref>Mises, ''Bureaucracy'', II, [https://www.mises.org/etexts/mises/bureaucracy/section2.asp Bureaucratic Management] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914004054/https://www.mises.org/etexts/mises/bureaucracy/section2.asp |date=14 September 2014 }}</ref> In fact private companies, especially large ones, also have bureaucracies.<ref name="K367">Kettl, ''Public Bureaucracies'', 367</ref> Negative perceptions of "[[red tape]]" aside, public services such as schooling, health care, policing or public transport are considered a crucial state function making public bureaucratic action the locus of government power.<ref name="K367"/>

Writing in the early 20th century, Max Weber believed that a definitive feature of a developed state had come to be its bureaucratic support.<ref name="mwp393">Weber, ''Economy and Society'', I, 393</ref> Weber wrote that the typical characteristics of modern bureaucracy are that officials define its mission, the scope of work is bound by rules, and management is composed of career experts who manage top down, communicating through writing and binding public servants' discretion with rules.<ref>Kettl, ''Public Bureaucracies'', 371</ref>

=== Legal profession ===
{{main|Legal profession}}
[[File:Quentin Massys 007.jpg|thumb|In civil law systems such as those of Italy, France, Germany, Spain and Greece, there is a distinct category of [[Civil law notary|notary]], a legally trained public official, compensated by the parties to a transaction.<ref>Hazard–Dondi, ''Legal Ethics'', 22</ref> This is a 16th-century painting of such a notary by Flemish painter [[Quentin Massys]].]]

A corollary of the rule of law is the existence of a legal profession sufficiently autonomous to invoke the authority of the independent judiciary; the right to assistance of a [[barrister]] in a court proceeding emanates from this corollary—in England the function of barrister or advocate is distinguished from legal counselor.<ref>Hazard–Dondi, ''Legal Ethics'', 1</ref> As the European Court of Human Rights has stated, the law should be adequately accessible to everyone and people should be able to foresee how the law affects them.<ref>''[[The Sunday Times v The United Kingdom]]'' [1979] [http://www.worldlii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/1979/1.html ECHR 1 at 49] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060916131454/http://worldlii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/1979/1.html |date=16 September 2006 }} Case no. 6538/74</ref>

In order to maintain professionalism, the [[practice of law]] is typically overseen by either a government or independent regulating body such as a [[bar association]], [[bar council]] or [[law society]]. Modern lawyers achieve distinct professional identity through specified legal procedures (e.g. successfully passing a qualifying examination), are required by law to have a special qualification (a legal education earning the student a [[Bachelor of Laws]], a [[Bachelor of Civil Law]], or a [[Juris Doctor]] degree. Higher academic degrees may also be pursued. Examples include a [[Master of Laws]], a [[Master of Legal Studies]], a [[Bar Professional Training Course]] or a [[Doctor of Laws]].), and are constituted in office by legal forms of appointment ([[admission to the bar|being admitted to the bar]]). There are few titles of respect to signify famous lawyers, such as [[Esquire]], to indicate barristers of greater dignity,<ref>{{cite web|title=British English: Esquire|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/esquire?showCookiePolicy=true|access-date=23 September 2014|date=n.d.|publisher=Collins Dictionary|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006092224/http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/esquire?showCookiePolicy=true|archive-date=6 October 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/american/esquire?showCookiePolicy=true|publisher=Collins Dictionary|title=American English: Esquire|access-date=23 September 2014|date=n.d.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006084621/http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/american/esquire?showCookiePolicy=true|archive-date=6 October 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Doctor of law]], to indicate a person who obtained a [[PhD]] in Law.

Many Muslim countries have developed similar rules about legal education and the legal profession, but some still allow lawyers with training in traditional Islamic law to practice law before personal status law courts.<ref>Ahamd, [http://www.macalester.edu/~ahmad/Lawyers.pdf Lawyers: Islamic Law] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081001195205/http://www.macalester.edu/~ahmad/Lawyers.pdf |date=1 October 2008 }}</ref> In China and other developing countries there are not sufficient professionally trained people to staff the existing judicial systems, and, accordingly, formal standards are more relaxed.<ref>Hazard–Dondi, ''Legal Ethics'', 22–23</ref>

Once accredited, a lawyer will often work in a [[law firm]], in a [[barristers' chambers|chambers]] as a sole practitioner, in a government post or in a private corporation as an internal [[counsel]]. In addition a lawyer may become a [[legal research]]er who provides on-demand legal research through a library, a commercial service or freelance work. Many people trained in law put their skills to use outside the legal field entirely.<ref name="Fine364">Fine, ''The Globalisation of Legal Education'', 364</ref>

Significant to the practice of law in the common law tradition is the legal research to determine the current state of the law. This usually entails exploring [[law report|case-law reports]], [[legal periodical]]s and legislation. Law practice also involves drafting documents such as court [[pleading]]s, persuasive [[brief (law)|briefs]], contracts, or [[will (law)|wills]] and trusts. Negotiation and [[dispute resolution]] skills (including [[Alternative dispute resolution|ADR]] techniques) are also important to legal practice, depending on the field.<ref name="Fine364" />

=== Civil society ===
{{main|Civil society}}
[[File:1963 march on washington.jpg|thumb|left|A march in Washington, D.C., during the [[civil rights movement]] in 1963.]]

The [[classical republicanism|Classical republican]] concept of "civil society" dates back to Hobbes and Locke.<ref>Warren, ''Civil Society'', 3–4</ref> Locke saw civil society as people who have "a common established law and judicature to appeal to, with authority to decide controversies between them."<ref>Locke, ''[[s:Two Treatises of Government/The Second Treatise of Government: An Essay Concerning the True Origin, Extent, and End of Civil Government|Second Treatise]]'', Chap. VII, Of Political or Civil_Society. Chapter 7, section 87</ref> German philosopher [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]] distinguished the "state" from "civil society" (''bürgerliche Gesellschaft'') in ''[[Elements of the Philosophy of Right]]''.<ref>Hegel, ''Elements of the Philosophy of Right'', 3, II, [http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/works/pr/prcivils.htm 182] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070401193900/http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/works/pr/prcivils.htm |date=1 April 2007 }}</ref><ref>Karkatsoulis, ''The State in Transition'', 277–278</ref>

Hegel believed that [[civil society]] and the [[State (polity)|state]] were polar opposites, within the scheme of his dialectic theory of history. The modern dipole state–civil society was reproduced in the theories of [[Alexis de Tocqueville]] and [[Karl Marx]].<ref>(Pelczynski, ''The State and Civil Society'', 1–13; Warren, ''Civil Society'', 5–9)</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Zaleski|first=Pawel|title=Tocqueville on Civilian Society. A Romantic Vision of the Dichotomic Structure of Social Reality|journal=Archiv für Begriffsgeschichte|volume=50|year=2008}}</ref> In post-modern theory, civil society is necessarily a source of law, by being the basis from which people form opinions and lobby for what they believe law should be. As Australian barrister and author [[Geoffrey Robertson QC]] wrote of international law, "one of its primary modern sources is found in the responses of ordinary men and women, and of the non-governmental organizations which many of them support, to the human rights abuses they see on the television screen in their living rooms."<ref>Robertson, ''Crimes Against Humanity'', 98–99</ref>

[[Freedom of speech]], [[freedom of association]] and many other individual rights allow people to gather, discuss, criticise and hold to account their governments, from which the basis of a [[deliberative democracy]] is formed. The more people are involved with, concerned by and capable of changing how political power is exercised over their lives, the more acceptable and [[Legitimacy (political)|legitimate]] the law becomes to the people. The most familiar institutions of civil society include economic markets, profit-oriented firms, families, trade unions, hospitals, universities, schools, charities, [[cogers|debating clubs]], non-governmental organisations, neighbourhoods, churches, and religious associations.  There is no clear legal definition of the civil society, and of the institutions it includes. Most of the institutions and bodies who try to give a list of institutions (such as the [[European Economic and Social Committee]]) exclude the political parties.<ref>Jakobs, ''Pursuing Equal Opportunities'', 5–6</ref><ref>Kaldor–Anheier–Glasius, ''Global Civil Society'', ''[http://www.lse.ac.uk/Depts/global/Publications/Yearbooks/2003/2003Chapter1a.pdf passim] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070817130457/http://www.lse.ac.uk/Depts/global/Publications/Yearbooks/2003/2003Chapter1a.pdf |date=17 August 2007 }}''</ref><ref>Karkatsoulis, ''The State in Transition'', 282–283. {{Cite web |url=http://www.lse.ac.uk/Depts/global/Publications/Yearbooks/2003/2003Chapter1a.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070817130457/http://www.lse.ac.uk/Depts/global/Publications/Yearbooks/2003/2003Chapter1a.pdf |archive-date=17 August 2007 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>
{{clear}}

== Areas of law ==
All legal systems deal with the same basic issues, but jurisdictions categorise and identify their legal topics in different ways. A common distinction is that between "[[public law]]" (a term related closely to the [[State (law)|state]], and including constitutional, administrative and criminal law), and "[[private law]]" (which covers contract, [[tort]] and property).<ref>Although many scholars argue that "the boundaries between public and private law are becoming blurred", and that this distinction has become mere "folklore" (Bergkamp, ''Liability and Environment'', 1–2).</ref> In [[civil law(legal system)|civil law]] systems, contract and tort fall under a general [[law of obligations]], while trusts law is dealt with under statutory regimes or [[Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Trusts and on their Recognition|international conventions]]. International, constitutional and administrative law, criminal law, contract, tort, property law and [[trust law|trusts]] are regarded as the "traditional core subjects",<ref>E.g. in England these seven subjects, with EU law substituted for international law, make up a "qualifying law degree". For criticism, see [[Peter Birks]]' poignant comments attached to a previous version of the [http://webjcli.ncl.ac.uk/articles1/birks1.html#appendix Notice to Law Schools] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090620065248/http://webjcli.ncl.ac.uk/articles1/birks1.html#appendix |date=20 June 2009 }}.</ref> although there are many [[Law#Further disciplines|further disciplines]].

=== International law ===
{{main|Conflict of laws|European Union law|Public international law}}
[[File:Naciones Unidas 3.jpg|thumb|Providing a constitution for public international law, the United Nations system was agreed during World War II.]]
[[File:Alberico Gentili.jpg|thumb|The Italian lawyer [[Alberico Gentili|Sir Alberico Gentili]], the Father of international law.<ref>{{cite book|last=Pagden|first=Anthony|title=Vitoria: Political Writings (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought)|year=1991|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=UK|isbn=978-0-521-36714-1|page=xvi}}</ref>]]

[[International law]] can refer to three things: public international law, private international law or conflict of laws and the law of supranational organisations.
* [[Public international law]] concerns relationships between sovereign nations. The [[Sources of international law|sources]] for public international law development are [[Custom (law)|custom]], practice and treaties between sovereign nations, such as the [[Geneva Conventions]]. Public international law can be formed by [[international organisations]], such as the United Nations (which was established after the failure of the [[League of Nations]] to prevent World War II),<ref>[https://www.un.org/aboutun/history.htm History of the UN] {{webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100218221016/http://www.un.org/aboutun/history.htm |date=18 February 2010 }}, United Nations. [[Winston Churchill]] (''The Hinge of Fate'', 719) comments on the League of Nations' failure: "It was wrong to say that the League failed. It was rather the member states who had failed the League."</ref> the [[International Labour Organization|International Labour Organisation]], the [[World Trade Organization|World Trade Organisation]], or the [[International Monetary Fund]]. Public international law has a special status as law because there is no international police force, and courts (e.g. the [[International Court of Justice]] as the primary UN judicial organ) lack the capacity to penalise disobedience.  The prevailing manner of enforcing international law is still essentially "self help"; that is the reaction by states to alleged breaches of international obligations by other states.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=D'Amato |first1=Anthony |title=Is International Law Really 'Law'? |journal=Northwestern University Law Review |date=11 November 2010 |volume=79 |url=https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1102&context=facultyworkingpapers |access-date=3 January 2020 |archive-date=3 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803005041/https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1102&context=facultyworkingpapers |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ReferenceB" /><ref>Schermers-Blokker, ''International Institutional Law'', 900–901</ref> However, a few bodies, such as the [[WTO]], have effective systems of binding arbitration and dispute resolution backed up by trade sanctions.<ref>Petersmann, ''The GATT/WTO Dispute Settlement System'' [http://www.law2lawyer.com/2011/07/21/international-criminal-court/ International Criminal Court] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723080755/http://www.law2lawyer.com/2011/07/21/international-criminal-court/ |date=23 July 2011 }}, 32</ref>
* [[Conflict of laws]], or private international law in [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]] countries, concerns which [[jurisdiction]] a legal dispute between private parties should be heard in and which jurisdiction's law should be applied. Today, businesses are increasingly capable of shifting [[Capital (economics)|capital]] and [[labour (economics)|labour]] supply chains across borders, as well as trading with overseas businesses, making the question of which country has jurisdiction even more pressing. Increasing numbers of businesses opt for commercial arbitration under the [[Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards|New York Convention 1958]].<ref>Redfem, ''International Commercial Arbitration'', 68–69</ref>
* [[European Union law]] is the first and so far the only example of a [[supranational law]], i.e. an internationally accepted legal system, other than the [[United Nations]] and the [[World Trade Organization]]. Given the trend of increasing global economic integration, many regional agreements—especially the [[African Union]]—seek to follow a similar model.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gaffey |first1=Conor |title=Why the African Union wants to be more like the EU |url=https://www.newsweek.com/african-union-africa-rwanda-ethiopia-trade-455238 |access-date=1 January 2020 |work=Newsweek |date=4 May 2016 |language=en |archive-date=1 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101080200/https://www.newsweek.com/african-union-africa-rwanda-ethiopia-trade-455238 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Babarinde |first1=Olufemi |title=The EU as a Model for the African Union: the Limits of Imitation |journal=Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series |date=April 2007 |volume=7 |issue=2 |url=http://aei.pitt.edu/8185/1/BabarindeEUasModellong07edi.pdf |access-date=1 January 2020 |publisher=Miami - Florida European Union Center |archive-date=1 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101072421/http://aei.pitt.edu/8185/1/BabarindeEUasModellong07edi.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In the EU, sovereign nations have gathered their authority in a system of courts and the [[European Parliament]]. These institutions are allowed the ability to enforce legal norms both against or for member states and citizens in a manner which is not possible through public international law.<ref>Schermers–Blokker, ''International Institutional Law'', 943</ref> As the [[European Court of Justice]] noted in its 1963 [[Van Gend en Loos v Nederlandse Administratie der Belastingen|Van Gend en Loos decision]], European Union law constitutes "a new legal order of international law" for the mutual social and economic benefit of the member states.<ref>See the fundamental [http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:61962J0026:EN:HTML C-26/62 ''Van Gend en Loos v Nederlandse Administratie der Belastingen''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070321191046/http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:61962J0026:EN:HTML |date=21 March 2007 }}, and [http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:61964J0006:EN:HTML ''Flaminio Costa v E.N.E.L.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090109104422/http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:61964J0006:EN:HTML |date=9 January 2009 }} decisions of the European Court.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chalmers |first1=D. |last2=Barroso |first2=L. |title=What Van Gend en Loos stands for |journal=International Journal of Constitutional Law |date=7 April 2014 |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=105–134 |doi=10.1093/icon/mou003 |url=https://academic.oup.com/icon/article/12/1/105/628605 |access-date=1 January 2020 |doi-access=free |archive-date=26 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226142407/https://academic.oup.com/icon/article/12/1/105/628605 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Constitutional and administrative law ===
{{main|Administrative law|Constitutional law}}
[[File:Declaration of Human Rights.jpg|thumb|The French [[Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen]].]]

Constitutional and administrative law govern the affairs of the state. Constitutional law concerns both the relationships between the executive, legislature and judiciary and the human rights or [[civil liberties]] of individuals against the state. Most jurisdictions, like the [[Law of the United States|United States]] and [[Law of France|France]], have a single codified constitution with a [[bill of rights]]. A few, like the [[Law of the United Kingdom|United Kingdom]], have no such document. A "constitution" is simply those laws which constitute the [[body politic]], from [[statute]], [[case law]] and [[Constitutional convention (political custom)|convention]]. A case named ''[[Entick v Carrington]]''<ref>''[[Entick v Carrington]]'' (1765) 19 Howell's State Trials 1030; [1765] [http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/KB/1765/J98.html 95 ER 807] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081119095649/http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/KB/1765/J98.html |date=19 November 2008 }}</ref> illustrates a constitutional principle deriving from the common law. Entick's house was searched and ransacked by Sheriff Carrington. When Entick complained in court, Sheriff Carrington argued that a warrant from a Government minister, the [[George Montague-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax|Earl of Halifax]], was valid authority. However, there was no written statutory provision or court authority. The leading judge, [[Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden|Lord Camden]], stated:
<blockquote>The great end, for which men entered into society, was to secure their property. That right is preserved sacred and incommunicable in all instances, where it has not been taken away or abridged by some public law for the good of the whole ... If no excuse can be found or produced, the silence of the books is an authority against the defendant, and the plaintiff must have judgment.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.constitution.org/trials/entick/entick_v_carrington.htm | title=Entick v Carrington | work=19 Howell’s State Trials 1029 (1765) | publisher=Constitution Society | location=US | access-date=13 November 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031021121842/http://www.constitution.org/trials/entick/entick_v_carrington.htm | archive-date=21 October 2003 | url-status=live }}</ref></blockquote>

The fundamental constitutional principle, inspired by [[Two Treatises of Government|John Locke]], holds that [[Everything which is not forbidden is allowed|the individual can do anything except that which is forbidden by law]], and the state may do nothing except that which is authorised by law.<ref>Locke, ''The Second Treatise'', [[s:Two Treatises of Government/The Second Treatise of Government: An Essay Concerning the True Origin, Extent, and End of Civil Government#2:9|Chapter 9, section 124]]</ref><ref>Tamanaha, ''On the Rule of Law'', 47</ref> Administrative law is the chief method for people to hold state bodies to account. People can sue an agency, local council, public service, or government ministry for [[judicial review]] of actions or decisions, to ensure that they comply with the law, and that the government entity observed required procedure. The first specialist administrative court was the ''[[Council of State (France)|Conseil d'État]]'' set up in 1799, as [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]] assumed power in France.<ref name="A75">Auby, ''Administrative Law in France'', 75</ref>

A subdiscipline of constitutional law is [[election law]]. It deals with rules governing elections. These rules enable the translation of the will of the people into functioning [[Democracy|democracies]]. Election law addresses issues who is entitled to [[Voting|vote]], [[voter registration]], [[ballot access]], [[campaign finance]] and [[Political party funding|party funding]], [[Redistribution (election)|redistricting]], [[Apportionment (politics)|apportionment]], [[electronic voting]] and [[Voting machine|voting machines]], [[accessibility]] of elections, [[Electoral system|election systems]] and formulas, [[vote counting]], election disputes, [[Referendum|referendums]], and issues such as [[electoral fraud]] and [[Election silence|electoral silence]].

=== Criminal law ===
{{main|Criminal law}}

Criminal law, also known as penal law, pertains to crimes and punishment.<ref>[[Cesare, Marquis of Beccaria|Cesare Beccaria]]'s seminal treatise of 1763–1764 is titled ''On Crimes and Punishments'' (''[[Dei delitti e delle pene]]'').</ref> It thus regulates the definition of and penalties for offences found to have a sufficiently deleterious social impact but, in itself, makes no moral judgment on an offender nor imposes restrictions on society that physically prevent people from committing a crime in the first place.<ref name="W2">Brody, Acker and Logan, ''Criminal Law'', 2; Wilson, ''Criminal Law'', 2</ref> Investigating, apprehending, charging, and trying suspected offenders is regulated by the law of [[criminal procedure]].<ref name="Br2">Dennis J. Baker, Glanville Williams ''Textbook of Criminal Law'' (London: 2012), 2</ref> The [[paradigm]] case of a crime lies in the proof, [[Legal burden of proof|beyond reasonable doubt]], that a person is guilty of two things. First, the accused must commit an act which is deemed by society to be criminal, or ''[[actus reus]]'' (guilty act).<ref>See e.g. Brody, Acker and Logan, ''Criminal Law'', 205 about ''[[Robinson v. California]]'', 370 U.S. 660 (1962).</ref> Second, the accused must have the requisite [[intention (criminal law)|malicious intent]] to do a criminal act, or ''[[mens rea]]'' (guilty mind). However, for so called "[[Strict liability (criminal)|strict liability]]" crimes, an ''actus reus'' is enough.<ref>See e.g. Feinman, ''Law 111'', 260–261 about ''[[Powell v. Texas]]'', 392 U.S. 514 (1968).</ref> Criminal systems of the civil law tradition distinguish between intention in the broad sense (''dolus directus'' and ''dolus eventualis''), and negligence. Negligence does not carry criminal responsibility unless a particular crime provides for its punishment.<ref>Dörmann, Doswald-Beck and Kolb, ''Elements of War Crimes'', 491</ref><ref>Kaiser, ''Leistungsstörungen'', 333</ref>

[[File:SalemWitchcraftTrial large.jpg|thumb|left|A depiction of a 17th-century criminal trial, for [[witchcraft]] in [[Salem witch trials|Salem]].]]

Examples of crimes include murder, assault, fraud and theft. In exceptional circumstances defences can apply to specific acts, such as killing in [[self-defense (theory)|self defence]], or pleading [[insanity defense|insanity]]. Another example is in the 19th-century English case of ''[[R v Dudley and Stephens]]'', which tested a defence of "[[necessity (criminal law)|necessity]]". The ''Mignonette'', sailing from [[Southampton]] to Sydney, sank. Three crew members and Richard Parker, a 17-year-old cabin boy, were stranded on a raft. They were starving and the cabin boy was close to death. Driven to extreme hunger, the crew killed and ate the cabin boy. The crew survived and were rescued, but put on trial for murder. They argued it was necessary to kill the cabin boy to preserve their own lives. [[John Coleridge, 1st Baron Coleridge|Lord Coleridge]], expressing immense disapproval, ruled, "to preserve one's life is generally speaking a duty, but it may be the plainest and the highest duty to sacrifice it." The men were sentenced to [[hanging|hang]], but public opinion was overwhelmingly supportive of the crew's right to preserve their own lives. In the end, the [[Royal prerogative|Crown]] commuted their sentences to six months in jail.<ref>About ''R v Dudley and Stephens'' [1884] [http://www.justis.com/titles/iclr_bqb14040.html 14 QBD 273 DC] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050228224504/http://www.justis.com/titles/iclr_bqb14040.html |date=28 February 2005 }}, see Simpson, ''Cannibalism and the Common Law'', 212–217, 229–237</ref>

Criminal law offences are viewed as offences against not just individual victims, but the community as well.<ref name="W2" /> The state, usually with the help of police, takes the lead in prosecution, which is why in common law countries cases are cited as "''The People'' v ..." or "''R'' (for [[Monarchy|Rex]] or [[Queen regnant|Regina]]) v ...". Also, lay [[jury|juries]] are often used to determine the guilt of defendants on points of fact: juries cannot change legal rules. Some developed countries still condone capital punishment for criminal activity, but the normal punishment for a crime will be [[prison|imprisonment]], [[fine (penalty)|fines]], state supervision (such as probation), or [[community service]]. Modern criminal law has been affected considerably by the social sciences, especially with respect to [[sentence (law)|sentencing]], legal research, legislation, and [[rehabilitation (penology)|rehabilitation]].<ref>Pelser, ''Criminal Legislation'', 198</ref> On the international field, 111 countries are [[States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court|members]] of the [[International Criminal Court]], which was established to try people for [[crimes against humanity]].<ref>[http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ASP/states+parties/ The States Parties to the Rome Statute] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623085130/http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ASP/states+parties/ |date=23 June 2011 }}, International Criminal Court</ref>

=== Contract law ===
{{main|Contract}}
[[File:carbolic smoke ball co.jpg|thumb|The famous Carbolic Smoke Ball advertisement to cure [[influenza]] was held to be a [[unilateral contract]].]]

Contract law concerns enforceable promises, and can be summed up in the Latin phrase ''[[pacta sunt servanda]]'' (agreements must be kept).<ref>Wehberg, ''Pacta Sunt Servanda'', 775</ref> In common law jurisdictions, three key elements to the creation of a contract are necessary: [[offer and acceptance]], [[consideration]] and the [[intention to create legal relations]]. In ''[[Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company]]'' a medical firm advertised that its new wonder drug, the smokeball, would cure people's flu, and if it did not, the buyers would get [[pound sterling|£]]100. Many people sued for their £100 when the drug did not work. Fearing bankruptcy, Carbolic argued the advert was not to be taken as a serious, legally binding offer. It was an [[invitation to treat]], mere puffery, a gimmick. But the Court of Appeal held that to a [[reasonable man]] Carbolic had made a serious offer, accentuated by their reassuring statement, "£1000 is deposited". Equally, people had given good consideration for the offer by going to the "distinct inconvenience" of using a faulty product. "Read the advertisement how you will, and twist it about as you will", said [[Nathaniel Lindley, Baron Lindley|Lord Justice Lindley]], "here is a distinct promise expressed in language which is perfectly unmistakable".<ref name="CCSBCE">About ''[http://www.justis.com/titles/iclr_r9321042.html Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041205104916/http://www.justis.com/titles/iclr_r9321042.html |date=5 December 2004 }}'' [[Case citation|[1893] 1 QB 256]], and the element of consideration, see Beale and Tallon, ''Contract Law'', 142–143</ref>

Consideration indicates the fact that all parties to a contract have exchanged something of value. Some common law systems, including Australia, are moving away from the idea of consideration as a requirement. The idea of [[estoppel]] or ''culpa in contrahendo'', can be used to create obligations during pre-contractual negotiations.<ref>''[[Austotel v Franklins]]'' (1989) 16 NSWLR 582</ref>

Civil law jurisdictions treat contracts differently in a number of respects, with a more interventionist role for the state in both the formation and enforcement of contracts.<ref name="Pargendler-kt">{{cite journal |last1=Pargendler |first1=Maria |title=The Role of the State in Contract Law: The Common-Civil Law Divide |journal=Yale Journal of International Law |date=2018 |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=143–189 |doi=10.2139/ssrn.2848886 |s2cid=3548111 |url=https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/campuspress.yale.edu/dist/8/1581/files/2018/02/143_The-Role-of-the-State-in-Contract-Law-2416e28.pdf |access-date=3 January 2020 |archive-date=3 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103122939/https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/campuspress.yale.edu/dist/8/1581/files/2018/02/143_The-Role-of-the-State-in-Contract-Law-2416e28.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Compared to common law jurisdictions, civil law systems incorporate more mandatory terms into contracts, allow greater latitude for courts to interpret and revise contract terms and impose a stronger [[Good faith (law)|duty of good faith]], but are also more likely to enforce [[penalty clause]]s and [[specific performance]] of contracts.<ref name="Pargendler-kt"/> They also do not require consideration for a contract to be binding.<ref>e.g. in Germany, [http://dejure.org/gesetze/BGB/311.html §&nbsp;311 Abs. II] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070111212855/http://dejure.org/gesetze/BGB/311.html |date=11 January 2007 }} [[Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch|BGB]]</ref> In France, an ordinary contract is said to form simply on the basis of a "meeting of the minds" or a "concurrence of wills". [[Law of Germany|Germany]] has a special approach to contracts, which ties into property law. Their '[[abstraction principle (law)|abstraction principle]]' (''Abstraktionsprinzip'') means that the personal obligation of contract forms separately from the title of property being conferred. When contracts are invalidated for some reason (e.g. a car buyer is so drunk that he lacks legal capacity to contract)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dejure.org/gesetze/BGB/105.html|title=§&nbsp;105 BGB Nichtigkeit der Willenserklärung|work=dejure.org|access-date=5 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061209072433/http://dejure.org/gesetze/BGB/105.html|archive-date=9 December 2006|url-status=live}}</ref> the contractual obligation to pay can be invalidated separately from the proprietary title of the car. [[Unjust enrichment]] law, rather than contract law, is then used to restore title to the rightful owner.<ref>Smith, ''The Structure of Unjust Enrichment Law'', 1037</ref>

=== Torts and delicts ===
{{main|Delict|Tort}}
[[File:Anti-McDonalds protest Leicester Square London 20041016.jpg|thumb|The "[[McLibel case]]" was the longest-running case in UK history. It involved publishing a pamphlet that criticised [[McDonald's]] restaurants.]]

Certain [[civil wrong]]s are grouped together as [[tort]]s under common law systems and [[delict]]s under civil law systems.<ref name="lee-td">{{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=R. W. |title=Torts and Delicts |journal=Yale Law Journal |date=April 1918 |volume=27 |issue=6 |pages=721–730 |url=https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/ylj/vol27/iss6/1 |access-date=1 January 2020 |issn=0044-0094 |doi=10.2307/786478 |jstor=786478 |archive-date=1 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101082254/https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/ylj/vol27/iss6/1/ |url-status=live }}</ref> To have acted tortiously, one must have breached a duty to another person, or infringed some pre-existing legal right. A simple example might be accidentally hitting someone with a cricket ball.<ref>''Bolton v Stone'' [1951] AC 850</ref> Under the law of [[negligence]], the most common form of tort, the injured party could potentially claim compensation for their injuries from the party responsible. The principles of negligence are illustrated by ''[[Donoghue v Stevenson]]''.<ref name="DvS">''[[Donoghue v Stevenson]]'' ([[Case citation#England and Wales|[1932] A.C. 532, 1932 S.C. (H.L.) 31, [1932] All ER Rep 1]]). See the original text of the case in [http://www.leeds.ac.uk/law/hamlyn/donoghue.htm UK Law Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216044953/http://www.leeds.ac.uk/law/hamlyn/donoghue.htm |date=16 February 2007 }}.</ref> A friend of Donoghue ordered an opaque bottle of [[ginger beer]] (intended for the consumption of Donoghue) in a café in [[Paisley, Renfrewshire|Paisley]]. Having consumed half of it, Donoghue poured the remainder into a tumbler. The decomposing remains of a snail floated out. She claimed to have suffered from shock, fell ill with gastroenteritis and sued the manufacturer for carelessly allowing the drink to be contaminated. The [[House of Lords]] decided that the manufacturer was liable for Mrs Donoghue's illness. [[Lord Atkin]] took a distinctly moral approach and said:
<blockquote>The liability for negligence [...] is no doubt based upon a general public sentiment of moral wrongdoing for which the offender must pay. [...] The rule that you are to love your neighbour becomes in law, you must not injure your neighbour; and the [[lawyer]]'s question, Who is my neighbour? receives a restricted reply. You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbour.<ref>''[[Donoghue v Stevenson]]'' [1932] AC 532, 580</ref></blockquote>

This became the basis for the four principles of negligence, namely that (1) Stevenson owed Donoghue a [[duty of care]] to provide safe drinks; (2) he [[Breach of duty in English law|breached]] his duty of care; (3) the harm would not have occurred [[Causation (law)|but for]] his breach; and (4) his act was the [[proximate cause]] of her harm.<ref name="DvS"/> Another example of tort might be a neighbour making excessively loud noises with machinery on his property.<ref name="Sturges">''[[Sturges v Bridgman]]'' (1879) 11 Ch D 852</ref> Under a [[nuisance]] claim the noise could be stopped. Torts can also involve intentional acts such as [[Assault (tort)|assault]], [[Battery (tort)|battery]] or [[trespass]]. A better known tort is [[slander and libel|defamation]], which occurs, for example, when a newspaper makes unsupportable allegations that damage a politician's reputation.<ref>e.g. concerning a British politician and the Iraq War, ''[[George Galloway#Daily Telegraph libel case|George Galloway v Telegraph Group Ltd]]'' [2004] EWHC 2786</ref> More infamous are economic torts, which form the basis of [[labour law]] in some countries by making trade unions liable for strikes,<ref>''[[Taff Vale Railway Co v Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants]]'' [1901] AC 426</ref> when statute does not provide immunity.<ref>In the UK, [[Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992]]; c.f. in the U.S., [[National Labor Relations Act]]</ref>

=== Property law ===
{{main|Property law}}
[[File:South Sea Bubble.jpg|thumb|A painting of the [[South Sea Bubble]], one of the world's first ever speculations and crashes, led to strict regulation on share trading.<ref>Harris, ''The Bubble Act'', 610–627</ref>]]

[[Property]] law governs ownership and possession. [[Real property]], sometimes called 'real estate', refers to ownership of land and things attached to it.<ref>e.g. ''[[Hunter v Canary Wharf Ltd]]'' [1997] [https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199697/ldjudgmt/jd970424/hunter01.htm 2 All ER 426] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922164352/https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199697/ldjudgmt/jd970424/hunter01.htm |date=22 September 2017 }}</ref> [[Personal property]], refers to everything else; movable objects, such as computers, cars, jewelry or intangible rights, such as [[Share (finance)|stocks and shares]]. A right ''[[in rem]]'' is a right to a specific piece of property, contrasting to a right ''[[in personam]]'' which allows compensation for a loss, but not a particular thing back. Land law forms the basis for most kinds of property law, and is the most complex. It concerns [[Mortgage law|mortgages]], [[Leasehold estate|rental agreements]], [[license|licences]], [[Covenant (law)|covenants]], [[easement]]s and the statutory systems for land registration. Regulations on the use of personal property fall under intellectual property, [[company (law)|company law]], [[Trust law|trusts]] and [[commercial law]]. An example of a basic case of most property law is ''[[Armory v Delamirie]]'' [1722].<ref>''[[Armory v Delamirie]]'' (1722) 93 ER 664, 1 Strange 505</ref> A [[chimney sweep]]'s boy found a jewel encrusted with precious stones. He took it to a goldsmith to have it valued. The goldsmith's apprentice looked at it, sneakily removed the stones, told the boy it was worth three [[Halfpenny (British coin)|halfpence]] and that he would buy it. The boy said he would prefer the jewel back, so the apprentice gave it to him, but without the stones. The boy sued the goldsmith for his apprentice's attempt to cheat him. [[Lord Chief Justice Pratt]] ruled that even though the boy could not be said to own the jewel, he should be considered the rightful keeper ("finders keepers") until the original owner is found. In fact the apprentice and the boy both had a right of ''[[Possession (law)|possession]]'' in the jewel (a technical concept, meaning evidence that something ''could'' belong to someone), but the boy's possessory interest was considered better, because it could be shown to be first in time. Possession may be nine-tenths of the law, but not all.

This case is used to support the view of property in common law jurisdictions, that the person who can show the best claim to a piece of property, against any contesting party, is the owner.<ref>Matthews, ''The Man of Property'', 251–274</ref> By contrast, the classic civil law approach to property, propounded by [[Friedrich Carl von Savigny]], is that it is a right good against the world. Obligations, like contracts and torts, are conceptualised as rights good between individuals.<ref>Savigny, ''Das Recht des Besitzes'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20080418181513/http://dlib-pr.mpier.mpg.de/m/kleioc/0010/exec/bigpage/%22235083_00000057%22 25]</ref> The idea of property raises many further philosophical and political issues. Locke argued that our "lives, liberties and estates" are our property because we own our bodies and [[Labour theory of property|mix our labour]] with our surroundings.<ref>Locke, ''[[s:Two Treatises of Government/The Second Treatise of Government: An Essay Concerning the True Origin, Extent, and End of Civil Government|Second Treatise on Civil Government]]'', Chap. IX. Of the Ends of Political Society and Government. Chapter 9, section 123.</ref>

=== Equity and trusts ===
{{main|Equity (law)|Trust law}}
[[File:Court of Chancery edited.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Court of Chancery]], London, England, early 19th century.]]

Equity is a body of rules that developed in England separately from the "common law". The common law was administered by judges and barristers. The [[Lord Chancellor]] on the other hand, as the King's keeper of conscience, could overrule the judge-made law if he thought it equitable to do so.<ref>McGhee, ''Snell's Equity'', 7</ref> This meant equity came to operate more through [[Maxims of equity|principles]] than rigid rules. Whereas neither the common law nor civil law systems allow people to split the ownership from the control of one piece of property, equity allows this through an arrangement known as a trust. Trustees control property whereas the beneficial, or equitable, ownership of trust property is held by people known as beneficiaries. Trustees owe duties to their beneficiaries to take good care of the entrusted property.<ref>c.f. ''[[Bristol and West Building Society v Mothew]]'' [1998] Ch 1</ref> In the early case of ''[[Keech v Sandford]]'' [1722],<ref>''[[Keech v Sandford]]'' (1726) Sel Cas Ch 61</ref> a child had inherited the [[lease]] on a [[Romford Market|market]] in [[Romford]], London. Mr Sandford was entrusted to look after this property until the child matured. But before then, the lease expired. The landlord had (apparently) told Mr Sandford that he did not want the child to have the renewed lease. Yet the landlord was happy (apparently) to give Mr Sandford the opportunity of the lease instead. Mr Sandford took it. When the child (now Mr Keech) grew up, he sued Mr Sandford for the profit that he had been making by getting the market's lease. Mr Sandford was meant to be trusted, but he put himself in a position of [[conflict of interest]]. The [[Lord Chancellor]], [[Peter King, 1st Baron King|Lord King]], agreed and ordered Mr Sandford should disgorge his profits. He wrote: "I very well see, if a trustee, on the refusal to renew, might have a lease to himself few trust-estates would be renewed. [...] This may seem very hard, that the trustee is the only person of all mankind who might not have the lease; but it is very proper that the rule should be strictly pursued and not at all relaxed."

Lord King LC was worried that trustees might exploit opportunities to use trust property for themselves instead of looking after it. Business speculators using trusts had just recently caused a [[South Sea Bubble|stock market crash]]. Strict duties for trustees made their way into company law and were applied to directors and chief executive officers. Another example of a trustee's duty might be to invest property wisely or sell it.<ref>''[[Nestlé v National Westminster Bank plc]]'' [1993] 1 WLR 1260</ref> This is especially the case for pension funds, the most important form of trust, where investors are trustees for people's savings until retirement. But trusts can also be set up for [[Charitable trust|charitable purposes]], famous examples being the [[British Museum]] or the [[Rockefeller Foundation]].

=== Further disciplines ===
Law spreads far beyond the core subjects into virtually every area of life. Three categories are presented for convenience, although the subjects intertwine and overlap.

; Law and society
[[File:Unison strike rally Oxford 20060328.jpg|thumb|A trade union protest by [[UNISON]] while on strike.]]

* [[Labour law]] is the study of a tripartite industrial relationship between worker, employer and trade union. This involves [[collective bargaining]] regulation, and the right to strike. Individual employment law refers to workplace rights, such as [[job security]], [[Occupational safety and health|health and safety]] or a [[minimum wage]].
* [[Human rights]], [[Civil and political rights|civil rights]] and [[human rights law]] are important fields to guarantee everyone basic freedoms and entitlements. These are laid down in codes such as the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]], the [[European Convention on Human Rights]] (which founded the [[European Court of Human Rights]]) and the [[United States Bill of Rights|U.S. Bill of Rights]]. The [[Treaty of Lisbon]] makes the [[Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union]] legally binding in all member states [[Opt-outs in the European Union#Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Poland and the United Kingdom|except Poland and the United Kingdom]].<ref>[http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/documents/downloads/guide_to_treaty_of_lisbon.pdf A Guide to the Treaty of Lisbon] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910001253/http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/documents/downloads/guide_to_treaty_of_lisbon.pdf |date=10 September 2008 }}, The Law Society</ref>
* [[Civil procedure]] and [[criminal procedure]] concern the rules that courts must follow as a trial and appeals proceed. Both concern a citizen's [[right to a fair trial]] or hearing.
* [[Evidence (law)|Evidence law]] involves which materials are admissible in courts for a case to be built.
* [[Immigration law]] and [[nationality law]] concern the rights of foreigners to live and work in a nation-state that is not their own and to acquire or lose [[citizenship]]. Both also involve the [[right of asylum]] and the problem of [[statelessness|stateless]] individuals.
* [[Social security]] law refers to the rights people have to social insurance, such as jobseekers' allowances or housing benefits.
* [[Family law]] covers marriage and divorce proceedings, the rights of children and rights to property and money in the event of separation.
* [[Transactional law]] is the practice of law concerning business and money.

; Law and commerce
* [[Company law]] sprang from the law of trusts, on the principle of separating ownership of property and control.<ref>Berle, ''Modern Corporation and Private Property''</ref> The law of the modern [[company (law)|company]] began with the [[Joint Stock Companies Act 1856]], passed in the United Kingdom, which provided investors with a simple registration procedure to gain [[limited liability]] under the [[Juristic person|separate legal personality]] of the corporation.
* [[Commercial law]] covers complex contract and property law. The law of [[Sgency (law)|agency]], [[insurance law]], [[Negotiable instrument|bills of exchange]], [[insolvency]] and [[bankruptcy law]] and sales law are all important, and trace back to the medieval ''[[Law Merchant|Lex Mercatoria]]''. The UK [[Sale of Goods Act 1979]] and the US [[Uniform Commercial Code]] are examples of codified common law commercial principles.
* [[Admiralty law]] and the [[United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea|sea law]] lay a basic framework for free trade and commerce across the world's oceans and seas, where outside of a country's zone of control. Shipping companies operate through ordinary principles of commercial law, generalised for a global market. Admiralty law also encompasses specialised issues such as [[marine salvage|salvage]], [[Lien#Maritime liens|maritime liens]], and injuries to passengers.
* [[Intellectual property law]] aims at safeguarding creators and other producers of intellectual goods and services. These are legal rights ([[copyright]]s, trademarks, patents, and [[related right]]s) which result from intellectual activity in the industrial, literary and artistic fields.<ref>WIPO, ''Intellectual Property'', 3</ref>
* [[Restitution]] deals with the recovery of someone else's gain, rather than [[Damages|compensation]] for one's own loss.
* [[Unjust enrichment]] When someone has been unjustly enriched (or there is an "absence of basis" for a transaction) at another's expense, this event generates the right to restitution to reverse that gain.
* [[Space law]] is a relatively new field dealing with aspects of international law regarding human activities in Earth orbit and outer space.  While at first addressing space relations of countries via treaties, increasingly it is addressing areas such as [[commercialization of space|space commercialisation]], property, liability, and other issues.

; Law and regulation
[[File:1930-67B.png|thumb|The [[New York Stock Exchange]] trading floor after the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929]], before tougher [[banking regulation]] was introduced.]]

* [[Tax law]] involves regulations that concern [[value added tax]], [[corporate tax]], and [[income tax]].
* [[Bank regulation|Banking law]] and [[financial regulation]] set minimum standards on the amounts of capital banks must hold, and rules about best practice for investment. This is to insure against the risk of economic crises, such as the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929]].
* Regulation deals with the provision of [[public services]] and utilities. '''[[Water law]]''' is one example. Especially since [[privatisation]] became popular and took management of services away from public law, private companies doing the jobs previously controlled by government have been bound by varying degrees of social responsibility. [[Energy policy|Energy]], [[Ofgem|gas]], [[telecommunication policy|telecomms]] and [[water law|water]] are regulated industries in most [[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development|OECD]] countries.
* [[Competition law]], known in the United States as [[antitrust]] law, is an evolving field that traces as far back as [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] decrees against [[price fixing]] and the English [[restraint of trade]] doctrine. Modern competition law derives from the U.S. anti-cartel and anti-monopoly statutes (the [[Sherman Act]] and [[Clayton Act]]) of the turn of the 20th century. It is used to control businesses who attempt to use their economic influence to distort market prices at the expense of [[consumer welfare]].
* [[Consumer protection|Consumer law]] could include anything from regulations on unfair [[contractual terms]] and clauses to directives on airline baggage insurance.
* [[Environmental law]] is increasingly important, especially in light of the [[Kyoto Protocol]] and the potential danger of [[climate change]]. Environmental protection also serves to penalise [[pollution|polluters]] within domestic legal systems.
* [[Aviation law]] deals with all regulations and technical standards applicable to the safe operation of aircraft, and is an essential part both of pilots' training and pilot's operations. Non adherence to Air Law regulations and standards renders a flight operation illegal. It is framed by national civil aviation acts (or laws), themselves mostly aligned with the recommendations or mandatory standards of the [[International Civil Aviation Organization|International Civil Aviation Organisation]] or ICAO.  Regulations are often abbreviated as CARS and standards as CATS. They constantly evolve in order to adapt to new technologies or science (for example in medical protocols which pilots have to adhere to in order to be fit to fly or hold a license).

== Intersection with other fields ==
=== Economics ===
{{main|Law and economics}}

In the 18th century, [[Adam Smith]] presented a philosophical foundation for explaining the relationship between law and economics.<ref>According to Malloy (''Law and Economics'', 114), Smith established "a classical liberal philosophy that made individuals the key referential sign while acknowledging that we live not alone but in community with others".</ref> The discipline arose partly out of a critique of trade unions and U.S. [[antitrust]] law. The most influential proponents, such as [[Richard Posner]] and [[Oliver E. Williamson|Oliver Williamson]] and the so-called [[Chicago school (economics)|Chicago School]] of economists and lawyers including [[Milton Friedman]] and [[Gary Becker]], are generally advocates of [[deregulation]] and [[privatisation]], and are hostile to state regulation or what they see as restrictions on the operation of [[free market]]s.<ref>Jakoby, ''Economic Ideas and the Labour Market'', 53</ref>

[[File:Richard Posner at Harvard University.jpg|thumb|[[Richard Posner]], [[University of Chicago Law School]] professor and the most cited legal scholar, until 2014 ran a blog with [[Bank of Sweden Prize]] winning economist [[Gary Becker]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uchicagolaw.typepad.com/beckerposner/ |title=The Becker-Posner Blog |access-date=20 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100519191011/http://uchicagolaw.typepad.com/beckerposner/ |archive-date=19 May 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>]]

The most prominent economic analyst of law is 1991 [[Nobel Prize in Economics|Nobel Prize]] winner [[Ronald Coase]], whose first major article, ''[[The Nature of the Firm]]'' (1937), argued that the reason for the existence of firms (companies, partnerships, etc.) is the existence of [[transaction cost]]s.<ref>Coase, ''The Nature of the Firm'', 386–405</ref> [[Homo economicus|Rational individuals]] trade through bilateral contracts on open markets until the costs of transactions mean that using corporations to produce things is more cost-effective. His second major article, ''[[The Problem of Social Cost]]'' (1960), argued that if we lived in a world without transaction costs, people would [[bargaining|bargain]] with one another to create the same allocation of resources, regardless of the way a court might rule in property disputes.<ref>Coase, ''The Problem of Social Cost'', 1–44</ref> Coase used the example of a [[nuisance]] case named ''[[Sturges v Bridgman]]'', where a noisy sweetmaker and a quiet doctor were neighbours and went to court to see who should have to move.<ref name="Sturges" /> Coase said that regardless of whether the judge ruled that the sweetmaker had to stop using his machinery, or that the doctor had to put up with it, they could strike a mutually beneficial bargain about who moves that reaches the same outcome of resource distribution. Only the existence of [[transaction costs]] may prevent this.<ref>Coase, ''The Problem of Social Cost'', IV, 7</ref> So the law ought to pre-empt what ''would'' happen, and be guided by the most [[efficiency (economics)|efficient]] solution. The idea is that law and regulation are not as important or effective at helping people as lawyers and government planners believe.<ref>Coase, ''The Problem of Social Cost'', V, 9</ref> Coase and others like him wanted a change of approach, to put the burden of proof for positive effects on a government that was intervening in the market, by analysing the costs of action.<ref>Coase, ''The Problem of Social Cost'', VIII, 23</ref>

=== Sociology ===
{{main|Sociology of law}}

Sociology of law is a diverse field of study that examines the interaction of law with society and overlaps with jurisprudence, philosophy of law, social theory and more specialised subjects such as [[criminology]].<ref name="Jary">Cotterrell, ''Sociology of Law'', Jary, ''Collins Dictionary of Sociology'', 636</ref> The institutions of [[social construction]], [[social norms]], dispute processing and [[legal culture]] are key areas for inquiry in this knowledge field. Sociology of law is sometimes seen as a sub-discipline of sociology, but its ties to the academic discipline of law are equally strong, and it is best seen as a transdisciplinary and multidisciplinary study focused on the theorisation and empirical study of legal practices and experiences as social phenomena. In the United States the field is usually called [[law and society]] studies; in Europe it is more often referred to as socio-legal studies. At first, jurists and legal philosophers were suspicious of sociology of law. Kelsen attacked one of its founders, [[Eugen Ehrlich]], who sought to make clear the differences and connections between positive law, which lawyers learn and apply, and other forms of 'law' or social norms that regulate everyday life, generally preventing conflicts from reaching barristers and courts.<ref>Ehrlich, ''Fundamental Principles'', Hertogh, ''Living Law'', Rottleuthner, ''La Sociologie du Droit en Allemagne'', 109, Rottleuthner, ''Rechtstheoritische Probleme der Sociologie des Rechts'', 521</ref> Contemporary research in sociology of law is much concerned with the way that law is developing outside discrete state jurisdictions, being produced through social interaction in many different kinds of social arenas, and acquiring a diversity of sources of (often competing or conflicting) authority in communal networks existing sometimes within nation states but increasingly also transnationally.<ref>Cotterrell, ''Law, Culture and Society''</ref>

[[File:Max Weber 1917.jpg|thumb|[[Max Weber]] in 1917, Weber began his career as a lawyer, and is regarded as one of the founders of sociology and sociology of law.]]

Around 1900 [[Max Weber]] defined his "scientific" approach to law, identifying the "legal rational form" as a type of domination, not attributable to personal authority but to the authority of abstract norms.<ref>[[Max Rheinstein|Rheinstein]], ''Max Weber on Law and Economy in Society'', 336</ref> Formal legal rationality was his term for the key characteristic of the kind of coherent and calculable law that was a precondition for modern political developments and the modern bureaucratic state. Weber saw this law as having developed in parallel with the growth of capitalism.<ref name="Jary" /> Another leading sociologist, [[Émile Durkheim]], wrote in his classic work ''The Division of Labour in Society'' that as society becomes more complex, the body of civil law concerned primarily with restitution and compensation grows at the expense of criminal laws and penal sanctions.<ref>Cotterrell, ''Emile Durkheim: Law in a Moral Domain'', Johnson, ''The Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology'', 156</ref> Other notable early legal sociologists included [[Hugo Sinzheimer]], [[Theodor Geiger]], [[Georges Gurvitch]] and [[Leon Petrażycki]] in Europe, and [[William Graham Sumner]] in the U.S.<ref>Gurvitch, ''Sociology of Law'', 142</ref><ref>Papachristou, ''Sociology of Law'', 81–82</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Law}}
{{library resources box}}
* [[By-law]]
* [[Law dictionary]]
* [[Legal research in the United States]]
* [[Legal treatise]]
* [[Natural law]]
* [[Political science]]
* [[Pseudolaw]]
* [[Public interest law]]
* [[Social law]]
* [[Translating "law" to other European languages]]

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist|20em}}

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* {{cite book|last=Churchill|first=Winston|title=The Hinge of Fate|year=1986|isbn=978-0-395-41058-5|chapter=Problems of War and Peace|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Books}}
* {{cite book|last=Clarke |first=Paul A. B. |author2=Linzey, Andrew  |title=Dictionary of Ethics, Theology and Society |year=1996|isbn=978-0-415-06212-1|publisher=Routledge|location=London}}
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{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|Law}}
* [http://www.nyls.edu/library/research_tools_and_sources/dragnet/ DRAGNET: Search of free legal databases from New York Law School] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130903005743/http://www.nyls.edu/library/research_tools_and_sources/dragnet/ |date=3 September 2013 }}
* [http://www.worldlii.org/ WorldLII – World Legal Information Institute]
* [http://www.commonlii.org/ CommonLII – Commonwealth Legal Information Institute]
* [http://www.asianlii.org/ AsianLII – Asian Legal Information Institute (AsianLII)]
* [http://www.austlii.edu.au/ AustLII – Australasian Legal Information Institute]
* [http://www.bailii.org/ BaiLII – British and Irish Legal Information Institute]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061004021144/http://canlii.org/ CanLII – Canadian Legal Information Institute]
* [http://www.nzlii.org/ NZLII – New Zealand Legal Information Institute]
* [http://www.paclii.org/ PacLII – Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute]
* [http://www.saflii.org/ SAfLII – Southern African Legal Information Institute]

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