Definition of Law

Law

Law is a set of rules that people must follow to stay safe. If someone breaks a law, they can be fined or sent to jail.

A law is a legal document that is created by a government or a society. They can be about crime, business, social relationships or property.

The term “law” comes from Latin, ‘lawus’ meaning ‘rule’ or ‘order’. In the sciences, laws describe invariable relationships between phenomena under a specific set of conditions.

Some physical laws, like Boyle’s law, are universal. Others, such as the law of thermodynamics, are applied to specific situations but may not be applicable in all cases.

Definitions of Law

A legal system that treats the individual as its primary unit of concern (Jones 1994: 29; Lyons 1995: 11). In a commitment to rights, the law strives to secure equality before the law and insure the free exercise of rights and fundamental freedoms for all members of society.

Generally, the terms “right” and “duty” refer to Hohfeldian norms of entitlement or immunities to certain legal positions and relations, while liability and “claim” denote Hohfeldian norms of liability for other right-holders.

A legal system committed to rights is oriented towards an ideal of treating the individual as its primary unit of concern, and therefore, in a sense, enshrining the values of liberal democracy. It is, however, not always easy to distinguish legal rights from other legal norms that exhibit Hohfeldian forms, such as immunity from inheritance or a right not to be persecuted by state authorities.