What Is Law?
Law is the set of rules that govern the conduct of individuals in a society or community. These rules are recognized by the community as binding, and are enforced through a controlling authority. The word law is also used to describe the profession of law. It can refer to a specific body of laws, or all of the laws of a nation. For example, the phrase “murder is against the law” means that murder is prohibited in a particular geographic region.
Law is a necessary element of social order, and according to Fuller, all systems of law have internal principles of legality. As such, law must respect human autonomy and contribute to social order. The failure to meet these principles of legality undermines the ability of a system of rules to achieve morally valuable objectives. According to Fuller, no law can be viewed as having any moral value if it does not comply with these principles.
The laws of a nation’s government affect nearly every aspect of life. In a nation, there are three main categories of law: criminal, civil, and land. Criminal law concerns the rules of court procedure, whereas civil law focuses on the rights of citizens. Evidence law deals with admissible evidence in a court of law.