Law is the system of rules that a particular country or community recognizes as regulating people’s actions. It encompasses everything from contracts and property to criminal and administrative justice. Law also includes a range of social issues, such as gender equality and freedom of speech.

The law is a complex subject, and its importance to human life is hard to overstate. It serves four principal functions: setting standards, maintaining order, resolving disputes, and protecting liberties and rights. Its proper functioning depends on a number of factors, most importantly the nature of the political landscape that surrounds a given nation.

A nation’s legal framework can be characterized in many ways, but it generally includes three distinct branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial. A balanced system that ensures that no one branch of the government has unchecked power is essential for a stable and functional legal framework.

A nation’s laws are shaped by its culture and history. The earliest codifications of the law in the world are found in the Babylonian Codex Hammurabi and in the Roman laws that were rediscovered by medieval legal scholars. Most countries today follow a civil law system, in which the sources of authoritative laws are legislation (particularly codes passed by the legislature) and case law. The law is an important source of information and guidance for judges, lawyers, and other legal professionals. In addition, a large portion of the population relies on the law in daily activities such as buying a car and filing tax returns.