Law is a system of rules that governments make, and people must obey. This can include criminal laws, judicial decisions and laws that regulate contracts, property and other forms of exchange.

Law comes in many forms and is influenced by different types of texts, such as statutes and constitutions. It is often used to control the political, economic and social life of a country or community.

The word law means “a principle governing action or procedure.” It can also mean “a rule that is generally accepted as valid.”

Legal rights are those things that are considered to be right for an individual, or group of individuals, by the majority of people for moral, religious or emotional reasons. They are usually rooted in the legal system, but may also come from customs or practices that are not incorporated into a statutory or constitutional framework.

When it comes to legal rights, the first and most basic question is how these rights relate to each other or to broader norms of law. The answers vary from one context to the next, but in most cases they are rooted in a set of general features that are common to all rights, or to some rights unique or particularly salient in the law.

The main issue in interpreting rights, however, is the degree to which the meaning of the right is determined by an interpreter’s understanding of the text of the provision. Some theories, such as intentionalism (in statutory and constitutional law) and textualism (in contract and wills), assume that the meaning of a right depends on the lawmakers’ intentions. Others, such as rationalism and deductive construal, assume that the meaning of a right is determined by an underlying fact or process.