What Is Law?
Law is a set of rules that must be followed by people in certain situations. These laws are typically made by a government and citizens must follow them or face punishment for breaking the rules.
Examples of laws include theft, murder, drunk driving, and food safety. They are all designed to keep people safe and prevent them from getting hurt physically.
Articles are legal rules that are put into a statute, code or paragraph in a legal document. These can regulate conduct, expectations, damages in cases of breach and how to resolve conflicts.
The Law serves several important functions: to maintain the peace and status quo; preserve individual rights, protect minorities against majorities, promote social justice, and provide orderly social change. Some legal systems do a better job of these than others.
It should also ensure equal treatment, accountability to the law, fairness in its application, separation of powers, participation in decision-making, legal certainty, and avoidance of arbitrariness.
A legal system can be influenced by a country’s political structure and history. A nation with a stable government is more likely to have a law system that works for the population.
The rule of law is the principle that all people are accountable to the same laws and that those laws are applied equally. The law must be clear, publicized and stable. It should be applied evenly and fairly to protect human rights, property, contract and procedural rights. It should be based on international human rights standards and norms.