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{{Short description|System of enforceable rules}}
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'''Law''' is a set of rules that are created and enforced by [[government]]al or societal institutions to regulate behavior,{{sfn|Robertson|2006|p=90}} with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate.{{sfn|Willis|1926}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gibbs |first1= Jack P. |title=Definitions of Law and Empirical Questions |journal=Law & Society Review |date=1968 |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=429–446 |doi= 10.2307/3052897 |issn=0023-9216|jstor=3052897 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Akers |first1=Ronald L. |title=Toward a Comparative Definition of Law |journal=Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology |date=1965 |volume=56 |issue=3 |pages=301–306 |url=http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5313&context=jclc |access-date=3 January 2020 |doi=10.2307/1141239 |jstor=1141239 |archive-date=19 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719212013/https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5313&context=jclc |url-status=live | issn=0022-0205|url-access=subscription }}</ref> It has been variously described as a [[Social science#Law|science]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Spooner |first1=Lysander |author-link1=Lysander Spooner |title=Natural Law; or The Science of Justice: A Treatise on Natural Law, Natural Justice, Natural Rights, Natural Liberty, and Natural Society; Showing that All Legislation Whatsoever is an Absurdity, a Usurpation, and a Crime. Part First. |date=1882 |publisher=A. Williams & Co. |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Natural_Law;_or_The_Science_of_Justice:_A_Treatise_on_Natural_Law,_Natural_Justice,_Natural_Rights,_Natural_Liberty,_and_Natural_Society;_Showing_that_All_Legislation_Whatsoever_is_an_Absurdity,_a_Usurpation,_and_a_Crime._Part_First. |access-date=31 December 2019 |archive-date=31 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231072121/https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Natural_Law;_or_The_Science_of_Justice:_A_Treatise_on_Natural_Law,_Natural_Justice,_Natural_Rights,_Natural_Liberty,_and_Natural_Society;_Showing_that_All_Legislation_Whatsoever_is_an_Absurdity,_a_Usurpation,_and_a_Crime._Part_First. |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Núñez Vaquero |first1=Álvaro |title=Five Models of Legal Science |journal=Revus. Journal for Constitutional Theory and Philosophy of Law / Revija za ustavno teorijo in filozofijo prava |date=10 June 2013 |issue=19 |pages=53–81 |doi=10.4000/revus.2449 |url=https://journals.openedition.org/revus/2449 |access-date=31 December 2019 |language=en |issn=1581-7652 |doi-access=free |archive-date=31 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231075003/https://journals.openedition.org/revus/2449 |url-status=live}}</ref> and as the art of justice.{{sfn|Cohen|1992}}<ref>{{Cite web |last = Rubin |first = Basha|title=Is Law an Art or a Science?: A Bit of Both |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/basharubin/2015/01/13/is-law-an-art-or-a-science-a-bit-of-both/ |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181103170800/https://www.forbes.com/sites/basharubin/2015/01/13/is-law-an-art-or-a-science-a-bit-of-both/ |archive-date=3 November 2018 |url-status=live  |website=[[Forbes]] |date=13 January 2015}}</ref>{{sfn|Berger|1953|p=525}} State-enforced laws can be made by a [[legislature]], resulting in [[statute]]s; by the executive through [[decree]]s and [[regulation]]s; or by judges' decisions, which form [[precedent]] in [[common law]] jurisdictions. An [[autocrat]] may exercise those functions within their realm. The creation of laws themselves may be influenced by a [[constitution]], written or tacit, and the [[rights]] encoded therein. The law shapes [[politics]], [[economics]], [[history]] and [[society]] in various ways and also serves as a mediator of relations between people.

Legal systems vary between [[Jurisdiction (area)|jurisdictions]], with their differences analysed in [[comparative law]]. In [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]] jurisdictions, a legislature or other central body [[Codification (law)|codifies and consolidates]] the law. In common law systems, judges may make [[Legally binding|binding]] case law through precedent,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mason |first1=Anthony |title=The Judge as Law-maker |journal=James Cook University Mayo Lecture |date=1996 |url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/JCULRev/1996/2.pdf |access-date=31 December 2019 |archive-date=31 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231082120/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/JCULRev/1996/2.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> although on occasion this may be overturned by a higher court or the legislature.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Devins |first1=Neal |title=Congressional Responses to Judicial Decisions |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court |date=2008 |publisher=Gale MacMillan |pages=400–403 |url=https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs/1633 |access-date=31 December 2019 |archive-date=31 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231082120/https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs/1633/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Religious law]] is in use in some religious communities and states, and has historically influenced secular law.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Berman |first1=Harold J. |title=Religious Foundations of Law in the West: An Historical Perspective |journal=Journal of Law and Religion |date=1983 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=3–43 |doi=10.2307/1051071 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|jstor=1051071 |s2cid=146933872 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fox |first1=Jonathan |last2=Sandler |first2=Shmuel |title=Separation of Religion and State in the Twenty-First Century: Comparing the Middle East and Western Democracies |journal=Comparative Politics |date=1 April 2005 |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=317 |doi=10.2307/20072892 |jstor=20072892}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cox |first1=Noel |title=Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction in the Church of the Province of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia |journal=Deakin Law Review |date=2001 |volume=6 |issue=2 |page=262 |url=http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/DeakinLawRw/2001/14.html |access-date=31 December 2019 |archive-date=31 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231152654/http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/DeakinLawRw/2001/14.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Otto |editor1-first=Jan Michiel |title=Sharia incorporated: a comparative overview of the legal systems of twelve Muslim countries in past and present |publisher=Leiden University Press |isbn=9789087280574|year=2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Raisch |first1=Marylin Johnson |title=Religious Legal Systems in Comparative Law: A Guide to Introductory Research – GlobaLex |url=https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Religious_Legal_Systems1.html |department=Hauser Global Law School Program |publisher=New York University School of Law |access-date=31 December 2019 |archive-date=31 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231153027/https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Religious_Legal_Systems1.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

The scope of law can be divided into two domains: [[public law]] concerns government and society, including [[constitutional law]], [[administrative law]], and [[criminal law]]; while [[private law]] deals with legal disputes between parties in areas such as [[contracts]], [[property]], [[torts]], [[delicts]] and [[commercial law]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Horwitz |first1=Morton J. |title=The History of the Public/Private Distinction |journal=University of Pennsylvania Law Review |date=1 June 1982 |volume=130 |issue=6 |pages=1423–1428 |url=https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4677 |access-date=3 January 2020 |doi=10.2307/3311976 |jstor=3311976 |s2cid=51854776 |url-access=subscription }}{{dead link|date=July 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> This distinction is stronger in civil law countries, particularly those with a separate system of [[administrative courts]];<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Merryman |first1=John Henry |title=The Public Law-Private Law Distinction in European and American Law |journal=Journal of Public Law |date=1968 |volume=17 |pages=3 |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/emlj17&div=5 |access-date=3 January 2020 |archive-date=12 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212093232/https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals%2Femlj17&div=5 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Saiman |first1=Chaim N. |title=Public Law, Private Law, and Legal Science |journal=American Journal of Comparative Law |date=6 July 2008 |volume=56 |issue=961 |pages=691–702 |url=https://ssrn.com/abstract=1155203 |access-date=3 January 2020 |publisher=Social Science Research Network |language=en |doi=10.5131/ajcl.2007.0023 |ssrn=1155203 |archive-date=28 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200428195450/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1155203 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> by contrast, the public-private law divide is less pronounced in common law jurisdictions.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Harlow |first1=Carol |title="Public" and "private" law: definition without distinction |journal=The Modern Law Review |date=1 May 1980 |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=241–265 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-2230.1980.tb01592.x |language=en |issn=1468-2230|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Samuel |first1=Geoffrey |title=Public And Private Law: A Private Lawyer's Response |journal=The Modern Law Review |date=1 September 1983 |volume=46 |issue=5 |pages=558–583 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-2230.1983.tb02534.x |language=en |issn=1468-2230|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Law provides a source of scholarly inquiry into [[legal history]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gordley |first1=James |title=Comparative Law and Legal History |journal=The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Law |pages=752–774 |date=16 November 2006 |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199296064.013.0024 |isbn=9780199296064 |url=https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199296064.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199296064-e-024 |access-date=31 December 2019 |language=en |editor1-last=Reimann |editor1-first=Mathias |editor2-last=Zimmermann |editor2-first=Reinhard |archive-date=31 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231074358/https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199296064.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199296064-e-024 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> [[philosophy]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bor |first1=Fredric L. |title=The nexus between philosophy and law |journal=Journal of Legal Education |date=1974 |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=539–543 |issn=0022-2208|jstor=42896964 }}</ref> [[economic analysis of law|economic analysis]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rubin |first1=Paul H. |title=Law and Economics |url=https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/LawandEconomics.html |website=The Library of Economics and Liberty |publisher=Liberty Fund, Inc. |access-date=31 December 2019 |archive-date=2 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702122019/https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/LawandEconomics.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[sociology of law|sociology]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Banakar |first1=Reza |title=Merging law and sociology : beyond the dichotomies in socio-legal research |date=2003 |publisher=Galda and Wilch Publishing |location=Berlin/Wisconsin |isbn=1-931255-13-X}}</ref> Law also raises important and complex issues concerning equality, fairness, and [[justice]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pound |first1=Roscoe |title=The End of Law as Developed in Legal Rules and Doctrines |journal=Harvard Law Review |date=1914 |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=195–234 |doi=10.2307/1325958 |issn=0017-811X|jstor=1325958 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Justice and Injustice in Law and Legal Theory|date=1996|publisher=University of Michigan Press|isbn=9780472096251|pages=18–19|doi=10.3998/mpub.10283|jstor=10.3998/mpub.10283|editor1-last=Sarat|editor1-first=Austin|editor2-last=Kearns|editor2-first=Thomas}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The word ''law'', attested in [[Old English]] as {{lang|ang|lagu}}, comes from the [[Old Norse]] word {{lang|non|lǫg}}. The singular form {{lang|non|lag}} meant {{gloss|something laid or fixed}} while its plural meant {{gloss|law}}.<ref>{{cite OED|law, n.|4864419306}}</ref>

== Philosophy of law ==
{{main|Jurisprudence|Philosophy of law}}
{{quote box|bgcolor=#c6dbf7|width=22em|salign=left|quote=But what, after all, is a law? [...] When I say that the object of laws is always general, I mean that law considers subjects en masse and actions in the abstract, and never a particular person or action. [...] On this view, we at once see that it can no longer be asked whose business it is to make laws, since they are acts of the [[general will]]; nor whether the prince is above the law, since he is a member of the State; nor whether the law can be unjust, since no one is unjust to himself; nor how we can be both free and subject to the laws, since they are but registers of our wills.|source=Jean-Jacques Rousseau, ''[[The Social Contract]]'', II, 6.<ref>Rousseau, ''The Social Contract'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20080222135803/http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/r/rousseau/jean_jacques/r864s/book2.html#section16 Book II: Chapter 6 (Law)]</ref>}}

The philosophy of law is commonly known as jurisprudence. Normative jurisprudence asks "what should law be?", while analytic jurisprudence asks "what is law?"

=== Analytical jurisprudence ===
{{main|Analytical jurisprudence}}

There have been several attempts to produce "a universally acceptable definition of law". In 1972, [[Dennis Lloyd, Baron Lloyd of Hampstead|Baron Hampstead]] suggested that no such definition could be produced.<ref name="Jurisprudence. Third Edition 1972. Page 39">[[Dennis Lloyd, Baron Lloyd of Hampstead]]. ''Introduction to Jurisprudence''. Third Edition. Stevens & Sons. London. 1972. Second Impression. 1975. p. 39.</ref> McCoubrey and White said that the question "what is law?" has no simple answer.<ref>Mc Coubrey, Hilaire and White, Nigel D. ''Textbook on Jurisprudence''. Second Edition. [[Blackstone Press Limited]]. 1996. {{ISBN|1-85431-582-X}}. p. 2.</ref> [[Glanville Williams]] said that the meaning of the word "law" depends on the context in which that word is used. He said that, for example, "[[early customary law]]" and "[[municipal law]]" were contexts where the word "law" had two different and irreconcilable meanings.<ref>Williams, Glanville. International Law and the Controversy Concerning the Meaning of the Word "Law". Revised version published in Laslett (Editor), ''Philosophy, Politics and Society'' (1956) p. 134 et seq. The original was published in (1945) 22 [[British Year Book of International Law|BYBIL]] 146.</ref> [[Thurman Arnold]] said that it is obvious that it is impossible to define the word "law" and that it is also equally obvious that the struggle to define that word should not ever be abandoned.{{sfn|Arnold|1935|p=36}} It is possible to take the view that there is no need to define the word "law" (e.g. "let's forget about generalities and get down to [[Case law|cases]]").<ref>[[Dennis Lloyd, Baron Lloyd of Hampstead|Baron Lloyd of Hampstead]]. ''Introduction to Jurisprudence''. Third Edition. Stevens & Sons. London. 1972. Second Impression. 1975.</ref>

One definition is that law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behaviour.{{sfn|Robertson|2006|p=90}} In ''[[The Concept of Law]],'' [[H. L. A. Hart]] argued that law is a "system of rules";{{sfn|Campbell|1993|p=184}} [[John Austin (legal philosopher)|John Austin]] said law was "the command of a sovereign, backed by the threat of a sanction";{{sfn|Bix|2022}} [[Ronald Dworkin]] describes law as an "interpretive concept" to achieve [[justice]] in his text titled ''[[Law's Empire]]'';{{sfn|Dworkin|1986|p=410}} and [[Joseph Raz]] argues law is an "authority" to mediate people's interests.{{sfn|Raz|1979|pp=3–36}} [[Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.|Oliver Wendell Holmes]] defined law as "the prophecies of what the courts will do in fact, and nothing more pretentious."<ref>Holmes, Oliver Wendell. "The Path of Law" (1897) 10 ''Harvard Law Review'' 457 at 461.</ref> In his ''[[Treatise on Law]],'' [[Thomas Aquinas]] argues that law is a rational ordering of things, which concern the common good, that is promulgated by whoever is charged with the care of the community.<ref>Aquinas, St Thomas. ''Summa Theologica''. 1a2ae, 90.4. Translated by J G Dawson. Ed d'Entreves. (Basil Blackwell). Latin: "nihil est aliud qau edam rationis ordinatio ad bonum commune, ab eo qi curam communitatis habet, promulgata".</ref> This definition has both [[Legal positivism|positivist]] and [[Natural law|naturalist]] elements.<ref>McCoubrey, Hilaire and White, Nigel D. ''Textbook on Jurisprudence''. Second Edition. Blackstone Press Limited. 1996. {{ISBN|1-85431-582-X}}. p. 73.</ref>

=== Connection to morality and justice ===
{{See also|Rule according to higher law}}

Definitions of law often raise the question of the extent to which law incorporates morality.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Taylor |first1=T. W. |title=The Conception of Morality in Jurisprudence |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_philosophical-review_1896-01_5_1/page/36 |journal=The Philosophical Review |date=January 1896 |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=36–50 |doi=10.2307/2176104 |jstor=2176104 }}</ref> [[John Austin (legal philosopher)|John Austin]]'s [[utilitarianism|utilitarian]] answer was that law is "commands, backed by threat of sanctions, from a sovereign, to whom people have a habit of obedience".{{sfn|Bix|2022}} [[Natural law]]yers, on the other hand, such as [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]], argue that law reflects essentially moral and unchangeable laws of nature. The concept of "natural law" emerged in ancient [[Greek philosophy]] concurrently and in connection with the notion of justice, and re-entered the mainstream of [[Western culture]] through the writings of [[Thomas Aquinas]], notably his ''[[Treatise on Law]]''.

[[Hugo Grotius]], the founder of a purely rationalistic system of natural law, argued that law arises from both a social impulse—as Aristotle had indicated—and reason.<ref>[[Fritz Berolzheimer]], ''The World's Legal Philosophies'', 115–116</ref> [[Immanuel Kant]] believed a moral imperative requires laws "be chosen as though they should hold as universal laws of nature".<ref>[[Immanuel Kant|Kant, Immanuel]], ''Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals'', 42 (par. 434)</ref> [[Jeremy Bentham]] and his student Austin, following [[David Hume]], believed that this conflated the [[Is-ought problem|"is" and what "ought to be"]] problem. Bentham and Austin argued for law's [[legal positivism|positivism]]; that real law is entirely separate from "morality".<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Green |first=Leslie |title=Legal Positivism |encyclopedia=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/legal-positivism/|access-date=10 December 2006 |archive-date=9 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609094650/http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/legal-positivism/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Kant was also criticised by [[Friedrich Nietzsche]], who rejected the principle of equality, and believed that law emanates from the [[will to power]], and cannot be labeled as "moral" or "immoral".<ref>Nietzsche, ''Zur Genealogie der Moral'', Second Essay, 11</ref><ref>Kazantzakis, ''Friedrich Nietzsche and the Philosophy of Law'', 97–98</ref><ref>Linarelli, ''Nietzsche in Law's Cathedral'', 23–26</ref>

In 1934, the Austrian philosopher [[Hans Kelsen]] continued the positivist tradition in his book the ''[[Pure Theory of Law]]''.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Marmor |first=Andrei |url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lawphil-theory/ |title=The Pure Theory of Law |access-date=9 February 2007 |encyclopedia=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |year=1934 |archive-date=9 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609130143/http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lawphil-theory/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Kelsen believed that although law is separate from morality, it is endowed with "normativity", meaning we ought to obey it. While laws are positive "is" statements (e.g. the fine for reversing on a highway ''is'' €500); law tells us what we "should" do. Thus, each legal system can be hypothesised to have a [[Basic norm|{{gloss|basic norm}}]] ({{langx|de|Grundnorm}}) instructing us to obey. Kelsen's major opponent, [[Carl Schmitt]], rejected both positivism and the idea of the [[rule of law]] because he did not accept the primacy of abstract normative principles over concrete political positions and decisions.<ref>Bielefeldt, ''Carl Schmitt's Critique of Liberalism'', 25–26</ref> Therefore, Schmitt advocated a jurisprudence of the exception ([[state of emergency]]), which denied that legal norms could encompass all of the political experience.{{sfn|Finn|1991|pp=170–171}}

Later in the 20th century, [[H. L. A. Hart]] attacked Austin for his simplifications and Kelsen for his fiction in ''[[The Concept of Law]]''.{{sfn|Bayles|1992|p=21}} Hart argued law is a system of rules, divided into primary (rules of conduct) and secondary ones (rules addressed to officials to administer primary rules). Secondary rules are further divided into rules of adjudication (to resolve legal disputes), rules of change (allowing laws to be varied) and the rule of recognition (allowing laws to be identified as valid). Two of Hart's students continued the debate: In his book ''[[Law's Empire]]'', [[Ronald Dworkin]] attacked Hart and the positivists for their refusal to treat law as a moral issue. Dworkin argues that law is an "[[interpretivism (legal)|interpretive]] concept"{{sfn|Dworkin|1986|p=410}} that requires judges to find the best fitting and most just solution to a legal dispute, given their Anglo-American constitutional traditions. [[Joseph Raz]], on the other hand, defended the positivist outlook and criticised Hart's "soft social thesis" approach in ''The Authority of Law''.{{sfn|Raz|1979|pp=3–36}} Raz argues that law is authority, identifiable purely through social sources and without reference to moral reasoning. In his view, any categorisation of rules beyond their role as authoritative instruments in mediation is best left to [[sociology]], rather than jurisprudence.{{sfn|Raz|1979|p=37}}

== History ==
{{main|Legal history}}
{{Easy CSS image crop|image=The Hammurabic Code. Wellcome M0014753.jpg|desired_width=220|crop_left_perc=11.2|crop_right_perc=9.0|crop_top_perc=2.8|crop_bottom_perc=7.4|caption=The [[Code of Hammurabi]] is an early code of laws, from ancient Babylon.|alt=A stone monument with two parts; at top, a relief depicting two figures, one standing and one seated; at bottom, cuneiform text of the Hammurabic legal code of ancient Babylon.}}
The history of law links closely to the development of [[civilization]]. [[Ancient Egypt]]ian law, dating as far back as 3000 BC, was based on the concept of [[Ma'at]] and characterised by tradition, [[rhetoric]]al speech, social equality and impartiality.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Théodoridés|title = law | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt}}</ref><ref>VerSteeg, ''Law in ancient Egypt''</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lippert |first1=Sandra |title=Oxford Handbook Topics in Classical Studies |chapter=Egyptian Law, Saite to Roman Periods |journal=Oxford Handbooks Online |date=11 February 2016 |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935390.013.48 |chapter-url=https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935390.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199935390-e-48 |access-date=3 January 2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-993539-0 |language=en |archive-date=3 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103123820/https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935390.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199935390-e-48 |url-status=live }}</ref> By the 22nd century&nbsp;BC, the ancient [[Sumer]]ian ruler [[Ur-Nammu]] had formulated the first [[Code of Ur-Nammu|law code]], which consisted of [[Casuistry|casuistic]] statements ("if … then ..."). Around 1760&nbsp;BC, [[Hammurabi|King Hammurabi]] further developed [[Babylonian law]], by codifying and inscribing it in stone. Hammurabi placed several copies of his law code throughout the kingdom of Babylon as [[Stele|stelae]], for the entire public to see; this became known as the [[Code of Hammurabi|Codex Hammurabi]]. The most intact copy of these stelae was discovered in the 19th century by British [[Assyriologists]], and has since been fully [[transliterated]] and translated into various languages, including English, Italian, German, and French.{{sfn|Richardson|2004|p=11}}

The [[Old Testament]] dates back to 1280&nbsp;BC and takes the form of moral imperatives as recommendations for a good society. The small [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] city-state, ancient [[History of Athens|Athens]], from about the 8th century BC was the first society to be based on broad inclusion of its citizenry, excluding women and [[Slavery in ancient Greece|enslaved people]]. However, Athens had no legal science or single word for "law",{{sfn|Kelly|1992|pp=5–6}} relying instead on the three-way distinction between divine law (''thémis''), human decree (''nómos'') and custom (''díkē'').{{sfn|Mallory|1997|p=346}} Yet [[Ancient Greek law]] contained major [[Solonian Constitution|constitutional]] innovations in the development of [[Athenian democracy|democracy]].{{sfn|Ober|1996|p=121}}

[[Roman law]] was heavily influenced by Greek philosophy, but its detailed rules were developed by professional jurists and were highly sophisticated.{{sfn|Kelly|1992|p=39}}{{sfn|Stein|1999|p=1}} Over the centuries between the rise and decline of the [[Roman Empire]], law was adapted to cope with the changing social situations and underwent major codification under [[Theodosius II]] and [[Justinian I]].{{efn|As a legal system, Roman law has affected the development of law worldwide. It also forms the basis for the law codes of most countries of continental Europe and has played an important role in the creation of the idea of a common European culture (Stein, ''Roman Law in European History'', 2, 104–107).}} Although codes were replaced by [[custom (law)|custom]] and [[case law]] during the [[Early Middle Ages]], Roman law was rediscovered around the 11th century when medieval legal scholars began to research Roman codes and adapt their concepts to the [[Canon law of the Catholic Church|canon law]], giving birth to the {{lang|la|[[jus commune]]}}. Latin [[legal maxim]]s (called [[brocard (law)|brocards]]) were compiled for guidance. In medieval England, royal courts developed a body of [[precedent]] which later became the [[common law]]. A Europe-wide [[Law Merchant]] was formed so that merchants could trade with common standards of practice rather than with the many splintered facets of local laws. The Law Merchant, a precursor to modern commercial law, emphasised the freedom to contract and alienability of property.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hgapDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA14|first1= M. A.|last1= Clarke|first2= R. J. A.|last2= Hooley|first3= R. J. C.|last3= Munday|first4= L. S.|last4= Sealy|first5= A. M.|last5= Tettenborn|first6= P. G.|last6= Turner|title= Commercial Law|page= 14|publisher= Oxford University Press|year= 2017|isbn= 9780199692088|access-date= 10 December 2020|archive-date= 15 April 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210415014329/https://books.google.com/books?id=hgapDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA14|url-status= live}}</ref> As [[nationalism]] grew in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Law Merchant was incorporated into countries' local law under new civil codes. The [[Napoleonic Code|Napoleonic]] and [[Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch|German]] Codes became the most influential. In contrast to English common law, which consists of enormous tomes of case law, codes in small books are easy to export and easy for judges to apply. However, today there are signs that civil and common law are converging.{{sfn|Mattei|1997|p=71}} EU law is codified in treaties, but develops through ''de facto'' precedent laid down by the [[European Court of Justice]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=McAuliffe |first1=Karen |chapter=Precedent at the Court of Justice of the European Union: The Linguistic Aspect |title=Law and Language: Current Legal Issues, Volume 15 |date=21 February 2013|editor1= Michael Freeman|editor2= Fiona Smith|isbn=9780199673667 |url=https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199673667.001.0001/acprof-9780199673667-chapter-29 |access-date=1 January 2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |archive-date=1 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101105552/https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199673667.001.0001/acprof-9780199673667-chapter-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Constitution of India.jpg|thumb|The [[Constitution of India]], ceremonially rendered as an illustrated and calligraphed manuscript.]]
Ancient [[Law of India|India]] and [[Chinese law|China]] represent distinct traditions of law, and have historically had independent schools of legal theory and practice. The ''[[Arthashastra]]'', probably compiled around 100&nbsp;AD (although it contains older material), and the ''[[Manusmriti]]'' (c.&nbsp;100–300&nbsp;AD) were foundational treatises in India, and comprise texts considered authoritative legal guidance.<ref>For discussion of the composition and dating of these sources, see Olivelle, ''Manu's Code of Law'', 18–25.</ref> Manu's central philosophy was tolerance and [[Pluralism (political philosophy)|pluralism]], and was cited across Southeast Asia.{{sfn|Glenn|2000|p=276}} During the [[Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent]], [[sharia]] was established by the Muslim sultanates and empires, most notably [[Mughal Empire]]'s [[Fatawa-e-Alamgiri]], compiled by emperor [[Aurangzeb]] and various scholars of Islam.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Chapra|first1=Muhammad Umer|title=Morality and Justice in Islamic Economics and Finance|date=2014|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|isbn=9781783475728|pages=62–63|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Jackson|first1=Roy|title=Mawlana Mawdudi and Political Islam: Authority and the Islamic State|date=2010|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136950360}}</ref> In India, the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] legal tradition, along with Islamic law, were both supplanted by common law when India [[British Raj|became part]] of the [[British Empire]].{{sfn|Glenn|2000|p=273}} Malaysia, Brunei, [[Law of Singapore|Singapore]] and [[Law of Hong Kong|Hong Kong]] also adopted the common law system. The Eastern Asia legal tradition reflects a unique blend of secular and religious influences.{{sfn|Glenn|2000|p=287}} Japan was the first country to begin modernising its legal system along Western lines, by importing parts of the [[Code Civil|French]], but mostly the German Civil Code.{{sfn|Glenn|2000|p=304}} This partly reflected Germany's status as a rising power in the late 19th century.

Similarly, [[traditional Chinese law]] gave way to westernisation towards the final years of the [[Qing Dynasty]] in the form of six private law codes based mainly on the Japanese model of German law.{{sfn|Glenn|2000|p=305}} Today [[Law of the Republic of China|Taiwanese law]] retains the closest affinity to the codifications from that period, because of the split between [[Chiang Kai-shek]]'s nationalists, who fled there, and [[Mao Zedong]]'s communists who won control of the mainland in 1949. The current legal infrastructure in the People's Republic of China was heavily influenced by [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Socialist law]], which essentially prioritises [[administrative law]] at the expense of private law rights.{{sfn|Glenn|2000|p=307}} Due to rapid industrialisation, today China is undergoing a process of reform, at least in terms of economic, if not social and political, rights. A new contract code in 1999 represented a move away from administrative domination.{{sfn|Glenn|2000|p=309}} Furthermore, after negotiations lasting fifteen years, in 2001 China joined the [[World Trade Organization]].{{sfn|Farah|2006|pp=263–304}}

== Legal systems ==
{{main|Comparative law|List of national legal systems|Comparative legal history}}In general, legal systems can be split between civil law and common law systems.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pejovic |first1=Caslav |title=Civil Law and Common Law: Two Different Paths Leading to the Same Goal |journal=Victoria University of Wellington Law Review |date=2001 |volume=32 |issue=3 |page=817 |url=http://www.nzlii.org/nz/journals/VUWLawRw/2001/42.html |access-date=31 December 2019 |doi=10.26686/vuwlr.v32i3.5873 |doi-access=free |archive-date=8 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190908062918/http://www.nzlii.org/nz/journals/VUWLawRw/2001/42.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Modern scholars argue that the significance of this distinction has progressively declined. The numerous [[legal transplants]], typical of modern law, result in the sharing of many features traditionally considered typical of either common law or civil law.{{sfn|Mattei|1997|p=71}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Introduction to Civil Law Legal Systems |url=https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/2015/Introduction%20to%20Civil%20Law%20Legal%20Systems.pdf|publisher=International Network to Promote the Rule of Law |access-date=1 January 2020 |date=May 2009 |archive-date=18 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618025404/https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/2015/Introduction%20to%20Civil%20Law%20Legal%20Systems.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The third type of legal system is religious law, based on [[scripture]]s. The specific system that a country is ruled by is often determined by its history, connections with other countries, or its adherence to international standards. The [[sources of law|sources]] that jurisdictions adopt as authoritatively binding are the defining features of any legal system.[[File:Map of the Legal systems of the world (en).png|thumb|Colour-coded map of the legal systems around the world, showing civil, common law, religious, customary and mixed legal systems.<ref>{{cite web |title=Alphabetical Index of the 192 United Nations Member States and Corresponding Legal Systems |url=http://www.juriglobe.ca/eng/syst-onu/index-alpha.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722022209/http://www.juriglobe.ca/eng/syst-onu/index-alpha.php |archive-date=22 July 2016 |access-date=1 January 2020 |website=JuriGlobe |publisher=University of Ottawa}}</ref>{{Additional citation needed|date=November 2024|reason=Source does have enough detail to support many facts shown on the map. See also [[commons:File_talk:Map_of_the_Legal_systems_of_the_world_(en).png#Original_work_-_needs_attribution_!]].}} Common law systems are shaded pink, and civil law systems are shaded blue/turquoise.|center|550x550px]]

=== Civil law ===
{{main|Civil law (legal system)}}
[[File:Code Civil 1804.png|thumb|First page of the 1804 edition of the [[Napoleonic Code]]]]

Civil law is the legal system used in most countries around the world today. In civil law the sources recognised as authoritative are, primarily, [[legislation]]—especially [[Codification (law)|codifications]] in constitutions or [[statute]]s passed by government—and [[custom (law)|custom]].{{efn|Civil law jurisdictions recognise custom as "the other source of law"; hence, scholars tend to divide the civil law into the broad categories of "written law" (''ius scriptum'') or legislation, and "unwritten law" (''ius non-scriptum'') or custom. Yet they tend to dismiss custom as being of slight importance compared to legislation (Georgiadis, ''General Principles of Civil Law'', 19; Washofsky, ''Taking Precedent Seriously'', 7).}} Codifications date back millennia, with one early example being the [[Babylonian law|Babylonian]] ''[[Code of Hammurabi|Codex Hammurabi]]''. Modern civil law systems essentially derive from legal codes issued by [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] Emperor [[Justinian I]] in the 6th century, which were rediscovered by 11th century Italy.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Economist explains: What is the difference between common and civil law? |url=https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2013/07/16/what-is-the-difference-between-common-and-civil-law |access-date=1 January 2020 |newspaper=The Economist |date=17 July 2013 |archive-date=22 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222150215/https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2013/07/16/what-is-the-difference-between-common-and-civil-law |url-status=live }}</ref> Roman law in the days of the [[Roman Republic]] and Empire was heavily procedural, and lacked a professional legal class.{{sfn|Gordley|von Mehren|2006|p=18}} Instead a lay [[magistrate]], ''iudex'', was chosen to adjudicate. Decisions were not published in any systematic way, so any case law that developed was disguised and almost unrecognised.{{sfn|Gordley|von Mehren|2006|p=21}} Each case was to be decided afresh from the laws of the State, which mirrors the (theoretical) unimportance of judges' decisions for future cases in civil law systems today. From 529 to 534 AD the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] Emperor [[Justinian I]] codified and consolidated Roman law up until that point, so that what remained was one-twentieth of the mass of legal texts from before.{{sfn|Stein|1999|p=32}} This became known as the ''[[Corpus Juris Civilis]]''. As one legal historian wrote, "Justinian consciously looked back to the golden age of Roman law and aimed to restore it to the peak it had reached three centuries before."{{sfn|Stein|1999|p=35}} The Justinian Code remained in force in the East until the fall of the [[Byzantine Empire]]. Western Europe, meanwhile, relied on a mix of the [[Codex Theodosianus|Theodosian Code]] and Germanic customary law until the Justinian Code was rediscovered in the 11th century, which scholars at the [[University of Bologna]] used to interpret their own laws.{{sfn|Stein|1999|p=43}} Civil law codifications based closely on Roman law, alongside some influences from [[religious law]]s such as [[canon law]], continued to spread throughout Europe until the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]]. Then, in the 19th century, both France, with the ''[[Code Civil]]'', and Germany, with the {{lang|de|[[Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch]]}}, modernised their legal codes. Both these codes heavily influenced not only the law systems of the countries in continental Europe but also the [[Law of Japan|Japanese]] and [[South Korea|Korean]] legal traditions.{{sfn|Hatzis|2002|pp=253–263}}{{sfn|Demirgüç-Kunt|Levine|2001|p=204}} A central [[doctrine]] in [[Continental Europe|continental European]] legal thinking, originating in [[Germany|German]] [[jurisprudence]], is the concept of a ''[[Rechtsstaat]]'', meaning that everyone is subjected to the law, especially governments.<ref>[[Carl Schmitt]], ''The Concept of the Political'', ch. 7; ''Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy''</ref> Today, countries that have civil law systems range from Russia and Turkey to most of [[Central America|Central]] and [[Latin America]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The World Factbook&nbsp;– Field Listing&nbsp;– Legal system|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2100.html|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]|access-date=13 October 2007|archive-date=26 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226012138/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2100.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Common law and equity ===
{{main|Common law|Equity (law)}}
[[File:"The sealing of the Magna Carta at Runnymede" (1997) David Parfitt, High Street, Egham, Surrey.jpg|thumb|English memorial to the sealing of Magna Carta by King John]]

In [[Common law#1. Common law as opposed to statutory law and regulatory law|common law]] legal systems, decisions by courts are explicitly acknowledged as law on equal footing with legislative [[Statutory law|statutes]] and executive [[Primary and secondary legislation|regulations]]. The doctrine of precedent, or ''[[stare decisis]]'' (Latin for "to stand by decisions") means that decisions by higher courts bind lower courts to assure that similar cases reach similar results. In [[Common law#2. Common law legal systems as opposed to civil law legal systems|contrast]], in [[civil law (legal system)|civil law]] systems, legislative statutes are typically more detailed, and judicial decisions are shorter and less detailed because the adjudicator is only writing to decide the single case, rather than to set out reasoning that will guide future courts.

Common law originated from England and has been inherited by almost every country once tied to the [[British Empire]] (except Malta, [[Law of Scotland|Scotland]], the U.S. state of [[Louisiana law|Louisiana]], and the Canadian province of [[Quebec law|Quebec]]). In medieval England during the [[Norman Conquest]], the law varied shire-to-shire based on disparate tribal customs. The concept of a common law developed during the reign of [[Henry II of England|Henry II]] during the late 12th century, when Henry appointed judges who had the authority to create an institutionalised and unified system of law common to the country. The next major step in the evolution of the common law came when [[John, King of England|King John]] was forced by his barons to agree a document limiting his authority to pass laws. The ''[[Magna Carta]]'' ("great charter") of 1215 also required that the King's entourage of judges hold their courts and judgments at "a certain place" rather than dispensing autocratic justice in unpredictable places about the country.<ref>{{cite web| title=Magna Carta| url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/magnacarta.html| publisher=[[Fordham University]]| access-date=10 November 2006| archive-date=10 September 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140910155351/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/magnacarta.html| url-status=live}}</ref> A concentrated and elite group of judges acquired a dominant role in law-making under this system, and compared to its European counterparts the English judiciary became highly centralised. In 1297, for instance, while the highest court in France had fifty-one judges, the [[English Court of Common Pleas]] had five.{{sfn|Gordley|von Mehren|2006|p=4}} This powerful and tight-knit judiciary gave rise to a systematised process of developing common law.{{sfn|Gordley|von Mehren|2006|p=3}}

[[File:Microcosm of London Plate 022 - Court of Chancery, Lincoln's Inn Hall edited.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Court of Chancery]], London, England, early 19th century]]
As time went on, many felt that the common law was overly systematised and inflexible, and increasing numbers of citizens petitioned the King to override the common law. On the King's behalf, the [[Lord Chancellor]] started giving judgments to do what was equitable in a case. From the time of [[Thomas More|Sir Thomas More]], the first [[lawyer]] to be appointed as Lord Chancellor, a systematic body of [[Equity (law)|equity]] grew up alongside the rigid common law, and developed its own [[Court of Chancery]]. At first, equity was often criticised as erratic.<ref>Pollock (ed) ''Table Talk of [[John Selden]]'' (1927) 43; "Equity is a roguish thing. For law we have a measure... equity is according to the conscience of him that is Chancellor, and as that is longer or narrower, so is equity. 'Tis all one as if they should make the standard for the measure a Chancellor's foot."</ref> Over time, courts of equity developed solid [[Maxims of equity|principles]], especially under [[John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon|Lord Eldon]].<ref>''[[Gee v Pritchard]]'' (1818) 2 Swans. 402, 414</ref> In the 19th century in England, and in [[West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish|1937 in the U.S.]], the two systems were [[Common law#1870 through 20th century, and the procedural merger of law and equity|merged]].

In developing the common law, [[Common law#Contrasting role of treatises and academic writings in common law and civil law systems|academic writings]] have always played an important part, both to collect overarching principles from dispersed case law and to argue for change. [[William Blackstone]], from around 1760, was the first scholar to collect, describe, and teach the common law.<ref>Blackstone, ''Commentaries on the Laws of England'', [http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/blackstone_bk1ch1.asp Book the First&nbsp;– Chapter the First] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705141310/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/blackstone_bk1ch1.asp |date=5 July 2011 }}</ref> But merely in describing, scholars who sought explanations and underlying structures slowly changed the way the law actually worked.{{sfn|Gordley|von Mehren|2006|p=17}}

=== Religious law ===
{{main|Religious law}}
{{see also|Law and religion}}
Religious law is explicitly based on religious precepts. Examples include the Jewish [[Halakha]] and Islamic [[Sharia]]—both of which translate as the "path to follow". Christian [[canon law]] also survives in some church communities. Often the implication of religion for law is unalterability because the word of God cannot be amended or legislated against by judges or governments.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ferrari |first1=Silvio |editor1-last=Huxley |editor1-first=Andrew |title=Religion, Law and Tradition: Comparative Studies in Religious Law |date=2012 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-13250-6 |page=51 |language=en |chapter=Chapter 4: Canon Law as a Religious Legal System |quote=Divine law... is eternal and cannot be changed by any human authority.}}</ref> Nonetheless, most religious jurisdictions rely on further human elaboration to provide for thorough and detailed legal systems. For instance, the [[Quran]] has some law, and it acts as a source of further law through interpretation, ''[[Qiyas]]'' (reasoning by analogy), ''[[Ijma]]'' (consensus) and [[precedent]].{{sfn|Glenn|2000|p=159}} This is mainly contained in a body of law and jurisprudence known as [[Sharia]] and [[Fiqh]] respectively. Another example is the [[Torah]] or [[Old Testament]], in the [[Pentateuch]] or Five Books of Moses. This contains the basic code of Jewish law, which some Israeli communities choose to use. The [[Halakha]] is a code of Jewish law that summarizes some of the Talmud's interpretations.

A number of countries are sharia jurisdictions. [[Israeli law]] allows [[litigant]]s to use religious laws only if they choose. Canon law is only in use by members of the [[Canon law (Catholic Church)|Catholic Church]], the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] and the [[Anglican Communion]].

==== Canon law ====
{{main|Canon law}}
[[File:Graverat titelblad till "Kanonisk rätt" - Skoklosters slott - 93238.tif|thumb|The ''[[Corpus Juris Canonici]]'', the fundamental collection of canon law for over 750 years]]

Canon law ({{Langx|grc|κανών|translit=kanon|lit=a straight measuring rod; a [[ruler]]}}) is a set of ordinances and regulations made by [[ecclesiastical jurisdiction|ecclesiastical authority]], for the government of a Christian organisation or church and its members. It is the internal [[ecclesiastical]] law governing the [[Catholic Church]], the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], the [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]], and the individual national churches within the [[Anglican Communion]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Boudinhon |first=Auguste |title=Canon Law |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09056a.htm |year=1910 |publisher=Robert Appleton Company |location=New York |encyclopedia=The Catholic Encyclopedia |volume=9 |access-date=9 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331231326/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09056a.htm |archive-date=31 March 2019}}</ref> The way that such church law is [[legislative power|legislated]], interpreted and at times [[court|adjudicated]] varies widely among these three bodies of churches. In all three traditions, a [[Canon (canon law)|canon]] was originally<ref>{{Cite book|title=Gender in History: Global Perspectives|last=Wiesner-Hanks|first=Merry|publisher=Wiley Blackwell|year=2011|pages=37}}</ref> a rule adopted by a [[church council]]; these canons formed the foundation of canon law.

The Catholic Church has the oldest continuously functioning legal system in the [[western world]],<ref>Raymond Wacks,
''Law: A Very Short Introduction, 2nd Ed.'' (Oxford University Press, 2015) pg. 13.</ref><ref name=White>{{cite web |last=Peters |first=Edward |url=http://canonlaw.info |publisher=CanonLaw.info |title=Home Page |access-date=24 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928005444/http://www.canonlaw.info/ |archive-date=28 September 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> predating the evolution of modern European [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]] and common law systems. The [[1983 Code of Canon Law]] governs the [[Latin Church]] ''[[Sui iuris|sui juris]]''. The Eastern Catholic Churches, which developed different disciplines and practices, are governed by the ''[[Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches]]''.<ref>{{cite web|author=Blessed John Paul II, Ap. Const.|url=https://archive.org/stream/ApostolicConstitutionSacriCanonesJohnPaulIi1990/Sacri_Canones_Apostolic_Constitution_John_Paul_II_1990#page/n7/mode/2up|title=Apostolic Constitution Sacri Canones John Paul II 1990|year=1990|access-date=26 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324090532/https://archive.org/stream/ApostolicConstitutionSacriCanonesJohnPaulIi1990/Sacri_Canones_Apostolic_Constitution_John_Paul_II_1990#page/n7/mode/2up|archive-date=24 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[canon law of the Catholic Church]] influenced the [[common law]] during the medieval period through its preservation of [[Roman law]] doctrine such as the [[presumption of innocence]].<ref>Friedman, Lawrence M., ''American Law: An Introduction'' (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1984), pg. 70.</ref>{{efn|«In one of his elaborate orations in the United States Senate Mr. Charles Sumner spoke of "the generous presumption of the common law in favor of the innocence of an accused person;" yet it must be admitted that such a presumption cannot be found in Anglo-Saxon law, where sometimes the presumption seems to have been the other way. And in a very recent case in the Supreme Court of the United States, the case of Coffin, 156 U. S. 432, it is pointed out that this presumption was fully established in the Roman law, and was preserved in the canon law.»<ref>William Wirt Howe, ''Studies in the Civil Law, and its Relation to the Law of England and America'' (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1896), pg. 51.</ref>}}

Roman Catholic canon law is a fully developed legal system, with all the necessary elements: [[Ecclesiastical court|courts]], [[Canon lawyer|lawyers]], judges, a fully articulated legal code, principles of legal interpretation, and coercive penalties, though it lacks civilly-binding force in most secular jurisdictions.<ref>{{cite book|title=he Medieval Origins of the Legal Profession: Canonists, Civilians, and Courts|first=James|last= A. Brundag|year=2010|isbn=978-0226077598|page=116|publisher=University of Chicago Press}}</ref>

==== Sharia law ====
{{main|Sharia}}
{{see|Sources of Sharia}}
Until the 18th century, Sharia law was practiced throughout the [[Muslim world]] in a non-codified form, with the [[Ottoman Empire]]'s [[Mecelle]] code in the 19th century being a first attempt at [[Codification (law)|codifying]] elements of Sharia law. Since the mid-1940s, efforts have been made, in country after country, to bring Sharia law more into line with modern conditions and conceptions.{{sfn|Anderson|1956|p=43}}{{sfn|Giannoulatos|1975|pp=274–275}} In modern times, the legal systems of many Muslim countries draw upon both civil and common law traditions as well as Islamic law and custom. The constitutions of certain Muslim states, such as Egypt and Afghanistan, recognise Islam as the religion of the state, obliging legislature to adhere to Sharia.{{sfn|Sherif|2005|pp=157–158}} [[Legal system of Saudi Arabia|Saudi Arabia recognises the Quran as its constitution]], and is governed on the basis of Islamic law.<ref>{{cite web |title=Saudi Arabia |url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/world/saudiarabia.htm |publisher=[[JURIST]] |access-date=2 September 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060830232216/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/world/saudiarabia.htm |archive-date=30 August 2006}}</ref> Iran has also witnessed a reiteration of Islamic law into [[Legal system of Iran|its legal system]] after 1979.{{sfn|Akhlaghi|2005|p=127}} During the last few decades, one of the fundamental features of the movement of [[Islamic resurgence]] has been the call to restore the Sharia, which has generated a vast amount of literature and affected [[Global politics|world politics]].{{sfn|Hallaq|2005|p=1}}

===Socialist law===
{{main|Socialist law}}
Socialist law is the legal systems in [[communist state]]s such as the former [[Soviet Union]] and the People's Republic of China.{{sfn|Markovits|2007}} Academic opinion is divided on whether it is a separate system from civil law, given major deviations based on [[Marxist–Leninist]] ideology, such as subordinating the judiciary to the executive ruling party.{{sfn|Markovits|2007}}<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=840224|pages=781–808|last1=Quigley|first1=J.|title=Socialist Law and the Civil Law Tradition|volume=37|issue=4|journal=The American Journal of Comparative Law|year=1989|doi=10.2307/840224}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=G. B. |chapter=Socialist Legality and the Soviet Legal System |title=Soviet Politics |date=1988 |publisher=Palgrave |isbn=978-0-333-45919-5 |pages=137–162 |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-19172-7_7 }}</ref>

== Legal methods ==
There are distinguished methods of legal reasoning (applying the law) and methods of interpreting (construing) the law. The former are [[legal syllogism]], which holds sway in civil law legal systems, [[analogy]], which is present in common law legal systems, especially in the US, and argumentative theories that occur in both systems. The latter are different rules (directives) of legal interpretation such as directives of linguistic interpretation, teleological interpretation or systemic interpretation as well as more specific rules, for instance, [[golden rule]] or [[mischief rule]]. There are also many other arguments and cannons of interpretation which altogether make [[statutory interpretation]] possible.

Law professor and former [[United States Attorney General]] [[Edward H. Levi]] noted that the "basic pattern of legal reasoning is reasoning by example"—that is, reasoning by comparing outcomes in cases resolving similar legal questions.<ref>Edward H. Levi, ''An Introduction to Legal Reasoning'' (2013), p. 1-2.</ref> In a U.S. Supreme Court case regarding procedural efforts taken by a debt collection company to avoid errors, Justice [[Sonia Sotomayor|Sotomayor]] cautioned that "legal reasoning is not a mechanical or strictly linear process".<ref>''[[Jerman v. Carlisle]]'', 130 S.Ct. 1605, 1614, 559 U.S. 573, 587 (2010), [[Sonia Sotomayor|Sotomayor]], J.</ref>

[[Jurimetrics]] is the formal application of quantitative methods, especially [[Probability theory|probability]] and [[statistics]], to legal questions. The use of statistical methods in court cases and law review articles has grown massively in importance in the last few decades.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Heise|first=Michael|date=1999|title=The Importance of Being Empirical|url=https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1445&context=plr|journal=Pepperdine Law Review|volume=26|issue=4|pages=807–834|access-date=18 December 2019|archive-date=25 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225055124/https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1445&context=plr|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ericposner.com/the-rise-of-statistics-in-law/|title=The rise of statistics in law|last=Posner|first=Eric|date=2015-07-24|website=ERIC POSNER|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-16|archive-date=20 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220060506/http://ericposner.com/the-rise-of-statistics-in-law/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Legal institutions ==
{{quote box|bgcolor=#c6dbf7|width=22em|salign=left|quote=It is a real unity of them all in one and the same person, made by covenant of every man with every man, in such manner as if every man should say to every man: I authorise and give up my right of governing myself to this man, or to this assembly of men, on this condition; that thou givest up, thy right to him, and authorise all his actions in like manner.|source=Thomas Hobbes, ''Leviathan'', [http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/hobbes/leviathan-c.html#CHAPTERXVII XVII]}}

The main institutions of law in industrialised countries are independent [[courts]], representative parliaments, an accountable executive, the military and police, [[bureaucracy|bureaucratic]] organisation, the [[legal profession]] and [[civil society]] itself. John Locke, in his ''[[Two Treatises of Government]]'', and [[Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu|Baron de Montesquieu]] in ''[[The Spirit of the Laws]]'', advocated for a [[separation of powers]] between the political, legislature and executive bodies.<ref>[[Montesquieu]], ''The Spirit of Laws'', [http://www.constitution.org/cm/sol_11.htm#006 Book XI: Of the Laws Which Establish Political Liberty, with Regard to the Constitution, Chapters 6–7] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203190914/http://www.constitution.org/cm/sol_11.htm#006 |date=3 February 2007 }}</ref> Their principle was that no person should be able to usurp all powers of the [[State (polity)|state]], in contrast to the [[Absolute monarchy|absolutist]] theory of [[Thomas Hobbes]]' ''[[Leviathan (Hobbes book)|Leviathan]]''.<ref>Thomas Hobbes, ''Leviathan'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20021125191001/http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/hobbes/leviathan-c.html#CHAPTERXVII XVII]</ref> [[Sun Yat-sen]]'s [[Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China|Five Power Constitution]] for the [[Republic of China]] took the separation of powers further by having two additional branches of government—a [[Control Yuan]] for auditing oversight and an [[Examination Yuan]] to manage the employment of public officials.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Caldwell |first1=Ernest |title=Chinese Constitutionalism: Five-Power Constitution |journal=Max Planck Encyclopedia of Comparative Constitutional Law |date=2016 |url=https://ssrn.com/abstract=2828104 |access-date=8 January 2020 |archive-date=25 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225080817/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2828104 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Max Weber]] and others reshaped thinking on the extension of state. Modern military, policing and bureaucratic power over ordinary citizens' daily lives pose special problems for accountability that earlier writers such as Locke or Montesquieu could not have foreseen. The custom and practice of the legal profession is an important part of people's access to [[justice]], whilst civil society is a term used to refer to the social institutions, communities and partnerships that form law's political basis.

=== Judiciary ===
{{excerpt|Judiciary|only=file}}
{{excerpt|Judiciary|section=Meaning|}}

=== Legislature ===
{{main|Legislature}}
[[File:Chamber of the House of Representatives of Japan.jpg|thumb|The Chamber of the [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]], the [[lower house]] in the [[National Diet]] of Japan]]

Prominent examples of legislatures are the [[Houses of Parliament]] in London, the [[United States Congress|Congress]] in Washington, D.C., the [[Bundestag]] in Berlin, the [[Duma]] in Moscow, the [[Parliament of Italy|Parlamento Italiano]] in Rome and the [[National Assembly of France|''Assemblée nationale'']] in Paris. By the principle of representative government people vote for politicians to carry out ''their'' wishes. Although countries like Israel, Greece, Sweden and China are [[unicameralism|unicameral]], most countries are [[bicameralism|bicameral]], meaning they have two separately appointed legislative houses.{{sfn|Riker|1992|p=101}}

In the 'lower house' politicians are elected to represent smaller [[constituency|constituencies]]. The 'upper house' is usually elected to represent states in a [[Federal republic|federal]] system (as in Australia, Germany or the United States) or different voting configuration in a unitary system (as in France). In the UK the upper house is appointed by the government as a [[House of Lords|house of review]]. One criticism of bicameral systems with two elected chambers is that the upper and lower houses may simply mirror one another. The traditional justification of bicameralism is that an upper chamber acts as a house of review. This can minimise arbitrariness and injustice in governmental action.{{sfn|Riker|1992|p=101}}

To pass legislation, a majority of the members of a legislature must [[vote]] for a [[bill (proposed law)]] in each house. Normally there will be several readings and amendments proposed by the different political factions. If a country has an entrenched constitution, a special majority for changes to the constitution may be required, making changes to the law more difficult. A government usually leads the process, which can be formed from Members of Parliament (e.g. the UK or Germany). However, in a presidential system, the government is usually formed by an executive and his or her appointed cabinet officials (e.g. the United States or Brazil).{{efn|About "cabinet accountability" in both presidential and parliamentary systems, see Shugart–Haggard, ''Presidential Systems'', 67 etc.}}

=== Executive ===
{{main|Executive (government)}}
[[File:Family photo G20 Italy 2021.jpg|thumb|220x220px|The [[G-20 major economies|G20]] meetings are composed of representatives of each country's executive branch.]]
The executive in a legal system serves as the centre of political [[authority]] of the [[State (polity)|State]]. In a [[parliamentary system]], as with Britain, Italy, Germany, India, and Japan, the executive is known as the cabinet, and composed of members of the legislature. The executive is led by the [[head of government]], whose office holds power under the [[Motion of no confidence|confidence]] of the legislature. Because popular elections appoint political parties to govern, the leader of a party can change in between elections.{{sfn|Haggard|Shugart|2001|p=71}}

The [[head of state]] is apart from the executive, and symbolically enacts laws and acts as representative of the nation. Examples include the [[President of Germany]] (appointed by [[Federal Convention (Germany)|members of federal and state legislatures]]), the [[Queen of the United Kingdom]] (an [[Hereditary monarchy|hereditary office]]), and the [[President of Austria]] (elected by popular vote). The other important model is the [[presidential system]], found in the [[President of the United States|United States]] and in [[President of Brazil|Brazil]]. In presidential systems, the executive acts as both head of state and head of government, and has power to appoint an unelected cabinet. Under a presidential system, the executive branch is separate from the legislature to which it is not accountable.{{sfn|Haggard|Shugart|2001|p=71}}<ref>Olson, ''The New Parliaments of Central and Eastern Europe'', 7</ref>

Although the role of the executive varies from country to country, usually it will propose the majority of legislation, and propose government agenda. In presidential systems, the executive often has the power to veto legislation. Most executives in both systems are responsible for [[Foreign policy|foreign relations]], the [[law enforcement]], and the bureaucracy. [[Minister (government)|Ministers]] or other officials head a country's public offices, such as a [[Foreign minister|foreign ministry]] or [[Defence minister|defence ministry]]. The election of a different executive is therefore capable of revolutionising an entire country's approach to government.

=== Law enforcement ===
{{main|Law enforcement|Police|Military}}
[[File:South african police may 2010.jpg|thumb|Officers of the [[South African Police Service]] in [[Johannesburg]], 2010]]

[[Max Weber]] famously argued that the state is that which controls the [[monopoly on the legitimate use of force]].<ref>Weber, [[s:Politics as a Vocation|Politics as a Vocation]]</ref><ref>Weber, ''The Theory of Social and Economic Organisation'', 154</ref> The military and police carry out [[law enforcement]] at the request of the government or the courts. The term [[failed state]] refers to states that cannot implement or enforce policies; their police and military no longer control security and order and society moves into anarchy, the absence of government.{{efn|In these cases sovereignty is eroded, and often warlords acquire excessive powers (Fukuyama, ''State-Building'', 166–167).}} While military organisations have existed as long as government itself, the idea of a standing police force is a relatively modern concept. For example, [[Medieval England]]'s system of travelling [[Criminal law|criminal court]]s, or [[Assize Court|assizes]], used [[show trial]]s and public executions to instill communities with fear to maintain control.<ref>See, e.g. ''Tuberville v Savage'' (1669), 1 Mod. Rep. 3, 86 Eng. Rep. 684, where a knight said in a threatening tone to a layperson, "If it were not assize time, I would not take such language from you."</ref> The first modern police were probably those in 17th-century Paris, in the court of [[Louis XIV]],<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=History of Police Forces |url=http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=219522 |encyclopedia=History.com Encyclopedia |access-date=10 December 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061229014447/http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=219522 |archive-date=29 December 2006 }}</ref> although the Paris Prefecture of Police claim they were the world's first uniformed policemen.<ref>{{cite web|title=Des Sergents de Ville et Gardiens de la Paix à la Police de Proximité : la Préfecture de Police au Service des Citoyens|language=fr|publisher=La Préfecture de Police de Paris|url=http://www.prefecture-police-paris.interieur.gouv.fr/documentation/bicentenaire/theme_expo4.htm|access-date=24 January 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080506215949/http://www.prefecture-police-paris.interieur.gouv.fr/documentation/bicentenaire/theme_expo4.htm|archive-date=6 May 2008}}</ref>

=== Bureaucracy ===
{{main|Bureaucracy}}
[[File:Yamen-sitzung.jpg|thumb|The [[Mandarin (bureaucrat)|mandarin]]s were powerful bureaucrats in imperial China (photograph shows a [[Qing dynasty]] official with [[mandarin square]] visible).]]
The etymology of ''bureaucracy'' derives from the French word for ''office'' (''bureau'') and the [[Ancient Greek]] for word ''power'' (''kratos'').<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=bureaucracy&searchmode=none |title=bureaucracy |access-date=2 September 2007 |work=Online Etymology Dictionary |archive-date=15 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115180219/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=bureaucracy&searchmode=none |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=etymonline is not reliable source by any stretch of the imagination ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=August 2023}} Like the military and police, a legal system's government servants and bodies that make up its bureaucracy carry out the directives of the executive. One of the earliest references to the concept was made by [[Friedrich Melchior, baron von Grimm|Baron de Grimm]], a German author who lived in France. In 1765, he wrote:
<blockquote>The real spirit of the laws in France is that bureaucracy of which the late Monsieur de Gournay used to complain so greatly; here the offices, clerks, secretaries, inspectors and ''intendants'' are not appointed to benefit the public interest, indeed the public interest appears to have been established so that offices might exist.{{sfn|Albrow|1970|p=16}}</blockquote>

Cynicism over "officialdom" is still common, and the workings of public servants is typically contrasted to [[private enterprise]] motivated by [[Maximization (economics)|profit]].<ref>Mises, ''Bureaucracy'', II, [https://www.mises.org/etexts/mises/bureaucracy/section2.asp Bureaucratic Management] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914004054/https://www.mises.org/etexts/mises/bureaucracy/section2.asp |date=14 September 2014 }}</ref> In fact private companies, especially large ones, also have bureaucracies.{{sfn|Kettl|2006|p=367}} Negative perceptions of "[[red tape]]" aside, public services such as schooling, health care, policing or public transport are considered a crucial state function making public bureaucratic action the locus of government power.{{sfn|Kettl|2006|p=367}}

Writing in the early 20th century, Max Weber believed that a definitive feature of a developed state had come to be its bureaucratic support.<ref>Weber, ''Economy and Society'', I, 393</ref> Weber wrote that the typical characteristics of modern bureaucracy are that officials define its mission, the scope of work is bound by rules, and management is composed of career experts who manage top down, communicating through writing and binding public servants' discretion with rules.{{sfn|Kettl|2006|p=371}}

=== Legal profession ===
{{main|Legal profession}}
[[File:Color photograph of judges' bench at IMT.jpg|thumb|Judges presiding over the [[Nuremberg trials]] at the [[Palace of Justice, Nuremberg|Palace of Justice]] in [[Nuremberg]], [[Allied-occupied Germany]], 1946]]
A corollary of the rule of law is the existence of a legal profession sufficiently autonomous to invoke the authority of the independent judiciary; the right to assistance of a [[barrister]] in a court proceeding emanates from this corollary—in England the function of barrister or advocate is distinguished from legal counselor.{{sfn|Hazard|Dondi|2004|p=1}} As the European Court of Human Rights has stated, the law should be adequately accessible to everyone and people should be able to foresee how the law affects them.<ref>''[[The Sunday Times v The United Kingdom]]'' [1979] [http://www.worldlii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/1979/1.html ECHR 1 at 49] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060916131454/http://worldlii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/1979/1.html|date=16 September 2006}} Case no. 6538/74</ref>

In order to maintain professionalism, the [[practice of law]] is typically overseen by either a government or independent regulating body such as a [[bar association]], [[bar council]] or [[law society]]. Modern lawyers achieve distinct professional identity through specified legal procedures (e.g. successfully passing a qualifying examination), are required by law to have a special qualification (a legal education earning the student a [[Bachelor of Laws]], a [[Bachelor of Civil Law]], or a [[Juris Doctor]] degree. Higher academic degrees may also be pursued. Examples include a [[Master of Laws]], a [[Master of Legal Studies]], a [[Bar Professional Training Course]] or a [[Doctor of Laws]].), and are constituted in office by legal forms of appointment ([[admission to the bar|being admitted to the bar]]). There are few titles of respect to signify famous lawyers, such as [[Esquire]], to indicate barristers of greater dignity,<ref>{{cite web|title=British English: Esquire|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/esquire?showCookiePolicy=true|access-date=23 September 2014|date=n.d.|publisher=Collins Dictionary|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006092224/http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/esquire?showCookiePolicy=true|archive-date=6 October 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/american/esquire?showCookiePolicy=true|publisher=Collins Dictionary|title=American English: Esquire|access-date=23 September 2014|date=n.d.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006084621/http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/american/esquire?showCookiePolicy=true|archive-date=6 October 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Doctor of law]], to indicate a person who obtained a [[PhD]] in Law.

Many Muslim countries have developed similar rules about legal education and the legal profession, but some still allow lawyers with training in traditional Islamic law to practice law before personal status law courts.{{sfn|Ahmad|2009}} In China and other developing countries there are not sufficient professionally trained people to staff the existing judicial systems, and, accordingly, formal standards are more relaxed.{{sfn|Hazard|Dondi|2004|pp=22–23}}

Once accredited, a lawyer will often work in a [[law firm]], in a [[barristers' chambers|chambers]] as a sole practitioner, in a government post or in a private corporation as an internal [[counsel]]. In addition a lawyer may become a [[legal research]]er who provides on-demand legal research through a library, a commercial service or freelance work. Many people trained in law put their skills to use outside the legal field entirely.<ref name="Fine364">Fine, ''The Globalisation of Legal Education'', 364</ref>

Significant to the practice of law in the common law tradition is the legal research to determine the current state of the law. This usually entails exploring [[law report|case-law reports]], [[legal periodical]]s and legislation. Law practice also involves drafting documents such as court [[pleading]]s, persuasive [[brief (law)|briefs]], contracts, or [[will (law)|wills]] and trusts. Negotiation and [[dispute resolution]] skills (including [[Alternative dispute resolution|ADR]] techniques) are also important to legal practice, depending on the field.<ref name="Fine364" />

=== Civil society ===
{{main|Civil society}}
[[File:1963 march on washington.jpg|thumb|A march in [[Washington, D.C.]] during the American [[civil rights movement]] in 1963]]

The [[classical republicanism|Classical republican]] concept of "civil society" dates back to Hobbes and Locke.<ref>Warren, ''Civil Society'', 3–4</ref> Locke saw civil society as people who have "a common established law and judicature to appeal to, with authority to decide controversies between them."<ref>Locke, ''[[s:Two Treatises of Government/The Second Treatise of Government: An Essay Concerning the True Origin, Extent, and End of Civil Government|Second Treatise]]'', Chap. VII, Of Political or Civil_Society. Chapter 7, section 87</ref> German philosopher [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]] distinguished the "state" from "civil society" ({{Langx|de|bürgerliche Gesellschaft}}) in ''[[Elements of the Philosophy of Right]]''.<ref>Hegel, ''Elements of the Philosophy of Right'', 3, II, [http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/works/pr/prcivils.htm 182] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070401193900/http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/works/pr/prcivils.htm |date=1 April 2007 }}</ref>{{sfn|Karkatsoulis|2004|pp=277–278}}

Hegel believed that [[civil society]] and the [[State (polity)|state]] were polar opposites, within the scheme of his dialectic theory of history. The modern dipole state–civil society was reproduced in the theories of [[Alexis de Tocqueville]] and [[Karl Marx]].<ref>(Pelczynski, ''The State and Civil Society'', 1–13; Warren, ''Civil Society'', 5–9)</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Zaleski|first=Pawel|title=Tocqueville on Civilian Society. A Romantic Vision of the Dichotomic Structure of Social Reality|journal=Archiv für Begriffsgeschichte|volume=50|year=2008}}</ref> In post-modern theory, civil society is necessarily a source of law, by being the basis from which people form opinions and lobby for what they believe law should be. As Australian barrister and author [[Geoffrey Robertson QC]] wrote of international law, "one of its primary modern sources is found in the responses of ordinary men and women, and of the non-governmental organizations which many of them support, to the human rights abuses they see on the television screen in their living rooms."<ref>Robertson, ''Crimes Against Humanity'', 98–99</ref>

[[Freedom of speech]], [[freedom of association]] and many other [[individual rights]] allow people to gather, discuss, criticise and hold to account their governments, from which the basis of a [[deliberative democracy]] is formed. The more people are involved with, concerned by and capable of changing how political power is exercised over their lives, the more acceptable and [[Legitimacy (political)|legitimate]] the law becomes to the people. The most familiar institutions of civil society include economic markets, profit-oriented firms, families, trade unions, hospitals, universities, schools, charities, [[cogers|debating clubs]], non-governmental organisations, neighbourhoods, churches, and religious associations. There is no clear legal definition of the civil society, and of the institutions it includes. Most of the institutions and bodies who try to give a list of institutions (such as the [[European Economic and Social Committee]]) exclude the political parties.{{sfn|Jakobs|2004|pp=5–6}}<ref>Kaldor–Anheier–Glasius, ''Global Civil Society'', ''[http://www.lse.ac.uk/Depts/global/Publications/Yearbooks/2003/2003Chapter1a.pdf passim] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070817130457/http://www.lse.ac.uk/Depts/global/Publications/Yearbooks/2003/2003Chapter1a.pdf |date=17 August 2007 }}''</ref>{{sfn|Karkatsoulis|2004|pp=282–283}}

== Areas of law ==
{{see also|List of areas of law}}
All legal systems deal with the same basic issues, but jurisdictions categorise and identify their legal topics in different ways. A common distinction is that between "[[public law]]" (a term related closely to the [[State (law)|state]], and including constitutional, administrative and criminal law), and "[[private law]]" (which covers contract, [[tort]] and property).{{efn|Although many scholars argue that "the boundaries between public and private law are becoming blurred", and that this distinction has become mere "folklore" (Bergkamp, ''Liability and Environment'', 1–2).}} In [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]] systems, contract and tort fall under a general [[law of obligations]], while trusts law is dealt with under statutory regimes or [[Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Trusts and on their Recognition|international conventions]]. International, constitutional and administrative law, criminal law, contract, tort, property law and [[trust law|trusts]] are regarded as the "traditional core subjects",{{efn|E.g. in England these seven subjects, with EU law substituted for international law, make up a "qualifying law degree". For criticism, see [[Peter Birks]]' poignant comments attached to a previous version of the [http://webjcli.ncl.ac.uk/articles1/birks1.html#appendix Notice to Law Schools] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090620065248/http://webjcli.ncl.ac.uk/articles1/birks1.html#appendix |date=20 June 2009 }}.}} although there are many further disciplines.

=== International law ===
{{see|Sources of international law}}
{{see also|Conflict of laws|European Union law|Public international law}}{{Wikisource-multi|Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union|Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union}}
{{excerpt|International law|paragraphs=1, 2}}

=== Constitutional and administrative law ===
{{main|Administrative law|Constitutional law}}
[[File:Declaration of Human Rights.jpg|thumb|The 1789 French [[Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen]]]]

Constitutional and administrative law govern the affairs of the state. Constitutional law concerns both the relationships between the executive, legislature and judiciary and the human rights or [[civil liberties]] of individuals against the state. Most jurisdictions, like the [[Law of the United States|United States]] and [[Law of France|France]], have a single codified constitution with a [[bill of rights]]. A few, like the [[Law of the United Kingdom|United Kingdom]], have no such document. A "constitution" is simply those laws which constitute the [[body politic]], from [[statute]], [[case law]] and [[Constitutional convention (political custom)|convention]].

The fundamental constitutional principle, inspired by [[Two Treatises of Government|John Locke]], holds that [[Everything which is not forbidden is allowed|the individual can do anything except that which is forbidden by law]], and the state may do nothing except that which is authorised by law.<ref>Locke, ''The Second Treatise'', [[s:Two Treatises of Government/The Second Treatise of Government: An Essay Concerning the True Origin, Extent, and End of Civil Government#2:9|Chapter 9, section 124]]</ref><ref>Tamanaha, ''On the Rule of Law'', 47</ref> Administrative law is the chief method for people to hold state bodies to account. People (wheresoever allowed) may potentially have prerogative to legally challenge (or sue) an agency, local council, public service, or government ministry for [[judicial review]] of the offending [[edict]] (law, ordinance, policy order). Such challenge vets the ability of actionable authority under the law, and that the government entity observed required procedure. The first specialist administrative court was the ''[[Council of State (France)|Conseil d'État]]'' set up in 1799, as [[Napoleon]] assumed power in France.{{sfn|Auby|2002|p=75}}

A sub-discipline of constitutional law is [[election law]]. It along with [[Elections commission]]s, councils, or committees deal with policy and procedures facilitating elections. These rules settle disputes or enable the translation of the will of the people into functioning [[Democracy|democracies]]. Election law addresses issues who is entitled to [[Voting|vote]], [[voter registration]], [[ballot access]], [[campaign finance]] and [[Political party funding|party funding]], [[Redistribution (election)|redistricting]], [[Apportionment (politics)|apportionment]], [[electronic voting]] and [[voting machine]]s, [[accessibility]] of elections, [[Electoral system|election systems]] and formulas, [[vote counting]], election disputes, [[referendum]]s, and issues such as [[electoral fraud]] and [[Election silence|electoral silence]].

=== Criminal law ===
{{main|Criminal law}}

Criminal law, also known as penal law, pertains to crimes and punishment.<ref>[[Cesare, Marquis of Beccaria|Cesare Beccaria]]'s seminal treatise of 1763–1764 is titled ''On Crimes and Punishments'' (''[[Dei delitti e delle pene]]'').</ref> It thus regulates the definition of and penalties for offences found to have a sufficiently deleterious social impact but, in itself, makes no moral judgment on an offender nor imposes restrictions on society that physically prevent people from committing a crime in the first place.{{sfn|Brody|Acker|Logan|2001|p=2}}{{sfn|Wilson|2003|p=2}} Investigating, apprehending, charging, and trying suspected offenders is regulated by the law of [[criminal procedure]].<ref>Dennis J. Baker, Glanville Williams ''Textbook of Criminal Law'' (London: 2012), 2</ref> The [[paradigm]] case of a crime lies in the proof, [[Legal burden of proof|beyond reasonable doubt]], that a person is guilty of two things. First, the accused must commit an act which is deemed by society to be criminal, or ''[[actus reus]]'' (guilty act).<ref>See e.g. {{harvnb|Brody|Acker|Logan|2001|p=205}} about ''[[Robinson v. California]]'', 370 U.S. 660 (1962).</ref> Second, the accused must have the requisite [[intention (criminal law)|malicious intent]] to do a criminal act, or ''[[mens rea]]'' (guilty mind). However, for so called "[[Strict liability (criminal)|strict liability]]" crimes, an ''actus reus'' is enough.<ref>See e.g. Feinman, ''Law 111'', 260–261 about ''[[Powell v. Texas]]'', 392 U.S. 514 (1968).</ref> Criminal systems of the civil law tradition distinguish between intention in the broad sense (''dolus directus'' and ''dolus eventualis''), and negligence. Negligence does not carry criminal responsibility unless a particular crime provides for its punishment.{{sfn|Dörmann|Doswald-Beck|Kolb|2003|p=491}}{{sfn|Kaiser|2005|p=333}}

[[File:Adolf Eichmann is sentenced to death at the conclusion of the Eichmann Trial USHMM 65289.jpg|thumb|[[Adolf Eichmann]] (standing in glass booth at left) being sentenced to death at the conclusion of [[Eichmann trial|his 1961 trial]], an example of a criminal law proceeding]]
Examples of crimes include murder, assault, fraud and theft. In exceptional circumstances defences can apply to specific acts, such as killing in [[self-defense (theory)|self defence]], or pleading [[insanity defense|insanity]]. Another example is in the 19th-century English case of ''[[R v Dudley and Stephens]]'', which tested whether a defence of "[[necessity (criminal law)|necessity]]" could justify murder and cannibalism to survive a shipwreck.<ref>About ''R v Dudley and Stephens'' [1884] [http://www.justis.com/titles/iclr_bqb14040.html 14 QBD 273 DC] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050228224504/http://www.justis.com/titles/iclr_bqb14040.html |date=28 February 2005 }}, see Simpson, ''Cannibalism and the Common Law'', 212–217, 229–237</ref>

Criminal law offences are viewed as offences against not just individual victims, but the community as well.{{sfn|Brody|Acker|Logan|2001|p=2}}{{sfn|Wilson|2003|p=2}} The state, usually with the help of police, takes the lead in prosecution, which is why in common law countries cases are cited as "''The People'' v ..." or "''R'' (for [[Monarchy|Rex]] or [[Queen regnant|Regina]]) v ...". Also, lay [[jury|juries]] are often used to determine the guilt of defendants on points of fact: juries cannot change legal rules. Some developed countries still condone capital punishment for criminal activity, but the normal punishment for a crime will be [[prison|imprisonment]], [[fine (penalty)|fines]], state supervision (such as probation), or [[community service]]. Modern criminal law has been affected considerably by the social sciences, especially with respect to [[sentence (law)|sentencing]], legal research, legislation, and [[rehabilitation (penology)|rehabilitation]].<ref>Pelser, ''Criminal Legislation'', 198</ref> On the international field, 111 countries are [[States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court|members]] of the [[International Criminal Court]], which was established to try people for [[crimes against humanity]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ASP/states+parties/|title=The States Parties to the Rome Statute|publisher=[[International Criminal Court]]|access-date=10 February 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623085130/http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ASP/states+parties/|archive-date=23 June 2011}}</ref>

=== Contract law ===
{{main|Contract}}
[[File:carbolic smoke ball co.jpg|thumb|The famous Carbolic Smoke Ball advertisement to cure [[influenza]] was held to be a [[unilateral contract]].]]

Contract law concerns enforceable promises, and can be summed up in the Latin phrase ''[[pacta sunt servanda]]'' (agreements must be kept).<ref>Wehberg, ''Pacta Sunt Servanda'', 775</ref> In common law jurisdictions, three key elements to the creation of a contract are necessary: [[offer and acceptance]], [[consideration]] and the [[intention to create legal relations]]. 

Consideration indicates the fact that all parties to a contract have exchanged something of value. Some common law systems, including Australia, are moving away from the idea of consideration as a requirement. The idea of [[estoppel]] or ''culpa in contrahendo'', can be used to create obligations during pre-contractual negotiations.<ref>''[[Austotel v Franklins]]'' (1989) 16 NSWLR 582</ref>

Civil law jurisdictions treat contracts differently in a number of respects, with a more interventionist role for the state in both the formation and enforcement of contracts.{{sfn|Pargendler|2018}} Compared to common law jurisdictions, civil law systems incorporate more mandatory terms into contracts, allow greater latitude for courts to interpret and revise contract terms and impose a stronger [[Good faith (law)|duty of good faith]], but are also more likely to enforce [[penalty clause]]s and [[specific performance]] of contracts.{{sfn|Pargendler|2018}} They also do not require consideration for a contract to be binding.<ref>e.g. in Germany, [http://dejure.org/gesetze/BGB/311.html §&nbsp;311 Abs. II] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070111212855/http://dejure.org/gesetze/BGB/311.html |date=11 January 2007 }} [[Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch|BGB]]</ref> In France, an ordinary contract is said to form simply on the basis of a "meeting of the minds" or a "concurrence of wills". [[Law of Germany|Germany]] has a special approach to contracts, which ties into property law. Their '[[abstraction principle (law)|abstraction principle]]' (''Abstraktionsprinzip'') means that the personal obligation of contract forms separately from the title of property being conferred. When contracts are invalidated for some reason (e.g. a car buyer is so drunk that he lacks legal capacity to contract)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dejure.org/gesetze/BGB/105.html|title=§&nbsp;105 BGB Nichtigkeit der Willenserklärung|work=dejure.org|access-date=5 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061209072433/http://dejure.org/gesetze/BGB/105.html|archive-date=9 December 2006|url-status=live}}</ref> the contractual obligation to pay can be invalidated separately from the proprietary title of the car. [[Unjust enrichment]] law, rather than contract law, is then used to restore title to the rightful owner.<ref>Smith, ''The Structure of Unjust Enrichment Law'', 1037</ref>

=== Torts and delicts ===
{{main|Delict|Tort}}Certain [[civil wrong]]s are grouped together as [[tort]]s under common law systems and [[delict]]s under civil law systems.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=R. W. |title=Torts and Delicts |journal=Yale Law Journal |date=April 1918 |volume=27 |issue=6 |pages=721–730 |url=https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/ylj/vol27/iss6/1 |access-date=1 January 2020 |issn=0044-0094 |doi=10.2307/786478 |jstor=786478 |archive-date=1 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101082254/https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/ylj/vol27/iss6/1/ |url-status=live }}</ref> To have acted tortiously, one must have breached a duty to another person, or infringed some pre-existing legal right. A simple example might be unintentionally hitting someone with a ball.<ref>''Bolton v Stone'' [1951] AC 850</ref> Under the law of [[negligence]], the most common form of tort, the injured party could potentially claim compensation for their injuries from the party responsible. The principles of negligence are illustrated by ''[[Donoghue v Stevenson]]''.{{efn|name=DvS|''[[Donoghue v Stevenson]]'' ([[Case citation#England and Wales|[1932] A.C. 532, 1932 S.C. (H.L.) 31, [1932] All ER Rep 1]]). See the original text of the case in [http://www.leeds.ac.uk/law/hamlyn/donoghue.htm UK Law Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216044953/http://www.leeds.ac.uk/law/hamlyn/donoghue.htm |date=16 February 2007 }}.}} A friend of Donoghue ordered an opaque bottle of [[ginger beer]] (intended for the consumption of Donoghue) in a café in [[Paisley, Renfrewshire|Paisley]]. Having consumed half of it, Donoghue poured the remainder into a tumbler. The decomposing remains of a snail floated out. She claimed to have suffered from shock, fell ill with gastroenteritis and sued the manufacturer for carelessly allowing the drink to be contaminated. The [[House of Lords]] decided that the manufacturer was liable for Mrs Donoghue's illness. [[Lord Atkin]] took a distinctly moral approach and said:
<blockquote>The liability for negligence [...] is no doubt based upon a general public sentiment of moral wrongdoing for which the offender must pay. [...] The rule that you are to love your neighbour becomes in law, you must not injure your neighbour; and the [[lawyer]]'s question, Who is my neighbour? receives a restricted reply. You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbour.<ref>''[[Donoghue v Stevenson]]'' [1932] AC 532, 580</ref></blockquote>

This became the basis for the four principles of negligence, namely that:

# Stevenson owed Donoghue a [[duty of care]] to provide safe drinks; 
# he [[Breach of duty in English law|breached]] his duty of care;
# the harm would not have occurred [[Causation (law)|but for]] his breach; and 
# his act was the [[proximate cause]] of her harm.{{efn|name="DvS"}}

Another example of tort might be a neighbour making excessively loud noises with machinery on his property.<ref name="Sturges">''[[Sturges v Bridgman]]'' (1879) 11 Ch D 852</ref> Under a [[nuisance]] claim the noise could be stopped. Torts can also involve intentional acts such as [[Assault (tort)|assault]], [[Battery (tort)|battery]] or [[trespass]]. A better known tort is [[slander and libel|defamation]], which occurs, for example, when a newspaper makes unsupportable allegations that damage a politician's reputation.<ref>e.g. concerning a British politician and the Iraq War, ''[[George Galloway#Daily Telegraph libel case|George Galloway v Telegraph Group Ltd]]'' [2004] EWHC 2786</ref> More infamous are economic torts, which form the basis of [[labour law]] in some countries by making trade unions liable for strikes,<ref>''[[Taff Vale Railway Co v Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants]]'' [1901] AC 426</ref> when statute does not provide immunity.{{efn|In the UK, [[Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992]]; cf. in the U.S., [[National Labor Relations Act]]}}

=== Property law ===
{{main|Property law}}
[[File:Edward Matthew Ward (1816-1879) - The South Sea Bubble, a Scene in 'Change Alley in 1720 - N00432 - National Gallery.jpg|thumb|''[[The South Sea Bubble]]'' by [[Edward Matthew Ward]]. The [[South Sea Bubble]] in 1720, one of the world's first ever speculations and crashes, led to strict regulation on share trading.{{sfn|Harris|1994|pp=610–627}}]]

[[Property]] law governs ownership and possession. [[Real property]], sometimes called 'real estate', refers to ownership of land and things attached to it.<ref>e.g. ''[[Hunter v Canary Wharf Ltd]]'' [1997] [https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199697/ldjudgmt/jd970424/hunter01.htm 2 All ER 426] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922164352/https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199697/ldjudgmt/jd970424/hunter01.htm |date=22 September 2017 }}</ref> [[Personal property]], refers to everything else; movable objects, such as computers, cars, jewelry or intangible rights, such as [[Share (finance)|stocks and shares]]. A right ''[[in rem]]'' is a right to a specific piece of property, contrasting to a right ''[[in personam]]'' which allows compensation for a loss, but not a particular thing back. Land law forms the basis for most kinds of property law, and is the most complex. It concerns [[Mortgage law|mortgages]], [[Leasehold estate|rental agreements]], [[license|licences]], [[Covenant (law)|covenants]], [[easement]]s and the statutory systems for land registration. Regulations on the use of personal property fall under intellectual property, [[company (law)|company law]], [[Trust law|trusts]] and [[commercial law]].

A representative example of property law is the 1722 suit of ''[[Armory v Delamirie]]'', applying [[English law]].<ref>''[[Armory v Delamirie]]'' (1722) 93 ER 664, 1 Strange 505</ref> A child was deprived of possession of the gemstones that had been set in piece of jewellery, by the businessperson entrusted to appraise the piece. The court articulated that, according to the view of property in common law jurisdictions, the person who can show the ''best'' claim to a piece of property, against any contesting party, is the owner.{{sfn|Matthews|1995|pp=251–274}} By contrast, the classic civil law approach to property, propounded by [[Friedrich Carl von Savigny]], is that it is a right good against the world. Obligations, like contracts and torts, are conceptualised as rights good between individuals.{{sfn|Savigny|1803|p=25}} The idea of property raises many further philosophical and political issues. Locke argued that our "lives, liberties and estates" are our property because we own our bodies and [[Labour theory of property|mix our labour]] with our surroundings.{{sfn|Locke|1689|loc=Section 123}}

===Trusts===
{{main|Trust law}}
In historical [[English trust law|English law]], the common law did not permit dividing the ''ownership'' from the ''control'' of one piece of property—but the law of equity did recognize this through an arrangement known as a trust. Trustees control property whereas the beneficial, or equitable, ownership of trust property is held by people known as beneficiaries. Trustees owe duties to their beneficiaries to take good care of the entrusted property.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Bristol and West Building Society v Mothew |date=1998}}</ref> Another example of a trustee's duty might be to invest property wisely or sell it.<ref>''[[Nestlé v National Westminster Bank plc]]'' [1993] 1 WLR 1260</ref> This is especially the case for pension funds, the most important form of trust, where investors are trustees for people's savings until retirement. But trusts can also be set up for [[Charitable trust|charitable purposes]].

Some international norms for the structure and regulation of trusts are set out in the [[Hague Trust Convention]] of 1985.

== Intersection with other fields ==
=== Economics ===
{{main|Law and economics}}
In the 18th century, [[Adam Smith]] presented a philosophical foundation for explaining the relationship between law and economics.{{efn|According to Malloy, Smith established "a classical liberal philosophy that made individuals the key referential sign while acknowledging that we live not alone but in community with others".(''Law and Economics'', 114)}} The discipline arose partly out of a critique of trade unions and U.S. [[antitrust]] law.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

The most prominent economic analyst of law{{citation needed|date=November 2024}} is [[Ronald Coase]], whose first major article, ''[[The Nature of the Firm]]'' (1937), argued that the reason for the existence of firms (companies, partnerships, etc.) is the existence of [[transaction cost]]s.{{sfn|Coase|1937|pp=386–405}} [[Homo economicus|Rational individuals]] trade through bilateral contracts on open markets until the costs of transactions mean that using corporations to produce things is more cost-effective. His second major article, ''[[The Problem of Social Cost]]'' (1960), argued that if we lived in a world without transaction costs, people would [[bargaining|bargain]] with one another to create the same allocation of resources, regardless of the way a court might rule in property disputes. He contended that law ought to be pre-emptive, and be guided by the most [[efficiency (economics)|efficient]] solution.{{sfn|Coase|1960|pp=1–44}}

Many members of the so-called [[Chicago school (economics)|Chicago School]] are generally advocates of [[deregulation]] and [[privatisation]], and are hostile to state regulation or what they see as restrictions on the operation of [[free market]]s.{{sfn|Jakoby|2005|p=53}}

=== Sociology ===
{{main|Sociology of law}}

The sociology of law examines the interaction of law with society and overlaps with jurisprudence, philosophy of law, social theory and more specialised subjects such as [[criminology]].{{sfn|Cotterrell|1992}}{{sfn|Jary|Jary|1995|p=636}} It is a transdisciplinary and multidisciplinary study focused on the theorisation and empirical study of legal practices and experiences as social phenomena. The institutions of [[Social constructionism|social construction]], [[social norms]], dispute processing and [[legal culture]] are key areas for inquiry in this knowledge field. In the United States, the field is usually called law and society studies; in Europe, it is more often referred to as socio-legal studies. At first, jurists and legal philosophers were suspicious of sociology of law. Kelsen attacked one of its founders, [[Eugen Ehrlich]], who sought to make clear the differences and connections between positive law, which lawyers learn and apply, and other forms of 'law' or social norms that regulate everyday life, generally preventing conflicts from reaching lawyers and courts.<ref>Ehrlich, ''Fundamental Principles'', Hertogh, ''Living Law'', Rottleuthner, ''La Sociologie du Droit en Allemagne'', 109, Rottleuthner, ''Rechtstheoritische Probleme der Sociologie des Rechts'', 521</ref> Contemporary research in the sociology of law is concerned with the way that law develops outside discrete state jurisdictions, being produced through social interaction in social arenas, and acquiring a diversity of sources of authority in national and transnational communal networks.{{sfn|Cotterrell|2006}}

[[File:Max Weber, 1918.jpg|thumb|[[Max Weber]], who began his career as a lawyer, and is regarded as one of the founders of sociology and sociology of law]]

Around 1900, [[Max Weber]] defined his "scientific" approach to law, identifying the "legal rational form" as a type of domination, not attributable to personal authority but to the authority of abstract norms.{{sfn|Rheinstein|1954|p=336}} Formal legal rationality was his term for the key characteristic of the kind of coherent and calculable law that was a precondition for modern political developments and the modern bureaucratic state. Weber saw this law as having developed in parallel with the growth of capitalism.{{sfn|Cotterrell|1992}}{{sfn|Jary|Jary|1995|p=636}} Another sociologist, [[Émile Durkheim]], wrote in his classic work ''The Division of Labour in Society'' that as society becomes more complex, the body of civil law concerned primarily with restitution and compensation grows at the expense of criminal laws and penal sanctions.{{sfn|Cotterrell|1999}}{{sfn|Johnson|1995|p=156}} Other notable early legal sociologists included [[Hugo Sinzheimer]], [[Theodor Geiger]], [[Georges Gurvitch]] and [[Leon Petrażycki]] in Europe, and [[William Graham Sumner]] in the U.S.{{sfn|Gurvitch|Hunt|2001|p=142}}{{sfn|Papachristou|1999|pp=81–82}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Law}}
{{library resources box}}
* [[By-law]]
* [[Justice]]
* [[Law dictionary]]
* [[Legal industry by country]]
* [[Legal research in the United States]]
* [[Legal treatise]]
* [[Outline of law]]
* [[Political science]]
* [[Pseudolaw]]
* [[Public interest law]]
* [[Social law]]
* [[Sources of law]]
* [[Translating "law" to other European languages]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
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* {{cite journal |last=Wehberg|first=Hans |date=October 1959 |title=Pacta Sunt Servanda|journal=The American Journal of International Law|volume=53 |issue=4 |pages=775–786 |doi=10.2307/2195750 |jstor=2195750|s2cid=147466309 }}
* {{cite book|last=Wilson|first=William|year=2003|title=Criminal Law|chapter=Understanding Criminal Law|isbn=978-0-582-47301-0|publisher=Pearson Education}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Willis |first1=Hugh Evander |title=A Definition of Law |journal=Virginia Law Review |date=January 1926 |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=203–214 |url=https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2248&context=facpub |doi=10.2307/1065717 |access-date=3 January 2020 |jstor=1065717 |archive-date=12 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212165001/https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2248&context=facpub |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book|last=World Intellectual Property Organization|author-link=World Intellectual Property Organization|title=Introduction to Intellectual Property |year=1997|isbn=978-90-411-0938-5|publisher=Kluwer Law International|chapter=The System of Intellectual Property}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2447898 |title=The ideal of good government in Luigi Einaudi's Thought and Life: Between Law and Freedom |last=Paolo |first=Silvestri |date=11 June 2014 |ssrn=2447898 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225080826/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2447898 |archive-date=25 February 2022 }}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite web|title=House of Lords Judgments|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld/ldjudgmt.htm|publisher=House of Lords|access-date=10 November 2006|archive-date=10 November 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061110101131/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld/ldjudgmt.htm|url-status=live}}
* [https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/slipopinion Opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States]
* {{cite web|url=http://dictionary.law.com/default2.asp?selected=1111&bold=|title=law|access-date=10 February 2007|work=Law.com Dictionary|archive-date=5 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105160609/http://dictionary.law.com/default2.asp?selected=1111&bold=|url-status=live}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=law&searchmode=none |title=law |access-date=9 February 2007 |work=Online Etymology Dictionary |archive-date=2 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702150018/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=law&searchmode=none |url-status=live}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legal|title=legal|access-date=9 February 2007|publisher=Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary|archive-date=26 December 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051226162041/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legal|url-status=live}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|Law}}
* [http://www.nyls.edu/library/research_tools_and_sources/dragnet/ DRAGNET: Search of free legal databases from New York Law School]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130903005743/http://www.nyls.edu/library/research_tools_and_sources/dragnet/ |date=3 September 2013 }}.
* [http://www.worldlii.org/ World Legal Information Institute]
* [http://www.commonlii.org/ Commonwealth Legal Information Institute]
* [http://www.asianlii.org/ Asian Legal Information Institute]
* [http://www.austlii.edu.au/ Australasian Legal Information Institute]
* [http://www.bailii.org/ British and Irish Legal Information Institute]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061004021144/http://canlii.org/ Canadian Legal Information Institute] (archived 4 October 2006)
* [http://www.nzlii.org/ New Zealand Legal Information Institute]
* [http://www.paclii.org/ Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute]
* [http://www.saflii.org/ Southern African Legal Information Institute]

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