Law is the system of rules and regulations created by a government to ensure that society remains peaceful and orderly. It applies to everyone, from public officials to private citizens. It imposes obligations and responsibilities, and provides for penalties if the laws are broken. Laws are also a source of inspiration for many areas of study, including philosophy, history, economic analysis, and social science.
Legal systems vary from country to country. The principles that underlie them, however, are the same: supremacy of the law, equality before the law, accountability to the law, separation of powers, and participation in decision-making.
The law may be natural or enacted by humans. Natural laws are instinctive or spontaneous, such as the law of self-preservation, or they may be based on predictable consequences: the law of supply and demand. Humanly enacted laws may be derived from religious teachings, such as the Jewish Halakha or Islamic Sharia, or they may be based on philosophical reasoning techniques such as analogy or consensus, known as Ijma or Qiyas.
A specialized field of law is administrative law, which deals with government procedures and policies. This includes the constitutions, statutes, and ordinances of a nation-state, as well as the rules and procedures that courts must follow in cases. Another specialized area is tax law, which involves the regulation of value-added, corporate and personal income taxes. Banking and financial law involve laws governing the amounts of capital that banks must hold, and rules about best practice for investment.
Labour law addresses the tripartite industrial relationship between worker, employer and trade union; it also focuses on workplace rights, such as health and safety or a minimum wage. Criminal law identifies and punishes conduct considered harmful to social order; this can include activities such as burglary or murder, as well as defamation of character. Civil law encompasses disputes between individuals or between organizations; it can also involve issues of property ownership.
The advantage of studying Law is that it provides Uniformity and certainty to the administration of justice. It helps to prevent the government from being influenced by bias, whims, passion etc. This is also beneficial to the citizen. However, the disadvantage is that it can sometimes be complicated. Laws are often interpreted differently by different people and are not always clear and concise. The judicial process also tends to be slow and inefficient. There is also a tendency towards excessive formalism, which places too much emphasis on procedure rather than substance. This can cause delays in dispensing justice and impede progress. Nevertheless, studying law has a number of other perks that are hard to find in any other profession. These perks include a chance to earn more money, becoming famous and having good relations with society. Moreover, lawyers are always learning and improving themselves which is an excellent opportunity to achieve success in life.
