Law is a set of rules that governs the behaviour of people and groups in society. It includes the customs, practices and standards that are legally binding on them; it also encompasses legal institutions, including courts and lawyers. It is the study of laws, and the rules that regulate people’s interaction with one another and their relationship to nature and other humans. The term is often used to refer to a government’s enforceable rules, but it can also refer to any system of rules that organizes human life.
A key principle of law is the rule of law, a concept that combines elements of both power and ethics. It essentially means that everyone is subject to existing laws, and that even the highest-ranking officials are not above those laws. It also implies that the creation, enforcement and relationships between laws are themselves subject to legal constraints.
The idea of the rule of law has evolved over time. John Austin’s utilitarian theory of law defined it as “commands, backed by threats of sanction from a sovereign, to whom people have developed a habit of obedience”. Later, the philosophers Locke and Montesquieu argued that a societal hierarchy should be established, with the rule of law protecting against anarchy and Hobbesian war of all against all. Max Weber and others reshaped thinking about the extension of state power in modern societies. Modern military, policing and bureaucratic power over ordinary citizens’ daily lives pose special problems for accountability that earlier writers such as Locke and Montesquieu could not have foreseen.
Contemporary definitions of the rule of law include the notion of openness, clarity, publicity, and stability. These require that the laws are publicly accessible, understandable and easily accessible to the majority of people, that they contain determinate requirements that people can consult before acting, and that they are stable over time. They also include the requirement that core human, property and procedural rights be enshrined in the law.
Legal systems vary widely, but are usually organized around one of three major legal traditions: civil law, common law and Islamic law. Civil law systems, which encompass about 60% of the world’s population, are based on concepts, categories and rules that derive from Roman law, sometimes supplemented by canon law. Common law relates to the principles of contract, tort, and criminal law. Islamic law focuses on religious jurisprudence, and is generally less secularized than other legal systems.
Some scholars have criticized the rule of law, particularly its reliance on coercion to ensure compliance. They argue that morals and ethics should be part of the law, and that laws should reflect a societal commitment to justice and fairness. For example, insider trading prohibitions reflect the idea that fairness and integrity are important in society. Similarly, laws that protect cultural heritage are generally seen as reflecting a moral stance against cultural genocide. Nonetheless, the rule of law remains a fundamental element in many countries’ political and social structures.