|
Law
Law is a
system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions.
It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways.
Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to
trading swaptions on a derivatives market. Property law defines
rights and obligations related to transfer and title of personal
and real property, for instance, in mortgaging or renting a
home. Trust law applies to assets held for investment and
financial security, such as pension funds. Tort law allows
claims for compensation when someone or their property is
injured or harmed. If the harm is criminalised in a penal code,
criminal law offers means by which the state prosecutes and
punishes the perpetrator. Constitutional law provides a
framework for creating laws, protecting people's human rights,
and electing political representatives. Administrative law
relates to the activities of administrative agencies of
government. International law regulates affairs between
sovereign nation-states in everything from trade to the
environment to military action. Law manifests itself throughout
the community in many more ways, and serves as the foremost
social mediator of relations between people. "The rule of law",
wrote the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle in 350 BC, "is
better than the rule of any individual."
uk divorce law
Legal systems around the world elaborate legal rights and
responsibilities in different ways. A basic distinction is made
between civil law jurisdictions and systems using common law.
Some countries persist in basing their law on religious texts.
Scholars investigate the nature of law through many
perspectives, including legal history and philosophy, or social
sciences such as economics and sociology. The study of law
raises important questions about equality, fairness, liberty and
justice, which are not always simple. "In its majestic
equality", said the author Anatole France in 1894, "the law
forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the
streets and steal loaves of bread." On the other hand,
philosopher Friedrich von Hayek said: "Equality before the law
and material equality are therefore not only different but are
in conflict with each other; and we can achieve either the one
or the other, but not both at the same time." The central
institutions for interpreting and creating law are the three
main branches of government, namely an impartial judiciary, a
democratic legislature and an accountable executive. To
implement and enforce the law and provide services to the
public, a government's bureaucracy, the military and police are
vital. While all these organs of the state are creatures created
and bound by law, an independent legal profession and a vibrant
civil society inform and support their progress.
Legal subjects
Though all legal systems must deal with similar issues,
different countries often categorise and name legal subjects in
different ways. Quite common is the distinction between "public
law" subjects, which relate closely to the state (including
constitutional, administrative and criminal law), and "private
law" subjects (including contract, tort and property). In civil
law systems, contract and tort fall under a general law of
obligations and trusts law is dealt with under statutory regimes
or international conventions. International, constitutional and
administrative law, criminal law, contract, tort, property law
and trusts are regarded as the "traditional core subjects",
although there are many further disciplines which might be of
greater practical importance.
International law
In a global economy, law is globalising too. International law
can refer to three things: public international law, private
international law or conflict of laws and the law of
supranational organisations.
* Public international law concerns relationships among
sovereign nations. It has a special status as law because there
is no international police force, and courts lack the capacity
to penalise disobedience. The sources for public international
law to develop are custom, practice and treaties between
sovereign nations. The United Nations, founded under the UN
Charter, is one of the most important international
organisations. It was established after the League of Nations
failed to prevent the Second World War. International
agreements, like the Geneva Conventions on the conduct of war,
and international bodies such as the International Court of
Justice, International Labour Organisation, the World Trade
Organisation, or the International Monetary Fund, also form a
growing part of public international law.
* Conflict of laws (or "private international law" in civil law
countries) concerns which jurisdiction a legal dispute between
private parties should be heard in and which jurisdiction's law
should be applied. Today, businesses are increasingly capable of
shifting capital and labour supply chains across borders, as
well as trading with overseas businesses. This increases the
number of disputes outside a unified legal framework. Increasing
numbers of businesses opt for commercial arbitration under the
New York Convention 1958.
* European Union law is the first and thus far only example of a
supranational legal framework. However, given increasing global
economic integration, many regional agreements—especially the
Union of South American Nations—are on track to follow the same
model. In the EU, sovereign nations have pooled their authority
through a system of courts and political institutions. They have
the ability to enforce legal norms against and for member states
and citizens, in a way that public international law does not.
As the European Court of Justice said in 1962, European Union
law constitutes "a new legal order of international law" for the
mutual social and economic benefit of the member states.
Further disciplines
Law spreads far beyond the core subjects into virtually every
area of life. Three categories are presented for convenience,
though the subjects intertwine and overlap.
Law and society
* Labour law is the study of a tripartite industrial
relationship between worker, employer and trade union. This
involves collective bargaining regulation, and the right to
strike. Individual employment law refers to workplace rights,
such as health and safety or a minimum wage.
* Human rights, civil rights and human rights law are important
fields to guarantee everyone basic freedoms and entitlements.
These are laid down in codes such as the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights and the
U.S. Bill of Rights.
* Civil procedure and criminal procedure concern the rules that
courts must follow as a trial and appeals proceed. Both concern
a citizen's right to a fair trial or hearing.
* Evidence law involves which materials are admissible in courts
for a case to be built.
* Immigration law and nationality law concern the rights of
foreigners to live and work in a nation-state that is not their
own and to acquire or lose citizenship. Both also involve the
right of asylum and the problem of stateless individuals.
* Social security law refers to the rights people have to social
insurance, such as jobseekers' allowances or housing benefits.
* Family law covers marriage and divorce proceedings, the rights
of children and rights to property and money in the event of
separation.
|
