Law is a set of rules created by governments and other institutions to ensure a peaceful society. When people break the laws, sanctions can be imposed on them.
Law consists of a wide range of legal disciplines, covering topics like criminal, property, and corporate law. In addition, legal issues are complex and can have a significant impact on our daily lives.
Many books containing different ideas and definitions of law have been written, and the precise nature of the term is still a subject of debate. However, most theories of law agree that it refers to a system of rules created by social or governmental institutions that regulate behaviour. These rules can be created and enforced through a group legislature, resulting in statutes; by an executive, resulting in decrees or regulations; or by judges, resulting in case law (also called common law). Private individuals can also create legally binding contracts, such as those for employment or business.
Most legal systems are based on some sort of philosophy. Utilitarian theory, developed by Jeremy Bentham, maintains that the purpose of law is to maximise human welfare. Other philosophers, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, argued that law is a set of moral guidelines derived from natural principles of good and evil. This concept of ‘natural law’ is now mostly forgotten, but it re-entered the mainstream Western world through the writings of Thomas Aquinas and other Catholic philosophers.
Modern legal systems are typically governed by constitutional laws and parliamentary statutes, with a judicial branch for interpretation and application of the law. Nevertheless, the philosophy of law is an important topic in its own right. It provides a framework for understanding how the law develops, as well as how the legal system can be criticised for failing to serve its intended purposes.
Articles on the philosophy of law tend to focus on the way in which a legal system can be improved, and may take a stand on controversial changes to legislation. For example, the recent article in the Yale Law Journal on ‘The Judging Machine: The PTO and Federal Circuit’ is an exploration of ways to improve the independence and quality of judging in patent law, and criticises two particular legal changes.
Other articles examine the relationship between law and other areas of life. For example, immigration law deals with the rights of people to live and work in a country that is not their own; family law involves relationships between members of a household or couple; and property law defines people’s rights to the tangible things they own, from their houses to their cars. Other articles explore the wider context of law, including history, ethics and politics. In particular, some articles consider the societal implications of specific areas of the law, such as privacy; intellectual property; the environment; and biolaw.