What is Law? Humans, because of the added sixth sense, and so called “intelligence”, and the various needs of this modern and materialistic world, tend to want more than what they just need. Various other factors of states of mind of people, and other psychological stuff, people disrupt people’s lives. This disruption is of course done in various degrees. Having said that, we can go ahead to see the definition of law. The Law can be defined as rules and standards that administer all aspects of the society. They regulate:
- The government of state
- Relationship between the government and the individuals
- The conduct of Individuals towards each other
Legislation, or Law-Making, is a complex process. In democratic societies, new laws are formulated and passed by governments. Let’s see this process in brief:
- Legal advisers are responsible for drafting the wording of the law.
- Provisional laws are scrutinized by the legislative assembly, and hence maybe amended or altered.
- On acceptance, they are called statute laws.
Types of Law
We may all be familiar with criminal law. But there are laws with deal with every other aspect of life too. Of the many types of laws, some of the most important are
- Criminal Law – impose obligation on all members of the society not to do certain things that are considered an offence against both the society and an individual. E.g. violence, murder, assault, property, theft, failure to pay fines, traffic offenses, public disorder etc.
- Civil Law – deals with claims by individuals that another has injured their property, person, or reputation, or failed to carry out a legal obligation (contract). E.g. minor disputes between neighbors, cases involving international organizations, day to day events like buying and selling houses etc.
- Family Law – Relationships between couples, parents and children, and within families are governed by Family Law. E.g. divorce settlements, question of custody of, access to, children etc. It also safeguards the rights of children against violence and neglectful parents.
- International Law – govern relationship between states, regulates international organizations and Multinational corporations (MNC’s). The United Nations (UN) has the power to use the international law.
- Constitutional Law – a body of rules and practices that are laid down. (a constitution of a nation is a set of political principles by which a state is governed.)
