Law is a complex, evolving and powerful framework for social order. It permeates every aspect of human society influencing relationships, governance, commerce and personal rights. It covers such diverse areas as contract law, regulating agreements to exchange goods and services; property law, determining people’s rights toward tangible property including real estate (land) and personal possessions; and intellectual and financial laws relating to the ownership of intangible assets such as ideas and trademarks.
The study of law also addresses such questions as whether laws should be based on written or unwritten constitutions and the relationship of law to political structures and systems. It considers the ways in which the law is shaped by history, culture and philosophy. Max Weber reshaped thinking about the extent to which state power should be used in the regulation of human relations. Modern military, policing and bureaucratic power over the everyday lives of ordinary citizens raise new problems for accountability that were not anticipated by Locke or Montesquieu.
A legal system consists of the rules, statutes and decisions that determine how a country or region operates. A country may operate a common law, civil law or religious law regime. A legal system may also include constitutional law, administrative law and international law.
An essential component of law is a court, a place where legal cases are tried and decided. The structure of a court includes a chief judge who oversees the administration of the court and judges who decide legal cases. Judges can be of any gender and may come from any background or religion. They may write their own opinions on the cases they are deciding, or they can follow precedent (the doctrine of stare decisis) and base their decision on detailed records of past legal decisions.
Court procedures include arraignment – a hearing at which a defendant is told of the charges against him or her and asked to enter a plea (guilty, not guilty or not guilty by reason of mental disease). Probation – a sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which convicted offenders are released on probation under supervision as long as they obey certain conditions. Public defenders – represent indigent criminal defendants who cannot afford to hire their own lawyers.
A legal system may also include an appeals process in which a judge can review the judgment of another judge or tribunal. A dissenting opinion is a statement by a judge on the case who disagrees with the majority decision. A concurring opinion is a statement by a judge that agrees with the majority but adds further comment explaining why they do so. An in forma pauperis ruling allows someone to sue without paying the usual court fees on the basis of poverty or a lack of money. A person who brings a lawsuit on these grounds is known as a pro se litigant. A party to a lawsuit is known as a plaintiff or defendant. The law of torts is a field of legal study that provides compensation when someone or their property is harmed.
