Law is a system of rules created and enforced by the government of a country to ensure that people do not harm each other. This system includes a framework of regulations for the overall behaviour of a society and laws which govern individual activities, such as driving or using the internet. The laws are enforced by police and courts, who punish people if they break the rules.
The legal systems of countries around the world vary enormously but all have some similarities. They are based on a constitution which sets out the general principles for how the system works. Then there are a set of laws called statutes which provide more details on how things work in practice. Usually there are also a number of judges to interpret the statutes and laws when it comes to specific cases.
A person who studies and argues the laws of a country is known as a lawyer, jurist or attorney. They may be involved in transactions which are called civil law or they may argue cases before a court of common law. In some countries lawyers who are involved in transactional law are known as solicitors and those who argue cases before a court of common law are known as barristers.
When a law is written it is often based on the ideas and values of the society which has created it. The principles which drive the laws of a culture are usually influenced by family and social habits, and religious beliefs and books like the Bible or Koran.
It is very important to understand the relationship between the law and the political structure of a country because it determines who has power to make the laws and how they are enforced. In most countries, the political system is based on democracy which means that citizens have rights to a certain degree and that any person who does something wrong can be punished by the police or courts.
Law is a vast area of study which covers many areas of human life and activity. For example, intellectual property law covers the rights that people have over their own creations, such as music, art or writing and trademark law protects business names. Tax law is a key part of the legal system and family and employment law are both important areas of the law. The law also relates to health and safety, environmental issues and international affairs. There are also a lot of rules and laws governing sports and recreational activities.
