Law is the discipline and profession concerned with practices, sets of rules and customs that are recognized as binding by a community and enforced by a controlling authority. It permeates society in many ways, influencing politics, economics, history and culture, as well as governing relationships, governance, commerce and personal rights. Its numerous fields and evolving nature demonstrate its importance to human civilization.
Law can be state-enforced, as in a nation’s statutes and regulations; or privately enforceable through contracts. It is also often influenced by societal viewpoints on rationality, fairness and order, reflected in constitutional and moral laws. Judges and legal scholars study the development of law and how it has evolved, examining historical precedent, societal changes and other factors that influence the reasoning behind past rulings.
A nation’s law can be determined by the constitution, written or tacit, as well as its principles of justice encoded within. It can be established by a group legislature, resulting in statutes and regulations; by the executive branch through decrees and orders; or by judges through precedent. In common law jurisdictions, judicial precedent is treated as equal to and influences legislation.
Banking law and financial regulation establish minimum standards for banks to follow; property law defines people’s rights to and duties toward their tangible properties, influencing aspects of land and family law; tort law addresses the injuries that can be caused by an act or inaction, including car accidents, product liability and defamation; and contract law governs agreements between businesses or individuals. Other areas include immigration and nationality law, international law and trust law.