Law serves a variety of purposes in a nation, including to keep the peace, maintain the status quo, preserve individual rights, protect minorities against majorities, promote social justice and provide for orderly social change. Some legal systems serve these purposes better than others.
A law is a rule made by a government, which citizens must follow or face punishment for breaking. For example, stealing is against the law in most countries, and if you steal from someone you can be punished by being fined or put in jail.
Typically, law is divided into three categories: civil law, criminal law, and labor law. Each of these is concerned with specific topics, but they all overlap and intertwine.
Labour law deals with the tripartite industrial relationship between workers, employers and trade unions. It involves regulation of collective bargaining, the right to strike and employment rights such as minimum wages or health and safety standards.
Crime law consists of laws that govern the criminal process and how the courts must operate as they handle criminal cases. This includes rules about witnesses, evidence, and trials.
Trials involve government officials who decide whether to prosecute or not and what type of punishment to impose for the crime. The judge who determines this decision is known as a “justice.”
As with any field, the legal system has its own traditions and methods of applying the law. These vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Some of the most common ones include: