Law is a system of rules created and enforced by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior and to settle disputes between individuals. Its precise definition is a longstanding subject of debate. Some scholars see it as a science, others an art, and still others describe it as both. In any case, it is a central element in the functioning of a well-governed society and is essential to any political order.
A core feature of a legal system is that laws must be epistemically accessible. This means that they must be publicly promulgated so that individuals can study them, internalize them, figure out what they require of them, and use them as a framework for their planning and expectations, as well as for settling disputes with others. This requires the independence of the judiciary, the transparency of government business, and the integrity of legal procedures.
The legal field has evolved a number of ways to explain this accessibility. One view is that the logical empiricism of the early 20th century movement helped to create an understanding of law as a collection of empirical facts. This led to the development of a legal science known as jurisprudence, which studies how the facts work together to produce a particular outcome. Another approach is neo-realist, which seeks to understand how law works in the real world rather than as an abstract set of ideas or ideals.
Both empiricism and realism have limitations. The former explains how law actually works and what it produces, while the latter focuses on the moral judgments that go into deciding whether a particular rule is appropriate to a given situation. These judgments can be based on the principle of natural justice or on a judge’s own independent, present-day moral reasoning.
There are a wide variety of topics covered by the term “law”. The core subjects are labor law, civil and criminal procedure, and evidence law. The first covers regulations about the tripartite industrial relationship between employer, employee, and trade union; this includes collective bargaining and the right to strike. The second concerns the rights of citizens who face adverse actions that threaten their liberty or property. This includes the right to a fair trial and the requirement that an en banc court (all judges on a panel) hear appeals.
Beyond these three core subjects, there are many other areas of the law that cover specific aspects of life. Space law, for example, addresses the legality of activities in outer space and related issues. Tax law involves rules regulating the amount of money that banks must have on hand and the amount of taxes they must pay. Banking law covers rules governing the financial industry, including monetary policy and deposit insurance. It is also possible to have special types of law, such as antitrust or environmental. These are specialized fields that are not core parts of the legal field, but can have significant impacts on society. Law is a complex subject with implications that spread far and wide.