Law is the set of rules that regulates people and their behaviour and which is enforced by a controlling authority through penalties. A country’s law can be made by a group legislature, resulting in statutes; or by the executive through decrees and regulations. It can also be based on decisions of judges, as in the common law system; or it can be derived from codes, as in civil law systems such as those of Japan. Law can also be established by private individuals through contractual agreements or arbitration procedures, such as those governing a labour contract or a will.
A key question about law is the extent to which it incorporates morality. Utilitarian philosophers such as Jeremy Bentham argue that law is a collection of commands, backed by the threat of sanctions, from a sovereign to which people have a habit of obedience. Others, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, advocate that the laws of nature reflect a moral order.
Oxford Reference has a wide range of authoritative and concise entries for this important subject, including criminal law; law of the land; taxation and social security; human rights law; family and employment law; and major debates in legal theory. Our entries are written by trusted experts for researchers at all levels. For further information on law and legal systems, see: law, history of; law, philosophy of; and censorship. Also see: government; military; and justice. For a discussion of the limits of state power, see: modern policing; state and society.