English Law

Law is a term that does not have a universally accepted definition, but one definition is that law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior. Laws can be made by legislatures through legislation (resulting into statutes), the executive through decrees and regulations, or judges through binding precedents (normally in common law jurisdictions). The formation of laws themselves may be influenced by a constitution (written or unwritten) and the rights encoded therein. The law shapes politics, economics, and society in various ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. The adjudication of the law is generally divided into two main categories: Criminal law and Civil law. Criminal law deals with the conduct that is considered harmful to social order and in which the guilty party may be imprisoned or fined. Civil law deals with the resolution of lawsuits (disputes) between individuals and organizations. These resolutions seek to provide a legal remedy (often monetary damages) to the winning litigant. Under civil law, the following specialties, among others, exist: Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on derivatives markets. Property law regulates the transfer and title of personal property and real property. Trust law applies to assets held for investment and financial security. Tort law allows claims for compensation if a persons property is harmed. Constitutional law (written or unwritten) provides a framework for the creation of law, the protection of human rights and the election of political representatives. Administrative law is used to review the decisions of government agencies. International law governs affairs between sovereign states in activities ranging from trade to military action. To implement and enforce the law and provide services to the public by public servants, a governments bureaucracy, the military and the police are vital. While all these organs of the state are creatures created and bound by law, an independent legal profession and a vibrant civil society inform and support their progress.

Law provides a rich source of scholarly inquiry into legal history, philosophy, economic analysis and sociology. Law also raises important and complex issues concerning equality, fairness, and justice, as well as the proposition that All are equal before the law. The author Anatole France said in 1894, in its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets, and steal loaves of bread. Writing in 350 BC, the Greek philosopher Aristotle declared, The rule of law is better than the rule of any individual. Mikhail Bakunin said: All law has for its object to confirm and exalt into a system the exploitation of the workers by a ruling class. Cicero said more law, less justice. Marxist doctrine asserts that law will not be required once the state has withered away.

Definition
There have been many attempts to produce "a universally acceptable definition of law". By 1972, no such definition had been produced. McCoubrey and White said that the question "what is law?" has no simple answer. Glanville Williams said that the meaning of the word law depends on the context in which that word is used. He said that, for example, early customary law and municipal law were contexts where the word law had two different irreconcilable meanings. Thurman Arnold said that it is obvious that it is impossible to define the word law and that it is also equally obvious that the struggle to define that word should not ever be abandoned. It is possible to take the view that there is no need to define the word law (e.g. lets forget about generalities and get down to cases )
Proposed Definitions

One definition is that law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior. In The Concept of Law Hart argued law is a system of rules.

Austid said law was the command of a sovereign ,backed by the thread of a sanction, Dworkin describes law as an interpretive concept to achieve justice and Raz argues law is an authority to mediate peoples interests. Holmes said the prophecies of what the courts will do in fact, and nothing more pretentious, are what I mean by the law In conclusion, law can be defined in many ways, be it in a subjective or objective manner. But, in my honest opinion, law is the totally of rules of conduit, established and sanctioned by the state.

Bibliography

Printed Sources
Rule of Law by Tom Bigham. What About Law by Catherine Barnard

Online Sources
jurisprudence, publications, documentation (in French). La Cour de Cassation law.Law.com Dictionary. law.Online Etymology Dictionary. Marmor,Andrei (1934) The Pure Theory of Law.