Law is a system of principles and rules that governs human behavior. It ensures that the government as well as private actors are accountable and that justice is delivered in a timely manner by competent, ethical, and independent representatives and neutrals who are accessible and have adequate resources.
Normative Powers and Duty (Loosely)
Legal powers are the legally recognized ability to change or create legal positions, relations, and norms. Similarly, duties are the legally recognized legal obligations to which people must adhere or which they cannot ignore.
At times, rights justify correlative duties, that is, duties that exclude or limit claims of rights based on countervailing reasons. But, in general, rights can serve as the basis for individual right-holders’ interests, agency, dignity, autonomy, control, and liberty, even when a state does not accord them sufficient protection.
Common Law and Civil Law
In most of the world, civil law systems, based on concepts and rules derived from Roman law, are widespread. They are often influenced by local custom and culture and are found on all continents.
Unlike common law systems, which apply to cases before the courts, civil law systems are governed by legislative statutes and regulations issued by the executive branch of government. Courts are entrusted with a “doctrine of precedent” that binds lower courts to decisions that are made by higher courts, so as to assure that similar cases reach similar results.
The word law is related to command and instruction in the Hebrew and Greek languages and also ascribed to God’s precepts in the Old Testament. The term may also be used to describe the governing laws of nations in the New Testament.