Law
hideLaw is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a primary social mediator in relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on derivatives markets. Property law defines rights and obligations related to the transfer and title of personal and real property. Trust law applies to assets held for investment and financial security, while tort law allows claims for compensation if a person's rights or property are harmed. If the harm is criminalised in penal code, criminal law offers means by which the state can prosecute the perpetrator. Constitutional law 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, while international law governs affairs between sovereign nation states in activities ranging from trade to environmental regulation or military action. Writing in 350 BC, the Greek philosopher Aristotle declared, "The rule of law is better than the rule of any individual."
Legal systems elaborate rights and responsibilities in a variety of ways. A general distinction can be made between civil law jurisdictions, which codify their laws, and common law systems, where judge made law is not consolidated. In some countries, religion still informs the law. Law provides a rich source of scholarly inquiry, such as legal history and philosophy, or social scientific perspectives such as economic analysis of law or the sociology of law. The study of law raises important and complex issues concerning equality, fairness, liberty and justice. "In its majestic equality", said the author Anatole France in 1894, "the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread." In a typical democracy, the central institutions for interpreting and creating law are the three main branches of government, namely an impartial judiciary, a democratic legislature, and an accountable executive. To implement and enforce the law and provide services to the public, a government's bureaucracy, the military and 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.
For more information about Law, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with law
Eureqa, the robot scientist (w/ Video)
Technology / Computer Sciences
Dec 07, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (15) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new program, Eureqa, takes raw data and formulates scientific laws to suit, and it is available by free download to all scientists.
Stable Opera 10.10 browser with Unite now available
Nov 24, 2009 |
3.4 / 5 (8) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- The web browser Opera 10.10 has been released as a stable version, and it has a number of new features to enhance the browsing experience, including "Unite", which is a group of applications ...
Rhino poaching surges in Asia, Africa
Dec 01, 2009 |
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Rhino poaching worldwide is on the rise, according to a new report by TRAFFIC and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Search results for law
Government delays new ban on Internet gambling
Nov 27, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (3) |
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(AP) -- The Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve are giving U.S. financial institutions an additional six months to comply with regulations designed to ban Internet gambling.
More clarity needed on law of assisted suicide
Nov 27, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Doctors need more clarity on what they can and cannot do within the current law on assisted suicide, according to an editorial by Dr Richard Huxtable and Professor Karen Forbes in this week's ...
Facebook, MySpace ban New York sex offenders
Dec 01, 2009 |
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2
Facebook and MySpace have closed the accounts of 3,533 convicted sex offenders in New York state under a law combating online predators, officials said Tuesday.
LST builds first global nanotech regulation database
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Dec 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A global database of government documents on nanotechnology is being launched by three law professors at Arizona State University who, with their colleagues in Australia and Belgium, have corralled and organized ...
Hospital price transparancy laws in California fall short, study finds
Dec 01, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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Uninsured patients in California are unable to successfully obtain information about the cost of medical care at hospitals despite recent state legislation intended to improve price transparency, according to a new study.
EU assembly adopts Internet, phone user rights
Nov 25, 2009 |
4 / 5 (2) |
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(AP) -- The European Parliament has endorsed new telecom rules that would give phone and Internet users more rights and allow them to appeal to national courts if they are cut off for illegal file-sharing.
Therapy 32 times more cost effective at increasing happiness than money
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Nov 20, 2009 |
2.8 / 5 (6) |
3
(PhysOrg.com) -- Research by the University of Warwick and the University of Manchester finds that psychological therapy could be 32 times more cost effective at making you happy than simply obtaining more money. The research ...
Drug ads ineffective for boosting sales, could cost taxpayers: study
Nov 23, 2009 |
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US Taxpayers may be on the hook for the high cost of drug advertising that does little to boost sales, according to a new study led by a University of British Columbia health policy researcher.
Climate change financing -- the role of development cooperation
Dec 15, 2009 |
1.7 / 5 (7) |
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"Development cooperation can play an important role in ensuring that the poorest countries will benefit from climate change funding," says Olof Drakenberg, policy analyst at the Environmental Economics Unit at the School ...
fMRI scans used in murder trial sentencing
Nov 25, 2009 |
3.3 / 5 (4) |
15
(PhysOrg.com) -- Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scans have been used, possibly for the first time, in the sentencing phase of a murder trial in Chicago in the US.
List of search results for law
