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
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News tagged with law
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).
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Scientists, lawyers mull effects of home robots
10 hours ago |
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(AP) -- Eric Horvitz illustrates the potential dilemmas of living with robots by telling the story of how he once got stuck in an elevator at Stanford Hospital with a droid the size of a washing machine.
In Taiwan, bird catchers turn bird watchers
Dec 04, 2009 |
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When Yeh You-chin was a boy half a century ago, he ate migratory birds with relish, but now he is at the forefront of efforts to preserve the feathered visitors to his south Taiwan home.
Stopping rape as an object of war
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Dec 04, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- It is a disturbing truth that sexual- and gender-based violence (SGBV) is used as a war tactic in developing nations. Silvia Dominguez, assistant professor of sociology at Northeastern University, ...
Wizard at circuits, physics
Dec 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Donhee Ham, Gordon McKay Professor of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics, uses his personal energy and understanding of physics to design innovative integrated circuits.
New rules for court reporting puts the privacy of children 'at risk'
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Dec 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- New legislation to relax the restrictions on media reporting of family court cases could put the privacy of vulnerable children at risk, according to a paper published by the Department of ...
Probing Question: Is forensic science on TV accurate?
Dec 03, 2009 |
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Turn on the television any evening and you're apt to see a scene such as this: Five crime scene investigators, or CSIs, return to the crime scene at night to follow up on some leads. CSI Kathryn Willows looks ...
More competitors, less competition
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Dec 03, 2009 |
3 / 5 (1) |
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The larger the number of examinees, the lower the average grade. This is one of the findings of a series of new studies carried out by scientists at the University of Haifa and the University of Michigan. "It is a well-established ...
A greener way to get electricity from natural gas
Dec 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new type of natural-gas electric power plant proposed by MIT researchers could provide electricity with zero carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere, at costs comparable to or less than ...
Turbulence around heat transport
Dec 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Heat transport in the earth's mantle and in the atmosphere is probably not as effective as previously thought.
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 ...
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