Introduction to Law: Sources, Principles, Legal Systems and Examples

This report offers a comprehensive introduction to the field of law, delving into its fundamental aspects, including its definition as a set of rules governing societal behavior, established and enforced by governing bodies. The report explores various sources of law, such as constitutions, treaties, customs, case laws, and precedents, highlighting their significance in different legal systems. It contrasts civil and common law systems, examining their origins and methods of law creation. The report also addresses key legal principles like natural justice and equity, alongside different types of liabilities, and the roles of primary and secondary sources. It also discusses the law-making process, the role of jurisprudence and the importance of statutory laws, providing a broad overview of law's diverse applications and influences. The conclusion summarizes the core components of law, its sources, and how they are used in statutes and cases.

Introduction to Law

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Law is a cluster of rules for regulating the behaviour of people by governing bodies.
Laws are generally formed by the government of a particular region. It is enforced by the
executive body and protected by the courts. Law is that field which covers various aspects of
regulations in a society. This paper deals with brief exposure of law and its sources.
MAIN BODY
Law is defined as those rules, regulations, provisions, sections, etc. which is enacted by
he governing entities to regulate functioning of a society. It has been a part of civilisation from
historical period. It includes various decrees, judgements, regulations, precedents, constitution,
customs, civil and criminal responsibilities, etc. It is also consists of various treaties, conventions
and agreements. For understanding the concept of law one has to study jurisprudence. It is that
stream of law which describes the science and reason for creating laws, also it suggest various
measures in which laws are formulated. There were several jurists such as Aristotle, Austin,
Plato, Cicero and many more, who describes law in their way of understanding and which has
helped a lot in structuring a civilised society. (Hames, J.B. and Ekern, Y., 2014)
The ambit of law and legal system is very wide. One can take dive in an ocean and return
on the land but after reaching to the depths of laws it is impossible to come back. It is like an
addiction, moreover science related to law is still growing immensely. Jurisprudence has been an
essential part of every civilisation. In Rome it was not codified, generally comprise of social and
cultural practices that influenced private and public life of Romans, it was described as mos
maiorum. These laws are transferred orally to next generation. Several schools of law were
instituted, in which studies of facts and science related to laws were discussed.(Hage, J.,
Waltermann, A. and Akkermans, B. eds., 2017)
The general principle of law is to provide natural justice and equity to the people. It is
based upon the maxim, 'audi alteram partem', which means other side should also be heard
before coming to a conclusion. Moreover, laws are provided for remedies to the damages, it is
implied by a maxim, 'ubi jus ibi remedium', according to it, where there is a damage a person is
entitled for remedy. Laws are made for providing remedies to the person who has incurred
damages. There are two types of liabilities civil and criminal, both of these are mandatory to be
performed in order to promote harmony in a society. Breaching of such responsibilities results in
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punitive measures taken by the governing body, the court. Punitive measures are such part of law
which creates fear and forces people to follow those rules made for the betterment of society.
Laws are not always meant for easy the pain of people sometimes it also has an adverse
effect, but that generally depend upon region and what type of ideology a state is considering.
Sometimes laws are radical and it can create violation of human and natural rights. Every state
has their own purpose and sources of making laws. Generally there are two types of sources
Primary and Secondary. A Primary source is such which includes constitution, international
conventions, treaties, customs and usages where as Secondary sources are those which includes
case laws, judgements and precedents by courts. In a democracy, laws are created from the
constitution, treaties, international conventions and courts order by keeping customs and cultural
practice in mind. Creators are responsible to construct such laws which should be an amalgam of
discussed sources. For instance, in United Kingdom, laws are created by the Parliament, sources
which they consider is depend on various precedents and judgements given by courts. In India
laws are generated within the context of constitution by referring to customs and regional
practices of certain areas, moreover these laws are reformatory that is why India is considered as
largest and greatest democracy in the world. Now, if we look upon the gulf countries the source
of law they consider is basically depend on Sharia law, which is radical and thus results in
violating various rights vested in an individual. In a broader view sources of law is different in
every distinct region.(Hess, K., Orthmann, C.H. and Cho, H., 2014)
In the United Kingdom, primary source of law is European Laws. These laws are
applicable on 28 members of state known as European Union. European laws are comprise of
treaties, conventions, regulations and directives. Treaties are the main source of ramming new
laws in UK, as it is an effective source which can be reformed anytime. These sources are use to
make new laws by law making bodies. Constitution provides a basic guideline so that no
statutory laws can be enforced out of its ambit. A constitution is comprise of preamble, which
provides a basic overview of creating it. Most importantly it includes how government is going
to function. A government is a group of the legislature, executive and the court. Moreover, a
constitution includes various fundamental rights given to its citizen with directive principles and
working pattern of governing bodies. Constitution is a result of certain conventions and treaties.
Regulations and Directives also parts a significant role in the formation laws. Regulations are
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those order made by the authorities to maintain behaviour of society and directives are
instructions made by law making entities.
Apart from codified documents secondary sources are also used to create new laws. It
embodies precedents and judgements made by courts. This source is usually considered to make
laws in UK. The real question is how case judgement can be utilized for creating new laws? For
example, there is a situation whose legal provisions are not given in any statue then court will
decide upon such matter according to natural justice and equity. The judgement and precedent
made during the case is then proposed through a Bill in the parliament to enact laws related to
over come such situation. But there is a negative effect of such process which is, it will create
number of statutes and they are not even codified so it becomes difficult to interpret laws by the
courts.
A legal system is divided into civil and common law system. Civil law system was
originated in Europe from Roman era, the laws are codified and includes in primary source of
laws. It is created by the principle of stare decisis which means laws are created by using court
decisions or precedent. These laws are different from common law. Common laws are
constructed by using case laws, statutes or legislation where as Civil laws are created by the use
of Legislation and these legislation are generated by using primary sources of law. Equity courts
were also established in ancient era. These courts were responsible for deciding such matters
whose codified laws were not given. It was a concept followed in Roman Empire also known as
Court of Chancery. The petitions were heard by Lord Chancellor of England. The most signifiant
thing about these courts was they don't work under their own stamp not the Kings Council as it
was done earlier.(Giddens, T., 2015)
Laws or statutory laws are derived from these sources, for example contract laws in UK
are regulated by English law of contract. According to it a contract is valid only if it has an offer,
acceptance and consideration. These principles are derived from various treaties and agreements
between the parties. Also, it is based on common law, case decisions and statutes. Moreover,
principle of natural justice is mandatory to be obeyed by the courts in giving decisions. Certain
other statutes like Companies Act 2006, Employment Rights Act 1996, etc. are the conclusive
effort of sources and key principles of a legal system. These statutes are passed by the process of
introducing a bill in the parliament. A bill is of three types and its a draft of laws which the
government wants to enforce on its people. A private bill affects the interest of individual, it is
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framed by keeping the view of people and customs in one context where as public bill influences
the interest of public as whole. These laws are made by using secondary sources that is
precedents and order or decree made by court in an incident. In this way laws are being created
by using distinct sources in a precise manner.
CONCLUSION
Laws are such obligations which is certainly enforced by the governing institutes over its
citizen. It is incorporated with various legal documents such as constitutions, judgement order,
precedents, etc. Each source has its own significance and are utilized for the framing of laws.
Every state has their own way to interpret the laws according to their sources and it is not
necessary that laws are always created for the betterment of people sometimes it has an adverse
effect on the complying body. This report is a brief description about what is law? How they are
configured? And what are it sources and key principles and how it can be use in cases and
statutes.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Hames, J.B. and Ekern, Y., 2014. Introduction to law. Prentice Hall.
Hage, J., Waltermann, A. and Akkermans, B. eds., 2017. Introduction to law. Springer.
Hess, K., Orthmann, C.H. and Cho, H., 2014. Introduction to law enforcement and criminal
justice. Nelson Education.
Giddens, T., 2015. Introduction. In Graphic Justice (pp. 15-21). Routledge.
Online
An Introduction to Law. 2014 [Online]. Available through <lawgovpol.com/introduction-to-
laws/>.
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