Law is a set of rules that is created by governments or other social institutions to regulate behaviour. It has variously been described as a science or the art of justice.
There are many different areas of law, each one governed by a specific legal system. These include contract law, property law, and company law.
Civil law settles disputes between people and compensates the victims of wrongdoing. It is also the area of law that deals with private contracts, such as when a person backs up into someone’s fence and doesn’t pay for it.
Commercial law covers complex contracts and property laws, including agency, insurance and bills of exchange. Its roots lie in the medieval Lex Mercatoria and is codified by the United Kingdom Sale of Goods Act 1979 and the US Uniform Commercial Code.
Competition law is the area of law that regulates the way businesses work together to control prices and market share. It includes anti-cartel and anti-monopoly statutes, which were introduced in the early 20th century.
Consumer law is the area of law that deals with protecting the rights of consumers. It can involve any number of issues, such as the right to receive fair contracts and the right to redress unfair business practices.
Labor law is the area of law that regulates collective bargaining, employee relations and labor unions. It has been disfigured by courts, attacked by employers and rendered inapt by a global and fissured economy.
Justification is the legal norm grounding that makes a claim-right, privilege-right or power-right valid. This justification can be a normative principle such as “every man has a right in his/her good name” or a legal rule such as “Joseph holds a right in his/her good name.”
The moral function of a right is to determine how a right-holder (the subject) may act. Hohfeld distinguishes four types of right: claims, privileges, powers and immunities.
Claims are the norms that are most often associated with rights in law. A claim is a form of entitlement, such as “X has a claim to Y’s property because Y is under a duty to X to ph.”
Privileges and powers are the norms that are most often associated in law with rights in rem. A privilege is a form of entitlement, such as “X has a privilege to Y’s property because Y’s duty to X to ph is greater than it is to other parties” or “X has a power to do Y’s bidding because Y’s duty to X is higher than its own”
Immunities are the norms that are most often associated as well in law. A immunity is a form of entitlement, such as, “X has an immunity from Y’s wrongful actions because Y’s wrongful actions violate a ‘law of nature’ or a ‘law of nature’s moral imperative”
Some rights are active while others are passive. Some are directed at a particular person (rights in personam), while others are directed to a specific property or asset (rights in rem).
