Law is a vast and complex field of study. It is also a field that is rapidly growing in popularity among young people. It encompasses all the professions that deal with advising people about laws, representing people in court or giving decisions and punishments. Law is also the system of rules that a particular country or community recognizes as regulating its members’ actions.

A common definition of law is that it is a set of rules created by the state that forms a framework to ensure a peaceful society and that can be enforced and sanctions imposed when they are broken. However, this definition of law often raises controversial questions about what is and is not included in a legal system. For example, some critics of the idea that law is nothing more than power backed by threats argue that such a view of law leaves citizens at the mercy of those in charge of enforcing it. Other critics of this argument point out that citizens are able to elect their government officials, meaning that they are not completely at the mercy of those in power.

The concept of a natural law was popularized by philosophers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau. A natural law theory of law holds that there are essentially moral and unchangeable laws that exist in the universe, and that these principles are reflected in the behavior of all human beings, and can therefore be reflected in the creation and enforcement of legal systems. A natural law approach to law is in contrast to the utilitarian theories of law that were developed by philosophers such as Jeremy Bentham.

Other topics of debate about the nature of law include whether the word “law” is properly used to refer only to written rules, or if it should also include the broader sense of an ethical code that governs one’s conduct and dictates what should be done in certain situations. In addition, many discussions of law focus on how the law should be enforced, and the ways in which it might be changed or influenced.

There are many kinds of law, covering a wide range of topics including air law; agency; bankruptcy; aviation; carriage of goods; commercial transaction; contract; criminal law; family law; inheritance; labour law; maritime law; medical jurisprudence; property law; tax law and tort law. For more information about laws in specific areas, see the articles on those subjects. For information about the process of becoming a lawyer, see the articles on legal education and the legal profession. For more information about the relationship of law to political systems, see the articles on constitution; ideology; political party; and political structure. For more information about the relationship of law and social justice issues, see the articles on human rights, land reform and social service. For information about the legal processes and organization of a nation, see the article on law in government.