Law consists of a system of rules developed by a government or society over a specific territory to deal with crime, business, social relationships and property. It provides a source of scholarly inquiry into legal history, philosophy, economic analysis and sociology as well as addressing complex issues about fairness and justice.
From a philosophical perspective, the complexity of law stems from its unique status in relation to other sciences and disciplines. Law is a normative science, not an empirical or causal one (as the laws of gravity or economics). It imposes obligations on people and specifies what they must do or must not do.
Hence, it can be viewed as a kind of moral imperative to obey the law and the legal system. Nevertheless, the fact that law imposes duties on people and limits their freedoms makes it difficult to view law as entirely ethical.
There are many different kinds of laws, which can be categorized into three broad categories, though these subjects intertwine and overlap. Labour and individual employment law, for example, relates to the tripartite relationship between worker, employer and trade union. Tort law deals with compensation for harm, such as in automobile accidents or defamation of character. Criminal and civil procedure law relates to the rules courts must follow as trials and appeals proceed.
There are also laws derived from religious precepts, such as the Jewish Halakha or Islamic Sharia. Such laws require further elaboration by human beings, through interpretation, Qiyas and Ijma, in order to make them into a full and workable system of law.