Law is a multifaceted concept encompassing the body of practices, customs, and rules enforced by social or governmental institutions. It addresses issues of rationality, justice, morality, order, and honesty from both societal viewpoints and the judicial point of view. It includes a broad spectrum of activities including enacting policies and statutes, adjudicating disputes, and interpreting and defining the meanings of terms and concepts. It also involves the study of how laws have evolved in different civilizations over time, documenting adjustments and justifications.
Basically, law refers to a set of precepts created by the state that form the framework of a society and are followed by citizens. When laws are broken, the individuals who break them can be punished. Most places have a law against stealing, for example, and those caught are either fined or jailed depending on the severity of the crime. Some laws are specific to certain types of people such as those that apply to minors and young drivers.
Other laws are general such as those that protect property, privacy and civil rights. Still others deal with particular issues such as labour and medical jurisprudence. In addition, laws dealing with legal procedure and evidence address how courts conduct trials and hearings. Laws can be written by legislators, resulting in statutes; by the executive through decrees and regulations; or they can be established by judges through precedent, as in common law jurisdictions. In religious communities, laws can be derived from precepts, such as those found in the Jewish Halakha and the Islamic Shari’ah.