What Do You Mean By Law?

We often encounter the word or term “law” in our day to day life. We often hear it in the news, read it in books and newspaper, magazines and other kind of publication.

Law has a daily application in practically every human activities or every aspect of human life that is or may become the subject of any law for that matter. From birth to death and all the things in between these two periods of life, it can be safely said that there is an applicable laws.

In fact, even before one’s birth or at the very moment of one’s conception there is an applicable laws on this point or matter.

We also often hear the word or the statement “it is against the law?”, “is it lawful?” or “do not take the law into your own hands”. From these words we can say that law is indeed inseparable from man. Man is use in this blog in its generic sense which include woman as well.

So one may ask the question, what is law? or how do you define law? or how can you say that a particular human act or act is lawful or unlawful?

Definition of Law

   The field of law as part of the academic subject or a part of human knowledge is very broad. Many legal scholar, jurists, lawyer or academician or social scientist has attempted to define what the law is depending on one’s analysis, perspectives and philosophy with regards to law as an idea or concept.

It its simplest term, law may be define as a rule of conduct promulgated by competent authority for common observance.

From our simple definition we can say that the term law has three main particular elements or components, namely: a.) Law is a rule of conduct; b.) Law is promulgated by competent authority; and c.) Law is for common observance.

In our modern society every members of the society knows and recognize the existence of law. In fact, the very basis of the existence of any State or society or government for that matter is based upon the law.

Law As A Rule Of Conduct

   The primary subject of law is human action or human conduct. That’s why law is characterized in our definition as a “rule of conduct”. A rule is something that we use to measure or that we use as a standard or something that any human conduct must conform.

The term human conduct always involves human actions and when we say human action it includes acts (something that we do) or omission (something that we failed to do). Any acts or omission produce an effect or result in the outside world or the world beyond our self.

So in this sense, law is prescriptive in nature since it prescribes a particular action or conduct that a person must do or observe to serve as a rule for his or her conduct.

If a person perform an act in accordance with the prescribe rule of conduct then it can be said that his or her act is “lawful”, otherwise if his or her conduct is not in accordance with the prescribe rule, then it is said to be “unlawful”. (to be continue)