Define Law. Explain The Various Branches And Sources Of Law.docx

Qus.: Define Law. Explain the various branches and sources of law. Ans.: Law is a system of rules that are created and enforced through social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior. Law as a system helps regulate and ensure that a community shows respect, and equality amongst themselves. State-enforced laws can be made by a collective legislature or by a single legislator, resulting in statutes, by the executive through decrees and regulations, or established by judges through precedent, normally in common law jurisdictions. Private individuals can create legally binding contracts, including arbitration agreements that may elect to accept alternative arbitration to the normal court process. The formation of laws themselves may be influenced by a constitution, written or tacit, and the rights encoded therein. The law shapes politics, economics, history and society in various ways and serves as a mediator of relations between people. A general distinction can be made between (a) civil law jurisdictions, in which a legislature or other central body codifies and consolidates their laws, and (b) common law systems, where judge-made precedent is accepted as binding law. Historically, religious laws played a significant role even in settling of secular matters, and are still used in some religious communities. Islamic Sharia law is the world's most widely used religious law, and is used as the primary legal system in some countries, such as Iranand, Saudi Arabia. The adjudication of the law is generally divided into two main areas. Criminal law deals with conduct that is considered harmful to social order and in which the guilty party may be imprisoned or fined. Civil law (not to be confused with civil law jurisdictions above) deals with the resolution of lawsuits (disputes) between individuals or organizations. Law provides a source of scholarly inquiry into legal history, philosophy, economic analysis and sociology. Law also raises important and complex issues concerning equality, fairness, and justice. In the words of Salmond, “Law is the body of principles recognized and applied by the State in the administration of justice.” Woodrow Wilson has defined law as “that portion of the established habit and thought of mankind which has gained distinct and formal recognition in the shape of uniform rules backed by the authority and power of the government.” It represents a code of conduct which is established and enforced by the State. Law, in this sense, has a two-fold aspect: It is an abstract body of rules and also social machinery for securing order in the community. Law is not static As circumstances and conditions in a society change, laws are changed to fit the requirements of the society. As such, law prevailing in a society at any point of time must be in conformity

with the general sentiments, customs and aspirations of its people. It is a living phenomenon having a real existence in relation to the facts of human affairs. Object of law The object of law is order, and the result of order is that men are enabled to look ahead with some sort of security as to the future. Although human actions cannot be reduced to the uniformities of nature, men have yet endeavored to reproduce by law something approaching to this uniformity. In the context of new emerging India, the main object of law is considered to be “to establish socio-economic justice and remove the existing imbalance in the socio-economic structure.” Law, in this context, has to play a special role in the task of achieving the various socioeconomic goals enshrined in our Constitution. In a society like ours law has to serve as a vehicle of social change and as a harbinger of social justice. A great part of law is designed principally to bring about all-round welfare and improvement of the community and through welfare, well-being of the citizens individually and collectively from material, moral and spiritual standpoints.

Different Branches of Law Each branches deal with different aspect and different uses, it has its specification and advisory. We don’t have to become lawyer to understand laws of our great nation, what is important here is that we have basic understanding what are the laws that protects us. There are more than 20 branches of law: Civil Law: This law is specialized in resolving any dispute on contractual agreements. Any dispute without any criminal charges falls under the civil law category. Criminal Law: Dispute that concerns a crime committed against public authority or other citizen falls under criminal. Along with civil law, criminal law is one of the broad classifications under which an offense can be placed. Murder, theft, driving under the influence and other such violations fall under law, and are handled by a criminal defenses lawyer Property Law: Disputes regarding property ownership are resolves under the property law. What is important on this law is the distinction of difference between movable and immovable property. Movable property pertains to one personal possession, while immovable property refers to land and real estate. Property law deals only with immovable possessions. Income Tax Law. This branch of law deals with the income tax and other tax related disputes between individuals or companies vs. the Federal Government. Lawyers that specialized in Income tax law have great deal of expertise on this field.

Labor Law. Out of all different branches of law, labor law deals with the term and conditions and disputes regarding employment of labor. This is a set of rulings and regulation that govern the relationship and terms between an employer and employee. Though this falls under civil law, it is highly vast and extensive in nature. Minor Law. Minor law deals with all the cases of a person less than 18 years of age. This includes exploitation and abuses of minor and parental control and custody issues. Environmental Law. This is a set treaties, agreements, rules and statutes that aim to protect the environment. Anyone who offends these laws is subject to judgments through the system that is set in place. Due to its general nature, environmental law does not fall under criminal law category. Administration Law. This law deals with the activities and governing capacities of the administrative bodies of the Government. These bodies should not be exempt from standard laws of functioning, and administrative law is the branch that deals with disputes regarding the same time. Constitutional Law. This is one of the different branches of law that deals with study and implementation of principle set forth by The U.S. Constitution. Disregarding Constitutional policies is being reprimand by specialist in this branch of law and governance. Press Law. Freedom of the press gives press people and media personnel press freedom, but there are some rules and regulation to adhered and observed here as well. The press law deals with the liberties and power are enjoyed by the media. It also governs the copyright and intellectual property rights issues. Sales of Good Law. This are sets of laws and statute ruling that pertains to the sale and purchases of goods. There are needs to be a proper system in place to enable the smooth transaction of goods and services, and the sale of goods law is the set of laws one refers to it if any disputes arises. Aside from all these branches that are mentioned, here are some more different branches that you may come across at some point or the other. Marine law Public international law Family law Law of Torts Corporate law Excise law Limitation and arbitration law Air law

Defamation law Parliamentary law All these different branches of law go hand in hand and worked as well-oiled machines simultaneously to enable the smooth functioning of society. Individuals or group of individual’s breaks laws are dealt accordingly. And these keep society functioning well.

Main sources of Mercantile Law Indian mercantile law is based largely upon the English mercantile law. Prior to the enactment of the various Acts constituting mercantile law, the personal laws of the parties to suit regulated mercantile transactions. The rights of Hindus were governed by the Hindu Law and that of Muslims by the Mohammedan Law. In case of persons other than Hindus and Muslims, the Courts applied the principles of English Law. Further, where laws and usage of Hindus or Muslims were silent on any point, the principles of English Law were applied. The first efforts to pass an Act constituting mercantile law in India were made in 1872 by the passing of the Indian Contract Act. From that time a large number of statutes have been enacted concerning matters coming within the purview of mercantile law. For example, the Sale of Goods Act, 1930, the Partnership Act, 1932, the Companies Act, 1955, etc. The main sources of Indian Mercantile Law are: 1. English Mercantile Law: The English law is the most important source of Indian mercantile law. Many rules of English law have been incorporated into Indian law through statutes and judicial decisions. The sources of English law are: (i). Common Law: This law is known as judge made law. It is based upon customs and practices handed down from generation to generation. It is the oldest unwritten law. The English Courts developed these over centuries. (ii). Equity: Equity is also unwritten law. It is based upon concepts of justice developed by the judges whose decisions become precedents. It grew as a system of law supplementary to the common law and covered the deficiencies of the common law. Its rules were applied in cases where the rules of common law were considered harsh and oppressive. The Judicature Acts of 1873 and 1875 abolished the distinction between Common Law and Equity so that they are now applied to all cases. (iii). Statute Law: Statute law is one, which is laid down in the Acts of Parliament. Hence, it acts as the most superior and powerful source of law. It overrides any rule of common law or Equity. The other sources of the English Mercantile Law are:

(i). Law Merchant or Maritime usages: The Law Merchant was the forerunner of the English Mercantile Law. It was that branch of law which was based on customs and usages prevalent amongst merchants and traders. It developed during fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and was gradual recognized by the Command Law Courts. This source of Common Law rules is not closed, and as any new custom becomes generally recognized amongst merchants and is proved in the Courts, It becomes part of the Common Law. (ii) Roman law: A reference to Roman law was made when custom and usages failed to afford solution to particular case. (iii) Case Law: This is also an important source of the English mercantile law. It is built upon the decisions of the Judges. It is based on the principle that what has been decided in earlier case is binding in similar future case also unless that there is a change in the circumstances of the case. 2. Statute Law: A Bill passed by the parliament and signed by the President becomes a “Statute” or an Act. Most of the Indian laws are embodied in the various Acts passed by the Central as well as State legislators. The Indian Contract Act, 1872, the Sale of Goods Act, 1930, the Companies Act, 1956 are some of the examples of the statute law. 3. Judicial Decisions: Judicial decisions are also called as case laws. They referred to as precedents and are binding on all Courts having jurisdiction lower to that of the Court, which gave the judgment. The Courts in deciding cases involving similar points of law also follow them. 4. Customs and Usage: Customs and usage plays an important role in regulating business transactions. A well-recognized custom or usage can even override the statute law. Most of the business customs and usage have been already codified and given legal sanctions in India. Some of them have been ratified by the decisions of the competent Courts of law.