What is Law? Purpose of Law.

What is Law?

Law is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways.

There are many main conception of what law is:

a) According to the divine theory of law, “Law is the formulation of divinely ordained rules for human action”.

b) According to the Austin’s command theory, “Law is the body of commands of the sovereign authority in a politically organized society as to how men should conduct themselves therein”.

c) Thomas Hobbes, an English jurist said, “Law is an obligatory rules of conduct the commands of him or them that have coercive power”.

d) Salmond, another English jurist said, “The law is the body of principles recognized and applied by the state in the administration of justice”.

e) Blackstone, another English jurist said, “Law is a rule made on a pre-existing custom exists as positive law apart from the legislator or judge”.

f) According to WikipediaLaws are made by governments, specifically by their legislatures., The Free Encyclopedia “Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior.

g) According to Black’s Law Dictionary, “Law is the regime that orders human activities and relations through systematic application of the force of politically organized society, or through social pressure, backed by force, in such a society”.

h) Article 152 of the Bangladesh Constitution provides that, “Law means any act, ordinance, order, rule, regulation, bye-law, notification or other legal instrument and any custom or usage, having the force of law in Bangladesh”.

However, it is a difficult task to define law simply that we have observed in the various definitions. Considering all the matters we may conclude that law is the body of rules, either formally enacted or customary which the state recognizes as binding on its subjects and which has a force to ensure rights through its different organs.

Purpose of Law:

1. To maintain peace in the society.
2. Justice Holmes said “the object of law is not the punishment of sins but to prevent certain external results”.
3. Pound pointed out that there are four purposes of law which are as follows-

a) To maintain law and order within a given society and that has to be done at any cost.

b) To maintain status quo in society.

c) To enable individual to have the maximum of freedom.

d) Maximum satisfaction of the need of the people.