What (who) is legal - definition
![A trial in the Ottoman Empire, 1879, when religious law applied under the [[Mecelle]]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/1879-Ottoman Court-from-NYL.png?width=200 "A trial in the Ottoman Empire, 1879, when religious law applied under the [[Mecelle]]")
![The [[New York Stock Exchange]] trading floor after the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929]], before tougher [[banking regulation]] was introduced](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/1930-67B.png?width=200 "The [[New York Stock Exchange]] trading floor after the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929]], before tougher [[banking regulation]] was introduced")
![A march in Washington, D.C., during the [[civil rights movement]] in 1963](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/1963 march on washington.jpg?width=200 "A march in Washington, D.C., during the [[civil rights movement]] in 1963")
![The "[[McLibel case]]" was the longest-running case in UK history. It involved publishing a pamphlet that criticised [[McDonald's]] restaurants.](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Anti-McDonalds protest Leicester Square London 20041016.jpg?width=200 "The \"[[McLibel case]]\" was the longest-running case in UK history. It involved publishing a pamphlet that criticised [[McDonald's]] restaurants.")
![House of Representatives]], the [[lower house]] in the [[National Diet]] of [[Japan]]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Chamber of the House of Representatives of Japan.jpg?width=200 "House of Representatives]], the [[lower house]] in the [[National Diet]] of [[Japan]]")
![First page of the 1804 edition of the [[Napoleonic Code]]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Code Civil 1804.png?width=200 "First page of the 1804 edition of the [[Napoleonic Code]]")
![The [[Constitution of India]] is the longest written constitution for a country, containing 444 articles, 12 schedules, numerous amendments and 117,369 words.](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Constitution of India.jpg?width=200 "The [[Constitution of India]] is the longest written constitution for a country, containing 444 articles, 12 schedules, numerous amendments and 117,369 words.")
![The [[Court of Chancery]], London, England, early 19th century](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Court of Chancery edited.jpg?width=200 "The [[Court of Chancery]], London, England, early 19th century")
![The French [[Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen]]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Declaration of Human Rights.jpg?width=200 "The French [[Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen]]")
![G20]] meetings are composed of representatives of each country's executive branch.](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Dmitry Medvedev 2 April 2009-1.jpg?width=200 "G20]] meetings are composed of representatives of each country's executive branch.")
 by English School.png?width=200 "King John of England signs Magna Carta.")
![Presidential Palace]] in [[Helsinki]], [[Finland]]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Laki-patsas.jpg?width=200 "Presidential Palace]] in [[Helsinki]], [[Finland]]")
.png?width=200 "url-status=live }}</ref> Common law systems are shaded pink, and civil law systems are shaded blue/turquoise.")
![[[Max Weber]] in 1917. Weber began his career as a lawyer, and is regarded as one of the founders of sociology and sociology of law.](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Max Weber 1917.jpg?width=200 "[[Max Weber]] in 1917. Weber began his career as a lawyer, and is regarded as one of the founders of sociology and sociology of law.")
![code of laws]] by the Mesopotamian sun god [[Shamash]], also revered as the god of justice.](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Milkau Oberer Teil der Stele mit dem Text von Hammurapis Gesetzescode 369-2.jpg?width=200 "code of laws]] by the Mesopotamian sun god [[Shamash]], also revered as the god of justice.")
![Emperor [[Justinian]] (527–565) of the [[Byzantine Empire]], who ordered the codification of [[Corpus Juris Civilis]]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Mosaic of Justinianus I - Basilica San Vitale (Ravenna).jpg?width=200 "Emperor [[Justinian]] (527–565) of the [[Byzantine Empire]], who ordered the codification of [[Corpus Juris Civilis]]")
![mandarin]]s were powerful bureaucrats in imperial China (photograph shows a [[Qing dynasty]] official with [[mandarin square]] visible).](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Qing Dynasty Mandarin.jpg?width=200 "mandarin]]s were powerful bureaucrats in imperial China (photograph shows a [[Qing dynasty]] official with [[mandarin square]] visible).")
![notary]], a legally trained public official, compensated by the parties to a transaction.<ref>Hazard–Dondi, ''Legal Ethics'', 22</ref> This is a 16th-century painting of such a notary by Flemish painter [[Quentin Massys]].](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Quentin Massys 007.jpg?width=200 "notary]], a legally trained public official, compensated by the parties to a transaction.<ref>Hazard–Dondi, ''Legal Ethics'', 22</ref> This is a 16th-century painting of such a notary by Flemish painter [[Quentin Massys]].")
![Salem]]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/SalemWitchcraftTrial large.jpg?width=200 "Salem]]")
![A painting of the [[South Sea Bubble]], one of the world's first ever speculations and crashes, led to strict regulation on share trading.<ref>Harris, ''The Bubble Act'', 610–627</ref>](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/South Sea Bubble.jpg?width=200 "A painting of the [[South Sea Bubble]], one of the world's first ever speculations and crashes, led to strict regulation on share trading.<ref>Harris, ''The Bubble Act'', 610–627</ref>")
![Officers of the [[South African Police Service]] in [[Johannesburg]], 2010](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/South african police may 2010.jpg?width=200 "Officers of the [[South African Police Service]] in [[Johannesburg]], 2010")
![A trade union protest by [[UNISON]] while on strike](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Unison strike rally Oxford 20060328.jpg?width=200 "A trade union protest by [[UNISON]] while on strike")
Wikipedia
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the art of justice. State-enforced laws can be made by a group legislature or by a single legislator, resulting in statutes; by the executive through decrees and regulations; or established by judges through precedent, usually in common law jurisdictions. Private individuals may create legally binding contracts, including arbitration agreements that adopt alternative ways of resolving disputes to standard court litigation. The creation 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 also serves as a mediator of relations between people.
Legal systems vary between jurisdictions, with their differences analysed in comparative law. In civil law jurisdictions, a legislature or other central body codifies and consolidates the law. In common law systems, judges may make binding case law through precedent, although on occasion this may be overturned by a higher court or the legislature. Historically, religious law has influenced secular matters and is, as of the 21st century, still in use in some religious communities. Sharia law based on Islamic principles is used as the primary legal system in several countries, including Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The scope of law can be divided into two domains. Public law concerns government and society, including constitutional law, administrative law, and criminal law. Private law deals with legal disputes between individuals and/or organisations in areas such as contracts, property, torts/delicts and commercial law. This distinction is stronger in civil law countries, particularly those with a separate system of administrative courts; by contrast, the public-private law divide is less pronounced in common law jurisdictions.
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.
