

"let's forget about generalities and get down to cases"). It is possible to take the view that there is no need to define the word "law" (e.g. Thurman Arnold said that it is obvious that it is impossible to define the word "law" and that it is also equally obvious that the struggle to define that word should not ever be abandoned. He said that, for example, " early customary law" and " municipal law" were contexts where the word "law" had two different and irreconcilable meanings. Glanville Williams said that the meaning of the word "law" depends on the context in which that word is used. McCoubrey and White said that the question "what is law?" has no simple answer. In 1972, Baron Hampstead suggested that no such definition could be produced. There have been several attempts to produce "a universally acceptable definition of law". Sharia law based on Islamic principles is used as the primary legal system in several countries, including Iran and Saudi Arabia. Historically, religious law has influenced secular matters and is, as of the 21st century, still in use in some religious communities. 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. In civil law jurisdictions, a legislature or other central body codifies and consolidates the law. Legal systems vary between jurisdictions, with their differences analysed in comparative law.

The law shapes politics, economics, history and society in various ways and serves as a mediator of relations between people. The creation of laws themselves may be influenced by a constitution, written or tacit, and the rights encoded therein. Private individuals may create legally binding contracts, including arbitration agreements that adopt alternative ways of resolving disputes to standard court litigation. 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. It has been variously described as a science and the art of justice.

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. Iustitia (" Lady Justice") is a symbolic personification of the coercive power of a tribunal: a sword representing state authority, scales representing an objective standard and a blindfold indicating that justice should be impartial.
