General Concepts of Law - By Isha

 Introduction

In general sense the law is used as legal order which implies the relations and conduct of parties by the systematic application of the force of organized political system through the official control. The court of law refers to the institutions where the disputes are adjudicated and the justice is administered.

Law is a rule or a set of rules enacted or which follows a custom in a community or communities and used as enjoying or prohibiting certain actions and enforced by penalties or punishments.

Law may be defined as “rules or body of rules and collectively a social system” and signifies a rule of human conduct, governing relationship between two or more persons and is made of legal percepts, traditions and ideals. When these rules are applied within national boundaries, they are known as National Laws which regulate relationship between two or more persons in a nation, while rules of conduct between countries is known as International Laws which govern the relationship between two or more states or countries.

The most fundamental source of all laws in modern India is the Indian Constitution to which all laws must conform. The gamut of existing law is divisible into civil laws and criminal laws.

The basic distinction between civil and criminal laws is that civil laws involve restoration of right of private parties, while criminal laws deal with conduct which is harmful to the society at large.

Law can also be classified into Public and Private Law. Public law deals with relations between States and it’s subjects, Private law regulates relations among subjects. Examples of Public Laws are Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and Criminal Law. Examples of Private Laws are Torts, Contracts, Company Law, Tenancy Law, etc.

The Indian legal system recognizes three main sources of law:

1. Custom

2. Legislation

3. Precedent

Custom is a long followed practice. Legislation refers to laws enacted by the Parliament and Precedent refers to laws laid down by Supreme court and High courts in interpretation of statutes. In Britain, the law developed by courts is also called “common law”.

The present Indian legal system was almost entirely created by the Britishers. Some of our most important laws like the Indian Penal Code, Indian Contract Act, Indian Evidence Act, etc., survive substantially in the same form though were enacted in the nineteenth century. Others like Criminal Procedure Code, Limitation Act, etc., have been re-enacted to suit the needs of modern India. Besides that, a vast collection of laws have been enacted in the post-independent India to meet the ever changing social situation, they include Consumer Protection Act, Dowry Prohibition Act , Competition Act, Right to Information Act and above all the Constitution of India was adopted in November 1949 and enforced in January 1959 to execute the economic,legal, and social administration of the country etc.

“Rule of law” is the most important value of modern legal systems. It means that people are subject to laws and not to arbitrary whims of men.

“Separation of Powers” is another desirable value. It means that the three wings of the Government viz. Executive, legislature, and judiciary must be separate and independent of each other and that they must function so as to check and balance each other.