The Law is a system of rules that a government or society develops to deal with crime, business agreements and social relationships. It includes criminal laws that define and punish crimes and civil laws that govern contract disputes, property rights and other matters involving people.
The concept of Law is complex from a methodological viewpoint, because it encompasses normative and prescriptive statements that cannot be checked like statements in empirical science (like the law of gravity) or even social science (like the law of supply and demand). It is also a dynamic concept and therefore difficult to describe in an idealistic manner, because the laws are subject to change.
Law is a tool used by the state to harmonize conflicting groups in society. One theory perceives the law as protecting a society’s shared beliefs or social values to which everyone in society subscribes. Conflicts in such a society are then resolved on a personal level.
Another theory sees the role of law as ensuring that those who are more powerful are held accountable by the law and that people have a level playing field. It is a way to prevent the rich from exploiting the poor.
The judicial community’s ontological definition of law focuses on the idea that the law is immanent and probabilistic. It is based on the fact that the judicial system does not always achieve the Robertisan ideal that all experimenters should obtain the same results.