The law is basically law made and implemented by governmental or civic bodies to regulate behavior with a corresponding range of societal consequences. It is increasingly defined as an art and science of civil society. It can be thought of as the product of civilization, the product of humanity and the product of the state. However, civilization, humanity and the state are not enough as they are merely aspects of social life, the overall interaction of individuals within a polity.
Law as we know it today is nothing but the application of rules of conduct to individuals. This is part of the definition as it is a body of knowledge that is transmitted from one person to another. A law, therefore, is a teaching tool, which gives you information about what is forbidden and what is not forbidden. A law, therefore, cannot be anything pure; it has to have some utilitarian, social, ethical, aesthetic or other content.
For instance, there are some laws that govern your right to enter into certain establishments like a bank, a tax, or a contract while there are others that restrict your access to such establishments. There are even laws governing your right to peacefully assemble and petition the government for change. These laws are all legally enforced. The difference between a law and customary law, however, is that a law is enacted by a legislative body, a court, legislature, or a board of judges. A customary law, on the other hand, is something that is understood and acted upon by individual citizens. For instance, you can peacefully assemble in the square, but if you are picked up by the police, you cannot sue for damages based on that peaceful assembly.
Criminal law, on the other hand, is the application of punishments inflicted upon an offender by a legislative body. Criminal law can also be interpreted in terms of punishment inflicted on an entity. This, however, does not mean that the same law applies to every entity, including corporations and people. When an entity conducts transactions, it can be fined for criminal activities. A person, on the other hand, can be punished for criminal acts even without the involvement of a legislative body. A criminal law that is applied to corporations, though, will be dictated by statutory law.
Civil law, on the other hand, is not legislated. Rather, it is enforced by the courts or by a regulatory body. Statutory law is created by legislative bodies and is therefore enforced by the courts. Civil law, on the other hand, is governed by common law. Unlike civil law, it is not necessarily created by statute, but is rather a result of a compromise between two opposite poles of opinion.
In understanding legal systems, we cannot separate them from their other components. Legal systems are nothing but complex arrangements of rules that are guided by legal principles and which tend to affect the conduct of organizations and individuals. The three components of the legal system are trial, evidence and argument. The procedures that govern these three components of the legal system are referred to collectively as law. There are many types of law, including common law, corporate law, probate law, family law and human rights law.
Criminal law governs criminal acts, such as murder, manslaughter and robbery. Common law is the body of law that governs the administration of justice within a country. These include laws regarding trusts, property, wills and charters. Private criminal defense lawyers deal with crimes against private citizens, such as theft and DUI, as well as crimes against organizations or businesses within the corporate veil. While a few crimes are covered by various laws, the most common crimes are those against property, such as robbery, burglary and arson.
Criminal defense lawyers also deal with the jurisdiction of civil laws, such as negligence and slander. These include common law tort law. Finally, civil laws regulate the operation of local governments, such as taxation and regulation of businesses within a city, state or country. Civil law is further subdivided into corporate and common law, although there is a great deal of overlap between the three.