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22.2
The concept of Law
  
     
  The word Law comes from the 15th Century Old English word lagu of probable North Germanic origin, itself derived from the ancient Latin word lex meaning law.
 
  Today, law is defined as:  
  Law: in politics and jurisprudence, is a set of rules or norms of conduct which mandate, forbid or permit specified relationships among people and organizations, intended to provide methods for ensuring the impartial treatment of such people, and provide punishments of/for those who do not follow the established rules of conduct.
  
22.2.1 The ancient concept of law  
  While the word law is only six hundred years old and originally from a Roman word, the concept of rules governing the norms of conduct of society is as old as organized society itself.
  
  Some of the earliest surviving legal frameworks themselves are many thousands of years old. The Code of Law of Hammurabi (1780 BCE) shows essential principles of law regarding basic human rights and the rights of property owners that still hold true for most systems of law practiced around the world today.
  
22.2.2 Positive reference and negative reference
  
  In referencing conduct acceptable for society, leaders and their legal scribes have always had two options in which to frame the laws- either as positive statements of accepted behaviour or statements/lists of unacceptable behaviour.
  
  Positively framed laws most often used the concept of a code of conduct, a short but clear set of acceptable rules framed in the positive (not like the ten commandments which are framed in the negative).
  
  While much of ancient law used a mix of both, the preference of modern law is to emphasize prohibited or proscribed (negative) behaviour rather than its positive framing.
  
  Thus laws have become quite voluminous for the simple fact that a positive framed law may only need to define one action, while a negative framed law may be required to define hundreds of variations of unacceptable behaviour.
  
22.2.3 The four traditional systems of law
  
  There are generally four broad legal traditional systems that are practiced in the world today.
  
  • Civil law
• Common law
• Customary law
• Religious law		  
  Civil law  
  The civil law system is a codified law that sets out a comprehensive system of rules that are applied and interpreted by judges. Civil law is, in theory, interpreted, not made, by judges. Only legislative enactments (rather than judicial precedent) are considered legally binding, but in reality courts do pay attention to previous decisions.
 
  Common law  
  The common law is an Anglo-Saxon legal tradition, whereby legislative enactments are interpreted by judges based on judicial decisions that then create binding precedents.
  
  Customary law  
  Customary law are systems of law that have evolved largely on their own within a given country and have been adapted to meet the needs of the particular culture.
  
  Religious law  
  Many religions contain a body of law - for example, Halakha in Judaism, Sharia in Islam, and various forms of Canon law for different denominations of Christians.
  
22.2.4 The traditional distinction between public and private law
  
  There is also a further traditional distinction made in law between private law and public law.  
  Public law  
  Public law is the law governing the relationship between individuals (citizens, companies) and the state. Constitutional law, administrative law and criminal law are sub-divisions of public law.
  
  Private law  
  Private law is that part of a legal system which is part of the jus commune that involves relationships between individuals, such as the law of contracts or torts, as it is called in the common law, and the law of obligations as it is called in civilian legal systems
  
     
 
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