Law is a system of rules created and enforced by social or governmental institutions. Its precise definition is a matter of ongoing debate. Societal viewpoints include ideas about justice, morality, order and rationality. The word “law” is also used to refer to a specific career, such as a lawyer or judge. From a legal standpoint, it includes statutes, regulations, guidelines and standards. Judicial law also includes the precedents established by courts that bind lower judges.

Those who argue that the notion of law encompasses morality believe that it is part of human nature to want to live in harmony with other people. They say that laws are a mechanism to achieve this goal, but they may not always work.

Others argue that law does not necessarily imply coercion or force, and in fact many laws are intended to encourage cooperation and discourage violence. These views are often associated with a philosophy called legal positivism. They disagree with those who see law as the embodiment of power and coercion, such as the military in Myanmar (formerly Burma) which imprisoned the democratically elected and Nobel Peace Prize-winning prime minister Aung San Suu Kyi under color of authority.

The meaning of law can vary greatly depending on the context in which it is used. For example, a law might refer to a set of rules that govern an entire country or region. But it could also be a rule that applies to just one person or group of people, such as a law against murder.

Laws are generally created and enforced through institutions such as a court or government. The rules of a law might be created by a legislature through statutes; they might be established by the executive branch through decrees and regulations; or they may be established by judges through decisions in judicial cases. These decisions become binding precedent for later judges, a process known as stare decisis. The law might be based on religious precepts, such as Jewish Halakha or Islamic Sharia, or it might be the result of further human elaboration, such as Christian canon law. In the modern era, the law has been influenced by Western cultures. In particular, the United States has largely based its law on English common law.