Outline of law

The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to law:

Law is the set of rules and principles (laws) by which a society is governed, through enforcement by governmental authorities. Law is also the field that concerns the creation and administration of laws, and includes any and all legal systems.

Nature of law

Law can be described as all of the following:

• Academic discipline – the body of knowledge given to - or received by - a disciple (student); a branch or sphere of knowledge, or field of study, that an individual has chosen to specialise in.
  • one of the humanities – an academic discipline that studies the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences.
• System – set of elements (often called 'components' instead) and relationships which are different from relationships of the set or its elements to other elements or sets.
  • part of the legal system – legal scholarship and practice shapes how the law is interpreted and applied in societies

Legal systems

• Common law
• Civil law (legal system)
• Religious law
  • Bahá'í laws
  • Biblical law
  • Canon law
  • Halakha
  • Hindu law
  • Jain law
  • Pāṭimokkha
  • Sharia
• Traditional Chinese law

Law by source

Municipal law

Primary authority

Main article: Primary authority

• Constitutions
• Basic laws
• Primary and secondary legislation
• Executive orders
• Precedent (Judicial decisions / stare decisis)

Secondary authority

Main article: Secondary authority

• Legal treatise
• Restatements of the Law (United States)

International law

• Treaty
• Customary international law
• General principles of law
• Judicial decisions and juristic writings

Branches of law

See also: Law § Areas of law, and List of areas of law

• Substantive law

International law

• Conflict of laws (Private international law)
• Public international law
• Law of the sea
• International trade law
• International commercial law
• International criminal law
• International labour law
• International environmental law
• International human rights law

Public law

Main article: Public law

• Constitutional law
• Administrative law
• Criminal law
• Tax law (revenue law)

Private law

Main article: Private law

• Contract law
• Tort law

• Property law
• Succession
• Equity
• Trusts
• Family law

Commercial law

Main article: Commercial law

• Corporate law
• Competition law
• Insurance law
• Insolvency law
• Intellectual property law

Procedural law

Main article: Procedural law

• Civil procedure
• Criminal procedure
• Law of evidence

Laws by jurisdictional scope

• International law
• Supranational law
  • Law of the European Union
    • Treaties of the European Union
    • Regulation (European Union)
    • Directive (European Union)
    • European Union decision
    • European Union legislative procedure
• Municipal law
  • Federal law (National law)
  • State law
  • Local ordinance

History

Main article: History of law

• Cuneiform law
• Babylonian law
• Ancient Greek law
• Roman law
  • Byzantine law
• Early Germanic law
• Legal history of the Catholic Church
  • Jus antiquum

Basic legal concepts

• Ignorantia juris non excusat
• Presumption of innocence
  • Presumption (canon law)
• Treason
• Rights (Outline)
• Rule of law

Lists

Sources of law

Municipal case law

• Lists of case law
• List of copyright case law
• List of Judicial Committee of the Privy Council cases
• List of United Kingdom House of Lords cases
  • List of notable United Kingdom House of Lords cases
• List of Supreme Court of Canada cases
• List of United States Supreme Court cases

Municipal legislative instruments

• List of civil codes
• List of criminal codes
• List of government gazettes
• List of Uniform Acts (United States)
• List of United States federal legislation

International and supranational law

• List of treaties
• List of international environmental agreements
• Lists of United Nations Security Council resolutions
• Select list of General Assembly resolutions
• List of European Union directives
• List of European Union regulations
• List of international declarations

International and supranational case law

• List of International Court of Justice cases
• International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
• List of people indicted in the International Criminal Court
• Inter-American Court of Human Rights
• List of European Court of Human Rights judgments
• List of European Court of Justice rulings

Other

• List of codes of canon law
• List of edicts

Legal institutions and jurists

National legal systems

• List of national legal systems
• List of national constitutions
• List of ancient legal codes
• List of legislatures by country
• List of current heads of state and government

Courts

• List of supreme courts by country
• List of constitutional courts
• List of courts in England and Wales
• List of High Courts of India
• List of international courts
• List of ad hoc international criminal tribunals

Legal professionals and jurists

• Lists of supreme court justices
• List of jurists
• Lists of law schools
• List of largest law firms by revenue
• Historical lists of Privy Counsellors

Legal topics and reference

• List of law journals
• List of legal abbreviations
• List of Latin legal terms
• List of business law topics
• List of international public law topics
• List of international trade topics

External links

• WorldLII – World Legal Information Institute
• CommonLII – Commonwealth Legal Information Institute
• AsianLII – Asian Legal Information Institute
• AustLII – Australasian Legal Information Institute
• BAILII – British and Irish Legal Information Institute
• CanLII – Canadian Legal Information Institute
• NZLII – New Zealand Legal Information Institute
• PacLII – Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute