In a nation, the law can be used to (1) maintain peace, (2) maintain the status quo, (3) defend individual rights, (4) protect minorities from majorities, (5) promote social justice, and (6) ensure orderly social change. Some jurisdictions serve these purposes better than others. While a nation led by an authoritarian government can maintain peace and the status quo, it can also oppress minorities or political opponents (e.g., Burma, Zimbabwe, or Iraq under Saddam Hussein). Under colonialism, European nations often imposed peace in countries whose borders were created somewhat arbitrarily by the same European nations. Several centuries before the twentieth century, empires were built by Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, Holland, France, Germany, Belgium and Italy. As for the functions of the law, the Empire may have maintained peace – largely by force – but it changed the status quo and rarely promoted indigenous rights or social justice within the colonized nation. There are various sources of law in the American legal system. The Constitution of the United States is fundamental; U.S. law and common law must not conflict with its provisions. Congress creates a law (with the president`s signature), and the courts will interpret constitutional law and legal law. Where there is no constitutional or legal law, the courts work in the common law area. The same applies to the law within the fifty states, each of which also has a constitution or a fundamental law.

The statutes are adopted by the legislator and lay down general rules for the company. States have legislators (sometimes called assemblies), which usually consist of both a Senate and a House of Representatives. Like the federal government, state legislatures will agree on the terms of a bill that will then be sent to the governor (who acts as the president of that state) for signature. Like the president, governors often have veto power. The process of creating, amending or amending laws is full of political negotiations and compromises. Civil law systems are used throughout Europe as well as in Central and South America. Some countries in Asia and Africa have also adopted codes based on European civil law. Germany, Holland, Spain, France, and Portugal all had colonies outside Europe, and many of these colonies adopted the legal practices imposed on them by colonial rule, as did the original thirteen states of the United States adopting English common law practices. About 160 million Dalits live in India. Dalits, also called and believed by some as « untouchables », are born at the very bottom of a hierarchical system. Dalit means « broken » or « depressed. » The word « untouchable » used for them reflects the extreme In any country, justice is often represented by a blindfolded lady with a scale in her hand.

She is known as « Lady Justice ». Often, in many countries like the United States, a sword can also be seen in their other hand. The headband on the lady`s eye represents that she cannot be influenced by any convicted person. Thus, he is not the victim of prejudice or corruption. While the balance represents equality in the weighting of claims on it. The sword is represented as a symbol of the coercive power of the court. Justice is implemented with the help of the courts and laws by punishing offenders. Every individual is the same in the eyes of the law. The original source of the common law system dates back to the English monarchy, which issued formal orders called « writs » when justice was to be done. Since pleadings were not sufficient to cover all situations, fair courts were eventually created to hear complaints and develop appropriate remedies based on principles of fairness from many sources of authority (such as Roman law and « natural » law). As these decisions were collected and published, the courts were able to look for precedents and apply them to ongoing cases.

That is how the common law developed. As lawyers know, the legal systems of countries around the world generally fall into one of two main categories: common law systems and civil law systems. There are about 150 countries that have mainly civil law systems, while there are about 80 common law countries.