Law: A Very Short Introduction

About this book

Law underlies our society -it protects our rights imposes duties on each of us and establishes a framework for the conduct of almost every social political and economic activity. The punishment of crime compensation of the injured and the enforcement of contracts are merely some of the tasks of a modern legal system. It also strives to ensure justice promote freedom and protect our security. The result is a system that while it touches all of our daily lives is properly understood by only a few with its impenetrable jargon obsolete procedures and interminable stream of Byzantine statutes and judgments of the courts. This clear jargon-free Very Short Introduction cuts introduces the essentials of law and legal systems in a lively accessible and stimulating manner. Explaining the main concepts terms and processes of the legal system it focuses on the Western tradition but also examines other legal systems such as customary law and Islamic law. And it looks to the future too as globalization and rapid advances in technology place increasing strain on our current legal system. About the Series: Combining authority with wit accessibility and style Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of lifes most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics from philosophy to Freud quantum theory to Islam.