1. What is Law?

Societies and their subcultures govern themselves by countless sets of rules, written or unwritten. Without these codes of accept-able behaviour, there would be no society, no order, only chaos and anarchy. We conduct our lives according to all manner of learned or agreed rules of conduct. These include our own internalised moral code, unconsciously followed rules of etiquette and expectations of civilised behaviour. We may adhere to the tenets of a religion and a particular church. We may belong to a private organisation, such as a political party or a sports club with its own constitution and membership rules but none of the codes, however complex, carries the force of law. The constitution of the California Parent Teachers’ Association is lengthier and much more complex than the Serious Crime Act 2007 but it is not law. It cannot be interpreted or enforced by a court. What then is special about legal rules? A rudimentary defi nition of law, within the English legal system, is a rule that is backed by a sanction for its breach, ultimately enforceable by a court, a tribunal or other public body with enforcement powers. There is consider-able overlap between non-legal rules and the law. For instance, the basic rules of most major religions are astonishingly similar. Most of them condemn murder and so do all legal systems, although what constitutes murder and how it is punished differs from one legal system to another. In another overlap, dropping litter in the street would be condemned by most people as anti-social behaviour but it is also illegal and subject to a fi ne enforceable in a criminal court. Nevertheless, many forms of anti-social behaviour, such as spitting in a crowded street, might offend people as a breach of the rules of civilised behaviour but are not illegal. Again, we mus