6. Define law. give and explain its three characteristics.

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Law is “the principles and regulations established in a community by some authority and applicable to its people, whether in the form of legislation or of custom and policies recognized and enforced by judicial decision” (1). The law has three main characteristics. These are the “administration, writing, and retribution” (2). The administration is the enforcement of the law. The writing is the conception of the law. And the retribution is the result of breaking the law. In Mesopotamian times, the administration was carried out by the individual who was the victim of the crime, the writing was done by the government, and the retribution was done by the victim most of the time. Nowadays, while we still hold those three characteristics to be significant (as evidenced by our executive, legislative, and judicial branches), the government tends to have more power in matters of law-breaking.

Thomas Grannen

Sources:

1: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/law

2: Computer Exercise