Assignment on the topic of law its definition, Characteristics and sources of

law.
SOUTH ASIAN SCHOOL
OF
TOURISM AND HOTELMANAGEMENT

SUBMITTED BY: SUBMITTED TO:

Name: Bishal Dahal. MR. Yam Bahadur Magar.

BHM 4th SEMESTER Hospitality law teacher.

Acknowledgement.
I am greatly thankful for the cooperation and help from college authorities and
Hospitality Law teacher and other staff members for the successful completion
of this assignment. Without their help and proper guidance my assignment
might not have completed.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Yam Bahadur Magar,

Hospitality Law teacher for providing me an opportunity to do my assignment
on “law its definition, Characteristics and sources of law”.

I sincerely thank my friends for the guidance and encouragement in carrying

out this assignment. I am really grateful because I managed to complete this
assignment within the time given by Mr. Yam Bahadur Magar.
Conclusion.
After completing this assignment, I have acquired a lot of knowledge on the
Different types of laws which are provided by the constitution and should be
followed by everyone. Different countries consist of their own kinds of rules
and regulation assigned by constitution. While doing this assignment I also
came to know that the Ignorance of law is no excused.
REFERENCE
 Google.com.
 Wikipedia.org.
 Other classes books and internet.
 5th semester notes and manual.
LAW.
Law system of rules which a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the
actions of its members and which it may enforce by the imposition of penalties. Law is a set
of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to
regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been
variously described as a science and as the art of justice. State-enforced laws can be made
by a group legislature or by a single legislator, resulting in statutes; by the executive
through decrees and regulations; or established by judges through precedent, usually in
common law jurisdictions. Private individuals may create legally binding contracts, including
arbitration agreements that adopt alternative ways of resolving disputes to standard court
litigation. The creation of laws themselves may be influenced by a constitution, written or
tacit, and the rights encoded there in. The law shapes politics economics, history and
society in various ways and serves as a mediator of relations between people. Law means
rule or system of rules that regulates the actions of the people in the society. The rule is
that which regulate the conduct of individuals, business activities and other organization.
Law is the law; it does that what a law does. Law is a rule of human conduct-imposed and
enforced by the state.

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. Legal systems vary between jurisdictions,
with their differences analyzed in comparative law. In civil law jurisdictions, a legislature or
other central body codifies and consolidates the law. any written or positive rule or
collection of rules prescribed under the authority of the state or nation, as by the people in
its constitution. Compare bylaw, statutory law. In common law systems, judges may make
binding case law through precedent, although on occasion this may be overturned by a
higher court or the legislature. Historically, religious law has influenced secular matters and
is, as of the 21st century, still in use in some religious communities. Sharia law based on
Islamic principles is used as the primary legal system in several countries, including Iran
and Saudi Arabia. The law is rule which is made by state to distinguish the just and unjust,
right and wrong in the society. The term law means ‘a set of rules’ which are made and
applied by the state or sovereign authorities. Law is the product of human civilization.
Human civilization has developed law for regulating conduct of human beings in certain
matter. In this sense the law of nature is not law in our context. Similarly it is concerned
about the conduct of human being and not beyond that being a product of human
civilization. it is created by human being. In this way, the laws of god or religious rules are
not law in this sense. A law is rule that is enforced by force. No one members of the society
has option to follow it or not. In this sense society means state. The society in its corporate
makes the law and enforces it. The power of corporate capacity (to make law and enforce
it) is exercised differently in the different systems of Governments. In democratic form of
government representatives of the people make the law and independent judiciary enforce
it. In autocratic form of government, even a single person makes law and enforces in his
own way. The doctrine of the separation of powers requires that the principal institutions of
state— executive, legislature and judiciary—should be clearly divided in order to safeguard
citizens’ liberties and guard against tyranny. When the legislative and executive powers are
united in the same person, or in the same body of magistrates, there can be no liberty...
there is no liberty if the powers of judging is not separated from the legislative and
executive... there would be an end to everything, if the same man or the same body... were
to exercise those three powers. According to a strict interpretation of the separation of
powers, none of the three branches may exercise the power of the other, nor should any
person be a member of any two of the branches.1 By creating separate institutions it is
possible to have a system of checks and balances between them. Too much power could
lead to bias, corruption or conflicts of interest, or at the very least the perception of such.
Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign
state to government at a sub-national level, such as a regional, local, or state level. It is a
form of decentralization. Devolved territories have the power to make legislation relevant to
the area. From 1998, certain powers have been devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland from the Houses of Parliament, creating the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly
for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly. They now have executive and legislative powers
over certain laws within their countries such as health care, education and prison services.
The new court has much greater accessibility with its own building open to the public
transparent court procedures and educational programmed. This allows for a greater
understanding of the work of the court and has boosted the profile of the highest level of
the judiciary. When it remained in the House of Lords, the judiciary there was dominated by
the legislature and members of the public found it very difficult to access and knew little
about it. This might have created the perception of an unfair balance between the branches
of state. In this sense the law of nature is not law in our context. Similarly, it is concerned
about the conduct of human being and not beyond that being a product of human
civilization. it is created by human being. In this way, the laws of God or religious rules are
not law in this sense. A law is rule that is enforced by force. No one members of the society
have option to follow it or not. In this sense society means state. The society in its
corporate makes the law and enforces it. The power of corporate capacity (to make law and
enforce it) is exercised differently in the different systems of Governments. In democratic
form of government representatives of the people make the law and independent judiciary
enforce it. In autocratic form of government, even a single person makes law and enforces
in his own way. Definition of law is a rule of conduct developed by the government or
society over a certain territory. Law follows certain practices and customs in order to deal
with crime, business, social relationships, property, finance, etc. The Law is controlled and
enforced by the controlling authority.
DEFINITION OF LAW GIVEN BY DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHER.
According to Oxford.
The whole system of rules that everyone in a country or society must obey.

According to R. A. Myren.
Law is tool used by individuals, groups, institutions and societies to achieve a variety of
ends one which is justice.

According to chief justice Mukherjee.

In the garden of forest of jurisprudence there are many fruits: law natural law custom. Law
is a contract; law is command of human sovereign. Law is a social fact. Law is a union of
primary and secondary rules law is prediction, law is experience. Law is an unrealizable
ideal. Law is a practical and realizable compromise. Law is a balance of social and
individual interest. Law is morality. Law is what judge say from the bench. Law is tradition.
The law is different from the laws. Confusing as all this may appear and which confusion
led someone to say that law is an ass, if the law is like the beast of burden, it is because
law has to bear many burdens of human life in action, old new, predictable and
unpredictable.

According to John Austin’s.

Law is the aggregate set of rules set by a man as politically superior, or sovereign to men,
as political subjects.” Thus, this definition defines law as a set of rules to be followed by
everyone, regardless of their stature.

According to Hans Kelsen.

It states that ‘pure theory of law’. Kelsen states that law is a ‘normative science’. In Kelson’s
law definition, the law does not seek to describe what must occur, but rather only defines
certain rules to abide by.

According to Plato.
Law is the finding of reality.

According to Dean Roscoe pound.

Law is the instrument of social engineering.

According to Salmond.
law is the body of principles recognized and applied by the state in the administration of
justice. Salmond defined law as, “ the law may be defined as body of principles recognised
and applied by the state in the administration of justice.” Though Salmond did not define
justice yet his definition can be considered as the most workable definition.
Law plays different roles in the lives of everyone. A single word cannot define law. There
cannot be a word which can equate law. One can draw analogy to understand law. Law is
like a temple which is designed so that men and women can live in his or her palace of
peace. Law is love, which is inarticulate in nature. Both have the power to regulate human
emotions. Law is as complex as love. An analogy can be drawn between law and sea. Both
law and sea are vast and as a drop adds to the quantity of water in the ocean, in the same
way every judgement adds itself to many precedents. Also, there is no life without water,
there is no life without law. Law is not a mistress; law is a spouse. It stays with you,
wherever you go. Law is an invisible force that controls every human being. Law connects
us like Life and Water (LAW).

Characteristics of Law.
a. Law is the set of rules.
b. It is made and enforced by state or sovereign authority.
c. It regulates external human action.
d. It maintains the peace and justice in the society. It also protects life, liberty and
property of the people.
e. If the law is not followed, then the person will be punished according to the law.
f. A law always treats all equally.
g. The interpretation of law is interpreted by the court.
h. Law has a supreme nature.
i. Law is not static, it is dynamic.
j. It regulates the human conduct.
k. It is created and maintained by the state.
 l. It has certain amount of stability, fixity and uniformity.
m. It is backed by coercive authority.
n. It is the expression of the will of the people and is generally written down to give it
definiteness.
o. Its violation leads to punishment.
p. It is related to the concept of ‘sovereignty’ which is the most important element of
state.

The law is rule which is made by state to distinguish the just and unjust, right and wrong in
the society. The term law means ‘a set of rules’ which are made and applied by the state or
sovereign authorities. Law is the product of human civilization. Human civilization has
developed law for regulating conduct of human beings in certain matter. In this sense the
law of nature is not law in our context. Similarly it is concerned about the conduct of human
being and not beyond that being a product of human civilization. it is created by human
being. In this way, the laws of god or religious rules are not law in this sense. A law is rule
that is enforced by force. No one members of the society has option to follow it or not. In
this sense society means state. The society in its corporate makes the law and enforces it.
The power of corporate capacity (to make law and enforce it) is exercised differently in the
different systems of Governments. In democratic form of government representatives of the
people make the law and independent judiciary enforce it. In autocratic form of government,
even a single person makes law and enforces in his own way.

law is not in the fix time. It is developed according to the development of society and
science. Law is the oldest discipline among the social sciences. Its origin and evolution
dates back from ancient natural law school to modern economic law school.
Natural law school of law was in existence since 300 B.C. it was based on “just” and
“unjust”, “Right and Wrong” reason behind moral theory. There exists certain legal value or
value judgments. The value judgment can be determined by human reason and guided by
human laws. Law has been defined by scholarly thinkers from different philosophy about
how the law is developed? Such as, Natural law school, Historical School, analytical
school, sociological school, realist school, critical legal studies, feminist school and law and
economic school etc.
law often raise the question of the extent to which law incorporates morality. John Austin's
utilitarian answer was that law is "commands, backed by threat of sanctions, from a
sovereign, to whom people have a habit of obedience". Natural lawyers on the other side,
such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, argue that law reflects essentially moral and
unchangeable laws of nature. The concept of "natural law" emerged in ancient Greek
philosophy concurrently and in connection with the notion of justice, and re-entered the
mainstream of Western culture through the writings of Thomas Aquinas, notably his
Treatise on Law.
When having completed the first two parts of his book Splendors et misères des
courtesans, which he intended to be the end of the entire work, Honoré de Balzac visited
the Conciergerie. Thereafter, he decided to add a third part, finally named Ou mènent les
Mauvais chemins (The Ends of Evil Ways), entirely dedicated to describing the conditions
in prison.

SOURCES OF LAW.
1. Legislation.
Legislation is the prime source of law. and consists in the declaration of legal rules by a
competent authority. Legislation can have many purposes: to regulate, to authorize, to
enable, to proscribe, to provide funds, to sanction, to grant, to declare or to restrict. A
parliamentary legislature frames new laws, such as Acts of Parliament, and amends or
repeals old laws. The legislature may delegate law-making powers to lower bodies. In the
UK, such delegated legislation includes Statutory Instruments, Orders in Council, & Bye-
laws. Delegated legislation may be open to challenge for irregularity of process; and the
legislature usually has the right to withdraw delegated powers if it sees fit.
legislation is the process of making law by parliament. In another sense the law made by
parliament is called legislation. So that legislation is a source of law or law itself in another
sense.Latin term ‘Legis’ + ‘later’ denotes ‘Law +Making’. It means law making body of state
or parliament. Law passed by the legislative body is called legislation or statutes. It is
superior to all sources of law. Law is makes, amends and ratifies according to the time,
situation or need of society. Judges must enforce the law in the courts even if it is contrary
to the binding precedent. It is made according to the change of time or situation and is
outcome of a long series of discussion among legislatures, e.g. Labour Act, 2048, Contract
Act, 2056, Company Act, 2063 etc. It also includes the policy or decisions of government
of the state.
Legislative law is the most important source in our legal system. If any law is contrary to the
constitution, any Nepali citizen may file a suit in the Supreme Court declaring the law void.
If the Supreme Court finds the law not consistent with the constitution it declares it ultra
virus to the constitution.
Most legislatures have their powers restricted by the nation's Constitution, and
Montesquieu's theory of the separation of powers typically restricts a legislature's powers to
legislation. Although the legislature has the power to legislate, it is the courts who have the
power to interpret statutes, treaties and regulations. Similarly, although parliaments have
the power to legislate, it is usually the executive who decides on the legislative
programmed. The procedure is usually that a bill is introduced to Parliament, and after the
required number of readings, committee stages and amendments, the bill gains approval
and becomes an Act.

2. Precedent.
A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding
on or persuasive without going to courts for a court or other tribunal when deciding
subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great
value on deciding cases according to consistent principled rules, so that similar facts will
yield similar and predictable outcomes, and observance of precedent is the mechanism
by which that goal is attained. precedent means the earlier decision of the court that is
taken as a rule for the cases that come later. As a source of law the principle laid down
by the Supreme Court is binding upon all the courts and authorities. The legal principle
laid down by the Supreme Court is a source of law. According to Salmond, ‘a precedent
is a judicial decision which contains in principle itself.’ such principle is created in the
course of verdict, which fulfils vacuum of law. Such verdict is regarded as the law for
cases of the same nature and binding to lower courts of hierarchy. When a judgement is
delivered the judge gives the reason for his decision that is the principle binding for
future cases. Where there is legislative law the court is to follow it. In specific case the
Supreme Court may interpret the provision of law. The interpretation is binding in future
cases. Where there is no legislation the Supreme Court may introduce principle to solve
the problem. According to the Article 128(4) of Nepal Constitution, 2072, ‘the
interpretation of constitution and law or the legal principles propounded by the Supreme
Court in relation to court cases must be followed by all. The principle by which judges
are bound to precedents is known as stare decisis (a Latin phrase with the literal
meaning of "to stand in the-things-that-have-been-decided"). Common-law precedent is
a third kind of law, on equal footing with statutory law (that is, statutes and codes
enacted by legislative bodies) and subordinate legislation (that is, regulations
promulgated by executive branch agencies, in the form of delegated legislation) in UK
parlance – or regulatory law (in US parlance).

3. Custom and Usage.

A reasonable and legal practice in a particular location, or among persons in a specific
business or trade, that is either known to the individuals involved or is well established,
general, and uniform to such an extent that a presumption may properly be made that the
parties acted with reference to it in their transactions. The term usage refers to a uniform
practice or course of conduct followed in certain lines of business or professions that is
relied upon by the parties to a contractual transaction. A court will apply the usage of a
business when it determines that doing so is necessary to resolve a contractual dispute.
Ignoring usage may result in the misreading of a document and the intent of the parties
who signed it. In earlier times, custom was the most important source of law. For a very
long period of time a common minimum ethos (social value) of society practicing
continuously, that value is recognized by society as law in the society. There are so many
provisions in country code of Nepal adopted from custom and religion.

4. Agreements and Conventions.

International conventions are treaties signed between two or more nations that act as an
international agreement. A treaty is a binding agreement between nation-states that forms
the basis for international law. Authority for the enforcement of these treaties is provided
by each signing party's adherence to the treaty. Conventions generally have built in
mechanisms to ensure compliance, such as procedures for inspections. These treaties
also include methods to enforce noncompliance, such as economic sanctions. Outside of
internal mechanisms, states could resort to external enforcement methods through other
escalations including the threat of military action. Agreements made by persons to act in
certain way also are equally enforceable by law. Here agreement means enforceable by
law is contract. it may be the different, agreement between the members of community or
an organization is called convention. And agreement between the states is called treaty
or conferences. U.N, SAARC, ASEAN, WTO etc. According to black's law dictionary,
agreement is ' a mutual understanding between two or more persons about their relative
rights and duties regarding past or future performances. It is manifestation of mutual
assent by two or more persons. Every promise and set of promises forming the
consideration for each other is agreement, is the source of law.

5. Foreign Judgments and Laws.

sometimes foreign judgments of states are also the sources of law. Court” means the
Supreme Court, Appellate Court and District Court, and this term includes any other
authority or body carrying out judicial proceedings. “order” means an order issued by a
court and this term includes a decision or judgment of a court. “offence” means an offence
that is punishable by law with imprisonment for at least one year or with a fine of at least
fifty thousand rupees, and this term includes an offence punishable by the law of a foreign
state with imprisonment for at least one year or with a fine of at least fifty thousand rupees.
“Central Authority” means the body or authority referred to in Section 6. “Judicial
proceedings” means the proceedings from the filing of a case to the enforcement of a
judgment, and this term includes investigation or inquiry in relation to any offence. “Judicial
document” means a plaint, petition of claim, petition or appeal filed in a court, and this term
includes an order made by a court.

6. Professional Opinion.
Judges can get opinion of expert at the time of decision in the court. In some cases, it is
vital to deliver the decision. For e.g., DNA test for conform of relation between debated
relatives. It is opinion given by the expert in the report. Explanation of Dr. Report of
Postmortem Report in the Murder cases, opinion of lawyers etc. Though the arbitral tribunal
is generally selected based on their experience or expertise in a field relevant to the subject
matter of the dispute, oftentimes the arbitral tribunal may not be fully equipped to assess all
the facets of the issue. This is especially true in disputes involving complex issues or
technical factors. In such instances, expert witnesses are appointed by either parties to the
dispute or by the arbitral tribunal. Expert witnesses are individuals with specialized training
and expertise in particular issues relevant to the dispute. Their expert opinion provides
assistance the arbitral tribunal during their decision-making process. In international
construction arbitrations for example, one or several expert witnesses may be appointed to
give testimony on topics such as delay, quantum, geotechnics, defects or forensic
accounting.

7. Natural law school.

Natural school of law is generally regarded as the law of nature, divine law or the law that is
universal and eternal in nature. It has been given different meanings at different points of
time and though it is created by man, it is found through the nature of an individual. It is
mostly influenced by religion. The central idea of this theory is that there is a higher law
based on morality against which the validity of human law can be measured. There is a
belief that there are certain moral laws that cannot go against without losing its moral or
legal character. If legislation is not moral it is not law. There is an essential connection
between law and morality in this school of law. according to this school, law has a divine
origin. Every law is the gift of God.
 8. Historical Documents.
Historical documents are original documents that contain important historical information
about a person, place, or event and can thus serve as primary sources as important
ingredients of the historical methodology.
Significant historical documents can be deeds, laws, accounts of battles (often given by the
victors or persons sharing their viewpoint), or the exploits of the powerful. Though these
documents are of historical interest, they do not detail the daily lives of ordinary people, or
the way society functioned. Anthropologists, historians and archeologists generally, are
more interested in documents that describe the day-to-day lives of ordinary people,
indicating what they ate, their interaction with other members of their households and social
groups, and their states of mind. It is this information that allows them to try to understand
and describe the way society was functioning at any particular time in history. Greek
ostraka provide good examples of historical documents from "among the common people".