What laws does a society require and why?

Understanding Laws in Society

Laws establish guidelines for acceptable behaviour and ensure that everyone is treated fairly and equally.
Laws keep peace and order in society by discouraging disputes and unrest.
They protect the rights and freedoms of individuals, including their physical and property safety.
Laws also serve as a deterrent to prevent people from behaving in ways that could harm others.
They are necessary to maintain a functioning society that upholds the values of justice, fairness, and equality.

Criminal law: focuses on behaviours categorised as crimes against society, the state, or public, even if the immediate victim is an individual. Examples include theft, assault, and murder.
- Aim: to maintain order, protect individuals, and express societal disapproval of certain behaviours.
Civil law: deals with disputes between individuals or organisations. Examples are contract disputes, property disputes, divorce proceedings, etc.
- Aim: to restore balance where someone’s rights have been violated.
Public law: governs the relationship between individuals and the state. This ordinarily includes constitutional, administrative, and criminal law.
- Aim: to provide a legal framework for the operation of public bodies and for relations between these bodies and private individuals.
Private law: involves relations between private individuals. This could include family law, property law, or contract law.
- Aim: to regulate conflicts between private individuals or entities.

Laws must be fair and unbiased to ensure all members of society are treated justly irrespective of their backgrounds.
Fair laws prevent the misuse of power, prevent corruption, and ensure that justice is served.
A just legal system builds citizen’s trust in the institutions that govern them, fostering social cohesion and stability.
Fair trials are an essential component of fair law; everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal.

As citizens, we have the responsibility to understand and abide by the laws that govern our society.
Active participation in civic life, including voting and expressing our views, can help shape the laws that govern us.
When we believe laws to be unjust or unfair, we have the right, and indeed an obligation, to work peacefully towards their change.

Laws are not static; they evolve in response to social, economic, and political changes in society.
Legislators (in the UK, primarily Members of Parliament) have the task of amending existing laws or creating new ones to reflect these changes.
Significant changes in social attitudes, technological advancement, and changing international standards, among other factors, can all lead to changes in the law.
The change of law is a complex process requiring negotiation, consensus, and legal expertise to ensure any new or amended law is fair, effective, and enforceable.