Law Studies and Branches
The law governs extremely vast matters, since they can relate to family relations as well as the repression of offenses or the organization of our social system. A branch of law or area of law is a subdivision of law studies which contains rules relating to the same subject. Law is not a unitary science and the rules of law form a heterogeneous whole which is divided according to empirical criteria (Empirical law = a law induced from observation or experiment, and though valid for the particular instances observed, not to be relied on beyond the conditions on which it rests). This division results both from the codification which has been carried out, from texts, from practice and from university teaching.
Below are the various branches of law (or divisions of law) and their related definitions.
| Administrative law | It governs the activities of administrative agencies of government. Government agency action can include rule making, adjudication, or the enforcement of a specific regulatory agenda. Administrative law is considered a branch of public law. |
| Admiralty law | Or maritime law is a body of law that governs nautical issues and private maritime disputes. Admiralty law consists of both domestic law on maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between private parties operating or using ocean-going ships. |
| Adoption law | Is the generic area of legal theory, policy making, legal practice and legal studies relating to law on adoption. |
| Agency law | Is an area of commercial law dealing with a set of contractual, quasi-contractual and non-contractual fiduciary relationships that involve a person, called the agent, that is authorized to act on behalf of another (called the principal) to create legal relations with a third party. |
| Alcohol law | In relation to the manufacture, use, being under the influence of and sale of alcohol (also known formally as ethanol) or alcoholic beverages that contains ethanol. Common alcoholic beverages include beer, wine, cider, and distilled spirits (e.g., vodka, rum, gin). The U.S. defines an alcoholic beverage as, “any beverage in liquid form which contains not less than one-half of one percent of alcohol by volume”, but this definition varies internationally. |
| Alternative dispute resolution | Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that act as a means for disagreeing parties to come to an agreement short of litigation: a collective term for the ways that parties can settle disputes, with the help of a third party. |
| Animal law | Is the study and practice of law relating to animals. As an animal rights lawyer, you apply the legal system to speak for animals and their human associates and allies. Is a combination of statutory and case law in which the nature – legal, social or biological – of nonhuman animals is an important factor. Animal law encompasses companion animals, wildlife, animals used in entertainment and animals raised for food and research. |
| Antitrust law (or competition law) | Competition law is a law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. |
| Art law (or art and culture law) | Art and culture law is the body of law, including domestic and foreign law, and multilateral treaties and conventions, that regulates and is applied to artists, fine art and cultural property. Art can expose society’s faults and freedoms and often artistic expression can conflict with cultural and political ideals. Yet equally, art can also make sense of law – advancing dialogues on social injustice. |
| Aviation law | Is the branch of law that concerns flight, air travel, and associated legal and business concerns. Some of its area of concern overlaps that of admiralty law and, in many cases, aviation law is considered a matter of international law due to the nature of air travel. However, the business aspects of airlines and their regulation also fall under aviation law. In the international realm, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) provides general rules and mediates international concerns to an extent regarding aviation law. The ICAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations. |
| Banking law | Bank regulation is a form of government regulation which subjects banks to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, designed to create market transparency between banking institutions and the individuals and corporations with whom they conduct business, among other things. As regulation focusing on key factors in the financial markets, it forms one of the three components of financial law, the other two being case law and self-regulating market practices. |
| Bankruptcy law (creditor debtor rights law or insolvency and reorganization law) | Is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor. Bankrupt is not the only legal status that an insolvent person may have, and the term bankruptcy is therefore not a synonym for insolvency. |
| Bioethics | is the study of the ethical issues emerging from advances in biology and medicine. It is also moral discernment as it relates to medical policy and practice. Bioethics are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine and medical ethics, politics, law, theology and philosophy. It includes the study of values relating to primary care and other branches of medicine (“the ethics of the ordinary”). Ethics also relates to many other sciences outside the realm of biological sciences. |
| Business law (or commercial law); commercial litigation | Corporate law (also known as business law or enterprise law or sometimes company law) is the body of law governing the rights, relations, and conduct of persons, companies, organizations and businesses. The term refers to the legal practice of law relating to corporations, or to the theory of corporations. Corporate law often describes the law relating to matters which derive directly from the life-cycle of a corporation. It thus encompasses the formation, funding, governance, and death of a corporation. |
| Business organizations law (or companies law) | Is the body of law governing the rights, relations, and conduct of persons, companies, organizations and businesses. The term refers to the legal practice of law relating to corporations, or to the theory of corporations. |
| Canon law | from Ancient Greek: κανών, kanon, a ‘straight measuring rod, ruler’) is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (Church leadership), for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law, or operational policy, governing the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches), the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the individual national churches within the Anglican Communion. |
| Civil law or common law | Is a major branch of the law. In common law legal systems such as England and Wales and the United States, the term refers to non-criminal law. The law relating to civil wrongs and quasi-contracts is part of the civil law, as is law of property (other than property-related crimes, such as theft or vandalism). Civil law may, like criminal law, be divided into substantive law and procedural law. The rights and duties of persons (natural persons and legal persons) amongst themselves is the primary concern of civil law. |
| Class action litigation/Mass tort litigation | Also known as a class action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class action originated in the United States and is still predominantly a U.S. phenomenon, but Canada, as well as several European countries with civil law, have made changes in recent years to allow consumer organizations to bring claims on behalf of consumers. recettes |
| Communications law | It refers to the regulation of electronic communications by wire or radio. It encompasses regulations governing broadcasting, telephone and telecommunications service, cable television, satellite communications, wireless telecommunications, and the Internet. |
| Computer law | Information technology law (also called “cyberlaw”) concerns the law of information technology, including computing and the internet. It is related to legal informatics, and governs the digital dissemination of both (digitalized) information and software, information security and electronic commerce aspects and it has been described as “paper laws” for a “paperless environment”. It raises specific issues of intellectual property in computing and online, contract law, privacy, freedom of expression, and jurisdiction. |
| Competition law | It promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. |
| Conflict of law (or private international law) | Is the set of rules or laws a jurisdiction applies to a case, transaction, or other occurrence that has connections to more than one jurisdiction. |
| Constitutional law | Constitutional law is a branch of public law that brings together the legal rules relating to the form of the state, the constitution of government and public powers and the participation of citizens in the exercise of these powers. This constitutional right is sanctioned by a judge. Constitutional law brings together the legal rules concerning institutions, the system of standards and relations between standards, and fundamental rights. It is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in federal countries such as the United States and Canada, the relationship between the central government and state, provincial, or territorial governments. Not all nation states have codified constitutions, though all such states have a jus commune, or law of the land, that may consist of a variety of imperative and consensual rules. |
| Construction law | Is a branch of law that deals with matters relating to building construction, engineering, and related fields. It is in essence an amalgam of contract law, commercial law, planning law, employment law and tort. |
| Consumer law | Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. |
| Contract law | Is a legally binding document between at least two parties that defines and governs the rights and duties of the parties to an agreement, A contract is legally enforceable because it meets the requirements and approval of the law. A contract typically involves the exchange of goods, service, money, or promise of any of those. “Breach of contract”, means that the law will have to award the injured party either the access to legal remedies such as damages or cancellation. |
| Copyright law | Copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to make copies of a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educational, or musical form. Copyright is intended to protect the original expression of an idea in the form of a creative work, but not the idea itself. |
| Corporate law (or company law), also corporate compliance law and corporate governance law | Also known as business law or enterprise law or sometimes company law) is the body of law governing the rights, relations, and conduct of persons, companies, organizations and businesses. The term refers to the legal practice of law relating to corporations, or to the theory of corporations. Corporate law often describes the law relating to matters which derive directly from the life-cycle of a corporation. It thus encompasses the formation, funding, governance, and death of a corporation. |
Criminal law | Is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one’s self. Most criminal law is established by statute, which is to say that the laws are enacted by a legislature. Criminal law includes the punishment and rehabilitation of people who violate such laws. It varies according to jurisdiction, and differs from civil law, where emphasis is more on dispute resolution and victim compensation, rather than on punishment or rehabilitation. Its procedure procedure is a formalized official activity that authenticates the fact of commission of a crime and authorizes punitive or rehabilitative treatment of the offender. |
| Cryptography law | Is the practice and study of encrypting information, or in other words, securing information from unauthorized access. There are many different cryptography laws in different nations. Some countries prohibit export of cryptography software and/or encryption algorithms or cryptoanalysis methods. Some countries require decryption keys to be recoverable in case of a police investigation. |
| Cultural property law | Is the body of law that protects and regulates the disposition of culturally significant material, including historic real property, ancient and historic artifacts, artwork, and intangible cultural property. Cultural property can be any property, tangible or intangible, having special significance to a defined group of people, whether or not the group is vested with a traditional property interest. Cultural property laws may be international (such as international conventions or bilateral agreements) or domestic (such as federal laws or state laws). |
| Custom (law) | A legal custom is the established pattern of behavior that can be objectively verified within a particular social setting. A claim can be carried out in defense of “what has always been done and accepted by law”. |
| Cyber law | Information technology law (also called “cyberlaw”) concerns the law of information technology, including computing and the internet. It is related to legal informatics, and governs the digital dissemination of both (digitalized) information and software, information security and electronic commerce aspects and it has been described as “paper laws” for a “paperless environment”. It raises specific issues of intellectual property in computing and online, contract law, privacy, freedom of expression, and jurisdiction. |
| Defamation | Defamation (also known as calumny, vilification, libel, slander, traducement or injury) is the oral or written communication of a false statement about another that unjustly harms their reputation and usually constitutes a tort or crime. In several countries, including South Korea, a true statement can also be considered defamation. Under common law, to constitute defamation, a claim must generally be false and must have been made to someone other than the person defamed. Some common law jurisdictions also distinguish between spoken defamation, called slander, and defamation in other media such as printed words or images, called libel. In the U.S, false light laws protect against statements which are not technically false but are misleading. In some jurisdictions, defamation is treated also as a crime. The United Nations Human Rights Committee ruled in 2012 that the libel law of one country, the Philippines, was inconsistent with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as urging that “State parties [to the Covenant] should consider the decriminalization of libel”. In Saudi Arabia, defamation of the state, or a past or present ruler, is punishable under terrorism legislation. |
| Drug control law | Drug prohibition law is prohibition-based law by which governments prohibit, except under licence, the production, supply, and possession of many, but not all, substances which are recognized as drugs, and which corresponds to international treaty commitments in the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971, and the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances 1988. |
| Education law | It consists of the principles and government policies in the educational sphere as well as the collection of laws and rules that govern the operation of education systems. Education occurs in many forms for many purposes through many institutions. Examples include early childhood education, kindergarten through to 12th grade, two and four year colleges or universities, graduate and professional education, adult education and job training. Therefore, education policy can directly affect the education people engage in at all ages. |
| Elder law | They are the rights of the aged, who in the United States are not recognized as a constitutionally protected class. Common rights issues faced by elders include age-related job discrimination (such as forced age of retirement), lack of access to medical treatments because of age or age-related obstacles, societal perceptions of ability/disability due to age, and vulnerability to abuse, including financial, physical, psychological, social, and sexual because of diminished capacity and lack of access to/ability to use technology. |
| Employment law | Also known as labor law or employment law) mediates the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, employer and union. Individual labour law concerns employees’ rights at work also through the contract for work. Employment standards are social norms (in some cases also technical standards) for the minimum socially acceptable conditions under which employees or contractors are allowed to work. Government agencies (such as the former US Employment Standards Administration) enforce labour law (legislature, regulatory, or judicial). |
| Energy law | It governs the use and taxation of energy, both renewable and non-renewable. These laws are the primary authorities (such as caselaw, statutes, rules, regulations and edicts) related to energy. In contrast, energy policy refers to the policy and politics of energy. Energy law includes the legal provision for oil, gasoline, and “extraction taxes.” The practice of energy law includes contracts for siting, extraction, licenses for the acquisition and ownership rights in oil and gas both under the soil before discovery and after its capture, and adjudication regarding those rights. |
| Entertainment law | also referred to as media law is legal services provided to the entertainment industry. These services in entertainment law overlap with intellectual property law. Intellectual property has many moving parts that include trademarks, copyright, and the “Right of Publicity”. However, the practice of entertainment law often involves questions of employment law, contract law, torts, labor law, bankruptcy law, immigration, securities law, security interests, agency, right of privacy, defamation, advertising, criminal law, tax law, International law (especially Private international law), and insurance law. Much of the work of an entertainment law practice is transaction based, i.e., drafting contracts, negotiation and mediation. Some situations may lead to litigation or arbitration. |
| Sharia | Sharia law represents in Islam various doctrinal, social, religious and relational norms and rules enacted by revelation. The term used in Arabic in the religious context means “way to keep [God’s] law”. It is customary in the West to refer to Sharia by the term Islamic law, which is an approximate translation since it only partially encompasses the true meaning of the word (this term is also used in place of Muslim law). Sharia law codifies both the public and private aspects of a Muslim’s life, as well as social interactions. Muslims regard this set of standards as the emanation of the will of God (Shar). The level, intensity and extent of the normative power of Sharia law varies widely historically and geographically. Some of these standards are incompatible with human rights, particularly with regard to freedom of expression, freedom of belief, sexual freedom and the freedom of women. |
| Environmental law | It is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the environment. A related but distinct set of regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by environmental legal principles, focus on the management of specific natural resources, such as forests, minerals, or fisheries. Other areas, such as environmental impact assessment, may not fit neatly into either category, but are nonetheless important components of environmental law. |
| Family law | Also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Subjects that commonly fall under a nation’s body of family law include: |
| Financial services regulation law | Financial regulation is a form of regulation or supervision, which subjects financial institutions to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, aiming to maintain the stability and integrity of the financial system. This may be handled by either a government or non-government organization. Financial regulation has also influenced the structure of banking sectors by increasing the variety of financial products available. Financial regulation forms one of three legal categories which constitutes the content of financial law, the other two being market practices and case law. |
| Firearm law | Gun laws and policies (collectively referred to as firearms regulation or gun control) regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification and use of small arms by civilians. Laws of some countries may afford civilians a right to keep and bear arms, and have more liberal gun laws than neighboring jurisdictions. Countries which regulate access to firearms will typically restrict access to certain categories of firearms and then restrict the categories of persons who may be granted a license for access to such firearms. There may be separate licenses for hunting, sport shooting (a.k.a. target shooting), self-defense, collecting, and concealed carry, with different sets of requirements, permissions, and responsibilities. |
| Food law | is the collection of laws and regulations that govern food production, distribution and consumption. Food laws aim to protect consumers and provide for the efficient growth and use of food. General Food Law is to protect human health and consumer’s interest in relation to food. It applies to all stages of production, processing and distribution of food and feed with some exceptions. Food businesses must comply with food and feed safety law. |
| Gaming law | Is the set of rules and regulations that apply to the gaming or gambling industry. Gaming law is not a branch of law in the traditional sense but rather is a collection of several areas of law that include criminal law, regulatory law, constitutional law, administrative law, company law, contract law, and in some jurisdictions, competition law. At common law, gambling requires consideration, chance and prize, legal terms that must be analyzed by gaming lawyers within the context of any gaming operation. |
| Health and safety law | Also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at occupation. These terms also refer to the goals of this field, so their use in the sense of this article was originally an abbreviation of occupational safety and health program/department etc. |
| Health law | Concerned with the health of individuals and populations, the provision of health care and the operation of the health care system. |
| Housing law | Legal scholars and practitioners generally discuss laws that affect housing within the context of real property, landlord–tenant law, mortgage law, laws that forbid housing discrimination, laws that attempt to preserve affordable housing, etc. |
| Immigration law | refers to the national statutes, regulations, and legal precedents governing immigration into and deportation from a country. Strictly speaking, it is distinct from other matters such as naturalization and citizenship, although they are sometimes conflated. Countries frequently maintain laws that regulate both the rights of entry and exit as well as internal rights, such as the duration of stay, freedom of movement, and the right to participate in commerce or government. |
| Insurance law | Is the practice of law surrounding insurance, including insurance policies and claims. It can be broadly broken into three categories – regulation of the business of insurance; regulation of the content of insurance policies, especially with regard to consumer policies; and regulation of claim handling. |
| Intellectual property law | (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The most well-known types are copyrights, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. |
| International law | Also known as public international law and law of nations, is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally accepted in relations between nations. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework to guide states across a broad range of domains, including war, diplomacy, trade, and human rights. International law aims at the practice of stable, consistent, and organized international relations. The sources of international law include international custom (general state practice accepted as law), treaties, and general principles of law recognized by most national legal systems. International law may also be reflected in international comity, the practices and customs adopted by states to maintain good relations and mutual recognition, such as saluting the flag of a foreign ship or enforcing a foreign legal judgment. |
| International human rights law | (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law are primarily made up of treaties, agreements between sovereign states intended to have binding legal effect between the parties that have agreed to them; and customary international law. Other international human rights instruments, while not legally binding, contribute to the implementation, understanding and development of international human rights law and have been recognized as a source of political obligation. The relationship between international human rights law and international humanitarian law is disputed among international law scholars. This discussion forms part of a larger discussion on fragmentation of international law. While pluralist scholars conceive international human rights law as being distinct from international humanitarian law, proponents of the constitutionalist approach regard the latter as a subset of the former. In a nutshell, those who favors separate, self-contained regimes emphasize the differences in applicability; international humanitarian law applies only during armed conflict. |
| International humanitarian law | (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict, is the law that regulates the conduct of war (jus in bello). It is a branch of international law which seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict by protecting persons who are not participating in hostilities, and by restricting and regulating the means and methods of warfare available to combatants. |
| International trade and finance law | It includes the appropriate rules and customs for handling trade between countries. However, it is also used in legal writings as trade between private sectors, which is not right. This branch of law is now an independent field of study as most governments have become part of the world trade, as members of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Since the transaction between private sectors of different countries is an important part of the WTO activities, this latter branch of law is now a very important part of the academic works and is under study in many universities across the world. |
| Internet law | It regulates the Internet must be considered in the context of the geographic scope of the Internet and political borders that are crossed in the process of sending data around the globe. The unique global structure of the Internet raises not only jurisdictional issues, that is, the authority to make and enforce laws affecting the Internet, but also questions concerning the nature of the laws themselves. The various fields of Internet law: Internet governance, intellectual property, e-commerce, cybercrime and cybersecurity, and data protection and privacy. |
| Juvenile law | A minor is a person under a certain age, usually the age of majority, which legally demarcates childhood from adulthood. The age of majority depends upon jurisdiction and application, but it is generally 18. Minor may also be used in contexts that are unconnected to the overall age of majority. For example, the drinking age in the United States is usually 21, and younger people are sometimes called minors in the context of alcohol law, even if they are at least 18. The term underage often refers to those under the age of majority, but it may also refer to persons under a certain age limit, such as the drinking age, smoking age, age of consent, marriageable age, driving age, voting age, etc. Such age limits are often different from the age of majority. The concept of minor is not sharply defined in most jurisdictions. The age of criminal responsibility and consent, the age at which school attendance is no longer compulsory, the age at which legally binding contracts can be entered into, and so on may be different from one another. |
| Labour law (or Labor law) | Also known as an employment law. It mediates the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, employer and union. Individual labour law concerns employees’ rights at work also through the contract for work. Employment standards are social norms (in some cases also technical standards) for the minimum socially acceptable conditions under which employees or contractors are allowed to work. Government agencies (such as the former US Employment Standards Administration) enforce labour law (legislature, regulatory, or judicial) |
| Landlord–tenant law | Is a part of the common law that details the rights and duties of landlords and tenants. It includes elements of both real property law (specifically conveyances) and contract law. |
| Litigation (or lawsuit) | The process of taking a case to a court of law so that a judgment can be made. A lawsuit may involve dispute resolution of private law issues between individuals, business entities or non-profit organizations. A lawsuit may also enable the state to be treated as if it were a private party in a civil case, as plaintiff, or defendant regarding an injury, or may provide the state with a civil cause of action to enforce certain laws. |
| Martial law | Is the temporary imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to a temporary emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. |
| Media law | Also referred to as media law is legal services provided to the entertainment industry. These services in entertainment law overlap with intellectual property law. Intellectual property has many moving parts that include trademarks, copyright, and the “Right of Publicity”. However, the practice of entertainment law often involves questions of employment law, contract law, torts, labor law, bankruptcy law, immigration, securities law, security interests, agency, right of privacy, defamation, advertising, criminal law, tax law, International law (especially Private international law), and insurance law. Much of the work of an entertainment law practice is transaction based, i.e., drafting contracts, negotiation and mediation. Some situations may lead to litigation or arbitration. |
| Medical law | Is the branch of law which concerns the prerogatives and responsibilities of medical professionals and the rights of the patient. It should not be confused with medical jurisprudence, which is a branch of medicine, rather than a branch of law. |
| Military law | (or military law) is the body of laws and procedures governing members of the armed forces. Many nation-states have separate and distinct bodies of law that govern the conduct of members of their armed forces. Some states use special judicial and other arrangements to enforce those laws, while others use civilian judicial systems. Legal issues unique to military justice include the preservation of good order and discipline, the legality of orders, and appropriate conduct for members of the military. Some states enable their military justice systems to deal with civil offenses committed by their armed forces in some circumstances. Military justice is distinct from martial law, which is the imposition of military authority on a civilian population as a substitute for civil authority, and is often declared in times of emergency, war, or civil unrest. Most countries restrict when and in what manner martial law may be declared and enforced. |
| Mining law | Is the branch of law relating to the legal requirements affecting minerals and mining. Mining law covers several basic topics, including the ownership of the mineral resource and who can work them. Mining is also affected by various regulations regarding the health and safety of miners, as well as the environmental impact of mining. |
| Mortgage law | Is a legal instrument which is used to create a security interest in real property held by a lender as a security for a debt, usually a loan of money. A mortgage in itself is not a debt, it is the lender’s security for a debt. It is a transfer of an interest in land (or the equivalent) from the owner to the mortgage lender, on the condition that this interest will be returned to the owner when the terms of the mortgage have been satisfied or performed. In other words, the mortgage is a security for the loan that the lender makes to the borrower. |
| Music law | Refers to legal aspects of the music industry, and certain legal aspects in other sectors of the entertainment industry. The music industry includes record labels, music publishers, merchandisers, the live events sector and of course performers and artists. |
| Nationality law | (or citizenship law) is the law of a sovereign state, and of each of its jurisdictions, that defines the rights and obligations of citizenship within the jurisdiction as well as he manner in which citizenship is acquired and how it may be lost. A person who is in a country in which they are not a citizen of is generally regarded by that country as a foreigner, or alien. A person who has no recognised nationality or citizenship to any jurisdiction is regarded as stateless. |
| Obscenity law | Is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin obscēnus, obscaenus, “boding ill; disgusting; indecent”, of uncertain etymology. The word can be used to indicate a strong moral repugnance, in expressions such as “obscene profits” or “the obscenity of war”. As a legal term, it usually refers to graphic depictions of people engaged in sexual and excretory activity. |
| Parliamentary law | Is the body of ethics, rules, and customs governing meetings and other operations of clubs, organizations, legislative bodies, and other deliberative assemblies. In the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and other English-speaking countries it is often called chairmanship, chairing, the law of meetings, procedure at meetings or the conduct of meetings. In the United States, parliamentary procedure is also referred to as parliamentary law, parliamentary practice, legislative procedure or rules of order. |
| Patent law | Is a form of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of years in exchange for publishing an enabling public disclosure of the invention. In most countries, patent rights fall under private law and the patent holder must sue someone infringing the patent in order to enforce his or her rights. In some industries patents are an essential form of competitive advantage; in others they are irrelevant. |
| Poverty law | Harvard Law defines poverty law as, “the legal statutes, regulations and cases that apply particularly to the financially poor in his or her day to day life”. In a commonsense understanding and in practice, the goal of poverty law is to protect the disadvantaged poor from unfair treatment by the law. Poverty law often overlaps with federal benefits and welfare policies. Pertinent federal government benefits include Medicaid; cash public assistance (more commonly known as Welfare); and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program, previously known as the food stamps program. Poverty law frequently involves questions of administrative law, civil rights law, constitutional law, employment law, and health law. |
| Privacy law | It refers to the laws that deal with the regulation, storing, and using of personally identifiable information, personal healthcare information, and financial information of individuals, which can be collected by governments, public or private organisations, or other individuals. It also applies in the commercial sector to things like trade secrets and the liability that directors, officers, and employees have when handing sensitive information. Privacy laws are considered within the context of an individual’s privacy rights or within reasonable expectation of privacy. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to privacy. The interpretation of these rights varies by country and are not always harmonious. |
| Procedural law | Studies the rules and formalities to be followed within the framework of a judicial procedure and in particular a trial; it is opposed to substantive law. In some jurisdictions referred to as remedial law, or rules of court comprises the rules by which a court hears and determines what happens in civil, lawsuit, criminal or administrative proceedings. The rules are designed to ensure a fair and consistent application of due process (in the U.S.) or fundamental justice (in other common law countries) to all cases that come before a court. |
| Property law | It governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land) and personal property. Property refers to legally protected claims to resources, such as land and personal property, including intellectual property. Property can be exchanged through contract law, and if property is violated, one could sue under tort law to protect it. The concept, idea or philosophy of property underlies all property law. In some jurisdictions, historically all property was owned by the monarch and it devolved through feudal land tenure or other feudal systems of loyalty and fealty. |
| Public health lawI | t examines the authority of the government at various jurisdictional levels to improve the health of the general population within societal limits and norms. Public health law focuses on the duties of the government to achieve these goals, limits on that power, and the population perspective. Public health law also focuses on legal issues in public health practice and on the public health effects of legal practice. |
| Public International Law | International law, also known as public international law and law of nations, is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally accepted in relations between nations.It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework to guide states across a broad range of domains, including war, diplomacy, trade, and human rights. International law aims at the practice of stable, consistent, and organized international relations. |
| Real estate law | Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more generally) buildings or housing in general. Real estate is different from personal property, which is not permanently attached to the land, such as vehicles, boats, jewelry, furniture, tools and the rolling stock of an agricultural farm. |
| Securities law / Capital markets law | Securities regulation in the United States is the field of U.S. law that covers transactions and other dealings with securities. The term is usually understood to include both federal and state-level regulation by governmental regulatory agencies, but sometimes may also encompass listing requirements of exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange and rules of self-regulatory organizations like the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). |
| Space law | Is the body of law governing space-related activities, encompassing both international and domestic agreements, rules, and principles. Parameters of space law include space exploration, liability for damage, weapons use, rescue efforts, environmental preservation, information sharing, new technologies, and ethics. Other fields of law, such as administrative law, intellectual property law, arms control law, insurance law, environmental law, criminal law, and commercial law, are also integrated within space law. |
| Sports law | Sports law encompasses all legal matters that play a role in and around sport. Sports law thus transcends the boundaries of various legal areas. In the transfer of an athlete, aspects such as disciplinary law, contract law, employment law, portrait law and immigration law may play a role. Sports law in the United States overlaps substantially with labor law, contract law, competition or antitrust law, and tort law. Issues like defamation and privacy rights are also integral aspects of sports law. This area of law was established as a separate and important entity only a few decades ago, coinciding with the rise of player-agents and increased media scrutiny of sports law topics. |
| Statutory law | Or statute law is written law passed by a body of legislature. This is as opposed to oral or customary law; or regulatory law promulgated by the executive or common law of the judiciary. Statutes may originate with national, state legislatures or local municipalities. |
| Tax law | Or revenue law is an area of legal study in which public or sanctioned authorities, such as federal, state and municipal governments (as in the case of the US) use a body of rules and procedures (laws) to assess and collect taxes in a legal context. The rates and merits of the various taxes, imposed by the authorities, are attained via the political process inherent in these bodies of power, and not directly attributable to the actual domain of tax law itself. |
| Technology law | Information technology law (also called “cyberlaw”) concerns the law of information technology, including computing and the internet. It is related to legal informatics, and governs the digital dissemination of both (digitalized) information and software, information security and electronic commerce aspects and it has been described as “paper laws” for a “paperless environment”. It raises specific issues of intellectual property in computing and online, contract law, privacy, freedom of expression, and jurisdiction. |
| Tort law | A tort, in common law jurisdiction, is a civil wrong (other than breach of contract) that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. It can include intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, financial losses, injuries, invasion of privacy, and many other things.It involves claims in an action seeking to obtain a private civil remedy, typically money damages. Tort claims may be compared to criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable by the state. |
| Trademark law | Is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression which identifies products or services of a particular source from those of others, although trademarks used to identify services are usually called service marks. The trademark owner can be an individual, business organization, or any legal entity. A trademark may be located on a package, a label, a voucher, or on the product itself. For the sake of corporate identity, trademarks are often displayed on company buildings. It is legally recognized as a type of intellectual property. |
| Transport law / Transportation law | Transport law is the part of the law that applies to carriers (such as airlines, coach operators, road carriers, railway companies or even shipping companies), customers and users of these means of transport. transport, as well as intermediaries, such as freight forwarders, tour operators, and ticket resellers. The laws can apply very broadly at a transport system level or more narrowly to transport things or activities within that system such as vehicles, things and behaviours. |
| Trusts and estates law | Is a wealth management journal published by Penton Media which covers trust law and estates. It was first published in 1904 (as a periodical called Trust Companies) under the direction of Christian A. Luhnow, who was the editor, publisher and owner of the magazine at the time. Today, Trusts & Estates publishes articles contributed by practitioners in the fields of estate planning and taxation, fiduciary professionals, family offices, insurance, investments, philanthropy, retirement benefits and valuations. According to trustsandestates.com, articles are generally peer-reviewed by an editorial advisory board. The journal is published 12 times per year with a Wealth Management Resource Guide bonus issue in December. |
| Water law | Water resources law (in some jurisdictions, shortened to “water law”) is the field of law dealing with the ownership, control, and use of water as a resource. It is most closely related to property law, and is distinct from laws governing water quality. Water law is the domain of the law relating to the ownership, control and use of water as a resource. It is more closely related to property law, but is also influenced by environmental law. Because water is vital to living things and linked to a wide variety of economic activities, laws to regulate it have important effects. |
Skills that would help you in a career in law
To succeed in a legal career you’ll need a wide range of skills that can help you. Depending on the type of role you’re interested in, you might need:
- Excellent written communication skills to help you read, interpret, write and report on legal documents which might include court proceedings and contracts.
- Verbal communication skills to help you examine witnesses, present a case in court or communicate with clients in any setting.
- Interpersonal skills to help you build trust and relationships with the clients or corporate team members you are working with.
- Strong analytical and logical reasoning to help you make sense of information.
- Legal research skills to find facts, statistics and evidence to support your work.
- Time management skills to help you meet deadlines and juggle different projects and responsibilities.
Legal profession
Legal profession is a profession, and legal professionals study, develop and apply law. Usually, there is a requirement for someone choosing a career in law to first obtain a law degree or some other form of legal education.
Judge
Historically, this has been the first legal specialization. In civil law countries, this is often a lifelong career. In common law legal system, on the other hand, judges are recruited from practising lawyers.
Lawyer, advocate, attorney
Practising law means advising and representing clients as a private practitioner or in a law firm. In most countries, law graduates need to undergo some sort of apprenticeship, membership in a professional organization and a licence.
The name for this profession is lawyer or attorney in most of the English-speaking world, and advocate in many other countries. The name for this profession in canon law is canonist or canon lawyer.
In civil law countries, but also some common law jurisdictions there is one Law society for all lawyers who want to provide services to the public. But in the United Kingdom and some of its former colonies, there are two quite separate kinds of lawyers providing legal services to the public.
Solicitor
Solicitors advise clients, draft contracts for them and represent them in lower courts of law.
Barrister
Barristers, also called counsels, are court specialists, who traditionally do not come into contact with their lay clients, but are instructed by solicitors. There is only about a 10% of barristers in most common law jurisdictions.
Jurist
People, who study, teach, organize, and through that also create law, often working at universities, are called jurists. In civil-law countries, their role is greater, because they draft codes, which are major-laws that govern whole areas of law. In common-law countries, the creation and interpretation of law has traditionally been the domain of judges.
Paralegal
A paralegal or legal assistant, according to one definition, is “a person, qualified by education, training or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency or other entity and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible”.
Job options
Jobs directly related to your degree, may include:
Arbitrator
Barrister
Barrister’s clerk
Chartered legal executive (England and Wales)
Company secretary
Costs lawyer
Detective
Licensed conveyancer
Paralegal
Solicitor
Solicitor, Scotland
Jobs where your degree would be useful include:
Advice worker
Border Force officer
Chartered accountant
Civil Service administrator
Data analyst
Data scientist
External auditor
Forensic computer analyst
Human resources officer
Mediator
Patent attorney
Political risk analyst
Stockbroker
Trading standards officer
Remember that many employers accept applications from graduates with any degree subject, so don’t restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.
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