法律基础

1、初步了解法律 法律是一系列的规则，通常需要经由一套制度来落实. 法律以各种方式影响着每个人的日常生活与整个社会. 合同法规定了从买车票到在衍生品市场上买卖利率交换选择权等各种事物的规则. 物权法主要在处理关于动产和不动产的权利义务关系，包含其间的得丧变更应如何进行. 信托法应用在如退休基金等投资的规定上. 侵权行为法允许某人可以在其权利或利益受到侵害时请求相当的损害赔偿. 且若此一侵害行为亦违反刑法条文之规定，则同时也可以透过刑事诉讼法所规定之起诉方法加以诉追. 宪法提供了一个创造法律、保障人权以及选举等的架构；而行政法则允许人民去质疑政府的行政行为，并同时提供救济之方法. 国际法规范了国家间从贸易到环境，乃至于军事行动等各项事件. 古希腊哲学家亚里斯多德于西元前350年写道. “法治比任何一个人的统治来得更好. ” 在不同的地方，法律体系会以不同的方式来阐述人们的法律权利与义务. 其中一种区分的方式便是分为欧陆法系和英美法系两种. 而有些国家则会以他们的宗教法条为其法律的基础. 学者们从许多不同的角度来研究自然法，包括从法制史和哲学，或从如经济学与社会学等社会科学的方面来探讨. 法律的研究来自于对何为平等、公正和正义等问题的讯问，这并不都总是简单的. “在其崇高的平等之下，”作家阿纳托尔·法郎士于1894年说. “法律同时禁止富人和穷人睡在桥下、在街上乞讨和偷一块面包. ”[3]在一个典型的三权分立国家中，创造和解释法律的核心机构为政府的三大部门：公正不倚的司法、民主的立法和负责的行政. 而官僚、军事和警力则是执行法律，并且让法律为人民服务时相当重要的部分. 除此之外，若要支持整个法律系统的运作，同时带动法律的进步，则独立自主的法律专业人员和充满生气的公民社会也是不可或缺的一部分. Law is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a primary social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on derivatives markets. Property law defines rights and obligations related to the transfer and title of personal (often referred to as chattel) and real property. Trust law applies to assets held for investment and financial security, while tort law allows claims for compensation if a person's rights or property are harmed. If the harm is criminalised in a statute, criminal law offers means by which the state can prosecute the perpetrator. Constitutional law provides a framework for the creation of law, the protection of human rights and the election of political representatives. Administrative law is used to review the decisions of government agencies, while international law governs affairs between sovereign nation states in activities ranging from trade to environmental regulation or military action. Writing in 350 BC, the Greek philosopher Aristotle declared, "The rule of law is better than the rule of any individual." Legal systems elaborate rights and responsibilities in a variety of ways. A general distinction can be made between civil law jurisdictions, which codify their laws, and common law systems, where judge made law is not consolidated. In some countries, religion informs the law. Law provides a rich source of scholarly inquiry, into legal history, philosophy, economic analysis or sociology. Law also raises important and complex issues concerning equality, fairness and justice. "In its majestic equality", said the author Anatole France in 1894, "the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread." In a typical democracy, the central institutions for interpreting and creating law are the three main branches of government, namely an impartial judiciary, a democratic legislature, and an accountable executive. To implement and enforce the law and provide services to the public, a government's bureaucracy, the military and police are vital. While all these organs of the state are creatures created and bound by law, an independent legal profession and a vibrant civil society inform and support their progress.

正义女神是在法制下的道德力量的拟人化. 她的双眼被蒙住象征著不偏倚的法律下的平等；天平代表在法律之下人们利益间的权衡；而剑则是指理性在法律中的力量，以及国家执行法律的能力. Lady Justice is the symbol of the judiciary. Justice is depicted as a goddess equipped with three symbols of the rule of law: a sword symbolizing the court's coercive power; scales representing the weighing of competing claims; and a blindfold indicating impartiality.