Why do we need the law?

Almost everything we do is governed by some set of rules. There rules for games, for social clubs, for children going to school and for adults in the workplace. Some of these rules - the rules made by government - are called laws. Laws apply to everyone in society, and they affect you whether you like them or not. And, unlike other rules, laws enforced by the court; if you break a law you may be forced to pay a fine, to make restitution to someone, or go to jail.

Why are some rules so special that they are made into laws? Why do need rules that everyone must obey? In short, what is purpose of law?

If we do not live in a society founded on mutual respect for each other's well-being, laws might be a little less necessary, but, because we do live in such a society, laws are very important. For example, the law says we must drive our cars on the right-hand side of a two-way street. If people were allowed simply to choose at random which side of the street to drive on, traffic would be reduced to a deadly chaos. Laws regulating our business affairs help to ensure that we can count on people keeping their promises. Laws against criminal activities help to safeguard our personal property, and even our lives.

Of course, even in a well-ordered society people will have disagreements and disputes with each other. The law must also provide a way to resolve these disputes peacefully. If two people disagree about the ownership of a piece of property, we don't want them to fight it out in our streets. We turn to the law and to institutions like the courts to decide which side is right.

We need law, then, because we want a safe and peaceful society. But we expect even more from our law. Some totalitarian governments have very strict and rigid laws, enforced by very powerful police forces. This may provide a great deal of order, but in Canada we would not be satisfied with such a system of law. What we seek is a balanced system of legal rules which respect individual rights while, at the same time, ensuring that society operates in an orderly manner.

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