Numerous definitions of law have been put forward over the
centuries. The Third New International
Dictionary from Merriam-Webster defines law as: "Law is a binding
custom or practice of a community; a rule or mode of conduct or action that is
prescribed or formally recognized as binding by a supreme controlling authority
or is made obligatory by a sanction (as an edict, decree, prescript, order,
ordinance, statute, resolution, rule, judicial decision, or usage) made,
recognized, or enforced by the controlling authority."
The Dictionary of the History of Ideas published by Scribner's in
1973 defined the concept of law accordingly as: "A legal system is the
most explicit, institutionalized, and complex mode of regulating human conduct.
At the same time it plays only one part in the congeries of rules which
influence behavior, for social and moral rules of a less institutionalized kind
is also of great importance."
There have been many attempts to
produce "a universally acceptable definition of law". In 1972, one
source indicated that no such definition could be produced. Glanville Williams
said that the meaning of the word "law" depends on the context in
which that word is used. He said that, for example, "early customary law"
and "municipal law" were contexts where the word "law" had
two different and irreconcilable meanings. Thurman Arnold
said that it is obvious that it is impossible to define the word
"law" and that it is also equally obvious that the struggle to define
that word should not ever be abandoned. It is possible
to take the view that there is no need to define the word "law" (e.g.
"let's forget about generalities and get down to cases").
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