> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://studies-de-jure.gitbook.io/learn/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://studies-de-jure.gitbook.io/learn/sourcebooks/business-law-i/intro-to-law-and-legal-systems/2.2-law-and-its-functions.md).
# Law and Its Functions
**Law** is the system of rules that a particular nation or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members, which it may enforce by the imposition of penalties or relief. The law can serve to (1) keep the peace(2) resolve disputes, (3) maintain the status quo, (4) preserve individual rights, (5) protect minority/marginalized groups, (6) promote justice, and (7) provide for orderly social change. Some legal systems serve these purposes better than others.
Although a nation ruled by an authoritarian government may keep the peace and maintain the status quo, it may also oppress minorities or political opponents (e.g., China, Zimbabwe, or Syria). Under colonialism, European nations often imposed peace in nations whose borders were created by those same European nations. Regarding the functions of the law, the empires may have kept the peace—largely with force—but they changed the status quo and seldom promoted the native peoples’ rights or social justice.
In nations with various ethnic and tribal groups, it is often difficult for a single, united government to rule effectively. In Rwanda, for example, power struggles between Hutus and Tutsis resulted in the genocide of the Tutsi minority. In nations of the former Soviet Union, the withdrawal of a central power created power vacuums that were exploited by local leaders. When Yugoslavia broke up, the different ethnic groups—Croats, Bosniaks, and Serbs—fought bitterly rather than share power. In Iraq and Afghanistan, the blending of different groups of families, tribes, sects, and ethnic groups into an effective national governing body continues to be a challenge. These situations highlight the struggle of a nation to implement and maintain the **Rule of Law**.
## Rule of Law: A System
The **Rule of Law** is a system in which laws (1) are public knowledge, (2) are clear in meaning, and (3) apply equally to everyone. These systems uphold national political and civil liberties. Rule of law systems establish authority, create expectations for behavior, and establish redress for grievances and penalties for deviance. Governance of conflict and the attainment of peace among the governed are its primary goals. One of the greatest benefits of the Rule of Law is that it allows people to understand what is expected of them. The United States is a **Rule of Law** system.
## Rule of Law: A Principle
In the United States, law and the relationships between governments and citizens, and between citizens and each other, arises from the Constitution. The U.S. Constitution’s preamble states:
> We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
As we examine core portions of the Constitution later, we will see that it establishes a rule of law system that is based on the principle that the people consent to abide by the law. Without this principle, the U.S. legal system fails.
***
Attributions and Licensing
Except where otherwise noted, this page's content is adapted from [What is Law and What Functions Does It Serve? ](https://pressbooks.pub/introductiontobusinesslaw/chapter/chapter-1/)in [*Fundamentals of Business Law* ](https://pressbooks.pub/introductiontobusinesslaw/)by Melissa Randall (2020), used under [CC BY-NC-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). This page is licensed under [CC BY-NC-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). 
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