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In common law systems, judges may make binding case law through precedent, although on occasion this may be overturned by a higher court or the legislature. In civil law jurisdictions, a legislature or other central body codifies and consolidates the law.
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Legal systems vary between jurisdictions, with their differences analysed in comparative law.
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The law shapes politics, economics, history and society in various ways and serves as a mediator of relations between people. The creation of laws themselves may be influenced by a constitution, written or tacit, and the rights encoded therein. Private individuals may create legally binding contracts, including arbitration agreements that adopt alternative ways of resolving disputes to standard court litigation. State-enforced laws can be made by a group legislature or by a single legislator, resulting in statutes by the executive through decrees and regulations or established by judges through precedent, usually in common law jurisdictions.
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It has been variously described as a science and as the art of justice. Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. Iustitia (" Lady Justice") is a symbolic personification of the coercive power of a tribunal: a sword representing state authority, scales representing an objective standard and a blindfold indicating that justice should be impartial.
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