Law is a set of rules created and enforced by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior. Its precise nature is a subject of longstanding debate. Generally speaking, laws are linked to sanctions and are meant to prevent or resolve conflicts.
The essentialist and vitalist approaches see law as a natural phenomenon that emerges from social life. The latter view examines the legal system and argues that it performs a regulating function that differs from custom and morals. Its most important characteristic is that it is based on the authority of an institution, for example a judge or jury, and that its rulings are binding on all courts in a jurisdiction (binding precedent).
For the realistic approach, which was influenced by Kelsen, law is not an objective phenomenon, but rather a product of the institutionalization process. It is a product that serves the function of protecting the political power of the ruling class by concealing or stabilizing it. This explains why revolutions are often a reaction to the existence of a political-legal regime, and why the ideal of legal equality for all citizens is a central theme in politics and law.
Other legal scholars have argued that law has an elitist element, which is to say that some parts of society are excluded from it. These include women, children, wards, and other minors, who are considered to be subordinate to their protector (pater familias in Roman law), as well as the marginalized poor who are not eligible to claim rights in court.