We have seen that law covers a wide variety of matters and plays a significant role in society.

We have learnt that our legal system is made up of both a criminal justice system and a civil justice system. These two systems exist to deal with two different types of laws that have different purposes and lead to very different consequences if they are broken. We will now examine the two main types of classification of law. 1. Public and Private Law 2. Criminal and Civil Law

Public and Private Law Public law involves the state or government in some way. There are three main types of law that fall into this category. Constitutional law: this controls how the government operates and is used to resolve any disputes over constitutional matters, for example, who is entitled to vote. Constitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature, and thejudiciary. Not all nation states have codified constitutions, though all such states have a jus commune, or law of the land, that may consist of a variety of imperative and consensual rules. These may include customary law, conventions, statutory law, judge-made law. The Constitution was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, and came into effect on 26 January 1950.1 The date 26 January was chosen to commemorate the Purna Swaraj declaration of independence of 1930. With its adoption, the Union of India officially became the modern and contemporary Republic of India and it replaced the Government of India Act 1935 as the country's fundamental governing document. The Constitution declares India to be a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic, assuring its citizens of justice, equality, and liberty, and endeavours to promote fraternityamong them.2 The words "socialist" and "secular" were added to the definition in 1976 by constitutional amendment.3 India celebrates the adoption of the constitution on 26 January each year as Republic Day.4 There are six fundamental rights:
1 2 3 4

"Introduction to Constitution of India". Ministry of Law and Justice of India. 29 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-14. "Preamble of the Constitution of India". Ministry of Law & Justice. Retrieved 29 March 2012. "Forty-Second Amendment to the Constitution". Ministry of Law and Justice of India. 28 August 1976. Retrieved 2008-10-14. Das, Hari (2002). Political System of India. Anmol Publications. p. 120.

1. Right to equality 2. Right to freedom 3. Right against Exploitation 4. Right to Freedom of Religion 5. Cultural and Educational Rights 6. Right to Constitutional Remedies

Administrative law: this controls how Ministers of State and public bodies should operate and make decisions. An important part of administrative law is a type of court action known as judicial review. Private sector involvement in the provision of public services has blurred the distinction between public and private sector organisations and functions: what were previously regarded as the proper activities of the state have now often become the responsibilities of private companies examples range from the privatisation of public utilities such as the power and telecommunications industries, to the contracting-out to private companies of various aspects of the management of hospitals, schools and even prisons. The reasons for this shift in the old notion of public service are easily identified. Apart from ideological justifications based upon the idea of empowering the tax-paying citizen through enhancing the transparency and accountability of the operation of these services, the attempt has been made over the past 20 years or so to improve their efficiency. Usually, regulators have been created to monitor and, to a certain extent, to control, the activities of the private organisations concerned. Thus, the telecommunications industry is overseen by the Offices of Telecommunication (OFTEL), water services by OFWAT, and so on. The privatisation and break-up of the various components of the rail transport industry, in particular, was accompanied by the dispersal of regulatory functions between a bewildering array of no less than four separate bodies (apart from relevant government ministers) the Rail Regulator, the Chief Inspector of Railways, the Strategic Rail Authority, and Railtrack Administrative law is the body of law that governs the activities of administrative agencies of government. Government agency action can include rulemaking, adjudication, or the enforcement of a specific regulatory agenda. Administrative law is considered a branch

of public law. As a body of law, administrative law deals with the decision-making of administrative units of government (for example, tribunals, boards or commissions) that are part of a national regulatory scheme in such areas as police law, international

trade, manufacturing,

the environment, taxation, broadcasting, immigration andtransport.

Administrative law expanded greatly during the twentieth century, as legislative bodies worldwide created more government agencies to regulate the increasingly complex social, economic and political spheres of human interaction. Criminal law: this also comes under the heading of public law because it involves the state. Criminal law is part of public law because a crime is regarded as an action against society and the state as a whole. Indian Criminal Laws are divided into three major acts i.e. Indian Penal Code, 1973, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and Indian Evidence Act, 1872. Besides these laws, special Criminal Laws are also passed by Indian Parliament i.e. NDPS, Prevention of Corruption Act, Food Adulteration Act, dowery prevention act, Commission of Sati Act etc. thousands of minor laws are made in India. Indian Penal Code formulated by the British during the British Raj in 1860, forms the backbone of criminal law in India. Jury trials were abolished by the government in 1960 on the grounds they would be susceptible to media and public influence. This decision was based on an 8-1 acquittal of Kawas Nanavati in K. M. Nanavati vs. State of Maharashtra, which was overturned by higher courts. Capital punishment in India is legal but rarely used. The last execution was conducted in 2004, when Dhananjoy Chatterjee was hanged for the rape and murder of a 14-year old girl. Homosexuality in India was criminal offense, though never prosecuted, under a Victorianera criminal statute which faced a constitutional challenge at the Delhi High Court from 2002-2009.The Court 'read down' Section 377 by holding that consensual sexual acts between adults is outside the ambit of the law.5 Indian Penal Code was passed under the chairmanship of Lord Macaulay and was enforced in 1862, Lord Macaulay issued clarification for the people of India for implementation of this Code, because people were of the view that rule of Capital Punishment will be misused against them. Further more people were against foreign rule on India peoples.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India-decriminalises-gay-sex/articleshow/4726608.cms

PRIVATE LAW Contract Law A contract is a legally-enforceable promise or set of promises made by one party to another. A contract is a legally binding agreement concerning a bargain which is essentially commercial in its nature and involves the sale or hire of commodities such as goods, services or land. A contract intends to formalize an agreement between two or more parties, in relation to a particular subject. Contracts can cover an extremely broad range of matters, including the sale of goods or real property, the terms of employment or of an independent contractor relationship, the settlement of a dispute, and ownership of intellectual property developed as part of a work for hire.6=

Family law
Family law is an area of the law that deals with family-related to maintain the matters of any family to retain harmony and peace issues anddomestic relations including:

the nature of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships; issues arising throughout marriage, including spousal abuse, legitimacy, adoption, surrogacy, child abuse, and child abduction the termination of the relationship and ancillary matters including divorce, annulment, property settlements, alimony, and parental responsibilityorders (in the United States, child custody and visitation, child support and alimony awards). Paternity fraud and testing Juvenile adjudication 7

Hindu Law
As far as Hindus are concerned Hindu Law is a specific branch of law. Though the attempt made by the first parliament after independence did not succeed in bringing forth a Hindu Code comprising the entire field of Hindu family law, laws could be enacted touching upon all major areas that affect family life among Hindus in India. [citation needed] Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists are also covered by Hindu law

Muslim law
Indian Muslims' personal laws are based on the Sharia, which is partially applied in India. [25] The portion of the fiqh applicable to Indian Muslims as personal law is termed Mohammedan law. [26]Despite being largely uncodified, Mohammedan law has the same legal status as other codified statutes. [27] The development of the law is largely on the basis of judicial precedent, which in recent times has been subject to review by the courts.[27] The contribution of Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer in the matter of interpretation of the statutory as well as personal law is significant. The very Source of the Muslim law are divided into two categories : 1) Primary Source 2) Secondary Source
6 7

http://www.expertlaw.com/library/business/contract_law.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_law

1)"Primary Source" As per Sunni Law:

Quran Sunna or Ahdis (Tradition of the Prophet) Ijma (Unanimous Decision of the Jurists) Qiyas ( Analogical deduction)

As per Shia Law:

Quran Tradition (only those that have come from the family of the Prophet) Ijma (only those confirmed by Imams) Reasons

2. "Secondary Source"

Custom Judicial Decisions Legislation

Salient Feature of Quran:

Divine Origin First Source Structure Mixture of Religion, Law and Morality Different Forms of Legal Rules Unchangeable Incompleteness-Quran is not a complete code, only 200 verses deal with legal matters Silence of Quran-On many legal issues, Quran is silent

Christian Law
For Christians, a distinct branch of law known as Christian Law, mostly based on specific statutes, applies. Christian law of Succession and Divorce in India have undergone changes in recent years. The Indian Divorce (Amendment) Act of 2001 has brought in considerable changes in the grounds available for divorce. By now Christian law in India has emerged as a separate branch of law. It covers the entire spectrum of family law so far as it concerns Christians in India. Christian law, to a great extent is based on English law but there are laws that originated on the strength of customary practices and precedents. Christian family law has now distinct sub branches like laws on marriage, divorce,restitution, judicial separation, succession, adoption, guardianship, maintenance, custody of minor children and relevance of canon law and all that regulates familial relationship.

TORT
Tort law in India is a relatively new common law development supplemented by codifying statutes including statutes governing damages. While India generally follows the UK approach, there are certain differences which may indicate judicial activism, hence creating controversy.