Law is a body of rules made by the state for regulating human behaviors. It's means the main aim of making law is to regulate the behaviors of people living in society by giving them some rights and imposing duties on them.
Law also prescribes punishment for those who do not follow and obey law. It's is the punishment by whose people fear to break law. It's means law place limit and describes the way in which how people can act and perform their functions.
State makes different laws for regulating human behaviors because single law cannot control all the activities and functions of humans as well as single law cannot protect all kinds of interest and rights of citizens. Therefore, state keeps on making law according to time and needs of society. State makes different laws by which the human behaviors regulated.
Some jurists have been also described that law is made for regulating human behaviors. Some of the definitions are as below:-
According to Austin, Law is a rule made by an intelligent human being for the guidance of inferior human beings.
According to Holland, "Law is a general rule of external human action enforced by sovereign political authority."
According to Savigny, "Law is a rule of human action and conduct sanctioned by national usage."
According to Oxford Dictionary, "Law are the whole systems of rules that everyone in the country or society must obey."
From this jurists definitions, it is also cleared that law is a body of rules made by state to regulate human behaviors or human conducts. That's why we can say law is an instrument of regulating human behaviors.
Law is an instrument of regulating human behaviors because law regulates almost every actions and activities of human behaviors. It is more clear with the following some examples:-
1. Civil Law: Civil law creates rights, duties and obligations of individuals and regulates the relations of individuals.
2. Criminal Law: State by making criminal law prohibits and reduces criminal activities in the society. Criminals and wrong doers are also human beings and fears to do crime because of being punished. Therefore, criminal laws are also regulating human behaviors.
3. Family Law: Family law also regulates the behaviors relating to marriage, divorce, adoption, succession and partition of family members. Family law creates rights and obligations for family members by which the behaviors of family members regulated.
4. Contract Law: Contract law is a part of private law which regulates the relationship between two or more contracting parties. By contract, people creates their own duties and fullfil it. If anyone among them do not act as per contract then other can do legal action against other.
5. Election Law: Election law is a body of law which regulates all the matters and process regarding conducting election successfully. Election law describes the things like who can vote, who can fight election, how election will be conducted and what are the process of conducting election, what are the rights and duties of political parties, poling officers, residing officer and punishment for crime related with election.
6. Torts Law: Torts law is a part of civil which regulates the relationship between victim and wrong doers of any civil wrong or simple harms or unjuri caused by negligence.
In this ways, state has made different kinds of laws to regulate human behaviors by determining the rights and duties according to which a person has to functions otherwise he/she will be punished. Therefore, we can say that law is an instrument of regulating human behaviors.