Willis: Anglo-American Law 
11 
injured person if the other person does not discharge his duty. 
In other words, the law here has the same characteristics as it 
has in contracts. 
Thus four concepts stand out as the chief characteristics 
of the law: 
I. It is a scheme of social control. 
II. It is for the protection of social interests. 
III. It accomplishes its purpose by the recognition in per- 
sons of capacities of influencing the conduct of others. 
IV. It affords the machinery of the courts and legal pro- 
cedure to help the person with capacity. “Order, through 
generality, equality, and certainty, and not compulsion, is the 
fundamental characteristic of the law.” A correct definition 
of “law” would seem to be one which embraces all of these 
concepts and no others. The following, therefore, may be 
taken to be a true definition of law in the legal sense : Law is 
a scheme of social control, for the protection of social inter- 
ests, by means of capacities of influence, backed and sanc- 
tioned by the power of the state. 8 
Justice. Justice may be defined as such an adjustment of 
the relations of human beings as to make all discharge all 
of their duties and other liabilities and all obtain all of their 
rights, privileges, powers, and immunities . 9 What these are 
depends upon the social interests which society decides should 
have protection. Social justice at the present time recog- 
nizes more social interests than does legal justice. It 
consequently recognizes more rights and duties. It also rec- 
ognizes no favored classes and protects groups within nations 
and nations as well as individuals. Legal justice has not as 
yet gone as far as this, but it is tending in the direction of 
social justice. As a matter of fact at the present time the 
law does not always give even legal justice. This is because 
it is not perfect, especially in the matter of courts and legal 
8 It will be observed that Mr. Wilson’s definition comes the nearest to being like 
the above definition. Most of the definitions have the concept of a sanction by the 
state in the form of courts and legal procedure. Some of them have the concept of 
social control. The concept of protection of social interests and the concept of recog- 
nition of capacities of influence as a means thereto are implicit in Mr. Wilson and Mr. 
Pound’s definitions, but they seem to be ignored by other definitions. 
9 “Justice consists in bringing the actions of each into harmony with the actions 
of all by a rule of general application instead of by an arbitrary act.’’ — Kant — (Pound). 
Justice is “the liberty of each limited only by the like liberties of all.” — Spencer. 
“Justice means the satisfaction of everyone’s wants so far as they are not out- 
weighed by others’ wants.” — Ward. 
