Nowadays...

Nowadays, by just looking around, every person realizes that he needs hundreds of social and international laws in his complex domestic, external and international situation. Among social and domestic laws are laws related to traffic and transportation. If there are no traffic laws what will be the state of transportation and traffic in every city and town?

If the speed of a vehicle and its right of way (whether left or right) and all the other traffic and driving rules are not determined, what will happen? In which part of the world are a group of people leading a safe and sound life in spite of non-observance of these laws? It is true that driving rules are not uniformly codified in all countries.

In countries like Britain and Japan the driving seat is on the right side while driving on the left side of the road, while in all other countries including Iran, it is the opposite—but driving rules are codified anyway and the drivers are aware of the rules, knowing on which side of the road to drive. The above example is among the cases that shows the indispensability of law in society. Certainly, this necessity can also be felt in other issues such as family and international law.

One of the instances which show the exigency of the enactment of international laws is the issue related to the Caspian Sea, which is a source of dispute on the exploration of its natural resources among littoral states. It cannot be accepted that every state can exploit the Caspian oil, gas and other resources without any law. In fact, there has to be a sort of regime that stipulates the extent of exploitation of Caspian air, sea and underground resources by every littoral state.

The problems existing among the littoral states on account of the absence of a governing regime have paved the way for the need to enact laws and rules for the just division of resources. So, the imperative of enacting laws and rules in the light of human needs is being felt. For example, there had been no conventions, agreements and laws on the seas, air space, deserts and others until recently, because mankind was not in need of them yet.

However, as a result of more interaction among people, groups, nations, and countries, the need for such laws was felt. Since law defines the extent of rights of every person and society, the Noble Qur’an has specially mentioned the need of law in social life. It should be noted that existence if law in a general sense is not confined to the social life.