Law and Legal Relations
Core concepts
Law is a system of generally binding norms established and enforced by the state. Know the sources of law: legal custom, precedent, normative legal act, and the hierarchy of acts (constitution → constitutional laws → ordinary laws → subordinate acts). Understand legal relations (subjects, object, content, legal capacity and capacity to act), and legal liability types: criminal, administrative, civil, disciplinary, material.
Know the branches: constitutional, civil, administrative, criminal, labour, family. Know the elements of an offence: the act, its unlawfulness, guilt, and punishability; and the presumption of innocence.
Traps
A frequent trap is confusing legal capacity (ability to have rights, from birth) with capacity to act (ability to exercise them, which grows with age). Another is misclassifying liability: a fine for a traffic violation is administrative, not criminal; a fine imposed by an employer is disciplinary. Watch for the difference between public (constitutional, administrative, criminal) and private (civil, family, labour) branches. Also do not confuse moral norms with legal norms - only legal norms are state-backed.
Worked example
A question describes a minor who bought a phone without parents' consent. Is the contract valid? Rule of thumb: check capacity to act. A minor's small everyday transactions are valid; significant transactions require parental consent. The rule: capacity to act is graduated, so the answer depends on the scale and nature of the transaction, not on the mere fact of being a minor.
Rule of thumb
For any legal scenario, ask three things: which branch of law applies, who has capacity, and which type of liability follows.