These words all denote rules of conduct or procedure which are imposed by some authority. Law is the broadest and most general term in this group. It designates a rule of conduct recognized by custom or decreed by formal enactment and considered by a community, nation or other authoritatively constituted group as binding upon its members. The word also refers to a body of such rules.

A constitution is a collection of laws that establish the basic principles governing the actions of a government or other body of persons organized for some specific purpose. The document which records such laws is also referred to as a constitution . Code also denotes a collection of laws , but these pertain to some specific subject or activity: a building code ; the penal code ; a code of ethics for lawmaking bodies.

A statute is a written law enacted by a legislative body and duly sanctioned and authenticated by constitutional rule. An act of Parliament would be considered a statute . A by-law or an ordinance is a statute enacted by a municipal body; such laws cover local problems pertaining to zoning, sanitation, parking and the like. Government instrumentalities also may frame by-laws controlling public usage of facilities: prosecuted under a Railway Department by-law for wilfully damaging a carriage seat.

Regulation is a general and less formal word than the others in this group. It can designate any rule or principle, whether or not it has the effective force of enacted law , which is used to direct, manage or control some system or organization.

A canon was originally a church law ; it has since been extended to mean any principle which is regarded as established by common practice or by eminent authority: the canons of good taste. Commandment is found almost exclusively in religious contexts because of its allusion to the ten injunctions given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai.