Law is a set of rules created and enforced by the State to regulate behaviour. Laws are created to maintain social order and peace in the society and provide protection to citizens.
Laws act as a formal means of social control in the following ways:

• Resolving value conflicts: They provide rules and guidelines for resolving value conflicts, such as right to life versus right to die with dignity. For example, law that permits passive euthanasia.
• Settling individual disputes: They provide rule-based settlement of disputes between two or more parties. For example, disputes regarding property, enforcement of contract, etc.
• Uniformity: There are certain rules that even the rulers and those who wield power must follow, for example, discrimination based on caste is legally prohibited for all.

However, a law does not always achieve its purpose and can rather harm society. It can be used to repress individuals and limit their rights. For example, apartheid law, which was earlier prevalent in South Africa. Thus, a legal system, which has been established to maintain social control can sometimes mask the dysfunctional role of law.
The limitations and dysfunctions of law include:

• Unjust laws: Laws can be flawed or biased, and can fail to address societal needs or promote fairness. For instance, daughters were ineligible to be coparceners in a joint Hindu family until the Hindu Succession Act was amended in 2005.
• Misuse of law: Legal actions may be used to harass individuals or to gain revenge rather than redress a legal wrong. For example, Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code has been criticized for misuse by the government.
• Not amenable to change: A law may be slow to change because of its reliance on precedents. Also, the Judiciary may be hesitant to introduce changes that society is not ready to accept. For example, the ongoing case related to the legality of same-sex marriages in India.
• Unequal access to justice: Oftentimes, the law and the legal system deny equal access to justice because of inability to pay for legal services, lack of awareness or both. For instance, as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data for 2020, about 76% of all prison inmates in India were undertrials, of which about 68% were either illiterate or school dropouts.
• Disproportionate impact on the marginalized groups: Laws can inadvertently have a disparate impact on the marginalized and vulnerable groups, thereby exacerbating existing inequalities. For example, tribals often bear the brunt of land acquisition laws and face displacement.

The legal justice system of a country should continuously evaluate these limitations and dysfunctions and amend the existing laws and implement new ones, so that the purpose of promoting justice, fairness, and social well-being is served.