&gt; The state controls the law, so anything...<p>In the US there is a finer distinction. &quot;State&quot; can be understood as &quot;all politics combined&quot;, and then yes, state does controls the law, and does that by the definition. Or you can consider state be &quot;government&quot; - with a set of hired specialists (ministers) under the guidance of elected official (president) - to be different from people representatives (Congress), which are actually controlling the law - and are supposed also to keep an eye on the executive branch.