What right is, and in what consists injury, is the business of the law to declare.

Explanation

The definition of rights and wrongs belongs to the law, not to private opinion — no man may unilaterally declare what constitutes his right or another's injury.

Where this applies

• A homeowner claims he has an absolute right to build a ten-story tower on his residential lot — but the law, not his personal opinion, defines the scope of his property rights and what constitutes permissible use.
• A business owner insists that a competitor's pricing strategy is illegal because it undercuts him — the court, not the aggrieved party, determines whether the competitor's conduct actually constitutes an actionable injury.
• Two neighbors disagree about whether one has the right to block a shared driveway — it is the business of the law, through courts and statutes, to declare what rights exist and what constitutes a wrong, not the parties' private opinions.