A principle may relate to a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of beliefs or behavior or a chain of reasoning.
[3] In law, higher order, overarching principles establish rules to be followed, modified by sentencing guidelines relating to context and proportionality.
[5] Examples of principles are, entropy in a number of fields, least action in physics, those in descriptive comprehensive and fundamental law: doctrines or assumptions forming normative rules of conduct, separation of church and state in statecraft, the central dogma of molecular biology, fairness in ethics, etc.
In common English, it is a substantive and collective term referring to rule governance, the absence of which, being "unprincipled", is considered a character defect.
It represents a set of values that inspire the written norms that organize the life of a society submitting to the powers of an authority, generally the State.
The law establishes a legal obligation, in a coercive way; it therefore acts as principle conditioning of the action that limits the liberty of the individuals.
Archimedes principle, relating buoyancy to the weight of displaced water, is an early example of a law in science.