Module I
Concept of Law
Concept of Law : What is Law?
A law student is at the outset faced with the question
"what is law?'.
This is a complex question and has no simple answer.
What is Law?
Is Law a system, a set of rules or a part of culture?
What is Law made of?
Where do you find Law?
How is the Law you study different from the Law of Gravity?
Can there be a society without Law?
What makes Law a system?
Can you say that an individual’s perspective influences notions of Law.
Can we associate Law with Morality?
Can we detach law and order?
Law is:
1) A rule.
2) A rule of behavior.
3) The rules and regulations of a particular country.
4) The rules usually made by the legislative arm of
government which order the way persons, bodies and
society should behave; and
5) The whole system of rules of a country.
According to Webster's Dictionary, law
is an interesting list of things:
Rule of conduct recognized by custom or by formal enactment
which a community considers it binding upon itself.
A system or body of such rules.
Condition of the society when such rules are observed to
establish rule of law.
Body of rules relating to specified subjects e.g, Criminal Law,
Property Law, etc.
Statute and common law as against equity.
Cont.
Rules of conduct and procedure.
In Science and philosophy a statement of the manner or order in
which a defined group of natural phenomena occur certain conditions
-natural law.
Rules or formula according to which certain function or operation
are performed.
Statement of principles.
Cont.
An enactment of legislature.
Remedial justice administered by courts.
Branch of knowledge concerned with
jurisprudence.
Vocation of an attorney or solicitor.
Rules of conduct having divine origin.
Black's Law Dictionary
LAW
That which is laid down, ordained, or established .
A rule or method according to which phenomena or
actions co-exist or follow each other.
Law, in its generic sense, is a body of rules of action or
conduct prescribed by controlling authority, and having
binding legal force.
Law is all of above and much more. It is a large body of
rules and regulations based mainly on general principles
of justice, fair play and convenience.
Jurists have defined law differently from differently point
of views.
It has been called ‘Dharma’ in Hindu jurisprudence
‘Hukum’ in Islamic system.
Romans called it Jus & in Germany and France it is called
as Richt and Driot respectively
John Austin (English Jurist born 1790)
“Law is a command of sovereign backed by sanction”
Kant
Sum total of the conditions under which the personal wishes
of one man can be combined with the personal wishes of
another man in accordance with the general law of freedom.
Kant's legal philosophy is a theory of what the law ought to
be. He distinguished between legal duties and legal rights.
He also distinguished between natural rights and acquired
rights.
He recognized one natural right of the freedom of
man in so far as it can coexist with everyone else's
freedom under a general law.
According to Kant, the function of the State is essentially that
of protector and guardian of law. The aim of Kant was a
universal world state.
Definition of law - Marxist theory
Marxist theories of law generally define law as a tool of
oppression used by capitalists to control the proletariat.
St Thomas Aquinas (Italian philosopher
born 1224)
"Nothing else than an ordinance of reason for the
common good, made by him who has care of the
community, and promulgated"
Definition of law - Legal Realism
Oliver Wendell Holmes (American judge and jurist
born 1841)
"The prophecies of what the courts will do ... are what I mean
by the law,"
Definition of law - Thomas Hobbes
(English philosopher born 1588)
Hobbes said of the role and function of law in his
polemic work ‘Leviathan’ (1651)
"Law is the formal glue that holds fundamentally
disorganised societies together."
Definition of law - Glanville Williams
“Learning the law”
"Law is the cement of society and also an essential medium of
change. Knowledge of law increases one’s
understanding of public affairs. Its study promotes
accuracy of expression, facility in argument and skill in
interpreting the written word, as well as some understanding
of social values".
There is no single answer as to Functionally law works as a system.
what is law and where it can be It is a set of rules which regulate
located. So every time one looks human conduct in a society and as
for law in a particular context. such from a citizen's point of view
law must be obeyed.
Conclusion…
Normative Coercive/imperative Ever evolving
What is the Nature of Law?
• Law is Supreme
• Law is Unbiased
• Law is Dynamic
• Law provides Justice
• Law is Pervasive
• Law is for Welfare of People
• Law is Normative
• Law has a Disciplined Structure
• Law is Logical
• Law is Evolving
• Law is Progressive
• Law is based on Equity
• Law is Written
• Law is the Guiding Light
• Law provides Sanction
• Law is Rightful
• Law is accessible to all
• Law is based on Public Morality (?)
• Law is based on Principles of Natural Justice
• Law is Open to interpretation
• Law is made by the Legislature
• Law is Binding
• Law is Bulky
• Law is Protective
• Law is Of the People, By the People, For the People
What is the scope of Law?
• Civil Law • Business Law
• Criminal Law • Labour Law
• Constitutional Law • Intellectual Property Rights
• Administrative Law • Real Estate Law
• Family Law • Contract Law
• Human Rights Law • Maritime Law
• International Law • Insurance Law
• Taxation Law • Media Law
• Corporate Law • Environment Law
• Air and Space Law
What is the Classification of Law?
What is the Purpose and Function of Law?
LAW AND MORALITY
