General principles of law June 13, 2024

Chapter 6: b. POSITIVISM

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Note of Chapter 6: b. POSITIVISM. (cursory notes).

Chapter 6: b. POSITIVISM

  • Causes of Emergence of Positivism
  • Natural law defined law in absolute terms. It expected to achieve absolute justice. This was against the scientific development of modern times.
  • Natural law theories were very far from ‘Epistemology ‘. They were just based on ‘a priori ‘method.
  • Natural law theory promoted a number of myths and mystical theories which encouraged number of unwanted incidents.
  • Natural law was used by workers to revolt against industrialists and industrialists used natural law to defend earning profits. Natural law was used by French Revolution to oust royalty whereas natural law was also used to suppress counter revolutionaries.
  • Natural law theory was used for contradicting purposes.
     
  • The Right reason and Rationalism were vulnerable to individualize the law and as such law was presented in abstract terms.
  • Rationalism, Individualism, laissez fair economy are certain undesirable results of Natural law theory.
  • Positivism was developed to defy Natural law theory mysticism and abstract deals.

Meaning and Features of Positivism

  • Positivism connotes to theory, which deals with ‘Existing Laws ‘.
  • ‘Positivism’ is derived from ‘Position’, meaning “stationed in a fixed concrete shape” and as such can be perceived or enforced or has tangible meaning.
  • Positivism is the intellectual reaction against naturalism/abstract ideals (dictates of reasons of wisdom) and a love of order and precision. Positivism rejects any metaphysical speculation concerning law and studies law precisely as they are not as they ought to be.
  • Against ideal Natural law, Positivism advocated for concrete law.
  • Positivism advocates that legal validity of the law is not derived from divine or unseen powers. The state is the source of force of law.
  • Positive laws are ‘human made laws.
  • For all positivists, officially declared rules and principles constitutes sources of law.
  • Law is a secular phenomenon and as such it should not depend on ‘religion or morality’ for validity.
  • For positivists, positive law is an ‘independent realm’. So, it is not necessary to invoke religion or morality to establish sanctity of law.
  • Distinction of “is” law and “ought to be” law/ the question of ‘What is law?’ is the core of positivism.
  • Positivism argues, “ought” + validity = “Is”, therefore ought only when satisfying conditions of validity can be law and “ought” alone cannot be law.
  • The common idea that all the legal positivists have is that they analyze law as it is. They have the common objective of helping people understand the law of the land as it is and not as it ought to be. Therefore, the legal positivist school only aims to identify the law as it is laid down by a superior body and not how it should have been.
  • The school of legal positivism seeks to demarcate between laws as it is and law as it ought to be. It does not analyze the Censorial nature of law, that is, the law as it ought to be and concentrates on the law as it is given by a superior authority.
  • Depending on the weightage (importance) given to the moral principles, legal positivists can be divided into positive positivists and negative positivists. Positive positivists such as Hart were of the opinion that the moral principles do exist in the universe, but it is not required for the law to abide by them. Hart writes that ‘it is in no sense a necessary truth that law satisfy demands of morality, though, in fact, they have often done so. Therefore, they do not negate the existence of moral principles. However, Negative Positivists are those who completely negated (deny) the existence of the principles of ethics and morality. Therefore, they did not believe in the existence of moral principles. This includes jurists such as John Austin.
  • Therefore, we can clearly infer that the legal positivist school does not completely negate the existence of moral principles and to some extent also articulates that the law may be based on the principles of morality and ethics. Their view is that even the moral standards attain a legal status only through some form of official promulgation.
  • Positivism is a branch of social science.
  • The major positivists are Austin, Bentham, Hart, Kelson.

  • Two central thesis:

    • Issues of legal validity must be strictly separated from questions of morality.
    • The study of the law is autonomous.

     

    Hard and Soft positivism

  • Hard positivism: There is only the positive law: there are no objective, universal facts about morality, about what the law ought to be like. [Hans Kelson]
  • Soft positivism: In addition to the positive law, objective moral facts do exist.

Two kinds of Soft Positivism:

  • Utilitarian positivism: There are no natural human rights, nothing like a natural law. [Bentham]
  • Non-utilitarian soft positivism: There is something like natural law (universal human rights, universal moral principles).

Contribution of Positivism in Development of Legal Science

  • By defining law as a concrete rule having definite structure, the positivism released law from Natural law ideals.
  • By classifying law, religion and morality and ethics as different domains, the positivists determined the scope of jurisprudence as an independent science of law.
  • Before Positivism emerged, the distinction of theology, moral science and jurisprudence was not clear. Rather, each of them means all of them. But separating positive laws from deals of nature, positivism defined jurisprudence as science of law.
  • Positivisms developed the jurisprudence to address the contemporary legal problems of the contemporary world.
     

TYPES OF POSITIVISM

I) Analytical School

This school is also known as the English School, Formal School, Systematic School, Austinian School in the sense that John Austin was one of the main exponents of this school.

The Analytical school takes law as the command of the sovereign. It emphasizes legislation as the source of law.

 This school regards law as a closed system based on pure facts from which all the norms and values are excluded. Friedmann writes: “the analytical lawyer is a positivist. He is not concerned with ideals; he takes the law as a given matter created by the state authority he does not question”.

PositivistBasic ConceptsCriticism
Jeremy Bentham
  • He is the founder, and he should be considered as father of analytical positivism.

His theory was actually for legislations.

If it is examined him carefully, he is the legislator for legal reformation.

He twisted materialism into idealism.

His theory fails to balance individual interest with the interest of the community.

His hedonistic/felicific calculus,

i.e. theory of utilitarianism, pleasure and pain alone cannot be the final test of the adequacy of law.

Oppositely him, later, it was found that legislation was used to restrict individual's freedom in economic matters.

 
  • Law is as an assemblage of signs declarative by the sovereign in a state.
 
  • He distinguished Expositorial Jurisprudence (i.e. what the law is) from Censorial Jurisprudence (i.e. what the law out to be).
 
  • His concept of law was imperative one.
 
  • Every law may have the eight different aspects,
    1. source (will of sovereign), (ii) subjects (persons or things), (iii) objects (act, situation or forbearance), (iv)extent (portion of land), (v) aspect (directive or sanction), (vi) force, (vii) remedy, and (viii) expression.
 
  • He supported the economic principles of "Laissez-Faire", which means minimum interference of the state in the economic activities of individuals.
 
  • He propounded the principles of utilitarianism.
 
  • The proper end of every law is the promotion of the greatest happiness of the greatest number.
 
  • Utility is property or tendency of a thing to prevent some evil or procure some good.
 
  • The consequences    of                                 good                                 and evil are respectively pleasure and pain.
 

  • Ensuring the happiness of community by attaining four major goals or ends are (i) to provide subsistence, (ii) to produce abundance

    (iii) to favor equality, (iv) to maintain security for the citizens.

 
  • People's right to property must be respected.
 
  • He introduced legal positivism and treated jurisprudence as a science of investigation, which should be approached through scientific of experimenting and reasoning.

 

John Stuart Mill: Critique to Utility Theory

  • It is the theory of Benthan v. Mill as quantity v. quality, hedonism v. altruism, utility v. justice/refinement of utility/ liberty/ social goals.
  • The maximization of happiness in society should be the goal of the law and other institutions; quality should not be sole criterion for such happiness.
  • Quality is also very important since, with the knowledge, some people may derive more pleasure from a certain good in small quantities, than they would, form large quantities of another good.


 

John Austin
  • He    is    the        Father    of English Jurisprudence.
  • Law had no rights, liberties and freedoms.
  • In many societies, it is hard to identify a “sovereign”.
  • Austin says every law is a command imposing a duty enforced by a sanction, however, all the commands are not law”. Example: - (i) declaratory or explanatory laws, which are already in existence and are passed, (ii) laws of repeal which is not law,

(iii) laws of imperfect obligation, which has no sanction attached.

  • Law can never be separated from justice and morality.
  • Custom overlooked which played a significant role in regulating human conduct.
  • No place for judge made law, whose creative function of judiciary is a law-making agency.
  • He treats international law as mere morality because it lacks the sanction.
  • He over-emphasized on command, but law is an expression of the general will of the people.
  •  Sovereign is an integral part of the community and in making of laws, he is guided by the public opinion.
  •  He completely ignored the relationship between law and morality.
  • The legal concepts such as right, wrong, duty, obligations etc. themselves suggest that there is some ethical or moral element present in them.
  • Sanction alone is not the correct to induce a person to obey law. There are still considerations fear, deference, sympathy, reason, etc.
 
  • Positive    law    is                "laws properly so called".
 
  • Moral or other law is "Laws improperly so called".
 

  • Four characteristics of positive law are (i) command, (ii) sanction,

    (iii) duty, (iv) sovereignty

 
  • Positive law was on separation of law form morals.
 
  • He made his system of law logical, coercive and enforceable as distinct from law as it is, and law as it ought to be.
 
  • Command was the key to the science               of jurisprudence.
 
  • The trilogies of law are command, duty and sanction.
 

  • Two parts of law are (i) laws set by god for men,

    (ii) human law i.e. laws made by men for men.

 
  • Every law is command, imposing a duty, enforced by sanction.

 

 

 

HLA

Hart

  • Law, coercion and morality are related social phenomena having sociological implications.
  • Law is not a union of primary and secondary rules and exclusion of morality from law.
  •  He confused rules and principles.
  • Judges have the discretion of creating new legal rules.
  •  He held that there is no law other than the rules of recognition.
 
  • Law is a system of two types of rules the union of which provides key to the science of Jurisprudence.
 
  • The Primary Rules are duty imposing while Secondary Rules confer power and the union of the two is the essence of law.
 
  • The primary rules which impose duty upon individuals are binding because of the popular
 

acceptance such as rules of kinship, family sentiments etc.

  • Defects of unofficial primary rules are (i) uncertain (ii) static (iii) ineffective
  • There is no agency for deciding about these primary rules.
  • Legislator modifies their policies according to the needs of the society by secondary rules of power conferring.
  • Secondary rules seek to remedy the defects to the primary rules, and it is out of the union on these two types of rules that law takes its birth.

  • The validity of law is to be tested on the basic of

    rule of recognition.

  • Rule of recognition if the sole rule in a legal system whose binding force depends upon its acceptance.
  • Whatever enacted by British Queen in Parliament is a rule of recognition.
  • Law and Morality have certain element of natural law as a logical necessity, complementarily and supplementary to each other.
  • The rule of sexual behavior provides the best example of morality.
  •  He believed that legal system must concern both law as it is, and law as it ought to be.
  • There has never been a complete separation of law and morality.

 

Hans Kelson
  • Considered as ‘Hard positivist’
  • He insisted on separation of law form politics, sociology, metaphysics and other extra-legal disciplines.
  • Kelson has no answer to the question as to where from the grundnorm or basic norm derives its validity.
  • He excludes all reference of social facts/ foundation and felt needs of the society.
  • All norms except the basic norm (grundnorm) are pure, has not any logical basis.
  • It is only based on hypothetical considerations                      without any practicability.
  • His theory rejects the elements of justice, which is not true.
 
  • His pure theory of law tried to rescue jurisprudence from vague mysticism.
 
  • He divested moral, ideal or ethical elements form law. He devoid all sociological considerations to create a pure science of law.
 
  • He discarded the notion of justice as an essential element of law because many laws are unjust.
 
  • His pure theory is positivism of normative order eliminating non-legal elements.
 
  • Law is a normative science as distinguished from the natural sciences.
 
  • Law is the primary norm, which stipulates sanction.
 
  • Norms (solution) is a rule forbidding or prescribing a certain behavior.
  • Legal order is the hierarchy of norms having sanction.
  • Moral norm says that one shall not steal.
  • Legal norms would say if a person steals, he ought to be punished by the competent organ.
  • Kelson's pure theory of law is based on Paramedical structure of hierarchy of norms, which derive their validity from the basic norm, which he termed as grundnorm.
  • The grundnorm or basic norm determines the content and gives validity to other norms derived from it.
  • He considered grundnorm as a fiction rather than a hypothesis.
  • The system of norms proceeds from downwards to upwards and finally it closes at the grundnorm at the top.
  • A statute of law is valid because it derives its legal authority from the legislative body, the legislative body in its own turn derives its authority from a norm i.e. the constitution.
  • Basic norm/grundnorm is the result of social, economic, political and other conditions and supposed to be valid by itself.
  • Features of Kelsenite pure theory are basic assumptions reducing confusion of naturalism, ideals with the knowledge of what law is but not what law ought to be, law as normative, science, not natural science a theory of norms, formal theory for positivism.
  • There is no difference between private and public law.
  • Legal personality is artificial and derives its validity from grundnorm.
  • He rejects the individual right but asserts the legal duties are essence of law.
- Law cannot be completely divorced from ethics and morality, which gives it an honorable place in the society.

 

Salmond
  • Law is the body of principles recognized and applied by the state in the administration of justice.
  • He emphasized the law made from the courts only.
  • He also argues that there is no law that is universal because jurisprudence is the science of civil law, and it applies within definite territory only.

-Vinogradoff criticizes his definition of law that the courts are only supposed to enforce and apply law, not to define it.

  • Though the definition may be appropriate for case law, it is not appropriate in respect of statute law.
  • The judge-made law can be one aspect of the law-making process, but it is not completed in itself.

 

Basic tenets/Foundation of Analytical school:

  • The exponents of this theory considered neither with the past nor the future of law but with law as it is/ as it exists i.e. with law as it is positivism.
  • Analysis is the principal method of studying law. It analyzes facts and draws conclusion. However, the analysis as principal method of study is not guided by empirical instruments or facts. The analysis is guided by logic.
  • Analytical school disregards the relation between law and morality and other types of law.

  • By applying method of analysis, the analytical school draws the following conclusions: - # Law emanated from species of ‘Rule ‘.

    # Rule is essentially fashioned in the form of ‘order ‘which imposes something to be done or not done.

  • Law is a legal rule which is different from other rules due to three reasons: - #Legal rule is a will of political sovereign.

    #The force of state enforces legal rule. # Legal rule has sanction.

  • Moral and religious rules are not enforced by state that is why they are not positive law.
  • Law being essentially related with state it is different from religious and moral rule.
  • Political unit is the source of law, and it has a provision of sanction.

 

Strengths/Contributions

  1. Laws are based in the state authority, so it is enforceable
  2. It provides prompt remedy.
  3. By defining positive law in terms of political will, analytical school has contributed to build definite shape of legal science.
  4. By applying a definite method of study, it has introduced the scientific approach in law.
  5. British Positive School of jurisprudence is the first school of thought which focuses on autonomy of law by rejecting morality and other social discipline. It relies on authoritative command, rules, norms and system not in supernatural thoughts and emotions.
  6. Philosophically, it follows deduction approaches to solve social problems. Authority uses rationality to issue legislation and command

Weakness

  1. It neither talks about the nature and sources of law nor it deals with laws should be or ought to be.
    1. It only focuses on shaping the legal rules thus it forgets the importance of moral rules.
    2. It only deals with the present laws, so it is not future oriented.
    3. Although positive law is different domain, the foundation of good law is always resided on morality.
    4. Analytical school has overshadowed the role of morality in shopping good law.
    5. There is mechanical approach to interpret law. However, law has to deal with social issues. Social issues cannot be addressed mechanically. This also ignores the role of social values.
    6. It doesn’t emphasize the moral rules so the moral identity of the society may extinct.

 

Analytical School and Nepal

  • In Nepalese legal system, earlier era, Dharma was given the highest place by which the subjects as well as ruler were equally bound. There were Shastras, Vedas, Upanishadas, Smritis, Dandanitis, Gita, Puran, Mohabharat, Ramayan etc. to lead society in ancient Nepal. Dharma was the real sovereign.
  • Austin command and Dharma command were almost same in nature. Dharmasastra ruled Nepal in the period of Gopal, Kirat, Kichhabi, Malla and Shaha. There was the Rule Committee of Jayasthiti Malla to make new rule. Ram shah also made the rule. Prithibi Narayan Shaaha also made the Imperative law. But all such laws had got the grundnorm form the Dharmasastra.
  • A great part of the Nepalese law in the past have been developed by Sanad, Lal Mohar, Istihar, Sawal etc. which were merely the command of the law formulated by the ruler or political authority. The effectiveness of rules created by Sanad, Lal Mohar, Istihar etc. was significant.
  • Nepalese legal system was largely influenced by religion, but the dictates political power helped immensely to secularize the legal system. For e.g. Sati aboilition, Slavery aboilition by Sanad, Divya upadesh by Prithvi Narayan Shah, Establishment of Guthi by Lal Mohar, etc.
  • Ordinance in the constitution is nothing more than the Austinian command.

 

Historical School/ Continental School

Reasons for the Origin of Historical School of Jurisprudence

During the eighteenth century, the natural law jurists developed a system of law which was founded on intuitive human conscience or abstract human reason. They considered natural law as universal, permanent, unchangeable and static in nature.

During the nineteenth century in England analytical positivists constructed sovereign - made-coercive law devoid of moral and cultural values. These two schools were not only unhistorical but rejected all laws of historical nature such as customs, traditions, mores, myths etc. They ignored such evolutionary laws of

 

community which passes on from generation to generation. Hence a strong reaction and revolt developed against unhistoric character of law expounded by natural law and analytical positivist thinkers.

Thus, the historical school arose in Germany at the beginning of nineteenth century as a manifestation of reaction against natural law theories.

 

HistorianismBasic ConceptsCriticism
Montesquieu
  • Founder of historical school
  • Laws are the creation of the climate, local situation, accident.
 
Edmund Burke
  • Evolution     of     Law      is                 an     organic process/biological process.
  • Law is the expression of common beliefs, faiths and practices of the community as a whole.

  • He highlighted the importance of customs, religions and traditions in the growth of law.

    Historians is nothing but the doctrine of evolution of human institutions.

 

 

Karl Von Savigny
  • Savigny is ‘Darwinian before Darwin’ for his evolutionary principle to the development of the legal system.

His theory encouraged fascism and Nazism in Italy and Germany, which eventually led to disastrous world war.

His Theory filliped racial discrimination in Asia and Africa, ethnic tension in Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestinian and Israeli and Kashmir etc.

Codification of German law delayed fifty years back.

He emphasized national character of law and contrary suggested a model of Roman law.

His theory is negative, obscure, narrow and anti- codification attitude.

Volksgeist is not truly popular because he overlooked legislation, precedent, etc.

Not true is that custom is the popular consciousness, as customs of slavery, bonded labor etc.

Savigny's Volksgiest ideologies twisted by Nazi by giving a racial color, Marxists used it giving economic   interpretations   of

 
  • Law is a historical perception, which evolves according to customs, traditions, culture and sentiments of the people.
 
  • He firmly believed that law is a product of general consciousness of the people and a manifestation of their spirit.
 
  • Law is not an artificial lifeless mechanical device.
 
  • Origin of law lies in the popular spirit of the people, which he termed as Volksgeist (popular will).
 
  • Law has a national character, and it develops like language and binds people into one whole because of their common faiths, beliefs and convictions.
 
  • Law, language customs and government have no separate existence from the people who follow them.
 
  • Law grows with nation, increases withit, and dies at its dissolution, which are the characteristics of law.
 
  • Early development of law was spontaneous, later on jurists developed it,
 
  • Lawyers and jurists are the true representatives of the popular consciousness.


 

 
  • Common consciousness had not adequately developed at that time, so he opposed codification of German law.
  • Law is the growth as a continuous and unbreakable process, boundary of common cultural traditions and belief.
  • Law is not found nor artificially made.
  • Law is not universal in nature varies like language, people and community.
  • Custom is superior to legislation.
  • His theory of Volksgeist interpreted jurisprudence in term of people's will to law laying greater emphasis on relation of law with society.
  • He gave the birth of comparative jurisprudence.

history and Italy used it to justify Fascism.

Volksgeist is the reaction against the naturalism and positivism.

Puchta
  • Existence of law is the result of conflict between general will and individual will.
  • Law restrains the individual form exceeding the limits of his free will.
  • States regulates human conduct to implement general will sacrificing individual interest.
Gustav Hugo
  • Law is the outcome of the habits and transitions of the people, which they follow voluntarily as a member of the community.
Sir Henry Maine
  • Development of law has some identical patterns among Hindu, Roman, Anglo, Saxon, Hebrew and Germanic communities.
  • Maine observed that custom is for society what law is for state.
  • There are four stages of development of law (i) Devine law (ii) Customary law (iii) Priestly class law (iv)Codification
  • Three methods to develop the law by progressive society are (I) Legal fictions (II) Equity (III) Legislation is the most effective systematic and direct  method of law making to reform through new laws.
  • He studied Indian Law and modern western societies to comparative approach.
- Status to contract does not hold a good in communities following collectivist ideology.
Vinogradoff-     Law is an expression of the general will of the people.
     


 

 
  • Doctrine of collective bargaining through associations and unions acquires the economic rights.
  • He emphasized the comparative study of law in modern societies to establish of a welfare state.
Sir Fredrick Pollock- Most of the laws were based on traditions and customs prevalent in England form times immemorial.

 

Basic Tenants & Foundations

  • Law has evolved by social factors. Law and society are indispensably interrelated. The shape of the law is determined by the characteristics of given society.
  • Law is relative to the society. The influence of underlying values adopted by the society is immense. Hence, no law can be studied without careful regards to the actors' playing roles in evolution of law.
  • Law reflects the sentiments, emotions and realities of the society.
  • The law is an indicator of social consciousness of the people of the given society.
  • Law develops with society and dies with society.
  • Law is older than state.
  • Custom is the source of law in any society.
  • Law is found, not made. It does not consist of an abstract set of rules imposed on society by any political or other agency.
  • Law like language gradually and silently grows and evolves and has deep roots in social economic and other factors. The growth of law is thus a silent organic process and bears a clear and distinct imprint (mark made by pressure) of the society where it develops.
  • Law is an organism.
  • Laws cannot be universal validity, nor can they be constructed on the basis of certain rational promises or eternal promises.
  • Like alien blood is rejected, the law of another society is unacceptable.
  • It views law as a legacy of the past and product of customs, traditions and beliefs prevalent in different communities.
  • It views law as a biological growth, an evolutionary phenomenon and not an arbitrary, fanciful and artificial creation.
  • Law is not an abstract set of rules imposed on society but has deep roots in social and economic factors and the attitude of its past and present members of the society.
  • The essence of law is the acceptance, regulation and observance by the members of the society.
  • Law derives its legitimacy and authority from standards that have withstood the test of time.
  • Legislation, therefore has sub-ordinate role. Custom is the typical form of law. The sanction be behind custom being the habit of obedience, social standards of justice, etc.

 

Contribution

  • Historical school creates a bridge between Analytical school and Sociological school of Jurisprudence
  • Historical school significance is paramount in developing a theory of relativity of law and society.
  • It has been responsible for the new and powerful development in the study of legal history
     

  • It has been responsible for the emphasis placed more recently upon a peoples' feeling of right, against the dead letter of statute or precedent, apparent in the modern sociological and ‘free law’ theories.

    ​

  • It has been responsible for the mystical throb of nationalist socialist law.

 

Strengths

  • Historical School has sociologically proved the indispensable relation between law and society which is unreasonably ignored by the Analytical School.
  • No one can deny that law functions in the society. Hence, a study of law without regards to society is impossible. This fact is established by this school.
  • Historical school has proved the vitality of custom in shaping the structure of law. Analytical school ignores this element.

 

Weakness:

  • Being conservative in its outlook and rely on past.
  • This school of law says that the law is found in the society. But in modern age law is not found rather it is made.
  • This has exaggerated the relation of law and morality,
  • Custom as the only reliable source is not accepted to the present world.
  • This has underestimated the role of legislations and precedents.
  • Historical school has subjected the independence of judiciary to sociology.

 

Historical School and Nepal

  • Nepalese law is an indigenous law. Many people viewed that it was an off school of larger Indian Legal System. The study of Nepalese law from Historical perspective rules out the wrong perception.
  • Nepalese legal system was a largely collection of social customs prevalent in various ethnic communities.
  • The historical school reveals certain important features of Nepalese law.
  • Nepalese law in influenced by feudal characteristics of the Nepalese society.
  • This school has contributed to develop the identity of Nepalese law.
  • His/her birth station determines individual’s status.
  • Rights and criminal liabilities are determined by individual’s status.
  • In ancient time in Nepal main law that guided human beings was Dharma. Other sources of law in were Shruti, Smriti and immemorial customs during ancient period.

  • We can clearly take the example of Caste system. It has undergone the process as mentioned by Henry Maine in course of its development. 

    Manu, an ancient king had introduced the caste system for the purpose of division of labor as the people went to follow it habitually, it became a custom and later on with the introduction of writing it was codified into manuscripts. Then the Nepalese society went to other step where fiction, equity and legislation were taken as the base for interpretation of the followed customs. After it was proved from here weather it was reasonable and just or not the system was established, and caste system was abolished. Therefore, the present laws of Nepal have provision against caste system.

  • Nepali society has not totally adopted the Maine’s development process as lots of laws were codified directly without passing through the fiction and equity. In case of Sati system, Slavery system no fiction was developed before these customs were modified as laws. Actually, Henry Maine has suggested the means of fiction to modify laws because ancient laws, according to him were very rigid so they could not be modified easily. However, this does not fit and apply exactly in case of Nepal.

    There was no democracy (Static society) in Nepal till 2007 BS, so people were not allowed to participate in modifying the existing laws and make new ones. It was the will of sovereign (King) to make new laws which wouldn’t be analyzed from the perspective of equity.

    After the restoration of democracy (Progressive society), people have modified many customs and made new laws through legislation like:

    • Parental property right to be given to daughters as well.
    • Laws against polygamy
    • Adoption is used to address the problem of hairlessness.

 

  • As Henry Maine says that in the static society person right are determined by his/her status. But with the society marching ahead, the freedom of individual becomes main concern of law.

  • The Constitution of Nepal has also recognized the traditional custom. There are various instances like fundamental right to profess culture, not to be double jeopardized under the right regarding Criminal Justice system.

    The Part 3 of Civil Code 2074 talks about the family law where most of the laws are derived from customs. Section 81 says about the Provision relating to use of surname by married woman. Section 87 of the Civil code 2074 says that the husband house will be the official house of wife.

    Incest marriage has been strictly prohibited in the section 70 (1(b)) of criminal code 2074 except some of the cultural group.

    Nepalese Jurisprudence has emphasized on justice, equality, liberty, rights and individual freedoms. Human philosophies are the core of preamble, fundamental rights or divertive principles and polices of our Constitutions (1948 – 2015), which are the real ideologies of life in Nepalese Jurisprudence.

    The customary practices in past are our International Humanitarian Law now.

    The American and English Legal Scientists are engaged in intensive researchers in their respective national laws adopting empirical and comparative methodology in order to make law answerable to the changing needs of the society. 

    But Nepalese jurists are not so higher position to do empirical and comparative research on Nepalese laws of Nepalese Jurisprudence is historically unexplored much. Historical values are highly expectable to develop the modern legislation for the modern people of Nepal.

Case Laws: go to premium version 

Comparison of Historical School with Analytical school: visit premium version

Sociological School

Sociological Jurisprudence is a functional study of law applied to concrete social problems in order to make law an effective instrument of social control for harmonizing the conflicting interests of individuals in the society.

It is the pragmaticism or empiricism to study the functional aspect of law in society. It was established as a reaction against too much theorizing in law by positivism.

 

SociologistsBasic ConceptsCriticism
Auguste Compte
  • He is the founding father of science and sociology.
  • He termed scientific positivism.
  • Scientific principles should formulate by observation and experience of facts and excludes all metaphysical considerations,
  • Man is social being so he cannot be isolated form the society.
  • Social life is controlled and regulated by law and the government.
  • Focal point of law is society not the individual.
 
Herbert Spencer

Four sources of laws are (i) divine laws having quasi-religious sanctions, (ii) the injections of the past leaders, (iii) the will of the ruler, (iv) collective opinion of the society.

Divine laws are clearly distinguishable from man-made laws.

  • Law is nothing more than a hardened custom.
  • The purpose of law is to resolve the conflicting interests of the individuals in the society.
  • Law is the necessity of social phenomenon.
 
Eugen Ehrlich
  • He evolved the doctrine of living law i.e. the law in the context of existing society.
  • Law extended too far to other social sciences.
 
  • The constitutions of marriage, domestic life, inheritance, possession, contract etc. govern the society through living law, which dominates the human life.
  • He confuses to distinguish between legal norms and social norms.


 

 
  • The Centre of gravity of legal development in the present time or the past lines neither in juristic science (legislation) nor in judicial decisions, but in society itself.

  • Living law dominates the social life

    without enactment and decision of court.

  • Living law is the fact, which governs social life, and a proper study of law requires the study of all the social conditions in which functions in the society.
  • Sometimes

law                    overlooks the social facts.

  • Positivism for modern welfare state cannot be underestimated.
  • Importance of custom to articulate law cannot be overlooked.

 

Leon Duguit

  • The division of labor is the most important fact

    that is called social solidarity.

  • Social solidarity extends all                   metaphysical considerations form law.
  • Social solidarity is itself based on ideal of natural law.
  • He pushed naturalism out through the door and let it come in by window.
 
  • He rejected traditional notions of rights, sovereign, state, public and private law, legal personality as fiction and unreal, not based on social reality.
 
  • His entire thrust was on mutual co-operation and mutual interdependence between individuals, groups and societies according to the principle of division of labor for the purpose of social cohesions.
 
  • The essence of law is to serve and secure social solidarity, which is duty oriented as it expects individual to perform their obligations as a member of the community.
 
  • Right is the source of conflict, so he rejects it.
 
  • Everyone should perform his duties to develop the co-operation and social solidarity.
 
  • Justice should fulfill the social needs and obligations.

 

 

 

 

Roscoe Pound
  • He is the father of American Sociological Jurisprudence.
  • Law is a means for affecting social control.
  • Realism      later                  developed Pound's                    functional
  • Classification of interests and theory of social engineering may be overlapping of interests.
  • Pound himself accepted that interests cannot be classified in watertight compartments.


 

 

jurisprudence and theory of interests.

  • Law contains the rules, principles, conceptions and standards of conduct and decision as also the precepts and doctrines of professional rules of art.
  • Law is as a means of a developed technique and treats jurisprudence as a social engineering.
  • The end of law is to satisfy a maximum of wants with a minimum of friction or confrontation.
  • Elaborating the functional aspects of law, he stated that the function of law is to reconcile the conflicting interests of individuals in the community and harmonize their interrelations. This is his social engineering.
  • He termed various interests to maintain a balance in society through law, namely, (i) private interest, (ii) public interest, (iii) social interest.

  • Private interests are individual personality, physical integrity, reputations, freedom of volition and conscience, safeguard by laws of crime, tort, contract, constitution, domestic relation of husband and wife, parent and children, marital life, interest of property,                        succession,

    testamentary                           disposition, freedom of contractual relation, associations, etc.

  • Public Interests (interest of state as a juristic person) are preservation of state, trust administration, charitable endowments, protection of natural environment, territorial
  • Julius Stone rejected public and social interests, in fact, they are only social interests.
  •   Cardozo remarked that Pounds attempt needs judicial awareness of social values and interests.
  • He termed engineering, which equates society to a factory like a mechanism.
  • Engineering ignores the facts.
  • His interpretation of wants and desire completely ignored the personal freedoms and liberty.
  •   Pound's interests have no significance in pluralistic society       where      are multi linguistic/ethnic/religious/minorities, diversity. Laws cannot harmonize their divergent interests.
  • Dr. Friedmann has expressed doubts about the value of classification of interests and there is the danger of an implicit grading of interests as individual, public or social because these are changing conception.


 

 

waters, seashores, regulation of public employment, etc.

  • Social Interests are legal protection                                  interest,  preservation of peace, general health, security of transactions, preserving religion, political and economic institutions, reserving morality prohibiting prostitution, drunkenness, gambling, etc., conservation of social resources, natural resources, protection of economically weaker section, general progress in economic, politics and culture, freedom of trade and commerce, freedom of speech and expression, encouragement to arts and promotion of higher education, promotion of human personality by enabling to live political, physical, cultural, social and economic life,
 
Emile Durkheim
  • Law is the standard by which any society could be evaluated because it reproduces the principal forms of social solidarity. He made a distinction between two types of such social solidarity or cohesion: (i) Mechanical Solidarity to be found in small scale homogeneous societies where most laws could be of a penal and repressive nature and most of members of society could take an interest in criminal activities and would seek to repress and deter it, (ii) Organic Solidarity to be found in more heterogeneous and differentiated societies where there is great division of labor and where reaction to crime is less centralized  and  the  law becomes   less repressive and more resistive.
 

Basic Tenets and Foundations

  • Sociological School is essentially founded on the concept that the law functions to satisfy the ends of the society.
  • Law is a means to regulate the society and as such it bears the responsibility to shape the structure of the society.
  • Study of law is not possible without study of the society.
  • Law should focus their intention of social purposes and interests.
  • Law should inter-link/ inter-woven with other social sciences of psychology, philosophy, economics, political science, sociology, history, ethics etc. bearing direct impact on the society.
  • Law is the human experience in order to meet the needs of the society.

 

Strengths:

  • By drafting social engineering, the sociological school has subjected law to the service of people. Hence, law is not an instrument for ruling people, but it is means to deliver service to the people.

    With this development of the concept, the sociological school brought the change about the concept of law which was taken has having imperative/analytical character in the past.

Weaknesses:

  • Sociological school could not fully answer the question of force of law. State’s force is essential for the law having obtained the character of law.

    Hence, whether the law obtains validity from the society itself or the state is confusing.

 

Contributions

  • Sociological school by applying the sociological method of study has developed jurisprudence as rich social science.

  • Sociological school by developing sociological approach to investigate laws developed Jurisprudence as an independent social science.

    Social Engineering has made attempt to dedicate laws to the service of people and as such developed democratic base of law.

    • his school addressed a number of social issues which Analytical, Historical and Natural School failed to.

Sociological School and Nepal: Visit premium version. 


 

REALIST SCHOOL:

The Realist movement is a part/latest branch of the sociological approach. It is sometimes called the “left wing of the functional school” because sociological and psychological aspect plays vital role in this school.

For realist, the social aspect directly affects in law making and development of law. But again, it is different from sociological school as it is concerned with the ends of law.

The realist school emphasis the decision made by judge, so it is seen that somehow it is judge made laws. So, they focus more on court. Some of the scholars say that there is not existence of law without judge decision. Thus, all the aspect which influences judge decision should be studied by the jurisprudence.

Emergence of Realist

There are mainly three reasons for the establishment of the realist school of law. Firstly, it was established as a reaction against sociological jurists who were emphasizing the social effect of law. Secondly, it was established to ignore the theory of interest of Ihering and the theory of Social Engineering as advocated by Pound. Thirdly, this school was established to point out the importance of courts and importance of the judges –the human factor in the judges and the lawyers.
 

American Realism (AR)


Karl Llewellyn:  

  • There is no place for idealism in Law, so "is" and "ought" must completely be divorced.
  • Society changes faster than law so certainly can never be in the law.
  • Now the focal point of attention should be the behavior and thinking of the deciding judges or the court.

Holmes

  • The life of is experience as well as logic.
  • Law is what court do, not what they say.

Jerome Frank:

  • The myth of law is continuous, uniform, certain and invariable.
  • The judges do not make law but instead they discover it.
  • The temperament of the Judge is the mechanism of law.
  • The fact-finding and past experience of Judges Mould as the concrete shape of law.

     According to Frank American realist school can be grouped into two-

  • Rule- Skeptics say legal rules do not bring any uniformity, so such realists try finding uniformity in rules evolved out of psychology, anthropology, sociology, economics, politics, etc.
  • Fact Skeptics say the unpredictability of court decision reside preliminary in the elusiveness of fact. Thus, a legal decision is the result of application of a rule of law to the facts as found by the judge.

 

Gray:            ·  

  •    Law is what Judges decide.

    Everything (Statute) is the source of law except court interpretation.

    Courts put life into the dead words of the Statue.

    Judicial organs determine the legal rights and duties.

    Three kinds of jurisprudence are (i) Particular jurisprudence (the science of law of a particular community, (ii) Comparative jurisprudence (the comparison of law of two or more communities, (iii) General jurisprudence (the comparison of all legal systems of the world).

 

Scandinavian Realism /Sweden realis

Axel Hanger Strom:

  • He is the founding father of the S.R. of Jurisprudence in Sweden.
  • He rejected the notions of right-duty relationships and the theory of legal obligations because they do not have any objective basis. These are merely psychological notions.
  • Realism in law is a matter of personal evaluation, which cannot be subjected to any scientific process of examination.
  • It is futile to probe into the "ought" aspect of law.
  • Jurists must confine themselves to the study of actual functioning of law in the present society.

 

K. Oliver Rona:

  • The study of law is as a social fact.
  • Law is nothing but a set of social facts.
  • Law is the independent imperative issued by constitutional agencies of the states from time to time.
  • Law operates in the mind of the judge while reaching a particular decision.
     

Alf Ross            ·

  Law is the actual behavior of man in society; law is nothing more than that.

Law or legal notions must be interpreted as conceptions of social reality.

Laws are the legal norms of conduct in the form of directives addressed to the courts.

  • wo types of laws are (i) norms of conduct, which deal with behavioral aspect of law. Norms of competence or procedure, which prescribe the mode of procedure to be followed determining the norms of conduct. While deciding a case, the actual past behavior of the Judge as well as the set of ideals which he is motivated must be taken into account in order to determine the predictability of in future.

 

V. Lundsted:   He rejected all English conceptual theories of Law.

  • The law is not founded on the notion of justice but is based on social pressure and needs of the society.
  • Law should place in society to determine the social welfare by legal activities.
  • Judges should think in terms of social welfare and in terms of rights and duties.
  • The sense of security is the main force behind the social welfare.
  • There should be strict liability to the disputes of torts, contract and criminal law to prevent disruption of the society.

 

American Realist V. Scandinavian Realist (visit premium version)

 

Basic tenets and Foundations

  • Realist school has been developed reflecting judicial approach to law.
  • Realists school does not rule out the significance of social factors in making of law. However, it says there is no law until judiciary does not interne.
  • Statues and Codes are not law but sources of law which lays down basis for precedents.
  • Law is shaded by interpretation of courts. Hence, there is no laws where there is no judgment of the courts.
  • Law is directed a certain end.
  • Realism reached that theoretical conception of justice and natural law (metaphysics) has nothing value in law.

Contributions

  • Realist school has made attempt to see law in actual problem. It calls for uniformity of justice.

Strengths

  • Realist school defines law in relation to actual problem. Hence, it obtains law in its applicable form.
  • Realism is the ground of realities of social facts, attempt to rationalize and modernize the law.
  • It is the scientific and rational approach to law

Weaknesses

  • Realist school underestimates the role of parliament in making laws.
  • It emphasized the judiciary in law making, and it potential of judicial anarchism.
  • Realism overlooked the importance of rules and legal principles by un-connecting the court decisions.
  • Perception of law rests upon the life- experience of the judge that makes the law cannot be certainty and definiteness.
  • It is overestimating the role of court and judge is the lawmaker, but judge's main function is to interpret the law.
  • Realism has exaggerated the role of human factor in judicial decisions.
  • Judicial pronouncements, personality and behavior of the judge are not only considerations, but variety of other factor is well while reaching his decision.
  • Realism has no universal application of local judicial settings of USA in other parts of the world.
  • The realists fail to distinguish between realities and their meaning.
  • Law is not what the courts administer but courts are the institutions which administer the law.
  • Realist creates confusion between law and ethics.
  • The followers of the realist school put too much emphasis on the uncertainty of law.

 

 

Realist School and Nepal: visit premium version

Landmarks Decisions of Supreme Court: Visit premium version 

 

Economic School: 

Socialist/Economic Jurisprudence is called Marxist analysis of law. Marxist ideology is also called economism.

Emergence:

  • Lack of faith in the norms and values of consisting society
  • Development of science and technology
  • Downfall of religious ideology
  • Failure of analytical school

Karl Marx:

  • Law is the product of evaluating economic forces.
  • Law is a tool used by ruling class to maintain its control over the law or classes.
  • In Communist society, the law will wither away and finally disappear.
  • Law is the instrument of exploitation to weaker.
  • Law is the economic reflection of the state.
  • Law should eliminate but not to develop.
  • Law is not an autonomous entity. Law is reflection of materialism.
     
  • Law, state, social institutions, phenomena are a part of the superstructure and are liable to change with the changes in material base.
  • Law is not needed in the primitive communalist mode of production where is no class divisions and not class struggle.
  • Masters exploit the slaves by means of state and law in the stage of slave mode of production.
  • Ruling classes exploit more through the law in the stage of feudal mode of production.
  • Such situation continues into the capitalist mode of production where capitalist bourgeoisie used the law as state machinery to oppress and exploit the workers, the proletariat.
  • In the communist society, law and the state are irrelevant and so they wither away and is replaced by an emerging communist morality and tradition as modes of social naturalism.

Engles:

  • He analyzed and applied the Marx concept of law.

    He rejected the contemporary Europe.

Pashukanish: 

  • Law is the class domination.
  • Law reflexes in production and exchange ideology of commodity.

Lenin:

He applied the public laws abolishing the private laws.

Chinese Concept:

  • Mao-Tse-Tung reflected anti- legalist to control entirely by the state coercively.
  • Popular justice was instituted.

Vyshinsky:

  • Laws serve the bourgeois society.

Rarl Renner :

  • Law is the reflection of class interest and economic based.
  • Capitalist economy, poverty, investment, open/market bargaining are the instruments of dominations.

Chicago Concept:

  • The legal system should have the sense of a free- market.
  • Sole value of society/ individual is the wealth maximization.
  • Law should create a fairness of marketplace.
  • Law is based on the concept of wealth maximization within a free market by the environment of political economy.
  • The concept of law is to facilitate for the free market for wealth maximization.

Richard Posner

  • Law is an economic devise, created in an economic fashion, applied in an economic way and intended to assist people in the procurement of economic benefits.
  • He argues the concept of wealth maximization can help us to explain and determine the justice of social, political and legal arguments.
  • Ultimately for Posner, law is a device created by and operated by people with an economic perception of society and it is used to balance interest in society in the most economically efficient way.

Basic Tenants and Foundations

  • Economic school is related with the material things, it is a materialistic approach. The economic school of thought basically deals with the dialectical materialism i.e. material facts are to be taken into note while making law.
  • Laws regarding property, contract act, education, health are based on economical school of thought.
  • Economic school of thought talks about influence of economy on law.
  • It says that economy is the main factor to create perception of law.
  • Law is a tool used by a ruling class to maintain its power over the classes.
  • Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels are the founder jurist of economic school of thought.
  • The interpretation of law as part of an economic interpretation of social evolution is the consequence/by products of the social and political theories of Marx and Engels.
  • Criminal activities are the result of economic inequality. Equality in economics reduces the crime.
  • Economics is the structure, and all other disciplines are superstructures.
  •  Law is as “a system or order” of social relations which corresponds to the interests of the dominant class and is safeguarded by the organized force of that class.
  • Law as a system of norms designed “to guard, secure, and develop social relationships and social orders advantageous and agreeable to the dominant class.
  • There should be no division between public and private law. Law being a reflection of economic substrate, there will be no public and private spheres of interest in the economy.
  • Marx jurisprudence is no other than tool to end the class struggle and reach up t the class less society which Marx refer as Communism.

Weakness

  • It gives overemphasis to economy while making laws
  • Not pragmatic

contributions

  • This theory of law has greatly influenced jurisprudential thinking in the socialist countries of the world.
  • Laws regarding property, contract act, education, health are made based on economical school of thought.

Economic School and Nepal: Visit premium version

 

Case law: Visit premium version

           Hrithik Yadav.

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