MEANING OF LAW



MEANING/DEFINITION OF LAW

• INTRODUCTION

Man is a social being living in a society having complex and diverse needs. For the harmonious functioning of the same, maintenance of security and overall well-being of individuals therein, certain rules are needed. It is also vital that these imperatives must be obeyed for a civilized society to prevail. They are commonly termed as “law”.

• LAW AS IS GENERALLY UNDERSTOOD

Law may thus be defined as a large body of rules and regulations based mainly on general principles of justice, fair play and convenience, which have been worked out and promulgated by governmental bodies to regulate human activities and define what is, and what is not permissible conduct in various situations. It is a pattern of conduct to which actions do, or ought to conform. Law not only lays down norms which are acceptable to a given society but also specify those rules which the society should adopt in the interests of its own welfare.

Blackstone defines law in two ways. His first definition gives a very wide interpretation of the term. It says, “Law in its most general and comprehensive sense signifies a rule of actions whether animate or inanimate, rational or irrational”. The other is elaborate and has strict reference to the legal field. He states, “Law is a rule of conduct, prescribed by the supreme power in the State, commanding what is right and prohibiting what is wrong. Jurisprudentially, law consists of rules prescribed by society for the governance of human conduct.”

When we face a strict question as to what the law is, we find number of jurists trying their best to define this “magic concept” of jurisprudence. However, before proceeding further, it becomes essential here to understand the term “Jurisprudence”.

• WHAT IS JURISPRUDENCE?

The English word “Jurisprudence” has been taken from a Latin word “Jurisprudentia” which consists of two words namely, “Juris” and “Prudentia”. The former means law and the latter, knowledge. Jurisprudence therefore, literally means the knowledge/science/philosophy of law and its application. Different approaches to the treatment of jurisprudence are represented by its various schools of thoughts (that is, Schools of Jurisprudence).

We shall now proceed to understand the meaning of law as given by various eminent jurists pertaining to different schools of thoughts.

• LAW AS DEFINED BY DIVERSE SCHOOLS OF JURISPRUDENCE

1.) JOHN AUSTIN (ANALYTICAL/IMPERATIVE/POSITIVE SCHOOL OF JURISPRUDENCE)

Austin’s notion of law is POSITIVE LAW, which he describes as, “the aggregate of rules set by men as politically superior (SOVEREIGN) to men as politically inferior (SUBJECT). He defined law as, “a rule laid down for the guidance of an intelligent being by an intelligent being having power over him”. In other words, for Austin, “Law is the command of the sovereign”. He identifies law with COMMAND, SOVEREIGN, DUTY and SANCTION.

A “Command” is an expression of a wish by a determinate person or body of persons that another person shall do or forbear from doing some act. It is subject to an evil in the event of disobedience called “sanction”. Therefore, according to Austinian theory, every law is a command, imposing a duty, enforced by a sanction.

The analytical school concentrates on law as it is and not as it ought to be.

2.) ROSCOE POUND (SOCIOLOGICAL SCHOOL OF JURISPRUDENCE)

According to Pound, law is social engineering. This implies that it is a social institution which works for the only end i.e. satisfaction of social wants. He propagates that, “Law is not a set of rules but is a method or technique for harmonizing conflicting social interests”. The task of law is to build as effective a structure of society as possible by satisfying the maximum wants with the minimum of friction and waste.

3.) SALMOND

Salmond defined “law” as, “the body of principles recognized and applied by the State in administration of justice”. He strongly believed that justice is set out as the purpose of law. Salmond does not consider that all laws are made by legislators. Accordingly, to know the nature of law, one should go to courts and not to legislature.

4.) SAVIGNY (HISTORICAL SCHOOL OF JURISPRUDENCE)

Savigny was of the opinion that the nature of any particular system of law was a reflection of the spirit of the people who evolve it. It is indeed a product of the people’s life. Law thus has its source in the general or common or popular consciousness of the people (“VOLKSGEIST”). It develops with the life of people. He stated, “Law grows with the growth, and strengthens with the strength of the people, and finally dies away as the nation loses its nationality”.

• LAW AS DEFINED BY THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION

Apart from the aforementioned, Article 13(3) (a) of the Constitution of India clarifies that, the term law includes any ordinance, order, by-law, rule, regulation, notification, custom and usage having, in the territory of India, the force of law.

• CONCLUSION

When an attempt is made to analyze the aforementioned definitions and adjudge the best of them, we find that each is incomplete in one respect or the other. This is so because, being a dynamic concept, law cannot be defined perfectly. Due to the diverse societal norms and behavioural patterns existing in various cultures, there can be no one single comprehensive definition of law which is universally applicable/acceptable. Each individual defines the term in accordance with his/her own perception/experience of it.

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