Introduction Of Jurisprudence
It is not important to define or elaborate jurisprudence in a way that everyone agrees upon. Each Jurist sees it through there own lens, shaped in their own understanding based on what they think of it in their personal beliefs and the society that they live in. Law itself evolves differently across different countries. The Four Schools of Jurisprudence reflect upon the various ideas of Jurists.
In context with jurisprudence, the Supreme court in a 1978 case states that “…………And so we now set down the pivotal issues on which the submissions were focused, reminding ourselves that we cannot travel beyond the Atlantic to lay down Indian law although counsel invited us, with a few citations, to embark on that journey. India is Indian, not alien, and jurisprudence is neither eternal nor universal but molded by the national genius, life’s realities, culture and ethos of each country. ………. To understand ourselves, we must listen to voices from afar, without forsaking our identity.”
The study of jurisprudence started with the Roman. The Latin word for jurisprudence is the Jurisprudia which means either knowledge in law and skilled in law.
Four Schools of Jurisprudence
Historical School Of law
The Historical Jurisprudence deals with the law as it appears with the various forms of origin at its several stages of development. The historical jurisprudence is not created suddenly. It evolved slowly, based on the customs and beliefs of different societies of the world and the ways of people in society.
The main thing in historical jurisprudence is that this law is not made in the Court rooms or through the legislations. It comes from everyday practices by the people in different generations.
Historical school of jurisprudence faces criticism that it may resist the necessary legal reforms and believe in the out dated and old traditions of law; the societies are rapidly changing and relying on history may not be practical.
According to Sir Henry, Montesquieu was the first jurist who followed the historical method, He researched the various institutions and societies and came to the conclusion that “laws are the creation of climate, local situations, accident and imposture”. His suggestion that law should be able to answer the need of the time and place was a step in the direction of new thinking.
The Philosophical School of Jurisprudence
The philosophical school is interested primarily in the development of the idea of justice as an ethical and moral phenomenon and its manifestation in the principles applied by the Courts. According to Salmond, “philosophical jurisprudence is a common ground of moral and legal philosophy”.
It is believed that the law is something that is believed with morality, justice and human values, belief that law is not something about the rules and punishments. It should reflect about what is right, fair and good for the society.
The Philosophical jurists regard law neither as the arbitrary command of a ruler nor as a creation of historical necessity. According to them, law is a product of human reason and its purpose is to elevate and ennoble human personality.
Analytical School Of Jurisprudence
The jurists of the analytical school consider that the most important aspect of law is in relation to the State. The law is treated as an imperative or command from State. It is advised for this reason that this school is the imperative School. The exponents of this school are concerned neither with the past and with future of law but with law as it exists, that is with law “as is”.
The positive school of Jurisprudence starts with the assumptions of a well-developed legal system that already exists. It does tell and focuses on how law should be, but also tells what the law is. This school carefully studies what the legal concepts are and breaks down those legal concepts. Its goal is to understands how these concepts are related and how our legal system is structured, that why the focus on logical and detailed studies. This School of Jurisprudence is also known as the Analytical School of Jurisprudence.
Famous Jurists of Analytical School of Jurisprudence
John Austin
Also also known as the father of Analytical Jurisprudence, John Austin gave the command theory of the law. He said that the “Law is a command of sovereign, backed by sanctions”.
Jeremy Bentham
He believes in the theory of the utilitarianism, which means the greatest happiness of the greatest number means 90 persons are happy but the 10 are not happy this is theory of utilitarianism.
Sociological School of Jurisprudence
The Sociological Schools looks at law as a tool to regulate society and solve the social problems. This School of Jurisprudence believes that the law is not just by reading things which we studied in theory. It must be understood in the social context and used by the society to improve people’s lives. The primary aim of law is that it should promote social justice and well-being for the communities.
The sociological school helps the law to connect to the real life problems of the societies. But it has drawbacks as well, by focusing too much on the needs of the society, which can also make the law confusing. It also can forget the important rules of law and became dependent upon the opinions and thinking of the societies.
Some renowned thinkers of Sociological School of Jurisprudence
Auguste Comte
He is regarded the father of sociology. He emphasizes upon the importance of understanding in societal structures to inform legal system.
Roscoe Pound
A well-known American legal scholar, Pound advocated the Sociological Jurisprudence. He said that law should function as social engineering, balancing competing interests to achieve societal harmony.
Conclusion
Majorly, there are four schools of jurisprudence and every School of Jurisprudence has a different perspective and nature of law, by providing the different interpretations and legal clarity. The Historical School shows that customs and traditions of the societies strongly reflect upon the laws. The Philosophical School of Law sees law as a mirror of justice, morality, and ethics. It reflects that law should stand for what’s fair and right, trying to boost human dignity instead of just being rules that the state enforces. It’s about making law match up with basic human needs. The Analytical School states that on its structure and relationship with the state, this method examines law as it is. It views laws as directives from the sovereign that must be obeyed, or they have repercussions. Jeremy Bentham and John Austin were among the thinkers who emphasized the notion Analytical School. Sociological School of Jurisprudence law sees the law to regulate and solve the social problems of the society. According to this school, to promote the well-being of communities and to ensure that legal principles are relevant things in the life of the people is the ultimate idea.
The four schools of jurisprudence have been explained by our intern, Mr. Tejas Fondu Sawant. He joined the team to assist and bring informational legal blogs.
