The word jurisprudence is derived from the Latin word "jurisprudentia", which means knowledge of law or skill of law. Having dealt with the various schools and sources of law, this compilation also contains a basic understanding of Justice, Rights, Person, Duty, Possession, etc.
The "school of jurisprudence" focuses on the various philosophies and theoretical approaches to the law's nature, origin, purpose, and application. These schools offer distinct perspectives on how laws are formulated, interpreted, and understood.
Schools of Jurisprudence |
|
Schools |
Founder of the school |
Analytical school |
Bentham, Austin, Salmond |
Historical School |
Savigny, Henry James Maine, and Edmund Burke |
Realistic School |
Roscoe Pound |
Sociological School |
Auguste Comte |
Natural law school |
Aristotle |
The explanation of schools of jurisprudence helps in the derivation of laws, and these schools explain the nature of jurisprudence. And here the following schools are mentioned below:
Analytical school is the primary school that elucidates the importance of jurisprudence, and this school is also called a positive law school. It defines the judicial norms that state authority has established, and there are key points that analyse this school.
Jeremy Bentham is the first jurist who mentioned the analytical school but didn't mention it in any document, so his name is not counted as the main father of this school. His contribution played a very important role in founding this school. In one of his books, he dismissed the principles of natural law and expounded the rule of utility with logical accuracy.
John Austin gave the primary precise and extensive treatment on a subject that expounded the analytical positivist methodology. Because of this work, Austin is known as the father of the Analytical School.
Critiques of the Analytical Approach
The end of law is justice, and Austin's theory has missed this concept. Any definition of law without reference to justice is inadequate. Custom ignored, given Austin, that law is the command of a sovereign, is not supported by the historical evolution of law when customs played a significant role in the regulation of human conduct.
The task of this school is to deal with the general principles governing the origin and development of law and the influences that affect the law. This school points out the history of first principles and conceptions of the legal system. This school of jurisprudence states about how law was initially made in India and the source which helps in making laws. Further this school also described the development in law for society.
According to Sir Henry Maine, Montesquieu may easily be considered the first jurist of this school, who in his 'Espirit Des Lois' (spirit of the laws) has made a remarkable contribution to human knowledge. His only defect was that he paid too much importance to the accidental and external causes in framing the laws and thus failed to see the importance of human nature or racial qualities in making and developing the law.
He is regarded as the originator of the Historical School. He has propounded the Volkgeist Theory. Law has its source in the people's general consciousness (Volkgeist). He says law develops like a language and has a national character. Law is a product of the people's lives- it is a manifestation of its spirit.
He solidly believed that all laws confirm ordinary mindfulness (an indication of regular cognizance) of the general population, which develops with the development and reinforces the quality of the general population, thus diminishing as the country loses its nationality. The beginning of law lies in the general population's well-known soul, which Savigny named 'Volksgeist '. Sir Henry Maine and Edmund Burke are the other eminent supporters of this school.
The Realist school evolved and was accredited in the American Jurisprudence. Legal realism suggests that judicial decisions must comply with financial factors and inquiries of strategy and qualities. In America, we have the Realist School of Jurisprudence. This school strengthens sociological jurisprudence,, perceives law as the consequence of social impacts and conditions,, and sees it as judicial decisions.
Oliver Holmes is, as it were, an example of the pragmatist school. "Law is what the courts do; it isn't simply what the courts state." Emphasis is on activity. As Holmes would say, "The life of the law has not been the rationale; it has been involvement."
Llewellyn, one of the examples of the pragmatist development, has put forward the accompanying focuses as the cardinal highlights of American realism;
This School takes law as an instrument of social progress and treats law as a social wonder. This school studies the effect of law and society on each other. In accordance with this school states that law is the product of the general will of society, and there are eminent supporters of view have been discussed below:
He was the first individual to use the term "Sociology". His method may be called "Scientific Positivism". Coming onto the field of legal theory, it was Comte whose ideas inspired Durkheim and who, in his turn, inspired Duguit, a great sociological jurist.
The core point of his thesis was that the law of community is to be found in social facts and not in the formal sources of law. According to him, the 'Living law' governs social life. His use of the term' Sociological Jurisprudence' means that the law in a society should be made and administered with the utmost regard to its requirements.
He is regarded as an 'American leader' in Sociological Jurisprudence. He concentrates more on functional aspects of law, so some writers named his approach a 'functional school'. His central thesis is that the law task is 'Social Engineering'. Here, 'Social Engineering' means a balance between the competing interests in the society.
The natural school of jurisprudence is a philosophical perspective emphasising the connection between law, morality, and natural principles. This school posits that certain rights and values are inherent in human nature and can be discovered through reason rather than solely derived from the decrees of authorities or written laws.
Prominent Jurists of the natural school include:
There are no major differences between the schools as the goal of each school is same, but still, the jurists have given some differences between each school of jurisprudence in the following manners:
SCHOOL |
KEY FEATURE |
FOCUS |
Natural school |
Emphasizes inherent moral principles; law and morality are intertwined. |
Universal and ethical values. |
Analytical School |
Examines law as it exists now, focusing on legal structures and logical reasoning |
Present form and structure of law |
Historical School |
Considers law as an evolving product of society's customs, traditions, and history |
Law's origins and development over time |
Sociological School |
Views law as a social phenomenon; it focuses on the relationship between law and society |
Social impact, and relevance of law. |
Realist School |
Highlights the practical application of law by courts emphasizes outcomes over theory. |
Law in action rather than abstraction. |
These five schools of jurisprudence state the importance of law and also help to make laws for society; as we all know, society's nature is very dynamic and changes day to day by following the needs of changing society, laws need to be altered, and new laws must be made to tackle the upcoming disputes. By following these schools, Natural law, Historical, Sociological and realistic schools of jurisprudence are held to make principles in the legal system in the countries. Each school's motive is only to maintain the public peace and achieve goals set by the higher laws of the country, for example. In India, the Constitution of India is the higher law, and the goal of society is to provide a better legal system for people to enjoy their rights.
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