Nature and definition of law: the definitions by school, kinds of law, the functions of law and law as social control
LUG-102 Jurisprudence — Legal Method, Indian Legal System and Basic Theory of Law, Unit I: Nature and definition of law. · LLB · 60 min
What "law" means and why jurists cannot agree on one definition: the imperative definitions (Austin, Holland, Bentham), the natural law definitions (Aquinas, Blackstone), the historical (Savigny), sociological (Ihering, Duguit, Pound), realist (Holmes, Gray) definitions and those of Salmond, Kelsen and Hart, each with its criticism; Salmond's eight kinds of law; the functions and purposes of law (order, justice, dispute settlement, protection of rights, social change; Pound and Llewellyn's law-jobs); law as a means of social control beside religion, morality, public opinion and education; and whether law is static or dynamic. It answers the 2025-26 question on the nature of law, the 2024-25 question on the functions and purpose of law and the 2022-23 question on law as a means of social control.
Objectives
- Explain the nature of law and reproduce the leading definitions with the school and the criticism of each.
- Explain why no single definition of law is accepted and offer a working definition.
- Distinguish Salmond's eight kinds of law and the senses in which the word law is used.
- Describe the functions and purposes of law and evaluate law as an agency of social control in Indian society.
Slides
- The word "law" and its senses
- The imperative definitions: Bentham, Austin, Holland
- The natural law definitions: Cicero, Aquinas, Blackstone
- Historical and sociological definitions: Savigny, Ihering, Duguit, Pound
- Realist and analytical definitions: Holmes, Gray, Salmond, Kelsen, Hart
- Why no definition satisfies
- Kinds of law: Salmond's eight
- Functions and purposes of law
- Law as a means of social control
- Is law static or dynamic? Conclusion
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