What is law? A hundred definitions exist, each one claiming to be more accurate than the last. 

Law has been defined and explained in different ways by different academicians throughout the history along with its general principles. Different schools of jurisprudence try to interpret and understand in different ways but in order to understand the relationship of law with the other aspects of society, one would need to understand a few basic questions. Why does law exist? Where does law come from? How does it evolve and what are major factors affecting this evolution?

Is law a system of rule or rule itself? Does it govern the society or does the society govern the law? That is a crucial question, does the law exist because the society exists or does the society exist because the law is in place?

The truest function of law seems to be the prevention of chaos. But it not that simple, law itself seems be in a constant state of change and evolution. The society is able to continue existing because law exists and law exists because society exists and each factor in the society, be it economy, religion or anything else, end up affecting the law directly or indirectly.

Positivists in a broad sense take the view that the only proper sources of legal authority are laws, rules, and statutes that have been enacted by a governmental entity, such as federal and state legislatures, courts of law, and other administrative bodies. But this definition leaves us with questions regarding the sources of such legal authority and from where do they derive this power to formulate laws. Postivists do try to provide justifications for this but the answer seems incomplete as they deny the due importance to the relation between law and morality, law and religion, law and economy and so on.

The Natural Law Theory, as proposed by Salmond, consists of ‘objective moral principles which depend on the essential nature of the universe and which can be discovered by natural reason’. Natural law is closely associated with morality and, some  historically influential versions, with the intentions of God. Naturalists believe the law to be bound by and dependent on eternal principles present from time immemorial. These principles, of religious belief, moral philosophy, individual conscience, historical practice, and human reason,  usually remain independent of governmental and mainstream legal recognition and influence in today’s world. In light of these issues, modern day naturalists agree that laws, rules, and regulations are indeed legitimate, but believe they are not to be the only source of law.

The theory might seem conscientious to some today but in seeking the origins of sources of law, it is quite an important theory. We tend to see law and religion as two separate issues today but we forget that almost all the world religions originated as a particular way of life with a particular set of rules and regulation and in essence all such religion at some point of time played a very similar role in the society as to the modern day law. In many ancient religions, terms for law and religion were many a times, interchangeable.

Even today, it would be serve no purpose to ignore the influence which religions have over law. Ireland had banned the abortions before the tragic Savita Halappanavar case because of the Catholic beliefs of majority of the population. Polygamy is legal in Saudi Arabia because the majoritarian religion sanctions it. Even the government holidays around the is decided by religion of the populace.

Law and morality have an intricate and complex relationship with each other. Law seems to find its origins in morality and many a times vice a versa seems true. Over the eons, the only constant thing about both law and morality is that they are anything but constant. Both law and morality have been subject to time and space. Sati was both legal and moral once while widow remarriage was both illegal and immoral.

Another important mention must be made here regarding the historical school which sees the evolution of law as a continuous cycle affected by various major and minor events in the history.

Again, this factor too cannot be denied. The ways a region is affected historically decide the tenor of its laws. Most of the previously colonized nations have their present laws reflecting the laws of the nation which had colonized them. Article 377 was a great example of colonial hangover. It was the Victorian morality which declared the LGBTQ immoral, if we were to look at Indian history, things were quite different. Similarly, South Africa has reverse discriminative laws against the whites due to their history of apartheid. Even India has caste based reservation due its own history and sociology.

And this brings us to the sociological jurisprudence  which evaluates the influence of society on laws themselves, as well as on the procedural aspects of the legal system. This type of scrutiny compares the law with other sociological fields of study, including religion, economics, and literature, in an effort to bring enlightenment by sharing understanding between each sociological field.

Balance is rule of nature and it also applies to the political structure of any nation. For the smooth functioning of any government, both stability and innovation are pre requisite. The young river rushes down, curious and energetic while the old river moves slowly and steadily, confident and content. Similarly the youth are more fearless because they have seen less, more curious because they know less, more open to ideas because they are still formulating their own ideas. They bring in innovation and that breath of fresh air which does not let the system go stale like stagnant water. On the other hand, the older generation is confident in their knowledge and experience, sure of the traditions and time tested methods bringing in the much required stability. This is what makes the evolution of law both imperative and a necessary requirement for the survival of a society

Societies change and evolve and the laws must change accordingly. A great example of such change can be the current influx of law in the last few decades supporting women’s rights. But at the same time, there are instances where the law must take the lead and bring the change in the society. Examples of such laws can be the anti Sati law and the recent abolition of the Article 377.

The relationship which law shares with its sources is a deep and intricate study. The people for the society and the law ultimately affects the people, law is dependent on people for its existence and people are dependent for their existence with each other and all the sources affecting the law lie in midst of the vivid spectrum of this relationship.

BY PARIDHI SINHA