UNIT-I
INTRODUCTION TO LAW
1. Law: Introduction, meaning, definition, history, need and importance
2. Concept of Jurisprudence
3. Indian constitution and salient features- Preamble, Fundamental Rights, DPSP,
Fundamental duties.
4. Terminologies: Bills, Acts, Ordinance, Regulations, Statute, Plaintiff, Defendant,
Affidavit.
Introduction :
Meaning
In old English “Lagu” i.e. law, ordinance, rule, regulation from old norse “lagu” law
collective Plural of “Lag” is layer, measure, stroke ‘Literally’ something laid down of fixed.
The law is an amorphous set of rules govern individuals and group behavior. We don’t even
know about many of these rules or we understand them only generally. For example, you don’t
need to see a written law to know that it’s a crime to steal or destroy someone else property.
In other words, the law is a system of rules that are created and enforced through the social or
governmental institution to regulate behaviour. Stamp that regulates and ensure that individuals
or community support to the will of the state.
Definition of Law
It is very difficult to define the term law. Many Jurists attempted to define the term law. For
the Purpose of clarity, some of the definitions given by Jurists in different Periods are
categorized as follows.
(I) Idealistic Definitions:-
Romans and other ancient Jurists defined law in its idealistic nature. Roman
Justinian’s defined law in the light of its idealistic nature.
1. Salmond: - According to salmond “the law may be defined as the body of
principles recognized and applied by the state in the administration of
Justice.
Criticism of Salmond’s definition of law:- Salmond did not define the
expression Justice. Keeton says what has been considered to be just at one
time has frequently not been so considered at another.
2.John chipman Gray’s Definition of Law:-
According to Gray, “the Law of the State or of any organized body of men is composed of
the rules which the courts, that is the judicial organ of the body lays down for the
determination of legal rights and duties.
,Gray’s definition is criticized on the Ground that he is not concerned with the nature of law
rather than its Purposes and Ends. Further it does not take into account the statute law
Positivisties definition:-
3.Austin’s definition of law”
John Austin (1790-1859) An English Jurists expounded the concept of analytical
positivism, making law as a command of sovereign backed by sanction. He developed
logically, a structure of legal system in which he gave no Place to values, morality,
idealism and Justice.
According to Austin, a law, in the strict sense is a general command of the sovereign
individual or the sovereign body. Issued to those in subjectivity and enforced by the
physical power of the state. According to Austin “law is aggregate of rules set by men
politically superior or sovereign to men as politically subject.” Austin says, “A law is
command which obliges a person or persons to a course of conduct.
Criticism of Austin’s definition of law:- Austin’s definition of law is subjected to
criticism on the ground that it ignores completely the moral and ethical aspects of law
and unduly Emphasized the imperative character of law.
History
Brief history of law in India
Law in India has evolved from religious prescription to the current constitutional and legal
system we have today, traversing through secular legal systems and the common law.
India has a recorded legal history starting from the Vedic ages and some sort of civil law
system may have been in place during the Bronze Age and the Indus Valley civilization. Law
as a matter of religious prescriptions and philosophical discourse has an illustrious history in
India. Emanating from the Vedas, the Upanishads and other religious texts, it was a fertile
field enriched by practitioners from different Hindu philosophical schools and later by Jains
and Buddhists.
Secular law in India varied widely from region to region and from ruler to ruler. Court
systems for civil and criminal matters were essential features of many ruling dynasties of
ancient India. Excellent secular court systems existed under the Mauryas (321-185 BCE) and
the Mughals (16th – 19th centuries) with the latter giving way to the current common law
system.
Law in British-ruled India
The common law system – a system of law based on recorded judicial precedents- came to
India with the British East India Company. The company was granted charter by King
George I in 1726 to establish “Mayor’s Courts” in Madras, Bombay and Calcutta (now
Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata respectively). Judicial functions of the company expanded
substantially after its victory in Battle of Plassey and by 1772 company’s courts expanded out
,from the three major cities. In the process, the company slowly replaced the existing Mughal
legal system in those parts.
Following the First War of Independence in 1857, the control of company territories in India
passed to the British Crown. Being part of the empire saw the next big shift in the Indian
legal system. Supreme courts were established replacing the existing mayoral courts. These
courts were converted to the first High Courts through letters of patents authorized by the
Indian High Courts Act passed by the British parliament in 1862. Superintendence of lower
courts and enrolment of law practitioners were deputed to the respective high courts.
During the Raj, the Privy Council acted as the highest court of appeal. Cases before the
council were adjudicated by the law lords of the House of Lords. The state sued and was sued
in the name of the British sovereign in her capacity as Empress of India.
During the shift from Mughal legal system, the advocates under that regimen, “vakils”, too
followed suit, though they mostly continued their earlier role as client representatives. The
doors of the newly created Supreme Courts were barred to Indian practitioners as right of
audience was limited to members of English, Irish and Scottish professional bodies.
Subsequent rules and statutes culminating in the Legal Practitioners Act of 1846 which
opened up the profession regardless of nationality or religion. Coding of law also began in
earnest with the forming of the first Law Commission. Under the stewardship of its chairman,
Thomas Babington Macaulay, the Indian Penal Code was drafted, enacted and brought into
force by 1862. The Code of Criminal Procedure was also drafted by the same commission.
Host of other statutes and codes like Evidence Act (1872) and Contracts Act (1872).
Law after Independence
At the dawn of independence, the parliament of independent India was the forge where a
document that will guide the young nation was being crafted. It will fall on the keen legal
mind of B. R. Ambedkar to formulate a constitution for the newly independent nation. The
Indian Bar had a role in the Independence movement that can hardly be overstated – that the
tallest leaders of the movement across the political spectrum were lawyers is ample proof.
The new nation saw its first leader in Jawaharlal Nehru, and a paternal figure in M. K.
Gandhi, both exemplary lawyers. Perhaps it is the consequent understanding of law and its
relation to society that prompted the founding fathers to devote the energy required to form a
Constitution of unprecedented magnitude in both scope and length.
The Constitution of India is the guiding light in all matters executive, legislative and judicial
in the country. It is extensive and aims to be sensitive. The Constitution turned the direction
of system originally introduced for perpetuation of colonial and imperial interests in India,
firmly in the direction of social welfare. The Constitution explicitly and through judicial
interpretation seeks to empower the weakest members of the society. India has an organic law
as consequence of common law system. Through judicial pronouncements and legislative
action, this has been fine-tuned for Indian conditions. The Indian legal system’s move
towards a social justice paradigm, though undertook independently, can be seen to mirror the
changes in other territories with common law system. From an artifice of the colonial
masters, the Indian legal system has evolved as an essential ingredient of the world’s largest
democracy and a crucial front in the battle to secure constitutional rights for every citizen
, Need and importance of Law
#1 Laws set the standard for acceptable (and unacceptable) behaviors
At its most basic, the law is about mitigating conflict. When creating laws, societies reckon
with what drives conflict. Some things – like murder and theft- are obvious and have been
included in laws stretching back to ancient times. However, as time goes on and societies
change, what’s considered acceptable changes, too. Legal systems adapt so they can provide
clarity and context for unacceptable actions. They also offer guidelines for appropriate
consequences.
#2 Laws provide access to justice
If it’s against the law to punch someone in the face, someone who gets punched can do
something about it other than simply swinging back. In a perfect world, justice is equal. It
doesn’t matter who got punched or who did the punching. What matters is that the law
against punching was broken. Everyone in a society – and not just a privileged few – must
have equal access to justice through the law.
#3 Laws keep everyone safe
Laws don’t only respond to injustices and harm. They work to prevent them. Food safety
laws are a prime example. In the past, the food industry was horrendously unregulated. In the
18th and 19th centuries, American food producers went to extreme measures in their quest
for profit. They watered down milk and stirred in materials like chalk for color. They mixed
dirt into coffee, tea, and spices and added lead to beer and wine. In 1906, President Roosevelt
and Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, as well as the Meat Inspection Act. This
marked the beginning of modern food safety and monitoring. Today, food safety laws protect
the public from potentially-fatal food poisoning.
#4 Laws protect the most vulnerable in society
Many laws are specifically designed to protect certain groups of people. Laws like the Civil
Rights Act (the United States) and the Sex Discrimination Act (Australia) make it illegal to
discriminate. These types of laws protect what’s known as “negative rights,” which is the
right to be free from something, like discrimination. Anyone can be discriminated against, but
as history shows, certain people are more at risk. Laws designed to prevent discrimination
based on race, sex, gender, religion, and more protect these groups and give them better
access to justice.
#5 The process of creating laws encourages civil and political engagement
INTRODUCTION TO LAW
1. Law: Introduction, meaning, definition, history, need and importance
2. Concept of Jurisprudence
3. Indian constitution and salient features- Preamble, Fundamental Rights, DPSP,
Fundamental duties.
4. Terminologies: Bills, Acts, Ordinance, Regulations, Statute, Plaintiff, Defendant,
Affidavit.
Introduction :
Meaning
In old English “Lagu” i.e. law, ordinance, rule, regulation from old norse “lagu” law
collective Plural of “Lag” is layer, measure, stroke ‘Literally’ something laid down of fixed.
The law is an amorphous set of rules govern individuals and group behavior. We don’t even
know about many of these rules or we understand them only generally. For example, you don’t
need to see a written law to know that it’s a crime to steal or destroy someone else property.
In other words, the law is a system of rules that are created and enforced through the social or
governmental institution to regulate behaviour. Stamp that regulates and ensure that individuals
or community support to the will of the state.
Definition of Law
It is very difficult to define the term law. Many Jurists attempted to define the term law. For
the Purpose of clarity, some of the definitions given by Jurists in different Periods are
categorized as follows.
(I) Idealistic Definitions:-
Romans and other ancient Jurists defined law in its idealistic nature. Roman
Justinian’s defined law in the light of its idealistic nature.
1. Salmond: - According to salmond “the law may be defined as the body of
principles recognized and applied by the state in the administration of
Justice.
Criticism of Salmond’s definition of law:- Salmond did not define the
expression Justice. Keeton says what has been considered to be just at one
time has frequently not been so considered at another.
2.John chipman Gray’s Definition of Law:-
According to Gray, “the Law of the State or of any organized body of men is composed of
the rules which the courts, that is the judicial organ of the body lays down for the
determination of legal rights and duties.
,Gray’s definition is criticized on the Ground that he is not concerned with the nature of law
rather than its Purposes and Ends. Further it does not take into account the statute law
Positivisties definition:-
3.Austin’s definition of law”
John Austin (1790-1859) An English Jurists expounded the concept of analytical
positivism, making law as a command of sovereign backed by sanction. He developed
logically, a structure of legal system in which he gave no Place to values, morality,
idealism and Justice.
According to Austin, a law, in the strict sense is a general command of the sovereign
individual or the sovereign body. Issued to those in subjectivity and enforced by the
physical power of the state. According to Austin “law is aggregate of rules set by men
politically superior or sovereign to men as politically subject.” Austin says, “A law is
command which obliges a person or persons to a course of conduct.
Criticism of Austin’s definition of law:- Austin’s definition of law is subjected to
criticism on the ground that it ignores completely the moral and ethical aspects of law
and unduly Emphasized the imperative character of law.
History
Brief history of law in India
Law in India has evolved from religious prescription to the current constitutional and legal
system we have today, traversing through secular legal systems and the common law.
India has a recorded legal history starting from the Vedic ages and some sort of civil law
system may have been in place during the Bronze Age and the Indus Valley civilization. Law
as a matter of religious prescriptions and philosophical discourse has an illustrious history in
India. Emanating from the Vedas, the Upanishads and other religious texts, it was a fertile
field enriched by practitioners from different Hindu philosophical schools and later by Jains
and Buddhists.
Secular law in India varied widely from region to region and from ruler to ruler. Court
systems for civil and criminal matters were essential features of many ruling dynasties of
ancient India. Excellent secular court systems existed under the Mauryas (321-185 BCE) and
the Mughals (16th – 19th centuries) with the latter giving way to the current common law
system.
Law in British-ruled India
The common law system – a system of law based on recorded judicial precedents- came to
India with the British East India Company. The company was granted charter by King
George I in 1726 to establish “Mayor’s Courts” in Madras, Bombay and Calcutta (now
Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata respectively). Judicial functions of the company expanded
substantially after its victory in Battle of Plassey and by 1772 company’s courts expanded out
,from the three major cities. In the process, the company slowly replaced the existing Mughal
legal system in those parts.
Following the First War of Independence in 1857, the control of company territories in India
passed to the British Crown. Being part of the empire saw the next big shift in the Indian
legal system. Supreme courts were established replacing the existing mayoral courts. These
courts were converted to the first High Courts through letters of patents authorized by the
Indian High Courts Act passed by the British parliament in 1862. Superintendence of lower
courts and enrolment of law practitioners were deputed to the respective high courts.
During the Raj, the Privy Council acted as the highest court of appeal. Cases before the
council were adjudicated by the law lords of the House of Lords. The state sued and was sued
in the name of the British sovereign in her capacity as Empress of India.
During the shift from Mughal legal system, the advocates under that regimen, “vakils”, too
followed suit, though they mostly continued their earlier role as client representatives. The
doors of the newly created Supreme Courts were barred to Indian practitioners as right of
audience was limited to members of English, Irish and Scottish professional bodies.
Subsequent rules and statutes culminating in the Legal Practitioners Act of 1846 which
opened up the profession regardless of nationality or religion. Coding of law also began in
earnest with the forming of the first Law Commission. Under the stewardship of its chairman,
Thomas Babington Macaulay, the Indian Penal Code was drafted, enacted and brought into
force by 1862. The Code of Criminal Procedure was also drafted by the same commission.
Host of other statutes and codes like Evidence Act (1872) and Contracts Act (1872).
Law after Independence
At the dawn of independence, the parliament of independent India was the forge where a
document that will guide the young nation was being crafted. It will fall on the keen legal
mind of B. R. Ambedkar to formulate a constitution for the newly independent nation. The
Indian Bar had a role in the Independence movement that can hardly be overstated – that the
tallest leaders of the movement across the political spectrum were lawyers is ample proof.
The new nation saw its first leader in Jawaharlal Nehru, and a paternal figure in M. K.
Gandhi, both exemplary lawyers. Perhaps it is the consequent understanding of law and its
relation to society that prompted the founding fathers to devote the energy required to form a
Constitution of unprecedented magnitude in both scope and length.
The Constitution of India is the guiding light in all matters executive, legislative and judicial
in the country. It is extensive and aims to be sensitive. The Constitution turned the direction
of system originally introduced for perpetuation of colonial and imperial interests in India,
firmly in the direction of social welfare. The Constitution explicitly and through judicial
interpretation seeks to empower the weakest members of the society. India has an organic law
as consequence of common law system. Through judicial pronouncements and legislative
action, this has been fine-tuned for Indian conditions. The Indian legal system’s move
towards a social justice paradigm, though undertook independently, can be seen to mirror the
changes in other territories with common law system. From an artifice of the colonial
masters, the Indian legal system has evolved as an essential ingredient of the world’s largest
democracy and a crucial front in the battle to secure constitutional rights for every citizen
, Need and importance of Law
#1 Laws set the standard for acceptable (and unacceptable) behaviors
At its most basic, the law is about mitigating conflict. When creating laws, societies reckon
with what drives conflict. Some things – like murder and theft- are obvious and have been
included in laws stretching back to ancient times. However, as time goes on and societies
change, what’s considered acceptable changes, too. Legal systems adapt so they can provide
clarity and context for unacceptable actions. They also offer guidelines for appropriate
consequences.
#2 Laws provide access to justice
If it’s against the law to punch someone in the face, someone who gets punched can do
something about it other than simply swinging back. In a perfect world, justice is equal. It
doesn’t matter who got punched or who did the punching. What matters is that the law
against punching was broken. Everyone in a society – and not just a privileged few – must
have equal access to justice through the law.
#3 Laws keep everyone safe
Laws don’t only respond to injustices and harm. They work to prevent them. Food safety
laws are a prime example. In the past, the food industry was horrendously unregulated. In the
18th and 19th centuries, American food producers went to extreme measures in their quest
for profit. They watered down milk and stirred in materials like chalk for color. They mixed
dirt into coffee, tea, and spices and added lead to beer and wine. In 1906, President Roosevelt
and Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, as well as the Meat Inspection Act. This
marked the beginning of modern food safety and monitoring. Today, food safety laws protect
the public from potentially-fatal food poisoning.
#4 Laws protect the most vulnerable in society
Many laws are specifically designed to protect certain groups of people. Laws like the Civil
Rights Act (the United States) and the Sex Discrimination Act (Australia) make it illegal to
discriminate. These types of laws protect what’s known as “negative rights,” which is the
right to be free from something, like discrimination. Anyone can be discriminated against, but
as history shows, certain people are more at risk. Laws designed to prevent discrimination
based on race, sex, gender, religion, and more protect these groups and give them better
access to justice.
#5 The process of creating laws encourages civil and political engagement
