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“Law Master’s” Publication
“Jurisprudence”
Prof. S.D. Bhosale
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JURISPRUDENCE
(Jurisprudence its meaning, nature, value and scope)
QUESTION BANK
Define ‘Jurisprudence’ and state its scope and significance.
State the meaning of ‘Jurisprudence’ and examine its importance.
Define Jurisprudence and state its value and scope.
Define Jurisprudence and state its scope.
Q.1
Q.2
Q.3
Q.4
SYNOPSIS
I Meaning of Jurisprudence
II Definition
III Nature of Jurisprudence
IV Value of Jurisprudence
I Meaning of Jurisprudence -
Jurisprudence is also called ‘Legal Theory’. The term ‘Jurisprudence’ is derived
from the Latin term ‘Jurisprudentia’. The term ‘Jurisprudenia’ comprises two words,
‘Juris’ and ‘prudentia’. The term ‘juris’ means law, and the term ‘prudentia’ means skill
or knowledge. Thus, the term ‘Jurisprudence’ signifies the knowledge of the law. It is also
taken as a skill in law.
II Definition-
According to some jurists, defining the term Jurisprudence is a very difficult task.
However, some jurists have tried to define the term ‘Jurisprudence’. We will discuss
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“Law Master’s” Publication
“Jurisprudence”
Prof. S.D. Bhosale
some of these definitions –
1. According to John Salmond –
“Jurisprudence” is the name-
- given to a certain type of investigation into law.
- An investigation of an abstract, general and theoretical nature.
- Which seeks to lay bare the essential principles of law and the legal system.
Salmond also defines ‘Jurisprudence’ as “the science of the first principle of
law”.
2. According to M.J.Sethna –
“Jurisprudence” is the -
- study of fundamental legal principles,
- including their philosophical, historical and sociological bases, and
- an analysis of legal concepts.
3. According to C.K.Allen –
“Jurisprudence” is the scientific study of law’s essential principles.
4. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica-
“Jurisprudence” is the name given to those studies, research and speculations
which aim primarily at answering the plain man’s question: What is Law? It is proposed
to define Law for the jurist as the sum of influences that determine decisions in Courts of
justice.”
5. According to Gray–
“Jurisprudence” is the science of Law, the statement and systematic arrangement of
the rules followed by the courts and principles involved in those rules.”
6. According to Roscoe Pound-
“Jurisprudence” is a consideration of the ethical and social merits of legal rules.
III Nature of Jurisprudence –
From the above definitions, we may lay down the nature of Jurisprudence in the
following manner.
(i)
Jurisprudence is an investigation into law.
According to Salmond, ‘investigation’ means “an intellectual inquiry”. In
Jurisprudence, fundamental or basic principles of law are investigated purely in
a philosophical and logical manner. It is in this sense Jurisprudence is the
philosophy of law.
(ii)
An investigation of abstract, general and theoretical nature. An investigation
is called an abstract and theoretical nature because unlike other laws such as the
Indian Penal Code, the Indian Contract Act, the Law of Torts etc., the
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“Law Master’s” Publication
“Jurisprudence”
Prof. S.D. Bhosale
Jurisprudence has no such set of rules which are useful to solve Fundamental
problems in a given case. Another reason is that, Jurisprudence studies ‘abstract
notions’ such as law, justice, personality, act, omission, intention etc.
Jurisprudence studies general notions of law, which are common to all legal
systems. Therefore, it is useful to all persons related to law, i.e. students, lawyers
or judges, etc.
(iii)
The purpose of such investigation is to understand and synthesize the general
principles of Law and the legal system.
The purpose of Jurisprudence is to understand and synthesize the general
principles of law and the legal system. Therefore, Jurisprudence is only of
theoretical nature; it is without practical application, unlike other laws.
The general and abstract principles studied under Jurisprudence are right, duty,
possession, ownership, title, obligation, personality, person, property, etc. Jurisprudence
also studies the concept of ‘Law’ and different theories of law. It also studies the relation
of law to morality, sociology, economy, philosophy, etc. Jurisprudence further studies
different sources of Law.
In other words, Jurisprudence studies general principles of Law with theoretical
means. It does not study a set of rules and their application as studied under the Indian
Penal Code, Constitution, Contract, etc.
IV Value / utility of Jurisprudence –
It is often said that Jurisprudence, an abstract and theoretical subject, is not of any
practical use; however, it is a very useful subject.
According to Salmond, Jurisprudence has its own intrinsic interest, like any other
subject of serious scholarship.
We will discuss the utility of Jurisprudence in the following points -
1. According to John Salmond, Jurisprudence is a science of civil law. Jurisprudence
studies fundamental principles of civil law. The study of Jurisprudence provides
lawyers and legislatures with the correct use of legal terms by providing precise and
unambiguous terminology.
2. Jurisprudence has great educational value for law students and lawyers.
3. The study of Jurisprudence helps ascertain the true meaning of laws passed by the
legislators by providing rules of interpretation.
4. The study of Jurisprudence helps in the scientific development of law.
5. The study of Jurisprudence gives an understanding of the nature of law.
6. Jurisprudence is comprehensive and studies basic concepts of law commonly used
in a number of statutes, specifically civil statutes.
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“Law Master’s” Publication
“Jurisprudence”
Prof. S.D. Bhosale
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