WHAT IS LAW?
• THIS IS ESSENTIALLY A PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION. WHICH HAS NO
ANSWER. HOWEVER SOME THEORISTS HAVE ATTEMPTED TO DEFINE
IT.
PROFESSOR HART
• A SYSTEM OF RULES, A UNION OF
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY RULES.
PLATO
• “AN EMBODIMENT OF REASON, WHETHER IN THE
INDIVIDUAL OR THE COMMUNITY
WHAT IS MORALS
• CONFIRMING TO STANDARDS AND PRINCIPLES WHICH ARE ACCEPTED BY WIDER SOCIETY.
BELIEFS AND VALUES SHARED BY A SOCIETY ORA
SECTION OF SOCIETY
A BODY OF RULES WHICH GOVERN A GROUPS
BEHAVIOUR
LAW AND MORALITY
IN THE EARLY STAGES OF THE SOCIETY THERE WAS NO
DISTINCTION BETWEEN LAW AND MORALS
IN HINDU LAW, THE PRIME SOURCES OF WHICH ARE THE
VEDAS SMIRITIS
•LAWS ARE A SET OF FORMALLY MADE RULE
WHICH BIND COMMUNITY AND REGULATE
BEHAVIOUR WITHIN THAT COMMUNITY.
•MORALS ARE ESSENTIALLY SOCIETIES VALUES ON
WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG.
WHAT ARE THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN
LAW AND MORALS
• LAWS ARE DERIVED FROM MORALS SINCE THEY ARE THE FINAL
STAGE OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MORALS OF A PEOPLE.
• ALL LAWS ARE PART OF THE MORALS OF POLITICAL SOCIETY
BECAUSE OF THE ACCEPTANCE OF SUCH LAWS MADE BY THAT
SAME SOCIETY.
DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN
LAW AND MORALS
LAW
1.
2.
3.
4.
LAW DEMANDS AN ABSOLUTE SUBJECTION TO ITS RULES AND COMMANDS.
LAW HAS ENFORCING AUTHORITY DERIVED FROM STATE.
LAW REGULATES MEN’S RELATIONS WITH OTHERS AND WITH SOCIETY.
LAW CANNOT BE CHANGED INTO MORALS.
MORALS
1.
2.
3.
4.
MORALITY DEMANDS THAT MEN SHOULD ACT FROM A SENSE OF ETHICAL DUTY.
MORALITY HAS NO SUCH ENFORCING AUTHORITY FROM STATE.
IT GOVERNS THE INNER LIFE OF MEN
MORALITY APPLIES TO EVERY HUMAN ACT.
•MORAL RULE ... SET OF RULES THAT PEOPLE IN A CERTAIN
SOCIETY USE TO FOLLOW FROM THEIR ANCESTORS ...
•SET OF BELIEFS, VALUES, PRINCIPLES, AND STANDARDS
OF BEHAVIOUR”.
DIFFERENCES
LEGAL
1) PUNISHMENT .. BY AN
AUTHORIZED POWER (GOVT.)
TANGIBLE PUNISHMENT
MORAL
1) PUNISHMENT .. BY A
SOCIETY .. MORAL
PUNISHMENT (REFUSING
BEHAVIOUR)
A STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
LAW AND MORALS CAN BE MADE FROM THREE
ANGELS
1. MORALS AS THE BASIS OF LAW;
2. MORALS AS THE TEST OF (POSITIVE) LAW;
3. MORALS AS THE END OF LAW;
• MORALS AS THE BASIS OF LAW
• AS OBSERVED EARLIER, IN THE EARLY STAGES OF THE SOCIETY NO DISTINCTION
WAS MADE BETWEEN LAW AND MORALS. ALL THE RULES ORIGINATED FROM THE
COMMON SOURCES, AND THE SANCTION BEHIND THEM WAS OF THE SAME
NATURE.
• MORALS AS THE TEST OF LAW
• IT HAS BEEN CONDUCT BY A NUMBER OF JURIST, SINCE VERY EARLY
TIMES, THAT LAW MUST CONFORM TO MORALS. THIS VIEW WAS
SUPPORTED BY THE GREEKS AND THE ROMAN.
PHILOSOPHICAL IDEAS ABOUT LAW AND
MORALITY
• IT MAY BE ARGUED THAT MORALITY CAN BE SEEN AS RELATIVE CONCEPT.
• MEANING THAT NOT ONLY DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS OR GROUPS OFTEN HAVE DIFFERENT IDEAS, BUT ALSO
THAT MORALITY CHANGES OVER TIME AND THAT THESE CHANGES SHIFT IN NATURE AND BECOME A
FORMAL REGULATION THROUGH LAW.
CONCLUSION
• GENERALLY, LEGAL RULES ARE COMPOSITE AND ARE DERIVED FROM HETEROGENEOUS SOURCE. IN INDIA,
IF WE EXAMINE ALL LEGAL PERSPECTIVE, WE SHALL FIND THAT SOME OF THEM HAVE COME FROM
PERSONAL LAWS AND LOCAL CUSTOM, A GOOD NUMBER OF THEM ARE BASED ON FOREIGN RULES AND
PRINCIPLES (MAINLY ENGLISH), SOME ARE BASED ON THE LOGIC OR POLITICAL IDEOLOGY AND SOON.
SECONDLY, PUBLIC OPINION WHICH GREATLY INFLUENCES LAW IS MADE UP OF A NUMBERS OF THINGS –
POLITICAL IDEAS, ECONOMIC THEORY, ETHICAL PHILOSOPHY ETC. THESE DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY
INFLUENCE LAW.
THANK
YOU!!