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Jurisprudence is one of the most important disciplines in the law field. Without this, law becomes incomplete. The term jurisprudence derived from the Latin word “Juris - Prudentia” which means “knowledge of law”. Particularly, these both term can be understand as:
Juris - means law
Prudentia - means skills or knowledge
Basically, this subject helps to understand the law and its practical application. We can say that it is a study of the theory of law, specifically the philosophy of law which involves examining the fundamental principles and concept of law.
In this subject we also study about the function of law in the society and the methods which are used to interpret the law as well as application of the law. It has a very broad field which consists of a range of outlook which includes legal positivism, legal realism, critical legal studies and natural law. Through the study of jurisprudence, Scholars and Philosophers seek to find its role in shaping the society.
How Jurists Define Jurisprudence!
There are many scholars and jurists available who have defined the term jurisprudence according to their own perspective. Some of these jurists are given below:
Kant defines jurisprudence as “the science of right.”
Ulpian, a Roman Jurist defines jurisprudence as “the science of just and unjust”.
Austin: According to him, Jurisprudence is a philosophy of positive law.
Holland has defined jurisprudence as the “formal science of positive law”.
Salmond defines jurisprudence as “the science of the first principles of civil law.”
Roscoe Pond defines jurisprudence as “the science of law”.
Allen defines jurisprudence as “the scientific synthesis of the essential principles of law.”
Keeton defines jurisprudence as “Jurisprudence’ is the study and systematic arrangement of the general principles of law.”
Julius Stone defines jurisprudence as a “lawyer’s extraversion”.
Laski: He defines jurisprudence as “an eye of law”.
Nature of Jurisprudence
1. It is not a procedural law
In true sense, jurisprudence is not a procedural law. It is a subject which provides us knowledge about the general principle of law. It does not tell us about how the various rights or obligations were achieved.
2. It is not a substantive law
This is a discipline which is neither Procedural or substantive law. It only gives the knowledge of the general principle of law as we said above. It does not deal with the rights and obligations of the citizen and also does not provide the knowledge about the same.
3. Knowledge about the basic principle of law
This subject provides the knowledge about the basic principle of law for example rights, duties, on a ship, possession and many more.
4. Not a Codified Law
As we all know, Jurisprudence is an uncodified law which makes it broader in sense. Uncodified law is one where the laws are not written into any sections, meaning there are no written documents available of the laws and regulations.
5. It is of law
It is also known as the eye of law which is stated by Kelson. It is considered the eye of law because it provides information about the general principle of law and various branches of law.
The scope of the jurisprudence is very broad which extends to multiple disciplines. For example - we study jurisprudence with political science, economics, sociology, ethics and psychology. This inter-connection between the subject shows that the law and Society are connected to each other.
Jurisprudence does not focus only on the legal logic it also deals with broader questions regarding the nature and the Origins of law. It is doing this by studying multiple legal systems and traditions which have evolved over the time. This study has to give valuable insights into the complexity of the law and it makes practical application easy.
Importance of the Study of Jurisprudence
1. It is important to study this subject because Jurisprudence provides knowledge about the basic principle of law which contributes to the development of the society. One of the major importance of this discipline is to construct the concepts of simplicity to render the complicity of law. It makes law more manageable and applicable to society. It is the subject which says that theory helps to improve practice.
2. It helps to improve the logical analysis of the legal concept and increase the logical sense of the lawyers. It provides an educational benefit also. The study of jurisprudence creates the environment of having a good argument before the court because lawyers have a good concentration on legal rules.
3. Jurisprudence influences people to look forward or at least sideways and look after the answers of a new legal problem. It must be found according to the present social needs and not in the wisdom of the past.
4. Jurisprudence is the “eye of law” famous jurist “Laski” coined this term. He said this because it throws light on basic ideas and fundamental principles of law. Therefore, by understanding the nature and concepts of law, a lawyer can find out the actual rule of law.
5. It builds the quality of critical faculties in the mind of the students as well as lawyers so that they can easily find out the real issues. Also helps to learn accurate legal terminology and expression.
6. Jurisprudence helps lawyers on their practical work. Lawyers always have a duty to tackle new problems every day. They can easily handle these reasoning by his knowledge of Jurisprudence.
7. It helps the judges and lawyers to find the true meaning of law passed by the Legislature. The study of jurisprudence should be confined to the study of positive laws. For example - the study of jurisprudence should deal with the improvement of law in the context of prevailing socio-economic and political philosophies of time, place and circumstances.