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WhatIsLaw?

1.1WhatIsLaw?
LEARNINGOBJECTIVES
1.Understandthemeaningofjurisprudenceandhowitsstudycanleadtogreaterunderstandingof
ourlawsandlegalsystem.
2.Distinguishamonglawaspower,legalpositivism,legalrealism,andnaturallaw.
3.Examinestrengthsandcriticismsofseveraltheoriesofjurisprudence.
4.Exploreexamplesofseveraltheoriesofjurisprudence.

Ifyouwereaskedtodefinethelaw,whatwouldyousay?Isyoushouldeatfivefruitsandvegetables
adayalaw?Whatdistinguisheslawfrommeresuggestionsorgoodadvice?Thekeydifferenceis
obviouslyenforcementandconsequence.Ifyoudonteatfivefruitsandvegetablesaday,youarenot
goingtobeimprisonedorfined.Ifyoustealorembezzle,however,youmaybeprosecutedandface
stifffinancialpenaltiesandimprisonment.Law,therefore,isasetofrulesthatareenforcedbya
governmentauthority.

Nowconsiderthenatureoflaw.Wouldyousaythatthelawincludesonlytheactualwordsthatare
written,ordoesitalsoincludereadingbetweenthelinestodiscernthespiritofthelaw?Wouldyou
followalawthatyoudisagreedwith,orwouldyouignoresuchalaw?Doyoubelievethatwhatthelaw
actuallyismattersasmuchaswhoenforcesit?Doyouthinkthatmoralityisapartoflegality,ordoyou
thinkthatmoralityiswhollyseparatefromthelaw?

Basedontheparticularsystemofjurisprudencetowhichoneascribes,thesequestionswillgenerate
differentanswers.Notonlywilltheanswerstothesequestionsdiffer,butthepotentialoutcomesof
legaldisputescanalsovarywidely,dependingononesconceptionofwhatthelawis.Thesedifferences
highlightfundamentaldisagreementsoverthenatureoflaw.

Jurisprudenceisthephilosophyoflaw.Thenatureoflawhasbeendebatedforcenturies,givingrise
toageneralcoalescenceofideastocreateparticularschoolsofthought.Severaldifferenttheoriesof
jurisprudenceareexploredintheparagraphsthatfollow.

Atamostbasicinterpretation,somebelievethatlawissimplypower.Thatis,thelawisfollowed
becausethesovereignissuesordersthatarebackedbythreats.Considertyrannicalrulerswhocreate
arbitrarylawsorbadlaws.Ifthesovereignhasthepowertoenforcethoselaws,thenregardlessofthe
badnessofthelaw,itisstilllaw.TheNazisexecutedsixmillionJewspursuanttoGermanlawduring
WorldWarII.SaddamHusseinroutinelytorturedandexecutedpoliticalopponentsandminority
SunniMuslimsinIraqunderIraqilaw.ThemilitaryinMyanmar(knowneuphemisticallyastheState
PeaceandDevelopmentCouncil)imprisonedthedemocraticallyelectedandNobelPeacePrize
winningprimeministerofthecountry,AungSanSuuKyi(Figure1.2"AungSanSuuKyi"),undercolor
ofauthority.(Actionstakenunderthelawaresaidtobeunderthecolorofauthority.)Thosewho
ascribetotheideathatlawispoweroftenarguethatcoercionisanessentialandnecessaryfeatureof
law.

Letsexplorewhetherthelawisnothingmorethanpower.Ifanarmed
personrobsyourstore,youwillverylikelyhandoverwhateveritisthathe

Figure1.2 AungSan

orshewants.Therobberhasexercisedpoweroveryoubuthasnot

SuuKyi

exercisedthelaw.Thisisbecause,asyoumightpointout,anarmedrobber
isnotthesovereignpower.Butcomparethistoasovereignwhoexercises
poweroveryou.Forinstance,imagineagovernmentthatinstitutes
compulsorymilitaryservice(thedraft)underthreatofimprisonmentfor
failingtocomply.Thesovereignwouldhavethepowertodepriveusofour

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libertyifwedidnotfollowtherulessuchalawcertainlyhastheforceof
powerbehindit.

Manyhavecriticizedtheunderstandingoflawasnothingmorethanpower
backedbythreats.Forexample,somepointoutthatiflawisnothingmore
thanpower,thenthesubjectsofthelawaresimplyatthemercyofwhoever
isinpower.IfwelookattheU.S.systemofgovernment,however,citizens
generallydonotfeelthattheyareatthemercyofthegovernment.Thisis
becausepeoplealsohavepower.Peoplecanelecttheirgovernmentofficials,
andtheycanvoteoutgovernmentofficialswhoarentdoingagoodjob.In Source:Photocourtesyof
thisway,thoseinpowerareaccountabletothepeople.Othercriticisms
includethemorepiercingobservationthatnotalllawrequirestheexercise
orthreatofovertpower.Forinstance,manyofourlawsrelyoneconomic
incentives,ratherthanforceofpower,toencouragecompliance.Though

theU.S.Departmentof
State,
http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/File:Burma_3_150.j
pg.

penaltyprovisionsmayexistforviolatingthoselaws,thosepenaltiesmay
notbedrivingcomplianceitself.

Acompetingviewisthatoflegalpositivism,whoseproponentsdisagreethatlawissimplypower.
Legalpositivistsbelievethatthelawiswhatthelawsays.Thelawsarewritten,humanmaderules.The
lawisnotdrawnfromanysourcehigherthanman.Legalpositivistsdonottrytoreadbetweenthe
lines.Theymaydisagreewiththelawasitiswritten,buttheywillacquiescetothesovereignpowerand
followthelawasitiswritten.Theyrejectanybeliefthattheyhaveanindividualrighttodisobeyalaw
thattheyhappentooppose,providingthatthelawisfromalegitimatesource.Positivistsbelievethat
lawiswhollyseparatefromanyconsiderationofethics.Moreover,theydonotbelievethatpeoplehave
intrinsichumanrightsotherthanthosecreatedbythelaw.Thisisverydifferentfromanaturalrights
perspective,whichisdiscussedinthefollowingparagraphs.

Positivistsdifferfromtheviewthatlawissimplypower,becausetheybelievethatvalidlawmustbe
createdpursuanttotheexistingrulesthatallowthesovereigntocreatelaw.Underthiswayofthinking,
anarbitrarydeclarationoflawbyasovereignwhodidnotfollowtherulesforcreatingthelawwouldnot
beviewedasvalidlaw.Additionally,positivistswouldnotconsideranyruleorlawcreatedbyan
illegitimaterulerasvalidlaw.Consequently,alegalpositivistwouldfeelnoneedtoobeyan
illegitimatelycreatedlaw.

Considertheexampleofthedraftagain.Somepeoplehaveastrongmoralobjectiontoengagingin
armedconflictwithotherhumanbeings.However,alegalpositivistwouldmostcertainlycomplywitha
lawthatrequiredcompulsoryconscription,thoughheorshemightuseotherlegalchannelstotryto
changethelaw.

Acommoncriticismoflegalpositivismisthatitprohibitsindividualsfromremainingtruetotheirown
conscienceswhentheirconsciencesconflictwiththelawsofthesovereign.However,forapositivist,the
desirabilityofenactingalawthatmightbeviewedasgoodorbadisnotrelevantfordetermining
whatthelawis.

Somecriticspointoutthatlegalpositivismistoolimitedinitsconceptionoflaw.Forinstance,atleast
somelawsseemtoreflectamoralstance.Theprohibitionagainstinsidertrading(usingnonpublic
informationtobuyorsellastocktomakemoney)mightbesaidtoencompasstheideaoffairness,
whichisamoralconsideration.Likewise,dueprocess(fundamentalfairnessanddecencyin
governmentactions)mightbesaidtoencompasstheideasofbothfairnessandamoralpositionagainst
cruelty.Moreover,notalllawistheresultofasovereignissued,writtenrule.Forexample,
internationalcustomarylawhasdevelopedthroughcustomarypractices.Itisvalidlaw,butitis
notasetofruleshandeddownfromasovereignruler.

Adifferentviewpointislegalrealism,whichisthebeliefthatthelawitselfisfarlessimportantthan
theconsiderationofwhoisinthepositiontoenforcethelaw.Likepositivists,legalrealistsbelievethat
lawistheproductofhumanmaking.However,unlikepositivists,theybelievethattheoutcomeofany

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issuethatarisesunderlawisdependentontheperson,suchasajudge,whoisinthepositiontoexercise
powerunderthemantleofthelaw.Additionally,realistsbelievethatsocialandeconomic
considerationsshouldbebroughttobearinlegaldisputes,whichmayverywellbeextra
considerationsthatarenotcapturedbythewrittenlawitself.

Ifarealistbroughtadisputebeforeaparticularjudgewhowasknowntobeunsympathetictothat
particulartypeofdispute,therealistwouldbelievethatthejudgesdecisionwouldreflectthatleaning.
Forexample,ifadisputearoseundertheCleanWaterAct,andthedefendantwasalegalrealistwho
believedthatthejudgewasundulyharshwithenvironmentaloffenders,thelegalrealistwouldnotlook
totheactualwordsoftheCleanWaterActitselftodeterminealikelyoutcome.Instead,thedefendant
wouldviewthejudgespersonalandprofessionalbeliefsaboutwaterpollutionasdeterminativefactors.
Moreover,iftheplaintiffinthesamecasewerearealistwhodidnotbelievethattheCleanWaterAct
wasverystrong,thatplaintiffmighthopethatthejudgewouldconsiderthesocialimportanceofclean
watertohumanhealth,naturalenvironment,andnonhumananimals.

Criticsoflegalrealismpointoutthatthosewhoareinthepositiontoexercisethepowerofthelawover
othersshouldnotcircumscribethechecksandbalancesofoursystemofgovernmentbyconsidering
factorsoutsideoflegitimatesourcesoflawwhenmakingdecisions.Forinstance,theyarguethatjudges
shouldnotuseanyfactorsotherthanthewrittenlawwhenrenderingdecisions.Legalrealists,however,
pointoutthatjudicialinterpretationnotonlyisnecessarybutalsowascontemplatedbyourFounding
Fathersasabuiltincheckandbalancetoourotherbranchesofgovernment.

Naturallawistheideathathumanspossesscertaininalienablerightsthatarenottheproductsof

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humanmadelaw.Therefore,wecansaythatnaturallawdiffersfrombothpositivismandrealismin
thisimportantrespect.Humansareabletoreason,andthereforetheyareabletodiscovermoraltruths
ontheirown.Theyarenotautomatonswhorequireasovereignpowertotellthemrightfromwrong.
Naturallawadherentsdonotrejecthumanmadelaw.However,theyrecognizethathumanmadelaw
issubordinatetonaturallawifthetwotypesoflawconflict.

Civilrightsactivistsoftenrelyonnaturallawargumentstoadvancetheirplatforms.Thisistruetoday
aswellashistorically.Forexample,acivilrightsadvocatemightpointoutthatregardlessofwhatthe
lawsays,discriminationbasedonraceissimplywrong.Ifthewrittenlawallowedracial
discrimination,naturallawadherentswouldnotrecognizethelawasvalid.

Eachtheoryofjurisprudencecaninformourunderstandingoflegalissuesbyallowingustoseethe
samethingfrommanydifferentperspectives.Moreover,dependingonphilosophicalperspective,there
maybeseveralpossibleoutcomestothesamelegaldisputethatareequallysupportable.This
understandingcanhelpusidentifycommongroundamongdisputantsaswellaspointsofdeparturein
theirreasoning.

KEYTAKEAWAYS
Differenttheoriesofjurisprudenceinformourunderstandingofwhatthelawis.Examininglegalissues
throughthelensesofdifferenttheoriesofjurisprudenceallowsustoseehowdifferentoutcomescan
bedefended.

EXERCISES
1.ReadTheCaseoftheSpelunceanExplorersathttp://www.nullapoena.de/stud/explorers.html.
Identitythejusticesopinionwithwhichyoumostcloselyagree.Namethedifferenttheoriesof
jurisprudenceusedbyeachjusticeinreachinghisorheropinion.
2.Whataresomeexamplesofnaturallawinourlegalsystemorsystemofgovernance?
3.Isitmoreimportantforyoutofollowtheletterofthelawortofollowthespiritofthelaw?In
whatcircumstancewouldyoubelievetheoppositetobetrue?
4.Canyouthinkofanyexamplesoflawinwhichthethreatofforceorpowerisnotneeded?

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5.Doyoubelievethatmoralsareapartofourlaw,ordoyoubelievethatmoralityandlaware
separateconcepts?

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