Q20. Write short notes of the following :

(a) Jurisprudence and Ethics.

(b) Jurisprudence and Psychology

(c) Jurisprudence and Sociology

Ans. (a) Jurisprudence and Ethics

Ethics as a branch of knowledge deals with human conduct and lays down the ideals of human behaviour. It is closely related to morality and public opinion which are dynamic concepts varying from place to place, from time to time and from people to people. What may be a rule of good morality at one time may not necessarily remain so all the time and it may even become a bad moral conduct in time to come. Thus, the public opinion and moral, precepts go on changing with social evolution, social, cultural and social development.

Jurisprudence is concerned with positive morality since law is considered as an instrument to regulate human conduct in society. Positive morality does not depend on ideal behaviour or good actions but it requires a coercive force for maintaining public conscience. There is a separate branch of jurisprudence called the ethical jurisprudence which seeks to lay down the standards of ideal for human conduct in terms of law for the maintenance of public conscience.

It must, however, be stated that there are many unethical acts which the law does not seek to punish. For example, the law does not take notice of trifles. So also, to tell a lie is unethical but it is not punishable as an offence. Conversely, all that is prohibited is not necessarily immoral e.g. possessing land beyond ceiling limit is punishable under the law but it is not an Unethical act. Again, driving a vehicle or a car without a valid licence is not unethical although it is prohibited by law.
Generally speaking, laws must not be divorced from accepted human values since it is an instrument for regulating human conduct in a given society. As Dr. J. Sethna rightly pointed out, laws of a community are reflected in its culture, ideology and social norms. They are, therefore, indicators of country’s civilisation and the ethical standards of the society, hence ethical values cannot be excluded from Jurisprudence.

Ans. (b) Jurisprudence and Psychology 

Psychology as a branch of knowledge is concerned with the working of brain or mental faculty. Since jurisprudence and law are necessarily concerned with human action and it is the human mind which controls human action, the inter-relation between psychology and jurisprudence need not be over-emphasised. Particularly in dealing with crimes the psychology of the offender is generally taken into consideration. Again, psychology plays a dominant role in the study of criminology and penology.

The psychology of the offender is also one of the crucial factors in deciding the nature of punishment of the convicted person. The modern reformative techniques of punishment such as probation, parole, indeterminate sentence, admonition, pardon etc. are essentially deviced for the treatment of offenders according to their psychological traits.

That apart, the legal concepts such as negligence, intention, motive, mens rea recklessness, rashness etc., pertain to the faculty of mind and, therefore, they form a, part of study of psychology as also the jurisprudence.

Ans. (c) Jurisprudence and Sociology: 

Sociology also includes the study of a part of law to some extent. For example, criminology is one of the inter-disciplinary studies related to both sociology, and law. Again, Jurisprudence includes within its . compass the sociology of law, that is the practical functioning of law in the society. Further, sociology as well as the study of jurisprudence are- concerned with regulation of human conduct in society. Therefore, the two are intimately, connected. It must, however, be noted in this context that lawyer’s approach to law is different from that of a sociologist’s attitude towards law. The former looks it from point of view en forceability and obedience by the people while the latter concentrates on studying how these rules actually govern, the behaviour of individual in the society.

More recently, there has been greater thrust on sociological approach to law and legal problems. The modern prison reforms and correctional services for the treatment of offenders, have been devised keeping in view the sociological factors of the offenders. Even the judges have accepted the role of sociology and its relationship with law and it is often reflected in their decisions. The purpose of law as conceived today, is to ensure social justices.

The relationship between law and sociology has been supported by G.W. Paton for three obvious reasons, namely.

(1) it enables better understanding of the evolution and development of law,

(2) it provides greater substratum for identity of law commensurate with human needs and societal interests, and

(3) it provides objectivity to legal interpretation which is the need of the hour. Without social inter-action, law would remain a mere theoretical perception devoid of any practical utility.