NATURE, DEFINITION AND SCOPE OF JURISPRUDENCE

 CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction

2.0 Objectives

Main Body

Nature of Jurisprudence

Definition of Jurisprudence

Scope of Jurisprudence

4.0 Conclusion

5.0 Summary

6.0 Tutor-Marked Assessment

7.0 Reference/Further Readings

INTRODUCTION

You are expected to learn three things under this unit. These are the nature, definition and scope of Jurisprudence. Under the nature of jurisprudence, the correlation of the nature to the scope of Jurisprudence is revealed in the sense that no delineation of the scope of Jurisprudence can be regarded as final. The issue of definition will face the same brick wall faced elsewhere as no universally acceptable definition can be spotted.

OBJECTIVES

Students are to identify the nature of jurisprudence as well as its scope. The various available definitions are also to be critiqued. At the end of this Unit, students must be able to draw an avid distinction between the scope and nature of Jurisprudence. They must also be able to appreciate the fact that there is no definition that serves as an end to all definitions.

MAIN BODY

Nature of Jurisprudence

Jurisprudence deals essentially with abstract and theoretical inquiry into important principles of law and legal systems. Jurisprudence, as a subject of study is unique because unlike other subjects in law it does not create a set of rules. Again, jurisprudence is not derived from authority nor does it have practical applications in the sense that it does not possess rules which can be deployed to solve factual problems. Consequently, there is no unanimity of opinion among jurists on the subject of jurisprudence. Every jurist possess his own idea of what jurisprudence is but also determines for himself what are the limits and scope of the study of jurisprudence. The divergence in thoughts are the product of ideological and environmental differences.

The point that students must be apprised of here is that the nature of Jurisprudence is such that no delineation of its scope can be regarded as final. This statement will be better appreciated with an illustration. On torts or contracts, a student may be recommended to read any of the standard textbooks with the assurance that whichever book he does read, he will derive much the same idea as to what the subject is about. With Jurisprudence, this is not so. Books called “Jurisprudence” vary widely in subject-matter and treatment. The reason is that these writings concern thought about law on the broadest possible basis, rather than expositions of law itself. Thus, students need know that Jurisprudence deals with the structure, uses and functioning of law and legal concepts. And that is what you are expected to focus on while embarking on the study of Jurisprudence.

Self-Assessment Exercise (SAE) 1 What is the nature of Jurisprudence?

Definition of Jurisprudence

Students should know by now that as simple as the issue of definition sounds, it is not simple in actual fact because we often end up not finding a generally accepted one. In the same manner, the answer to the question, ‘What is Jurisprudence?’ is that it means pretty much whatever anyone wants it to mean. A better way therefore, in the face of lack of agreement in definition, may probably be asking the question: ‘How is this word used? Or more pertinently, what is a book on Jurisprudence going to do? Few of the available definitions are to be examined. It has been described etymologically to mean expositions of particular branches of the law, e.g., the name ‘Equity Jurisprudence’ was once given to a textbook on Equity. It can also be used to describe the legal connections of any body of knowledge. It has also been used to refer to the body of law built up by the decisions of particular courts. It has also come to mean almost exclusively the analysis of the formal structure of law and its concepts. The bottom-line here is that there is no definition which is an end to all definitions which is why it is often safer to describe what Jurisprudence is than to define it. Consult textbooks for further readingon some of the definitions of jurisprudence offered by scholars.

Jurisprudence is the study of the general theoretical questions about the nature of law and legal systems, it examines the relationship between law, justice and morality. According to Dworkin, jurisprudential theories are theories aimed at showing the main point of the law. This means that it is important that we identify precisely what it is that a society gains by having a developed legal system.

Self-Assessment Exercise (SAE) 2

Jurisprudence as a concept is better described than defined. Do you agree?

Scope of Jurisprudence

Jurisprudence deals with thought about law rather than with knowledge of what the law is in various branches. Jurisprudential study therefore ranges from minute analytical dissections and sharp distinctions at one end of the intellectual scale to the broad sweep of ideas and philosophies through the ages at the other. Jurisprudence is primarily concerned with the nature and function of law. It deals with such questions as what is Law, where does it come from,what does it do?( And what are the means for doing it? Its ambit is not limited to law only; it extends to include any thought or writing about law and its relation to other social sciences such as economics, psychology, philosophy, sociology, politics and ethics etc. It digs, into the historical past and attempts to create the symmetry of a garden out of the confusion of different conflicting legal systems.

Jurisprudence discloses knowledge of general ideas and principles of all legal systems, so it is called the eye of law. Certain fundamental conceptions such as negligence, liability, men srea, etc. have to be learned before provision of law relating to them can be understood, and Jurisprudence teaches these fundamental conceptions.

Self-Assessment Exercise (SAE) 3

Jurisprudence is a field that encompasses several other fields. Discuss

 CONCLUSION

Thus far, we have examined the nature, meaning and scope of Jurisprudence. In the process, we are able to identify the relationship existing between the nature and scope of Jurisprudence. We also are able to further underscore the fact that no task is as difficult as defining a concept. That is the reason it was submitted that Jurisprudence is better described than defined.

 SUMMARY

We have learnt the following:

The nature of Jurisprudence The definition of Jurisprudence The scope of Jurisprudence

TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT 1

Critically examine the nature, scope and purposes of studying Jurisprudence and Legal Theory.

 FURTHER READINGS

Dias, R.W.M., Jurisprudence, 4 th ed. (Butterworth & Co. (Publishers) Ltd, Boston) pp 1 – 28

Hart, H.L.A., ‘Definition and Theory in Jurisprudence’ (1954), 70 Law Quarterly Review, 37