THE MEANING OF LAW
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
- Meaning of Law
- Features of Law
5.0 Conclusion
6.0 Summary
7.0 Tutor Marked Assignment
8.0 References/Further Readings
INTRODUCTION
Nigeria came to independence with a well-established legal system that included a court system and a thriving legal profession in the British tradition. Therefore, in any society, all over the world, as it is in Nigeria too, there are laws rules and regulations and a system of enforcement put in place by which life and human activity are governed in such society. Therefore, the fundamental purpose of this topic - Nigerian Legal System; is to highlight the nature, source, development, features, courts system in Nigeria, etc for a better understanding of Nigerian legal system for the students of Political Science in this respect.
OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit you taught to have understood the following:
- The legal system of Nigeria
- The Concept of Law
- The Functions of Law
- The Legislative Process
MAIN CONTENT
Meaning of Law
The term “legal system” means, the laws, courts, personnel of the law and the administration of Justice System in a given state, country or geographical entity. It is important to note that, a legal system is composed of the above four elements. Therefore, Nigerian legal system is the laws, Courts and personnel of the law and the administration of justice system in Nigeria.
Naturally however, the concepts of law raise the question as what law is? In as much as this seemingly simple question is not all that so easy to answer, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (New Edition), has defined law as a rule that is supported by the power of government and that Parliament makes/passes laws. There ought to be a law against that sort of antisocial behaviour.
Very few, if any, areas of law are spared the problem of definitions. In the words of Cicero, “everyone may understand the subject of enquiry, to attain this objective, it is vital that we commence from the standpoint of lucid definitions.” Even the meaning of the phenomenon ‘law’ is not settled with any clear finality. According to Hart, few questions concerning human society have been asked with such persistence, and answered by serous thinkers in many divers, strange and even paradoxical ways as the question: What is law? Generally speaking, the concept of law may mean different things to different people. The physicist speaks of the law of gravity or Newton’s law of motion and the economist, the law of supply and demand. However, these usages of the word of law denoted a rule of action expressing a verified regular pattern of behaviour or consequences in a given circumstances. Nevertheless, the lawyer is more interested in its narrow and guarded meaning as a rule of human conduct tacitly or formally accepted by a people as binding and backed up by some mechanism for the sustenance of its binding nature.
The duties of law
Law, whether Divine, natural, or human is a necessity for right life or good life in any realm. The functions or relevance of law to society are numerous and may not be completely enumerated. However, the functions of law in society include:
- It is a code of conduct. A rule of action to ensure that person, bodies and society live orderly and peaceful lives
- It specifies the structure, framework and the order for all aspects of life and society, whether it be the structure of government, education and so forth
- It is a means of resolving and settling disputes peacefully. It is a means for administration of justice through the establishment of a court system
- It is a guarantee of rights, freedoms and duties. It is a necessary framework to ensure a free society
- It ensures order and peace in society; otherwise life would be brutish, nasty and short. Law is an instrument of civilization, but lawlessness is opposite and anti-civilization.
- It is an instrument of political, economic and social change and stability. It can be used to restructure any aspect or sector of society, to improve, re-organize, upgrade, preserve, project, establish, revive, save pardon and so forth
It provides the environment that enables individuals and society to live operate and to realize their ambitions and to reach their fullest potentials.
FEATURES OF LAW
The followings are the features of law:
- Law is a body of rules: When a layman thinks of the law, he is probably of the opinion that all the laws of a state are contained in one single document, perhaps the Constitution. However, this is not the case, for instance, the offence of murder and the penalty is nowhere expressly written in the Constitution. But this is rather enshrined in section 316 of Criminal Code. Thus, law is made up of multifarious rules some of which are written in the Constitution and various other Statutes
- Dynamic in Nature: Law is not static but dynamic. Since law is meant to regulate the behaviour of man in the society, the content of the law of each society usually changes as the social, political and economic world in which he lives changes
- It has an Element of Coercion: Breach of law is usually enforced by means of sanction or coercion or coercion through an organized institution such as the Police Force, law courts, tribunals, prisons,etc
- It is Man-made: Laws are rules that society adopts to govern itself. As a result, man has the responsibility to determine to a large extent the content of the law of his society. If the law is bad or ineffective, man must take responsibility for it and cannot blame God or nature
- Territorial Limitation: Law is usually made to guide the conduct of the people of a particular society or country and are binding on the people and properties within that territory. While the law of two or more communities may be similar, there are usually some marked differences depending on their respective needs, objectives, cultural, religions and other values. However, it is the differences in the laws of two or more states that necessitated comparative studies of law
- It is normative in character: Law is a norm, which tells us what to do and what to refrain from doing in order to achieve a particular objective. For example, the rules of criminal law, which forbids stealing, and the killing of another under certain circumstances are to guarantee security of lives and properties
Thus, the above features of law would enable the student to vividly understand the meaning of law in all its totality.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
State the various duties of law in a society
CONCLUSION
The divergence of views on the essence of law could, however, be explained by noting that each school of thought is influenced largely by its peculiar social and political experience, historical context, etc. but all had therefore come to the conclusion of what law is the rules which define the way people are governed. It is also a combination of expectations such as enforcement, sanctions, obligations and obedience, not minding who is who, in order to make law serve its end.
SUMMARY
The survival of human society from the time immemorial has been made possible by the adherence of man to a set or body of rules and principles that governs human conduct. A legal system or regime is therefore essential for any given unit of people, community, state, or country. The essences of legal system, among other things, are to ensure law, order peace in society. It guarantees of rights, freedoms and duties; assures the safety of life, property and society. It equally provides a forum, that is, courts and so forth for the peaceful and orderly resolution of disputes. It assures progress and advancement of society, and finally, provides a framework for individual self- realization and for society to achieve its goals.
TUTOR MARKED ASSIGNMENT
- Define law, and why does Law mean different things to different people?
- What are the features of Law?
REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS
Ese Malemi, (1999) - Outline of Nigerian Legal System, Grace Publishers Inc.
Gabriel A. Almond, G. Bingham Powell, Kaare Storm, and Russell J. Dalton, (2001) - Comparative Politics Today (A world View), India, Replika Press (P) Ltd.
John Ohireime Asein, (1998) - Introduction to Nigerian Legal System, Ibadan, Sam Bookman Publishers.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English New Edition, (1978) - Great Britain, Richard Clay Ltd.
Nnanyelugo Okor and Aloysius Michaels Okolie, (2004) - Law, Politics and Media in Nigeria, Nsukka, Prize Publishers Ltd.
Sanni A. O., (1999) - Introduction to Nigerian Legal Method, Ile-Ife, Kuntel Publishing House