11 Jan

JURISPRUDENCE 2.1 NATURAL LAW I

NATURAL LAW Looks at the ideal. What naturally ought to be. Although positivists hold the opposite view that law is what the lawmaking body has made… free from external standards. A summary: Sheikh Anti Diop in his Ph.D. thesis titled: the African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality? Makes us realise that the West was […]

11 Jan

JURISPRUDENCE 2.2 NATURAL LAW II (THE SCHOLASTIC ERA)

THE SCHOLASTIC ERA: by this time, the catholic church had already become very great in Rome. The challenge here was how to synthesise philosophy with religion. To marry the secular with the spiritual. Saint Paul rejected Natural Law. He believed in spiritual discernment. That the will of God can only be discerned in the spirit. […]

11 Jan

JURISPRUDENCE 2.3 NATURAL LAW III (THE AGE OF REASON)

THE AGE OF REASON. During the 15th and 16th century, we had the Renaissance[1] and the Reformation. This age witnessed the  efflorence of scientific discovery…. A revolt against the established order. New thinking favoured the notion that no religious doctrine can be supported by philosophical arguments or science. Religion and superstition were replaced by reason […]

11 Jan

JURISPRUDENCE 2.4 SOCIOLOGICAL JURISPRUDENCE

SOCIOLOGICAL JURISPRUDENCE. Law and society are the keywords here. How can law be used to control and develop the society. Law as a tool for social engineering. How can law be applied in action rather than just theorising about law? They reject naturalism. The Trichotomy of Sociological Jurisprudence include: Sociological Jurisprudence: Socio-Legal Studies: Sociology of […]

11 Jan

JURISPRUDENCE 2.5 HISTORICAL JURISPRUDENCE

HISTORICAL JURISPRUDENCE. That law is varies form people and ages. The historical approach according to Diaz was another manifestation of the reaction against natural law theories. On whether to adopt/import Roman Law in Europe. Thibaut Heidelberg in 1814 propsesd for a code in the lines of the Code Napoleon. Von Savigny vehemently replied by expressing […]

11 Jan

JURISPRUDENCE 2.6 THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL SCHOOL

ANTHROPOLOGICAL SCHOOL. Henry Maine:  society can be grouped into the Static (with laws which consist of commands of oligarchs/kings which end up in codification) and progressive society (legal fiction and concepts develop to make up for what the codes do not contain. E.g. equity). The Personality Ish. Olaniyan V University of Lagos. Unlike Savigny, he […]

11 Jan

JURISPRUDENCE 2.7 MARXISTS AND THE LAW

MARXISM AND THE LAW. Man society and change. Marx attached primacy to the economic system which he regarded as the base upon which everything else (like political institutions, laws, religion, ethics and so on) was predicated. He saw societies are inherently unstable with internal contradictions and conflicts in social systems. Hegel on his part said […]

11 Jan

JURISPRUDENCE 2.8 POSITIVISM

POSITIVISM is related with the love of order-Dias the ought and is may be related in that the judge in exercising discretion bring considerations of what he thinks ought to be law. Analytical Positivism: law made by man for man. A rigid separation of law from morals. Law as it is is different from law […]

11 Jan

JURISPRUDENCE 2.9 THE REALIST SCHOOL

THE REALIST SCHOOL. Rebelled against the positivist idea that law is a body of rules. They posit instead that law is what the court would do… as legislation is merely a skeletal framework and the courts provide the flesh. Dewey noted that Americans are interested in solving problems rather than thinking on a high level […]

11 Jan

JURISPRUDENCE 2.10 INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN JURISPRUDENCE

AFRICAN JURISPRUDENCE. Chiefly/Kingship: Northern Part, Yoruba with ways of checking. Calabash opened, expected to kill himself. Calabar with Obong. Acephalous/Chiefless: Igbo enweghi eze. Chiefless societies operate Gerontocracy i.e. rule by council of elders, Age Grade which represent the ethos and morality. The judicial system is reconciliatory rather than adjudicator. This is what ADR borrowed. Natural […]

11 Jan

JURISPRUDENCE 2.11 SOME ADDITIONAL POINTS TO NOTE

ADDITIONAL ROUGH NOTES. Criticism of Positivism: Dias notes Austin confused de facto sovereign with de jure sovereign. Who is this sovereign. Is it vested in one or many bodies? As in Powell V Apollo Candle Co the court noted that the Legislature can delegate its power to Legislate. Austin’s straightforward assertion is too simple. Sovereign […]