The law can be understood from a broad spectrum in society showing how it plays different roles in the woven fabric of society that constitutes men. Different analogies have been drawn to help provoke a sense of understanding and involve recognition of how legal principles can be derived from societal norms and relationships. Such analogies drawn may be illustrated as:
(1) Law is like love and is articulate and controls human emotions.
(2) Law is not a mistress but is like a spouse that stays with you everywhere you go.
(3) Law is like a temple designed so that men and women may live in a palace of peace.
Different philosophers throughout history have each formulated their own definitions of law reflecting their own perspectives.
(1) John Austin
A relatively unknown figure during his tenure as the first professor of Jurisprudence at the University College of London in 1826-1832 after his demise however two of his works later on became the standard texts in English legal learning, defined law as sovereign and as a command cascaded down from the politically superior to the politically inferior and is backed by sanctions.
(2) Sir John Salmond
As a King’s Counsel (KC) during his day and in addition which was also a legal scholar and judge whose legacy in the legal field is one worthy to be noted, defined law by addressing it as legal sovereignty which brings about law as a body of principles which are recognised and fully but not partially applied by a sovereign state in the administration of justice pointing out its pivotal role as a duty bearer requiring it to have these laws maintained.
(3) Hans Kelsen
An Austrian jurist, legal philosopher and principal architect of his country’s constitution-the 1920 Austrian constitution-which is still in use, formulated the Pure theory of law, also known as Kelsen’s theory of Law whereby he defined Law as a system that constituted a social stratum of norms, sanctions, dynamism and the Basic norm which is otherwise known as Grundnorm which forms the basis for all norms giving every one of them their validity.
(4)H.L.A Hart
An influential legal theorist who hailed from Great Britain and whose influence in the legal field was of unparalleled importance in the 20th century, particularly during his debate with Fuller, alias dubbed as the Hart-Fuller debate which encompassed the relationship between Law and Morality during World War (II). Due to his stance on morality, he defined The Law as a system of rules, commands and obligations from the politically superior which is handed down to the politically inferior. This definition is derived from his theory, Hart’s theory of Law.
(5) Roscoe Pound
An American legal scholar who served as a Dean in the faculty of law in a string of prestigious universities in his country including Harvard Law School and his alma mater, the University of Nebraska, basically defined The Law as a tool used in social engineering bringing to table social and societal interests and justice instead of enforcing unreasonable commands which did not serve the interests of the society.
(6) John Grey
Similar to his previous counterpart, Roscoe Pound, John Grey was an influential legal scholar who was of American descent and served as a professor at Harvard Law School. He defined The Law more as having the element of a state or organized body of men composed of rules that courts lay down for the determination of legal duties and rights.
(7) St Thomas Aquinas
As his name suggests, St Thomas Aquinas, was a Roman Catholic church saint of Italian origin who as defined in his biography was the “foremost scholastic thinker,” was indeed one of the most influential philosophers who doubled up as a theologian in the Western tradition in the 12th century. He defined and viewed The Law as an ordinance of reason which is the prescription that is both produced by lawmakers and responded to by subjects through an exercise of the distinctive human capacity of reason. Aquinas worked within the conceptual framework and tenets of Aristotle’s philosophy.
Having caught a glimpse of what The Law is, one may be obliged to question the origin of The Law, posing the inevitable question, Where did The Law originate from?
It is an indubitable fact that indeed The Law has not only devolved but also evolved. It is also an irrefutable fact that how The Law was earlier viewed as a command backed by sanctions handed down from the politically superior to the politically inferior has devolved to what would be termed as precedent, in simpler terms, decisions rendered by judges. To catch a glimpse of where the Law has originated from different theories have been formulated to address the origin and devolution of The Law.
• Law and Christianity. (Natural Law Theory)
Ages ago it was believed that God and the Old Testament created The Law. People believed in the divine power, a deity who was the creator of Heaven and Earth was the source of all power and hence, The Law was perceived as a set of written rules from God. It was believed that if laws were to be considered sacred then they must have had a moral foundation to them. It was considered that if these very foundations of Law were considered weak, then society would easily revise them according to their needs. Laws were considered crooked due to man’s selfish ambitions. Christians often believe that God is the universal law provider and that he is the absolute foundation of all Laws.
This theory eventually led to a wide array of views and believers were questioned by those who alleged the absence of substantial proof of God coming to Earth to formulate The Law the believers so religiously obeyed to the latter. As a result of this, the definition of The Law shifted its emphasis from the supreme commander, God, to lawmakers.
• The Law and Modernity
The Law in modern times has shown its dynamism. The Law is precedents and has devolved from Religious books, Royal proclamations and what it currently is. The Law is currently being heavily influenced by time and location, whereby a crime in one place may be considered a completely ordinary act in another place. A perfect illustration of The Law and Modernity would be Homosexuality, a bone of contention in society but the perfect exemplar for The Law and Modernity. Homosexuality in some places in the world has been deemed as an illegal act whereas in other places the rights of people practising Homosexuality have been upheld to the latter. Still in other places where Homosexuality was an illegal act in the past, it has in the present been decriminalized and upheld and vice versa in some places. In the USA Homosexuality has been legalized and laws have been formulated giving it legality. Precedents such as the Obergefell vs Hodges case set the trend and pace for legalizing Homosexuality. In contrast to the US, Uganda has held its stance on criminalizing Homosexuality by formulating laws that criminalize the act. The Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023 forms the foundation of criminalizing it and goes as far as penalizing offenders with the death sentence and incarceration for up to 20 years. The United Kingdom in the past upheld Homosexuality as a crime under the Sexual Offenses Act. Homosexuality was later legalized in England and Wales in 1967, 1981 and 1982 in Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively. This change came about later from the Wolfenden Report investigation.
Customs, practices and habits become the law, whereby different cultures punish different things hence different rules guide different laws of the society. It is this author’s stance that the main role of The Law in these modern times is to provide Justice for those who need it and that nobody is to be condemned unheard. This author views The Law as a set of rules, principles and customs enforceable by the courts, regulating the state, the relationship between organs of the government and conducting the relationship towards each citizen.