Notion of Jurisprudence and Legal System

Abstract

Philosophy is the highest though of mankind. The group of the philosophy together is known as jurisprudence in legal science. Mundhum, Kirati Veda, argues that a man without philosophic knowledge is an inferior animal. They cannot decide right or wrong. However, there are different notion of jurisprudence i.e. natural, positive, historical, sociological, critical etc. Jurisprudence is the sum total of sources of law, theories of law and legal concepts i.e. possession, ownership, obligation, liability, rights and duties, person, property etc. There are various types of jurisprudence i.e. general vs. particular jurisprudence, historical vs. comparative jurisprudence, natural vs. positive jurisprudence, censorial vs. expositorial jurisprudence, state vs. non-state jurisprudence, ethnological jurisprudence vs. psychological jurisprudence, functional jurisprudence vs. critical jurisprudence, domestic jurisprudence vs. international jurisprudence etc. For positive school of thought, there are no differences between legal system and jurisprudence. However, jurisprudence and legal system are not isolated topic; it has broader influences of other social disciplines. Even sources of law vary from society to society. Legal systems are classified as common, civil, socialist, and religious legal system. All these classifications have also philosophic influences of different society. Ultimate purpose of jurisprudence is to run society effectively and efficiently by balancing conflicting interest in society.