Natural Law School of Jurisprudence

1. BASICS OF NATURAL SCHOOL OF JURISPRUDENCE
BASICS OF NATURAL SCHOOL OF
JURISPRUDENCE
BY
ANJALI DIXIT
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
FACULTY OF JURIDICAL SCIENCES
RAMA UNIVERSITY
KANPUR

2. Natural Law – It’s Meaning & Definition
There is no unanimity about the definition and exact meaning
of natural law and the term “natural law theory” has been
interpreted differently at different times depending on the
needs of the developing legal thought.
• According to COHEN, natural law is not a body of actual
enacted or interpreted law enforced by courts; it is in fact a
way of looking at things and a humanistic approach of
judges and jurists. It embodies within it a host of ideals
such as morality justice, reason, good conduct, freedom,
equality, liberty, ethics and so on.
• COHEN & COHEN : Reading in Jurisprudence and Legal
Philosophy
BASICS OF NATURAL SCHOOL OF JURISPRUDENCE

3. Natural law is a philosophy of law that focuses on
the laws of nature.
This school of thought tells us that law both –
rational and reasonable. Moreover, natural law
proposes that laws are more of a logical
progression from morals. Therefore, actions that
are morally wrong will be against the law. But
also, actions that are morally right can’t truly and
justly be against the law. Natural law exists
regardless of what laws are enacted.
BASICS OF NATURAL SCHOOL OF JURISPRUDENCE

4. History
According to Friedman, the history of natural law school
is a ‘tale of the search of mankind for absolute justice
and failure’.
• Natural law can be broadly divided into four classes:
• Ancient theories
• Medieval theories
• Dark Ages
• Renaissance theories
• Modern theories
BASICS OF NATURAL SCHOOL OF JURISPRUDENCE

5. Ancient Theories
Greece
The Greeks are said to have laid the foundations of the
natural law school. The Greek thinkers developed the
idea of natural law and laid down its essential features.
Heraclitus was the first Greek philosopher who pointed at
the three main characteristic features of law of nature,
namely
• Destiny,
• Order and
• Reason
BASICS OF NATURAL SCHOOL OF JURISPRUDENCE

6. Socrates view on Natural Law (470 399 BC)
According to Socrates, “virtue is knowledge "and
“whatever is not virtuous is sin”. To him,
justice may be of two kinds, namely,
• Natural justice, and
• Legal justice.
BASICS OF NATURAL SCHOOL OF JURISPRUDENCE

7. Aristotle’s view on Natural Law (384-322 B.C.)
Aristotle defined natural law as reason unaffected
by desires”. It embodies the basic principles of
justice and morality which have universal validity
independent of time and place.
Aristotle’s concept of natural law is different from
that of Socrates, he divides the life of man in two
parts, first, he says that man is the creature which
is created by God and second he posses the
quality of reason by which he can develop his
own will.
BASICS OF NATURAL SCHOOL OF JURISPRUDENCE

8. Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato extended that only intelligent and worthy
person should be the king. He argued that justice
lies in ordaining man's life through reason and
wisdom and motivating him to control his passion
and desires. In his republic, Plato emphasized the
need for perfect division of labour and held,
"each man ought to do his work to which he is
called upon by his capacities ".
BASICS OF NATURAL SCHOOL OF JURISPRUDENCE

9. Rome
The Romans did not confine natural law to
theoretical considerations. Instead, they explored
its utility by applying its concepts practically.
Romans used principles of natural law to
transform their rigid legal system into a
cosmopolitan one.
Roman legal system can be said to have three
divisions – Jus Civile, Jus gentium and jus natural.
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10. Jus civil refers to Roman civil law which applied to
roman citizens only.
Jus gentium refers to certain principles of natural
law that were universally accepted and were,
therefore, applicable to foreign citizens as well.
The Roman jurists did not deliberate upon the
conflict between natural law and positive law
and did not decide as to which of them is higher.
BASICS OF NATURAL SCHOOL OF JURISPRUDENCE

11. Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero was a great Roman lawyer,
statesman and orator. His legal philosophy is
contained n his famous work “de legibus".
Stoics view on Natural Law
Stoics was inspired by Aristotle’s theory and based
on Aristotle’s theory developed his own theory of
natural law but made some key changes and
made it more ethical. According to him, the world
is governed by reason.
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12. • Dark Ages
Nature to be overcome
During dark ages the early Christian Fathers
expressed views on the “law of nature” from a
theological base. Important of them is
ST.AUGUSTINE. According to him, the union with
divine is the end of law.
In medieval time, Christian Fathers modified this
approach and gave a respectable place to
“natural law”.
BASICS OF NATURAL SCHOOL OF JURISPRUDENCE

13. Medieval Theories
The period from12th century to mid-fourteenth century is
reckoned as the “medieval age " in the European
history. This period was dominated by the ecclesiastical
doctrines which the Christian Fathers propagated for
establishing the superiority of Church over eh state.
They used natural law theory to propagate Christianity
and to establish a new legal order and political
ideology based on morals and theology. The Christian
saints especially Ambrose, St; Augustine and Gregrory
propagated a view that divine law was superior to all
other laws.
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14. St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Catholic philosophers and theologians moved
away from the orthodox interpretation of
natural law and gave a more logical and
systematic theory of natural law. He is
considered to be the representative of the
natural law theory of his age.
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15. Renaissance Theories
General awakening among the masses coupled with
new discoveries of science during the 14th and
15th centuries shattered the foundation of
established values. This period saw major
changes in all aspects of knowledge, this period
was marked by the emergence of new ideas, new
branches of knowledge and discoveries of science
shattered the foundation of established values.
BASICS OF NATURAL SCHOOL OF JURISPRUDENCE

16. Theories of Social Contract
Social contract theory presupposes a state of
nature, various philosophers have described their
own state of nature. In simple terms state of
nature is the condition before a contract has
been entered into, whatever may be the situation
people entered into a contract either with
themselves or with a single person under where
philosophers are very important to understand
the development of natural law during the
Renaissance period.
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17. • These philosophers are:
• Hugo Grotius
• Thomas Hobbes
• John Locke
• Rousseau
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18. Hugo Grotius
Grotius was of the opinion that the social contract theory is a historical
fact. He argued that by entering into a social contract, the people
are forfeiting their right to punish the rule however bad his
government may be.
• Thomas Hobbes
• Hobbes believed in the existing of natural law. However, his
approach towards its study was completely different from those
who regarded the idea of natural law as higher to that of positive
law. He expounded upon the principles of natural law in the form of
natural rights possessed by each and every individual. He
recognized these rights as ‘inalienable’.
BASICS OF NATURAL SCHOOL OF JURISPRUDENCE

19. John Locke
It was for the purpose of protection of property
that man entered into a social contract. Under
this contract, he did not surrender all his
rights, but only a part of them. All these rights
were surrendered in order to maintain order
and to enforce the law of nature. The natural
rights like the right to liberty, property, and life
were to be retained by man.
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20. • Rousseau’s Contract
According to Rousseau man entered into a contract
in order to preserve the rights of equality and
freedom, they surrendered their rights not to a
single individual but to the community as a whole
which Rousseau calls it as the general will.
Theory of General Will
According to Rousseau, it is the duty of an
individual to obey the general will because in that
way he is obeying his own will.
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