Natural School of Law

Table of Contents

NATURAL SCHOOL OF LAW :

The term Natural law means those rules and principles which are supposed to have originated from some supreme sources other than any political or worldly authority.
The term Natural law derived from the belief that human morality comes from Nature.
The phrase Natural law has a flexible meaning that has been interpreted differently at different times depending on the needs of the developing legal thought.
The concept of” Rule of law” in England and India and due process in the USA are essentially based on natural law philosophy.

Ancient Period:

Heraclitus [530-470 B.C.]:
Greek Philosopher
Feature of natural law – destiny, order, reason
According to him, the reason is one of the essential elements.

Socrates [470-399 B.C.]:
A great admirer of truth and moral values.
According to him, virtue is knowledge and whatever is not virtuous is a sin.
According to him, justice may be of two kinds.

( Natural uniformly ( Legal differ from

applicable to all places) place to place)

NOTE – (Socrates )

Two principles of natural justice :
No one can be a judge in his own case
Audi alteram partam (let the other side be heard as well)
Plato [427-347 B.C.]:
- Disciple of Socrates
- According to him, an only intelligent and worthy person should be king.
- Book – Republic [the concept of the ideal state “A man who work for own”]

Aristotle [384-322 B.C.]:
Law is related to nature and human

Creation of god

Human insight

{Reason unaffected by desire enable to articulate his actions.}

Medieval Period :

(12^th to mid-fourteenth Century

The main propagates are Saint Ambrose, St. Augustine, Gregory.
According to the divine law was superior to all other laws.
According to them, all laws are either divine or human.
Divine law based on nature or Human law based on custom.
According to Gierke, the medieval period Christian theology centered around two fundamental principles.
Unity derived from god, involving none faith, one church, and one empire.
The supremacy of both law [ divine, man – made]

NOTE –

St. Thomas Aquinas [1225 -1274] classification of law

Law of god – use of god ( external law )

Natural law – pops law ( reason)

Divine law – Priestly ( scriptures)

Human law – Positive law ( sovereign)

Period of Renaissance :

( Modern classical era )

Renaissance – Rise of humanism – social contract – the emergence of new ideas – knowledge of the different fields.
Social contract
Hugo Grotius [1583-1645]:
- Father of international law.
- Work – laws of war and peace ( 1625)
- According to him natural law based on the nature of man and his urge to live in a peaceful society.
- He considered

Divine law – grandmother
Natural law – parent
Positive law – child

He treated natural law as immutable which cannot be changed by God himself.

Thomas Hobbes [1588-1679]:
Propounded theory of social contract related to the evolution of the state.
He firmly believed in absolute sovereignty which depends on sanction.
Work – leviathan (1651)
John Locke [1632- 1704]:

Reject the theory of Hobbes of the social contract According to him man comes under social contract to secure their natural rights and the state and law have a duty to secure them.

Locke pleaded foe the individual liberty.

Some essentials of the doctrine of LAISSEZ FAIRE in the 19^th century were found in Locke’s theory.

LAISSEZ FAIRE – Free market [ individual liberty]

[ minimum interference of govt.]

NOTE –

Social Contract: An agreement by which members of the society transfer their rights to a person then such agreement as known as a social contract.
Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712- 1778):
- According to him, a social contract is a hypothetical concept.
- Reject the theory of Hobbes and Locke of a social contract.
- He termed social contract as “ General Will”.

NOTE – Bentham called Natural law theory as simple non – sense due to ambiguous and misleading.

4.The decline of Natural law theory due to 19th-century positivism :

Decline the principles of LAISSEZ FAIRE due to this the power and authority of the sovereign were weakened.
19^th century was the period of Analytical school which separates morality from law.
The main exponent of this school are :

Stammler
John Rawls
Geny
Fuller

1.Rudolf stammler[1856-1938]:

According to his law of nature means “ Just Law” which harmonizes the purpose in the society.
According to him, the purpose of the law is not to protect the will of one but to unite the purposes of all.