INTRODUCTIONThe common view of a layman, that law has no influence on their lives and that it moves at a slow pace, is quite the contrary to a lawman's view, who argues that law is dynamic and changing in order to facilitate the needs of the society towards its progression. And as always the lawman stands corrected. The discussions in editorials and news channel debates about contemporary issues like Farm Bills, Nirbhaya Act, Rights of LGBTQ+ community which have changed our legal juxtaposition, bear witness to their argument. This brings us back to the age old question, why should we study the relation between Law and Society? The answer lies in the symbiotic relationship of Law and Society, whereby one cannot exist without the other. This blog aims at establishing that relationship between the two and help the reader understand that Law is the benchmark of a society's civilization.
THEORETICAL INTERDEPENDENCE OF LAW AND SOCIETY
The term 'Law' has many definitions and the development of the legal system has been theorised by many Jurists, which has branched into various schools of thought such as Philosophical, Analytical, Historical, Comparative and Sociological. According to Roscoe Pound, “Law is an authoritative cannon of value laid down by the force of politically organized society” and according to Legal Anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski defines, "Law is a body of binding obligations…..kept in force by the specific mechanisms of reciprocity and publicity inherent in the structure of society." The inclusion of the word "society" in these two undisputed definitions clearly suggest that Law is the governing body of a society, made by the society and by society, the author means, the people or organisation of people. This subsequently proves that the lawmakers and law abiders are people, whereby establishing, law of the land affects every person in the society. As always, we've arrived at the next question, what is the law of land and its relevance?
CONSTITUTION : THE SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND
The Constitution is the basic principles and laws of a nation or social group that determines the powers and duties of government and guarantees certain rights to its people. This Law governs us and declares who governs us and thereby called the Supreme Law of the land. As rigid as its definition may sound, the Constitution is not so. It is flexible enough to accommodate the changing demands of society, for it is the law governing the society. The 105 Amendments in our Constitution can testify on this behalf, all of which were made to ease our lives and enhance our rights. So, does that mean the Constitution can change according to the whims and fancies of a particular group? Well, we don't want Anarchy, do we?
The answer lies in two doctrines evolved by our Judiciary i.e. Basic Structure Doctrine and Constitutional Morality Doctrine. The former states that the Constitution cannot be amended inconsistent with the Basic Structure of our Constitution which includes secularism, fundamental rights, parliamentary democracy, etc. The latter states that while interpreting the Constitution, courts must adhere to noble principles enshrined in a Constitution. Three out of five Supreme Court Judges in Navtej Singh Johar & others v. Union of India & others, where the Supreme Court struck down Section 377 of Indian Penal Code to protect the rights of LGBTQ+ Community, held that constitutional morality has an overriding effect on public morality and that the goal of the Court is to transform society or to convert public morality into constitutional morality. This shows that the relationship between society and law is a double edged sword and the question of what controls who and who controls what, is a question the readers can answer by now. Yes, it's a sheer balance between the both and no overpowering each other.
The Part III of our Constitution guarantees six fundamental rights i.e. Right to Equality, Against Exploitation, Freedoms, Freedom of Religion, Cultural and Educational Rights, Constitutional Remedies including Life and Liberty. The Part IV-A of our Constitution enumerates the Fundamental Duties of the citizens. This again substantiates the point that the Law works for the society by enforcing the fundamental rights but we also work for the law by practicing the fundamental duties, an harmonious relationship. The Parliament, constituted by the elected representatives of the society according to Constitutional law, is tasked with serving the society and protecting their rights, by legislating supplementary laws. The Executive wing appointed by the Parliament enforces these supplementary laws. The Judiciary ensures that the rights are not violated and ensures its safe enforcement. This again establishes the stance that law is the tool of the society and society is the tool of the law. How big of a tool is law for society? We'll move to that discussion now.
PEOPLE AND LAW
The practicality of law and how much it influences the people has been highlighted previously. But the usage of law by people especially individuals is a less noted yet a prominent area of discussion. This can be elucidated under two heads i.e. Individual Justice and Collective Justice. The Courts of Law are the primary means of justice for an individual and the society, collectively. An individual whose fundamental or constitutional or statutory right is violated, he has the locus standi to claim his compensation or other means of justification. Civil Suits, Petitions in Tribunals, Civil Writs, Arbitration, Lok Adalats and other dispute resolution methods can be employed by the individual to enforce his right and protect himself from any violation. Similarly, Writ petitions disguised as Public Interest Litigations filed before the High Courts and Supreme Court, are the means of justice for a group of people, thereby ensuring collective justice. Throughout history, we have seen numerous prominent cases and judgments which have expanded the scope of Art 21 and Indian Constitution, struck down various laws and provisions and questioned various authorities, all of which shows how good of a tool is law for the society.
CONCLUSION
As stated in every foregoing paragraph, the author again stresses that the Law and Society are interrelated. The above discussion cited certain examples of the recent Laws and Amendments such as the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013 also known as Nirbhaya Act; the decriminalization of Section 377 of Indian Penal Code whereby consensual adult homosexual relationships and decriminalization of Section 497 whereby adultery are no more an offence; the repeal of Farm Bills; the recognition of Third Gender Rights, The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 or the inclusion of Right to Privacy within Right to Life and Personal Liberty, guaranteed by Article 21 of Constitution of India. All of these are a directly proportional result of changing societal norms and values. Law is the end to conflicts and means to curb offences but at the same time the means to enhance or protect the rights of individuals and society. But it has been the society who makes these laws through various mechanisms. This all culminates at being the evidence of the influence that law and society have on each other, throughout their growth and development. The entire blog post focused on the primary question, what is the relationship between law and society? In pursuit of finding its answer, we stumbled upon many more questions, all of which aided in the final conclusion that Law and Society needs to go hand in hand for the mutual benefit of each other and thereby justifying the title of the blog "The Symbiotic Relation of Law and Society."
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