NLS

• Law


  A rule of action, as it relates to the legal profession
• Schools of thought on the meaning of law

  • Natural School Historical schoolSocialist School
  • Historical school
  • Socialist School
• Natural law school


  Believes law has a divine or supernatural origin, and human laws must conform to supernatural laws
• Historical school


  Believes law develops from the historical experiences and spirit of the people (volksgeist)
• Positivist school


  Sees laws as commands flowing from the law makers to the people, more concerned with law as it is and not law as it ought to be
• Proponents of positivist school


  • Jean Bodin, Thomas Hobbes, Jeremy Bentham, John Austin
• John Austin's positivism


  Laws are commands from a sovereign to his inferiors, with 3 major components: command, sovereignty, and sanction
• Not everyone obeys laws because of the fear of sanction, some people don't commit murder because they think it is morally wrong. Not every law is a command, e.g. inheritance laws and marriage laws
• Sociological/functional school


  More concerned with studying the effects of laws on societies, law is a means of ordering conflicting interests
• Proponents of sociological/functional school

  • Radolf von Jhering, Roscoe Pound
• Main proponent of realist school

  • Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes
• Judges are to interpret laws and not to make laws
• Law


  Tries to order society, often looks similar to morality but still different
• Some laws have nothing to do with morality, e.g. traffic laws</b>
• Difference between morality and law

  Going against moral obligations only attracts social opprobrium, going against the law attracts sanctions
• Many laws are made in line with what is morally right, e.g. criminalization of rape
• Customs


  Have normative values and command obedience, but are not legally binding unless given the force of law
• Classifications of law


  • Private law and public law
  • Civil law and criminal law
  • Civil law and common law
  • Municipal law and international law
  • Substantive law and procedural law
  • Common law and equity.
• Private law


  Regulates the conduct of persons in their interpersonal dealings, conferring rights and obligations
• Public law


  Concerned with the smooth running of the machinery of the state and caters for situations where the state's interests are threatened
• A case may fall under both private law and public law, e.g. A stealing B's car
• Civil law


  Mainly concerned with private rights and obligations, actions are often initiated by private persons
• Criminal law


  Concerned with crime, actions are usually commenced by the state to punish wrongdoers
• The rule that a person must first be tried completely for the criminal aspect of a case before a civil action could be brought has been abolished
• Civil law system


  Laws are codified and the judiciary practices an inquisitorial system
• Common law system


  Great emphasis on judicial precedents, judges are unbiased umpires
• Municipal law


  Law which operates within a nation, limited by territorial limits
• International law


  Law which regulates the relationships between states
• Substantive law


  Rules of law and legal principles that define the extent of legal rights and obligations
• Adjectival/procedural law


  Rules through which an action may be brought and disposed with
• Customary law


  Indigenous laws of the people, including Islamic law, must be proved and not against public policy
• Non-customary law


  Every law which is not customary law, including English law, local legislation, and case law
• Sources of Nigerian law

  • Local statutes, including the constitution
  • Case law
  • English law (extended and received)
  • Customary law
• Case law


  The interpretation which has been given to laws, rules and principles over the years and can be applied by courts subsequently
• Case law often comprises the interpretation which has been given to laws made by the legislature and which are now followed subsequently
• Case law may also include some principles formulated by the courts, which are often unwritten, except they have become written in law reports
• Precedents


  Earlier decisions of courts which are applied in later cases
• Stare decisis


  The principle that the previous judicial decision should be allowed to stand
• Case law


  • Ensures certainty in law
  • Saves time and effort in interpreting laws every time a new case comes up
• The use of case law, being a feature of the common law legal system, is also in force in the Nigerian legal system