Doctrinal and Non doctrinal

Research Essay Sample

 Bla Bla Writing
 Empiricism (6)
 Science (170)
 Doctrinal and Non doctrinal Research

Pages: 5 Word count: 1347 Rewriting Possibility: 99% (Excellent)

Meaning of Doctrinal Research: A doctrinal research means a research that has been
carried out on a legal proposition or propositions by way of analysing the existing
statutory provisions and cases by applying the reasoning power. According to S.N. Jain,
doctrinal research involves analysis of case law, arranging, ordering and systematising
legal propositions and study of legal institutions through legal reasoning or rational
deduction. This type of research is also known as pure theoretical research.

It mainly focuses on the nature of law and legal authority; the theories behind particular
substantive areas of law, such as torts or contracts; and the nature of rights, justice and
political authority. Thus, it involves: (a) Systematic analysis of statutory provisions and
of legal principles involves therein, or derived there from, and (b) Logical and rational
ordering of the legal propositions and principles.

The researcher gives emphasis on substantive law rules, doctrines, concepts and
judicial pronouncements. He organizes his study around legal propositions and judicial
pronouncements on the legal propositions of the Courts, and other conventional legal
materials, such as parliamentary debates, revealing the legislative intent, policy and
history of the rule or doctrine. Doctrinal or library based research is the most common
methodology employed by those undertaking research in law. In a nutshell, library-
based research is predicated upon finding the ‘one right answer’ to a particular legal
questions or set of questions. This involves a significant amount of background reading
in order for the researcher to orient themselves with the area of law being studied.
Background reading will often include sources such as dictionaries for definition of
terms, encyclopedias for a summary of legal principles accompanied by footnoted
sources, major textbooks and treatises on the subject and journals. Although primary
sources are adequate by themselves, it may also be useful to have regard to secondary
sources, which consists of relevant books and journal articles. Doctrinal research looks
at the following issues:-

1.The aim of preferred values;

2. The problems posed by the gap between the policy goal and the present state of
achievement; 3. Availability of alternative choice for the implementation of goals; 4. The
predictions and consequences that were made.
Merits of Doctrinal Research:
There are several advantages associated with doctrinal or library based research
methodology. Firstly, it is the traditional method for conducting legal search and is often
taught during early stages of legal training. Secondly, it basically involves analysis of
legal principles, concepts or doctrines, their logical ordering and systematizing of legal
propositions emerging there from, has some practical utility. Thirdly, it provides quick
answers to the problem as the researcher is continuously engaged in the exposition and
analysis of legislation and case-law and the integration of statutory provisions and
judicial pronouncements into a coherent and workable body of doctrine. Fourthly, for all
practical purposes, and for resolving day-to-day client matters, doctrinal research is the
expected and required methodology.

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Furthermore, because of its focus on established sources, doctrinal research is more

manageable and its outcomes are more predictable. Fifthly, a scholar of law indulged in
doctrinal legal research, in a systematic way and with convincing reasoning, exhibits
inbuilt loopholes and gaps or ambiguities in the substantive law and thereby invites the
legislature to plug them through amendments, so that the law can be more purposive
and effective. Meaning of Non-Doctrinal Research:

In the recent past, doctrinal research has received a severe jolt due to change in the
political philosophy of law from the laissez faire to the welfare state envisaging socio-
economic transformation through law and legal institutions, the consequential new
substantive and functional facets of law, and certain compelling pragmatic
considerations arising from this metamorphosis. Non-doctrinal research, also known as
socio-legal research is a legal research that employs methods taken from other
disciplines to generate empirical data to answer research questions. It can be problem,
policy or law reform based. Non-doctrinal approach allows the researcher to perform
inter disciplinary research where he analyses law from the perspective of other sciences
and employs these sciences in the formulation of the law. It is valuable in revealing and
explaining the practices and procedures of legal, regulatory, redress and dispute
resolution systems and the impact of legal phenomena on a range of social institutions,
on business and on citizens.
The methods like observation, interview, questionnaire, survey and case study are used
to discover the human conduct. All inquiries are not suitable to empirical methods. Any
inquiry whose objective is to determine what is good and what is evil cannot be
empirically tested. Research into the value system and moral questions are also not
amenable to empirical methods.

The empirical research is mainly concerned with the legal decision process, i.e.,
researcher’s attention is on variables that influence the decision and the impact of the
decisions on the society. The empirical research may be defined as research into
relationship of law with other behaviroural sciences. Here, more importance is given to
people, social values and social institutions and not to the legal aspects or doctrines.
Objectives of Empirical Research:

In a non-doctrinal legal research, the researcher tries to investigate through empirical

data how law and legal institutions affect or mould human attitudes and what impact on
society they create. He endeavours to look into ‘social face or dimension’ of law and
‘gap’, if any, between ‘legal idealism’ and ‘social reality.’ Thus, non-doctrinal legal
research involves study of social-impact of law or of social-auditing of law. Merits of
Non-Doctrinal Research:

Empirical research enhances lawyers ability to understand the implications and effects
of the law on society. Legal researchers can use social science methodologies
themselves to investigate issues, or they can collaborate with skilled researchers from
other disciplines. It highlights the ‘gaps’ between ‘legislative goals’ and ‘social reality’
and thereby ‘depicts’ a ‘true picture’ of ‘law-in-action’. It particularly highlights the ‘gap’
in relation to (a) the practice of law enforcers, regulators and adjudicators and (b) the
use or under-use of the law by intended beneficiaries of the law i.e. The regulatory
body, existing or created under the law, vested with the power to monitor and enforce
the law, may, due to some prejudices or apathy towards the ‘beneficiaries’ or sympathy
towards their adversaries, be professionally ‘inactive’ in enforcing the Law. Non-
doctrinal legal research, in this context, highlights the ‘reasons’ behind making the law
‘symbolic’, less-effective or ineffective.

It also reveals the extent to which the beneficiaries have been able to ‘use’ the law and
the ‘reasons’ or ‘factors’ that have desisted/are desisting them from using it. Through
empiricism, non-doctrinal legal research highlights the underlying currents or factors
(like unawareness on part of the beneficiaries, unaffordable cost in seeking the legal
redress, or the fear of further victimization if the legal redress is pursued, and the like)
that have been desisting them from seeking the benefits that the law intended to bestow
on them and to seek legal redress against those who prevent them from doing so. It,
thus, exposes the ‘bottlenecks’ in operation of law. The non-doctrinal research carries
significance in the modern welfare state, which envisages socio-economic
transformation through law and thereby perceives law as a means of achieving socio-
economic justice and parity. It also helps us in assessing ‘impact of law’ on the social
values, outlook, and attitude towards the ‘changes’ contemplated by law under inquiry.
Difference between Doctrinal (traditional) and non-doctrinal (empirical) research S.No.
Doctrinal (Traditional ) Research
Empirical (non-doctrinal) Research
1.It is concerned with legal prepositions and doctrines.
It is concerned with people, social values and social institutions.
2.The sources of data are legal and appellate court decisions. The sources of data are
less and mostly new techniques have to be used.
3. It is not concerned with people, but with documents. More importance is given to the
society and people, i.e., it tries to find out the effect of legal decisions upon the society.
4.The scope is narrower since it studies about what the doctrine or the authority says.
Scope is wider.
5.More support and encouragement is given for this type of research. Less
encouragement is given.
6.No use to give training to collect and use the sources. Training is needed to use new
techniques in the research.
7.Field work is not needed and library reference is enough. The field work is more
important part of this research.