University of Petroleum and Energy Studies 

School of Law 
 

ASSIGNMENT 
SEMESTER - 4 

JURISPRUDENCE

Topic: Differencebetween historical and sociological

school of jurisprudence
Name: HRITHIK SHARMA

SAP ID: 500070320

Roll No. 24

Course : Corporate law batch 1

SOCIOLOGICAL SCHOOL OF JURISPRUDENCE

 In early age, rules and laws are originated from the only custom to govern the society which
had only a social sanction. Later, the supremacy of King and priest came. When, after the
revolution and changes, the balance between the individual interest and welfare of society was
realised. The central subject matter of sociology is Society. Sociology is the examination of
society, human behaviour , and social changes. And jurisprudence is the knowledge of the law
and legal aspect of things. The Sociological school of Jurisprudence advocates that the Law and
society are linked to each other. This school argues that the law is a social aspect because it has a
major impact on society.

Sociological School of Jurisprudence focuses on balancing the welfare of state and

individual. In the words of Ehrlich, “At the present as well as at any there time, the centre of
gravity of legal development lies not in legislation, nor in the juristic decision, but in society
itself.” Sociological Jurists lay emphasis upon social purposes and social goals and expectations
which are the law sub serves rather upon sanctions and coercive character of law. In the words of
Ehrlich, “At the present as well as at any there time, the centre of gravity of legal development
lies not in legislation, nor in the juristic decision, but in society itself. ”

The sociological school’s idea of law is a continuation of this persistent process of enquiry
into the origin of law as begun by the Historical School.

In the beginning, society was governed by custom which had a social sanction, then came the
supremacy of Priestly class and after that, the secular or welfare state emerged so, due to various
changes, the necessity of balancing the welfare of individual and society was realised. Then came
the view that the importance of society should be considered in the light of individuals and vice-
versa. And these approaches are called a sociological approach. The main concern of sociologist
jurists is to study the effect of law and society on each other and they treat law as an instrument of
social progress and linked with other social sciences. Hence, sociological jurisprudence is
concerned with the functional aspect of law in society.

Main features of Sociological School of Jurisprudence

1. Sociological School of Law is emphasis more on the functional aspect of law rather
than its abstract content.
2. They consider law as a social institution essentially interlinked with other scientists
and the direct impact of the law on society with its formation according to social
needs.
3. Sociological School of Law completely neglects positivism i.e. the command of
sovereign and also historical jurisprudence.
4. Sociological jurists describe the perception of the law in different ways like the
functional aspect of law or defining the law in terms of courts rulings and decisions
with a realistic approach of law.

HISTORICAL SCHOOL OF JURISPRUDENCE

According to this theory – the historical school of law, the law is the result of past forces and
past influencers. Moreover, the law is built and grown on the general consciousness of
people. The consciousness, however, starts from the very beginning of the society. Historical
School of Jurisprudence is one of the schools of law after Natural Law. This law further
believes that law, in general, is an outcome of years of historical development. This studies
not only the concept but also the origin of law. Moreover, this law has a very complex
concept. Its understanding depends and varies with every individual. In other words,
everyone has a different understanding of the law.

Some of the factors that affect long historical development are as follows:

 Society and social customs.

 Many religious and convention principles.

 Also, the economic needs of society play a crucial role.

 Last but not the lease, the needs, and desires of the citizens.

Montesquieu is regarded as the first jurist to follow the “Historical Method”. He studied the
laws of various societies and came to the conclusion that “laws are the creation of climate,
local situations, accident or imposture”. He did not go further to explain his observation.
However, this particular idea of law answering the needs of time and place has been the basis
of many notable ideas and theories

Historical school of jurisprudence deals with the origin and development of the general
principles of law as well as certain important legal principles which have been imbibed into
legal philosophy. It primarily emerged as a reaction against the natural law school. In fact,
Prof. Dias opines that its reaction against the natural law theories can be said to be the basis
of several important principles of historical jurisprudence.
DIFFRENCES/CONCLUSION

The historical school of law believes that societies should base their legal decisions today on the
examples of the past. Precedent would be more important than moral arguments.
The sociological school flourished in the 1920s and 1930s as a reaction to the historical school.
sociologists pointed out that because life and society are constantly changing, certain laws and
doctrines have to be altered or modernized in order to remain current. The social context of law
was more important to sociologists than the formal application of precedent to current or future
legal disputes. Rather than suppose that judges inevitably acted objectively in applying an existing
rule to a set of facts, sociologists observed that judges had their own beliefs, operated in a social
context, and would givse legal decisions based on their beliefs and their own social context