TAMIL NADU NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, TIRUCHIRAPPALLI

Internal Assessment for Academic Year of 2022-23

B. Com LLB (Hons)

Subject: JURISPRUDENCE

“APPLYING ROSCOE POUND’S THEORY OF SOCIAL ENGINEERING TO THE ISSUE OF

DATA PROTECTION”

Course Faculty:

Mr. Nideesh kumar T V

Asst. Professor of Law

Submitted by:

Jayakaran T.R (BC0210017)

 SYNOPSIS
INTRODUCTION:
One of the most well-known American legal thinkers, Roscoe Pound, was a leading member of the
Sociological School of Jurisprudence, which was founded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as
an opposition to positivist theories of law. It argues that the relationship between a man and another
man in society is what law is really about, not a man and Pound, who is still regarded as the founder
of the sociological school, added his own theory of "Social Engineering," which was founded on this
school, to support this idea. In the theory roscoe compared lawyers to engineers because he believed
that law is subject that consist of a body of knowledge and experience where ‘social engineers’ like
lawyers apply law to shape and structure the society.

In fact, Pound argued that since each person prioritises their own interests above all else, the law's
main goal should be to bring harmony and balance to society. In the situation where individuals
interest and those of community interest conflicts, he said law should intervene and mediate during
such clashes because that’s the duty of law. Since there should be given equal importance until and
unless an conflict arises so he identifies three boundaries which are to be protected by the law and
these three theory provide an framework for understanding the balance between individual rights and
needs of society1.

Individual interest, which covers individual interests such as those related to personality, substance,
and domestic relationships, such as marriage, maintaining of a wife and children, among others.
Public interest, it also includes the political interests of a politically organised society, such as the
maintenance of the State and the defence of the same State's natural resources. Social interest, which
include the collective interests of a person or a society as a whole, such as the completion of social
and religious life while ensuring economic stability to uphold a peaceful level of living. In a word,
these interests revolve around the ideas of morality, peace, economic stability, and religious belief
security.

In today's world, the gathering and processing of personal data is commonplace. From marketing and
advertising to healthcare and financial management, data is gathered and used for a variety of
objectives. But as more data is gathered, questions about how it is used and whether it is appropriately
protected are becoming more and more important. Data breaches and unauthorised access to personal
information can have severe consequences for individuals, therefore data protection has become a
crucial problem. Personal information can be used for identity theft, financial fraud, and other
nefarious actions. Examples include credit card numbers, social security numbers, and health records.
Additionally, sensitive information that might be exploited to discriminate against people or groups

1
ROSCOE POUND, JURISPRUDENCE, VOL- III,2000, The Law Book Exchange Ltd.pg25 to 28
includes things like political ideas, sexual orientation, and religious convictions. 2 The privacy and
security of people's personal data are protected by legal frameworks and procedures, such as the
GDPR and CCPA, which set tight guidelines for data collecting, processing, and storage.

Roscoe Pound's idea of social engineering may provide a helpful perspective on data privacy
difficulties in this situation. In line with Pound's theory, which contends that the law should be utilised
as a tool for social engineering, it is critical to strike a balance between individual rights and society
interests. We can better understand the necessity for a balanced strategy that protects individual
privacy while still allows for the collection and use of data for societal advantages by applying this
idea to data protection.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM:

Balancing between the individuals' rights to privacy and the right of the society to use the data of
its members to propel their economic development brings to the forefront lot of challenges. On
one hand providing an individual’s right their data is important but on the other hand an
absolute right of an individual’s right over their data will prevent a country, especially a country
like India with it’s huge human resource potential from reaping economic benefits from the
accumulated data from the society.

Hence, this research will attempt to analyse this issue using the tools of sociological school of law
to arrive at a middle ground in order to benefit both the individual’s right to privacy and a
society’s right to attain economic development.

products and using the individuals data to make decisions in business. Finding our how to
protexct an individuals privacy while how MNC’s

The problem is that the data of an individual would be used as RESEARCH OBJECTIVES:
1.Whether Roscoe pound’s boundaries of interest be effectively balanced to address the issue of data
protection in modern era.
2.Whether legal frameworks can be designed to protect individual interests and social interest in data
privacy, all within the limitation of jurals postulates.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND LIMITATIONS:
This research is doctrinal research based on analysing the primary and secondary sources, this study is
facing some lacuna with regard to manage data privacy and protection and also Rosco pounds theory
about its application to the current scenario, and also in order to effectively manage it.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

2
Singh, Atul. “DATA PROTECTION: INDIA IN THE INFORMATION AGE.” Journal of the Indian Law Institute, vol. 59, no. 1, 2017,
pp. 78–101. JSTOR,
 1. “PRIVACY AND DATA PROTECTION IN INDIA: A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT” Author(s): Shiv
Shankar Singh
Shiv Shankar Singh examines the condition of privacy and data protection in India today in his article,
"Privacy and Data Protection in India: A Critical Assessment." The right to privacy was declared a
basic right by the Supreme Court in 2017; the author then goes over the concept's history and legal
development in India. Singh then examines the benefits and drawbacks of the Personal Data Protection
Bill, 2019, before delving into the country's current legal system for data protection. Aadhaar, India's
distinctive identity card system, and the function of oversight agencies like the Data Protection
Authority are other topics covered by the author.

2. “ROSCOE POUND'S PHILOSOPHY OF LAW”, Author(s): MICHAEL MARTIN

In his book "Roscoe Pound's Philosophy of Law," Michael Martin examines the legal thought of
eminent American jurist and academic Roscoe Pound. Martin delves further into Pound's ideas on
natural law, legal positivism, and the social functions of law. Pound's contributions to legal realism and
his idea of social jurisprudence are also examined by the author. Martin emphasises Pound's view that
the rule of law should serve social goals and contends that Pound's legal philosophy is still relevant and
important in today's legal study. Martin gives a thorough summary of Pound's legal thought and his
lasting influence on the legal profession.

3. “ROSCOE POUND'S THEORY OF INTERESTS AND THE FURTHERANCE OF WESTERN

CIVILIZATION”, Author(s): Edward B. McLean
In his article "Roscoe Pound's Theory of Interests and the Furtherance of Western Civilization,"
Edward B. McLean looks at Pound's idea of interests and how it has helped advance Western
civilization. Pound's idea of interests, which encompasses economic, social, and moral interests and is
crucial in forming legal and political systems, is thoroughly analysed by McLean. The author also
examines Pound's ideas on how law can be utilised to advance societal goals and how law and society
interact. According to McLean, Pound's theory of interests represents his convictions towards the value
of individual rights, social fairness, and the advancement of civilization. His ideas are still relevant in
today's legal discourse.

4. “DATA PROTECTION”, Author(s): Atul Singh

In his article "Data Protection," Atul Singh offers a thorough review of the significance of data protection in
the current digital era. The author talks about the different kinds of data that people produce and share, as
well as the dangers of such data getting into the wrong hands. The General Data Protection Regulation
(GDPR) of the European Union and the Personal Data Protection Bill of India are only two examples of the
legal and regulatory systems that govern data protection in many nations that Singh examines. The author
also looks at how technology, such as encryption and data masking methods, plays a part in data protection.
Overall, Singh emphasises the crucial significance of data protection for safeguarding people's security and
privacy in a world that is becoming more and more data-driven.

Tentative Chapterization:
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: The Three Interests of Roscoe Pound's Theory and their Relevance to Data Privacy.
Depth discussion of the intrests, how can it be applied to data privacy
Chapter 3: Legal and Regulatory Frameworks for Data Protection in relation with roscoe pounds’ theory of
social engineering: A Critical Analysis
Overview of legal framework of data protection
Chapter 4: Conclusion:

Bibliography

1. Singh, Atul. “DATA PROTECTION: INDIA IN THE INFORMATION AGE.” Journal of the Indian
Law Institute, vol. 59, no. 1, 2017, pp. 78–101. JSTOR
2. McLean, Edward B. “ROSCOE POUND’S THEORY OF INTERESTS AND THE FURTHERANCE
OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION.” Il Politico, vol. 41, no. 1, 1976, pp. 5–34. JSTOR
3. Singh, Atul. “DATA PROTECTION: INDIA IN THE INFORMATION AGE.” Journal of the Indian
Law Institute, vol. 59, no. 1, 2017, pp. 78–101. JSTOR,
4. MARTIN, MICHAEL. “Roscoe Pound’s Philosophy of Law.” ARSP: Archiv Für Rechts- Und
Sozialphilosophie / Archives for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy, vol. 51, 1965, pp. 37–55.
JSTOR
5. ROSCOE POUND, JURISPRUDENCE, VOL- III,2000, The Law Book Exchange Ltd