SEMESTER V, YEAR 3

SUBJECT: JURISPRUDENCE

SYNOPSIS

Submitted By- Yash Bhatnagar

Third Year (Semester 5) Student, Section B (BA LL.B)

Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

Enrollment Number: 200101157

Submitted To- Prof. Shakuntala Sangam

(Assistant Professor, Jurisprudence)

Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

TOPIC OF CONTENTION

JOHN AUSTIN’S CONTRIBUTION TO JURISPRUDENCE: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

 Research Methodology and Synopsis

Objectives of the Study

Set in the above perspective, the broad objectives of this study are to answer the various questions that
arise about this whole scenario and its concepts.

The specific set of objectives being:

• Study of John Austin’s theories in jurisprudence
• Critical analysis of Austin’s Positivism.
• Study of the Analytical Positivism as a contrast

Nature & Methodology of the Study

This project work is descriptive analytical in approach and has been done taking the help of secondary data
i.e. websites, articles, journals, books, etc. To construct this project, the help of dictionaries, websites as
well as foreign journals and books on the said case has been taken. The points as discussed in this project
include the study of different sources on the topic as well as the points guided by the faculty. Footnotes
have also been provided for acknowledging the sources as and where needed.

Hypothesis

The working hypothesis is that legal positivism of John Austin has been talked about frequently in the
study of jurisprudence therefore the same has had impacts upon modern day law. The study aims at
uncovering those contributions of Austin by way of his philosophical musings and theories.

Problem of the Study

This project research deals with the contributions of John Austin to the subject of jurisprudence. The project
aims at explaining the same in two folds of critical analysis of Austin’s Theories and the criticism offered
to his theories along with a contract to analytical positivism and revisionist philosophies, and their impacts
on modern jurisprudence.

Rationale of the Study

The rationale behind the research is the argument of what has John Austin contributed to modern
jurisprudence and what has been the impact of it. This project is a study upon the same.

Organization of the Study

The study is organized into 3 sections:

1. The first section deals with analytical positivism and legal positivism’s contrasting theories.

2. The second section deals with Austin’s theory of law.

3. The third section deals with the criticisms.

Scope & Limitations of the Study

The study is set in Austin’s concept and theories of Positivism and the surrounding Criticism and the
subsequent debate around the same. The study does not delve into any other tangential or linked
perspectives or topics and clarifies the theories of Austin by way of conceptualising the comparative
analysis between that and analytical positivism about the topic on which most jurists have been divided in
their opinions.