The Fundamental Precepts of Sociological Jurisprudence: An Introduction

Sociological jurisprudence refers to the study of law in relation to the problems of society. It came about as a result of certain European jurists deliberating upon law alongside other social sciences. This same jurisprudence would be exported to America under the moniker of legal realism, which is a study of the law as a means of its practical impact in society as a whole. This new jurisprudence came into being by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. and was further deliberated upon by the likes of Roscoe Pound and Karl Llewellyn. However, in the latter half of the 20th century, sociological jurisprudence was a study of critique by numerous scholars and jurists and was thus overshadowed as a result of the emergence of newer jurists such as H.L.A Hart, Denning, Ronald Dworkin amongst others. This era also saw the reemergence of the classical debate between positivism and naturalism on a new lens as well. In the current era, it is hard to say whether sociological jurisprudence shall ever make a comeback. However, it is still entirely possible that some new proponent comes along and brings it back to mainstream jurisprudence in new lines. The methodology used in this paper is doctrinal.