legal methods

1. Submitted by Saisha Chitkara Legal Methods
Law as an
Instrument for Social
Change

2. Overview
Major sections of this presentation
Introduction
Literary Review
Statement of Problem
General Method of Analysis
Chapter-2
Chapter-3
Conclusion and Suggestions

3. Introduction
• Law, as defined by Blackstone, is "a rule of conduct established by the
highest authority of the state, commanding what is appropriate and
prohibiting what is improper."
• Change in society, as argued by Roger Cotter, is impossible without a shift
in the underlying social structure, which includes things like interpersonal
relationships, cultural mores, and occupational hierarchies.
• The law not only determines what is tolerable inside a certain community,
but also what the community as a whole ought to do for its own good. A
society's norms are the rules it has established through trial and error in
order to ensure order, productivity, and punishment.

4. • This research paper focuses on the problem of social evils that can be reformed with the help
of Law as a major instrument, this paper looks into what our framers of the constitution
thought initially.
• Factors that initiate social transformation, and interaction of law and social transformation
Statement of Problem

5. • The methodology that would be applied for carrying out this research is a doctrinal
research.
• Descriptive Legal Research, efforts to stick to the facts of the cases cited issues involved
rather very much judgmental about it.
• Analytical Legal Research, with the help of available facts and information, has critically
analysed the whole range of facts and information.
General method of analysis

6. Chapter-2
Reasons Attributed for Social Change
• Benjamin Cordozo, an American judge, said, "The ultimate purpose of law is the well-being of
society." The law should be malleable in accordance with the requirements and needs of society,
rather than being immutable.
• The law cannot be inflexible. In a culture where ideas and ideals are always evolving, the researcher
believes that the law should adapt accordingly.
• The economy, culture, religion, morality, and people's perspectives on the world all undergo change,
as do society and the environment.
• Once again, the law gets entangled in economic life, providing incentives for expansion but also
placing constraints on the sort of development via a plethora of regulations, such as Intellectual
Property Rights.

7. • The professor says that the law is the most effective
way to change society, but that changes in society
often end up being written into law.
• The legislature is in charge of making new laws and
changing old ones.
• The judiciary, on the other hand, is in charge of
figuring out what those laws mean and making sure
they are followed.
• The second part is the judicial system, which is both
a part of the rule of law and a way to interpret it.
Interaction between law and social
transformation
• The law shouldn't be set in stone. Instead, it should
change to meet the needs of a society that is always
changing.
• With this in mind, Dr. Bhima Rao Ambedkar, the
father and main architect of the Indian Constitution,
wrote Article 368, which says, "Any part of the
Constitution may be changed by following the right
process, as long as it doesn't hurt the Constitution's
core structure." This means that if necessary, laws or
even the law of the land can be changed.
Foresight of framers of Indian
constitution

8. Chapter-3
Necessity of changing the law
• "It is the judge who puts life into the dry skeleton given by the
legislator and generates a living creature that is adequate and
sufficient to serve the needs of society." says Justice P N
Bhagawati.
• Since nothing is permanent but change, it is vital to look at
particular changes that have happened in India to highlight the
impact of law on societal development.

9. • The Indian social reformer Raja Ram
Mohan Roy launched his struggle against
these customs in 1812.
• The group could not forbid the practise
since it was seen as integral to its rituals and
customs. On December 4, 1829, the law
went into effect and governed the industry.
Despite efforts, sati persisted in India after
independence.
• The legislature took strong action under the
Commission of Sati Act of 1987,
introducing a distinct law for the treatment
of individuals who enable sati and making it
exemplary punishable up to the death
sentence.
• Presently, the vast majority of India no
longer use this technique.
Abolition of Sati System
• The British government passed a
statute allowing Hindu divorcees
to remarry thanks to Ishwar
Chandra vidyasagar. Therefore,
in 1856, the Hindu Widow
Remarriage Act was passed.
• In order to prevent Hindu
widows from losing their
inheritance because they
remarried, remarriage should be
made lawful. As a result, it
allowed a Hindu widow to
continue living.
Widows Remarriage
• All religious sects in Indian society
condoned the practise of marrying
minors.
• Numerous reformers exerted
tremendous effort without success
until legislation was finally
enacted. During 2006, the Child
Marriage Prohibition Act took the
role of the Hindu Child Marriage
Restraint Act.
• The Act formalised the role of a
child marriage prohibition officer
and gave the family court more
power to rule on cases involving
child marriage.
Prohibition of Child
Marriage

10. Elimination of Child Labour
• To prevent a youngster from enjoying his
youth is a heinous crime. The Factories Act
of 1881 was the first of its type to ban the
employment of children under the age of
seven and to restrict working hours.
• Numerous laws were enacted before the
Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation)
Act of 1986 was passed, which sets the
minimum age for child labour prohibition at
14 years.
Right to free and compulsory
education
• In 2002 the constitution was amended
by inserting Article 21A to implement
the right to free and compulsory
education of every child aged between 6
– 14 years and inserted fundamental
duties of parent and guardian.
• In 2010 The Right of Children to Free and
Compulsory Education Act 2009 was put in
force with effect from 1st April to provide
free and compulsory education from 1 to 8th
standard to every child. Thus it can be seen
that law protects the life of the children.

11. Public Interest Litigation
• The Supreme Court has adopted a
wider interpretation of the locus
standi rule to allow public-spirited
individuals to petition the courts to
intervene in the general or collective
interest, even if they are not
personally harmed. In India's
constitutional law, PIL is a concept
that aims to improve access to
justice.
• Access to Information - Effective
Governance.
Female Infanticide
• The Supreme Court's liberal and
proactive interpretation of the
Constitution's provisions has also
played an important role as an agent
of social change.
• From a sociological perspective, the
Supreme Court of India has been
essential in the development of
modern India by facilitating the
public's access to justice.

12. Conclusion
• Author draws the inference that problems in
society are not isolated events but are instead
interconnected, and that laws might serve as a
reflection of the relationships between people.
• If law is to be an effective tool or device of
social change, it must be implemented in tandem
with the social and cultural life of the Indian
people.
• Transforming the social order to meet the
demands of the present and the wishes of the
people is crucial.
• True justice can only be put into practise when
the law is balanced with the customs and values
of the people.