Law as the art of doing justice

Whoever wished to concern himself seriously with the law must first of all whence comes its name. Law (ius) is derived from justice (iustitia) - Justinians Corpus Juris Civilis Law is the art of the good and the fair (bonum et aequum) - Celsus

 and what is justice?

To say that a social order is just means that it regulates the behavior of men in a way satisfactory to all, that is to say, so that all men find their happiness in it. The longing for justice is the eternal longing of men for happiness ,the happiness that man cannot find alone and hence seeks in society. Justice is social happiness Justice is an irrational ideal. The usual assertion that there is indeed such a thing as justice, but that it cannot be clearly defined, is in itself a contradiction - Hans Kelsan

The three basic points of Austin's theory of law are that : What is law?

the law is command issued by the uncommanded commanderthe sovereign; such commands are backed by threats; and a sovereign is one who is habitually obeyed

Who is the sovereign? Will anybody who is habitually obeyed be called the sovereign? In a democratic society how the sovereign is to be determined? Is it always a command backed by threats?

Marxian conception of law

Those who own the capital have all the power. So they make all the laws which enable them to retain their power and capital, and to deprive the lower classes of the same. Thus, these laws are used by the capitalist bourgeoisie to socially, economically and politically oppress the have nots, i.e., the proletariats. Law is imposed from the top, upon the society as a superstructure, i.e., as a top-down model. However, ideally, law must emanate from the, from the grass-root level from the masses from the deprived lot. This does not happen. Thus, law is used as a tool of oppression. The machinery of the state is run by the capitalist classes. They use the state as an imposing superstructure, to keep the have nots down. And as an instrument, they use the law.

Marx Conception of Law

The people, especially in France, in the late 18th Century got frustrated with the oppressive laws which were constantly being framed by the rulers of the Bourbon dynasty, under the direct influence of the rich bourgeoisie classes. These laws were framed to the advantage of the men in power the ruling classes, the nobles and the aristocrats together called the bourgeoisie, and to the extreme disadvantage of the proletariats i.e. the poor people. So they rose up in revolt. French Revolution 1789

Roscoe Pound also says that law is an instrument of social engineering. As an architect law builds and rebuilds the society. Law is the product of society. It is true, society is not static. It is dynamic. So, law is changing with the needs of changing society.

Functions of law

Maintenance of law and order creates institutions, processes and authorities Right to the people Facilitates social interaction Acts for the Common good