Bentham's View on Law: Essential Elements and Eight Aspects Explained

 
BENTHAM’S VIEW ON LAW
 
Presented by:
Rinkey Sharma
Assistant Professor of Law
IILS
 
DEFINITION OF LAW
 
A law may be defined as an assemblage of signs,
declarative of a volition, conceived or adopted by
the Sovereign in a State, concerning the conduct
to be observed in a certain case by a certain
person or class of person who is in the case in
question are or are supposed to be subject to his
power.
The definition of law given by Bentham was a
imperative one which means it was authoritative
and commanding.
 
BENTHAM’S EIGHT ASPECT
 
Bentham further said that law must be considered in
the light of eight different aspects. These are:
1.
Source of law: source of Law = will of Sovereign.
Will of Sovereign
Personal will
Adoption of
laws  based by
former
sovereign  or
subordinate
authorities
Adoption of
laws to be made
in future by
subordinate
authorities
 
2. 
subjects:
 it may be persons or things.
3. 
objects:
 the object of law is to regulate the conduct of the
individual either by imposing duties or by granting
permission depending on facts and circumstances.
4. 
Extent:
 law covers a portion of land on which acts have
been done.
5. 
Aspect:
 according to him, every law has four aspects:
i.
command.
ii.
Prohibition.
iii.
Permission.
iv.
Obligation.
Amongst these four aspects, command is only one of the
four aspects of law and it is one of the four forms through
which the sovereign expresses its VOLITION (will).
 
6. 
Force.
7. Remedial State Appendages:
 referred to any
subsidiary law which are created to clarify the
requirements of principal law which is
providing sanction.
8. 
Expression:
 where expression of law is
complete or clear or unambiguous, the judge
must adopt literal rule of interpretation. It only
where the expression of law is incomplete that
the judge may resort to liberal interpretation.
 
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF LAW
 
According to Bentham, following are the essential elements of law:
1.
SOVEREIGN
He defined sovereign in the following words:
 
Sovereign is any person or assemblage of persons to whose will a
whole political community are (no matter on what account)
supposed to be in a disposition to pay obedience and that in
preference to the will of any other person.
Characteristics of Bentham’s sovereign
i.
Sovereign may be a single person or a group of person.
ii.
The power of sovereign is limited by express convention or by
religious or political motivation.
iii.
The power of sovereign is divisible.
 
2.
 SANCTION
According to Bentham, people obey the laws for two reasons:
i.
To avoid evil consequences (punishment)
ii.
To fulfill alluring motives/ Reward.
Sanction can be either in the form of punishment or alluring
motives.
Sanction is something which gives binding force to any law.
He divided sanction into four categories:
i.
Physical sanction:
 pure physical consequences of an action.
Example:
 Hangover may be a sanction or motive controlling the
amount I drink.
ii. Political Sanction:
 it is legal sanction i.e., penalties attached by law
to kinds of action. This additionally urged people not to do them.
Example:
 punishment for drink and drive. Hence, it will give  me a
motive not to drink.
 
iii. 
Moral/Popular sanction:
 it includes things
or actions which are publicly disapproved. It
denotes inconvenience that one can suffer due
to its non – obedience.
Example:
 being drunk and lying down in the
street.
iv. Religious Sanctions:
 it means the penalties
attached to some action by God itself.
Example:
 God prohibiting the act of drinking.
 
3. COMMAND
According to Bentham, the four aspects of laws
are:
i.
Command
ii.
Prohibition
iii.
Permission
iv.
Obligation
Command is only one of the four aspects of
law and it is one of the four forms through
which the Sovereign expresses its
VOLITION.
Slide Note
Embed
Share

Bentham's perspective on law, as presented by Assistant Professor Rinkey Sharma, delves into the definition and essential elements of law according to Bentham. This includes discussing the source of law, its subjects, objects, extent, aspects, force, remedial state appendages, and expression. The essential elements of law as outlined by Bentham, focusing on the concept of the sovereign, are also explored in detail.


Uploaded on Aug 14, 2024 | 0 Views


Download Presentation

Please find below an Image/Link to download the presentation.

The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author. Download presentation by click this link. If you encounter any issues during the download, it is possible that the publisher has removed the file from their server.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. BENTHAMS VIEW ON LAW Presented by: Rinkey Sharma Assistant Professor of Law IILS

  2. DEFINITION OF LAW A law may be defined as an assemblage of signs, declarative of a volition, conceived or adopted by the Sovereign in a State, concerning the conduct to be observed in a certain case by a certain person or class of person who is in the case in question are or are supposed to be subject to his power. The definition of law given by Bentham was a imperative one which means it was authoritative and commanding.

  3. BENTHAMS EIGHT ASPECT Bentham further said that law must be considered in the light of eight different aspects. These are: 1. Source of law: source of Law = will of Sovereign. Will of Sovereign Adoption of laws to be made in future by subordinate authorities Adoption of laws based by former sovereign or subordinate authorities Personal will

  4. 2. subjects: it may be persons or things. 3. objects: the object of law is to regulate the conduct of the individual either by imposing duties or by granting permission depending on facts and circumstances. 4. Extent: law covers a portion of land on which acts have been done. 5. Aspect: according to him, every law has four aspects: i. command. ii. Prohibition. iii. Permission. iv. Obligation. Amongst these four aspects, command is only one of the four aspects of law and it is one of the four forms through which the sovereign expresses its VOLITION (will).

  5. 6. Force. 7. Remedial State Appendages: referred to any subsidiary law which are created to clarify the requirements of principal law which is providing sanction. 8. Expression: where expression of law is complete or clear or unambiguous, the judge must adopt literal rule of interpretation. It only where the expression of law is incomplete that the judge may resort to liberal interpretation.

  6. ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF LAW According to Bentham, following are the essential elements of law: 1. SOVEREIGN He defined sovereign in the following words: Sovereign is any person or assemblage of persons to whose will a whole political community are (no matter on what account) supposed to be in a disposition to pay obedience and that in preference to the will of any other person. Characteristics of Bentham s sovereign i. Sovereign may be a single person or a group of person. ii. The power of sovereign is limited by express convention or by religious or political motivation. iii. The power of sovereign is divisible.

  7. 2. SANCTION According to Bentham, people obey the laws for two reasons: i. To avoid evil consequences (punishment) ii. To fulfill alluring motives/ Reward. Sanction can be either in the form of punishment or alluring motives. Sanction is something which gives binding force to any law. He divided sanction into four categories: i. Physical sanction: pure physical consequences of an action. Example: Hangover may be a sanction or motive controlling the amount I drink. ii. Political Sanction: it is legal sanction i.e., penalties attached by law to kinds of action. This additionally urged people not to do them. Example: punishment for drink and drive. Hence, it will give me a motive not to drink.

  8. iii. Moral/Popular sanction: it includes things or actions which are publicly disapproved. It denotes inconvenience that one can suffer due to its non obedience. Example: being drunk and lying down in the street. iv. Religious Sanctions: it means the penalties attached to some action by God itself. Example: God prohibiting the act of drinking.

  9. 3. COMMAND According to Bentham, the four aspects of laws are: i. Command ii. Prohibition iii. Permission iv. Obligation Command is only one of the four aspects of law and it is one of the four forms through which the Sovereign VOLITION. expresses its

Related


More Related Content

giItT1WQy@!-/#giItT1WQy@!-/#giItT1WQy@!-/#giItT1WQy@!-/#