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distinguished from other traditions of legal research, such sa the "black leter"
tradition. Its methodology is predominantly empirical and social-theoretical rather
than doctrinal. Law si not merely a black letter. Rather, it si an instrument of social
control. tI originates and functions ni a society and for society. The need for a new
law, a change ni existing law and the difficulties that surround sti implementation
cannot be studied ni a better manner without the sociological enquiry.

Law si an important variable ni any social investigation. Researchers cannot

od anything ni sociological rescarch if they do not know ta least the basics of law,
legal system and law institutions. Similarly, a legal researcher cannot do justice ot the
legal inquiry if he does not know about the mechanics of social research methods. nI a
planned development of the society, alw si playing the role of a catalyst ot help ni the
process of social change. nI a dynamic society, a legal research must switch over ot
multi or inter-disciplinary approach as the legal problems are connected with social,
political, economic, psychological issues.

2. What socio-legal research is comprised of?

The socio-legal rescarch si comprised fo the following key elements:

1. oT undertake theoretical and empirical analyses of hte nautre of alw and its
relationship ot society nad hte State ni het context of a rapidly changing
world;
2 . Analyse, boht historical and contemporary, of eht social, economci dna political
factors leading ot the development of the alw and legal process;
3. nA examination of the operation of the alw ni formal contexts; for example, the
courts, ro ni informal contexts, for example, the alw office;
4. Analyse of the process of decision-taking by those responsible for the
administration of the law; and
S. nA analysis ofhet experience fo htose affected yb het process ofalw
?.

.3 Utility of Socio-legal Research

http://www.griffith.odu.au/criminology-law/socio-legal-rescarch-centre
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The socio-legal research has following utility:

1. Socio-legal research can be useful ni formulating new theories;

2. Socio-legal research gives clue ot the decision-making;
.3 Socio-legal research gives a lead and moulds public opinion;
.4 Socio-legal research is useful ni framing new laws;
.5 Socio-legal research si useful in finding root causes of crimes and
differential behavior among different tribes and races;
.6 Socio-legal research provides the knowledge which widens the outlook of
legislators, exccutives and judiciary;
.7 Socio-legal research paves the way for broad based social reforms.

.4 Areas of socio legal research

Law and society are not divisible as water-tight compartments. They are interlinked.
Co-operative inter disciplinary research si required ot deal with the social-legal
probicms sa socio-legal rescarch si al interdisciplinary approach which extends niot
the fields of na social sciences. Upendra Baxi says that the lawyer must know much
of sociology and the sociologists must know much of law. Prof. Baxi proposed the
socio-legal rescarch ni hte following vital areas:
1. Mappnig of Indian legal sysetm and formal and informal elgal
systems;
Studies on the beneficiaries and victims of administration of justice;
2. w
aLnda enop yt
.4 Compensatory, discrimination of a second of people such sa Scheduled
Castes and Schedule Tribes;
.5 Study of legal system ni connection with cultural, social and national
legal systems.

W
e can add some more specific areas of socio-legal research, such ,as Directive
principles of Constitution of India and effect of their implementation; Criminal
tendency ni some tribes and sections ni India; Tax imposition and social change;
International Economic Law and the increase of international trade; White-collar
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crimes and their impact on society; Labour laws and the welfare of the working
classes; Land Reform Acts and the social and economic change; Provision of
contributions ot political parties ni Company Law and its implications; Sex offences
and their effect on social life; Feeble-mindedness and criminality; Relationship
between physical anomalies and crime tendency; Effects of customs fo society on
crime rate; Alcoholism and crime rate; Urbanisation and increase of crime rate:
Contribution of motion pictures and T.V. programmes ot delinquency and crime;
Effects of bribery on efficiency of administration; Preventive detention and public
opinion; Efficiency of police department and crime rate; Condition of under-trial
criminals ni jails; Effects of punishment and need for reforms; Delay ni trials and its
effect on judicial administration; Abolition of death sentence and its desirability:

Law. The list si endless and many more can be added to .ti

5. Different approaches ot socio-legal research

The socio-legal approach may be seen ot occupy space between two extremes of a
methodological spectrum. At one end, a strict doctrinal approach relies predominantly
on self informed analysis of legislation and judicial decisions from the superior
courts. Approaches at the other end, such as critical legal studies and economic
analysis of law, are tuned ot the concerns, theory and informants of external
perspectives. While contextual analysis si increasingly the norm ni legal scholarship,
external informants are essential ot a socio-legal approach. The socio-legal lens
widens ot observe operational and everyday legal situations, and diverse textual
sources, disciplinary and cultural perspectives era considered.'

5.1 Introduction ot the Socio-Legal Field

http://www.bl.uk/reshclp/findhelpsubjcet/busmanlaw/legalstudies/soclegal/sociolegal.html
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H
. L. .A Harts' Concept of Law, offers an accessible analysis of a mature legal order
which si attuned tolaw's social character and its role ni ordering a society. The key
concepts ni Harts' account of alw are social rules, of which legal rules are one kind,
and the acceptance of law by officials. tI examines the notion of a social rule, what ti
means ot accept a rule, and the rule of recognition as the master rule fo a legal order,
the role of officials ni a legal order, and Hart's contrast between officials and citizens.
A
t this point the question arises as ot whether there are other systems fo law besides
state law, and, fi so,why prominence si given ot state law. Thsi leads ot questions
about legal pluralism, by which si meant different legal orders existing side-by-side,
ro overlapping, oreno dominating another.
Understanding alw and legal system asa social formation is the first part of a w
al
and- society approach; the second si the inter-relationship between law and other
aspects of society. One issue is how law as a system fo social rules interacts with
other systems fo social rules, such as those of civil associations, religious bodies,
private institutions, family networks, and os on. What happens when egal rules
conflict with or try ot change other networks of rules? Here the notion of social
spheres si developed and put touse ni explaining the inter-relationship.
Another issue is why we need alw at al. fI society si constituted yb sets of social
rules, all of which help ot maintain social order, achieve social goods, and advance
social values, what extra value does alw add? One answer si that w al has distinct
social functions which cannot be carried out effectively by other rule-based systems.
Another answer, which si sceptical of functional approaches, claims that alw, ni the
sense of state law, being backed by hte institutions and organizations of hte state, can
contribute ot the achievement of social goods. nI developing this analysis, awl needs
ot eb broken down into different kinds of laws, such as criminal, civil, constitutional,
and regulation. The last issue is about the effectiveness fo law. fI state law si
explained (and justified) on the basis that it has certain social advantages over systems
of social rules, then the assumption isthat law is effective ni influencing behaviour.
Here notions of implementation, compliance, and enforcement come niot picture.'

S'ee ofr furhter reference Hart, H

. L..,A
. 1961. The Concept of Law, Calrendon Law Series,dn2
Edoitn Oxford: Oxford U
ytvniser Pers; Weber, M
,. 1968. Economy and Society, Roht, G and
Wittick, ,C
. cds. Berkeley: University fo California Press; Durkhcim, ,E
. 1984. Division fo Labour ni
Socicty. w
N
e :kY
ro Fer Pres; Ecilkson, ,R. 1991. Order Without Law:
woH Neighbors Settle
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52. Political Science Approaches ot Socio-Legal Research:

5.2 1 Legal Mobilization

There exists a complex relationship between aw

l and social movements. Social
movement actors use a wide range of legal tactics - including lobbying,
litigation and administrative advocacy - ni their campaigns for social, political
and economic change. On one hand, movements rely no rights ot frame their
grievances, ot define and reinforce collective identity and ot mobilize activists.
The realm of the alw can provide social reform campaigns with opportunities
ot influence policy, regulation and enforcement practices. On the other hand,
the use fo legal strategies and reliance no lawyers can exert a conservative
pressure on social movements channelling protest and other forms of radical
action into conventional political and legal institutions, These tensions inherent
ni legal mobilization activity have raised anumber of theoretical and empirical
questions: What aer hte conditions under which individual and collective actors
will turn ot the courts ot pursue political ro social goals? What si the best way
for researchers interested ni social movements ot determine social movement
success within the courts, within the policy realm and beyond? What is the
impact of legal mobilization on a social movement's collective identity? The
literature on the mobilization of alw by social movements - yb providing a
"bottom-up" perspective - draws on, complements and provides alternatives to
court-centric studies of social reform."

Disputes. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Pers. And Galligan, .DJ., 2007. Law in
Modem Society, Clarendon Law Series. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
' McCann, M . "Litigation and Legal Mobilization". nI .K E. Whittington, .R D
. Kelemen &.G .A
Caldeira Eds., 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Law and Politics. New York: Oxford University Press,
pp 25 - 540. Andersen, E..A 2005. Out of hte Closets and Inot hte Courts: Legal Opportunity
Structure and Gya Rights Litigation. An Arbor: University ofMichigan Pres. Chapters 1 and 3,
Hilson, C,. 2002. Now social movements: hte role fo legal opportunity. Journal of European Public
Policy, 9(2), .pp 238-255. Epp. .C R
,. 1998. The Rights Revolution: Lawyers, Activists, and Supreme
Cosutr ni Comparative Perspoctive. Chicago: University ofChicago Pers. Holzmeyer, C., 2009.
"Human Rights ni an Ear of Ncoliberal Globalization: eT
h Alient Tort Claims A
tc and Grassroots
Mobilization" ni Doe v. Unocal, Law &Society Reveiw, 43(2). p. 271-304. Rosenberg, .G ,N
. 1991.
The Holow Hope: Can Courts Bring About Social Change? Chicago: University of Chciago.
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5.2.2 Judicial Review and Human Rights

Political science approaches ot the study of the law particularly explores how
political science can be applied ot study of the role ni the courts ni protecting
human rgihst".

5.2.3 The Role of Courts in a Democracy

The judiciary si a high-impact institution. When functioning properly ti

profoundly affects social well-being, facilitating economic development and
shielding the individual from arbitrary State power. nI countries transitioning
from authoritarian rule ot democracy, a judiciary empowered ot vindicate the
constitution si yb consensus regarded as essential ot democratic consolidation.
Given the important role courts are believed ot play, ti is not surprising that
sociologists and political scientists have ni recent decades paid ever more
attention ot judicial affairs. One post World War lI trend, identified,
documented and analysed by a diverse sub-group of these investigators, stands
out for its ubiquity - the worldwide expansion of both domestic and
supranational judicial power, Informed yb a paradigm that blames the
vulnerabilities of parliamentary democracy for World War Il and its horrors,
many have come ot see the judiciary as a check on the alleged evils of
untrammelled democracy. nI one jurisdiction after another, even in the most
conservative and authoritarian civil law traditions courts have been
empowered, or have empowered themselves to 'strike down' with finality
statutes of Parliament and even plebiscites which they interpret ot be
*Stoker, G
. &Masrh, D
. 202. "Introduction" inDadvi Marsh &Gery Sotker (eds.), Theory dna
Methods in Political Science. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 1-16. Morton, F.,L
. 2000. "The
Charter Revolution and hte Court Party", Osgoode Hal Law Jounal. Vol. 30, pp. 627-652. Eckscin,
H
,. 1975. "Case Study and Theory ni Political Science" in F. I. Greenstein & .N W. Polsby eds., The

M
. And Spacth, H
. J., 1995, "Idcological Values and hte Votes of US
. . Supreme Court Justices
Revisited", Journal of Politics. Vol. 75 (3), pp. 812-23.
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unconstitutional. The judicial assumption of power not merely ot nullify

democratically enacted legislation but also to legislate new general norms ni
all areas of life has taken judges far beyond their classical function of
reviewing cases where the rights of persons are ni jeopardy. A range of
theoretical questions and long-standing controversies can be seen ni this, like:
• What ought ot be the role of courts ni a democratic society?
• Ought judges to intervene in policy processes or should they confine
themselves to deciding the guilt or innocence of individual persons?
• sI judicial supremacy incompatible with the democratic ideal of popular
sovereignty?
• fI activism becomes excessive, how and by whom ought ti ot be curtailed?
• Do any alternatives to the judicialization of politics exist that are more
compatible with democracy yet do not compromise hte rule of law?'