A law is an obligatory rule of conduct. The term is applied to observed uniformities of action, as in the law of gravitation. But its proper use is in the sphere of jurisprudence.
There are different views as to the nature of law. Hobbes defined law as ” The commands of him or them that have coercive power.” Austin followed with, ” A law is a rule of conduct imposed and enforced by the Sovereign.” Salmond substituted, ” Law is the body of principles recognised and applied by the State in the administration of justice.” On the other hand, Blackstone maintained that a rule of law made on a pre-existing custom exists as positive law apart from the legislator or Judge, and Maine pointed out there is law in primitive societies. Savigny regarded law as itself subject to evolution and as no arbitrary expression of the will of the law giver.
Jhering found the end of law in the ” delimitation of interests,” and Vinogradoff saw law as “A set of rules imposed and enforced by a society with regard to the attribution and exercise of power over personsand things.” De Montmorency analyses law ultimately as the rules which bind men together in society in its struggle against natural environment. ” Adaptation to environment is the condition of survival. Custom was the method by which man adapted himself to environment. To break custom was to face death.” He adds, “Coercion is a weapon of law which law has forged,, but it is not the basis of law.”
The difficulty is solved if it is seen that although the nature of law is a constant, its promulgation and enforcement vary according to the stage of political development reached by a society. Anson disposes for all time of the difficulties of Austin ” When the State has attained to regularity in definition and enforcement of rules of conduct, then we get the positive law with which Austin delighted to torment himself and his readers.<\/p>\n<\/h4>\n
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