Question: Introduction to Law and Legal Processes (ILLP)
“The law is what the judge says it is” Discuss.
Answer: The nature of law and the way in which it is constructed, or perhaps revealed, is highly contested. Legal theorists seek to explore the normative and pragmatic sources of the law. This exploration involves the debate as to whether judges acts as a passive umpires or as active law makers. Orthodox schools of thought emphasize the supremacy of Parliament, as the only law making body, and assert the importance of the independence of the judiciary, in the common law system. Legal realists on the other hand, argue against this idealized perspective and question the extent to which the judge has a significant bearing over the creation of the law (Kairys 1998: 4). The legal realist Oliver Wendell Holmes believed that the law emanates from the judge as he stated that “the law is what the judge ......(short extract)
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Details: - Mark: 71% | Course: English Legal System | Year: 1st | Words: 2457 | References: Yes | Date written: November, 2012 | Date submitted: April 17, 2014 | Coursework ID: 859
