Akanksha Ravi, Student of Law, VIT Law School
Nathan Roscoe Pound was born on October 27th, 1870. He was one of the Founders of the American Sociological Jurisprudence. Roscoe Pound, while serving as the director of the State Botanical Survey, discovered rare lichen which he subsequently named Roscopoundia ((Available at www.britanica.com/Roscoe_Pound, last accessed on 5th Nov, 8:30 pm)). His theory of Sociological Jurisprudence required that inherited legal codes and traditions be adjusted to reflect cotemporary Social Conditions.
PHILOSOPHY
To start off with Roscoe Pound’s philosophy, we can first interpret that he was strongly influenced by William James’s philosophy which was more useful in practice rather than just in theory. Pound dealt with causes, reasons and effects rather than just with details and circumstances.
There were philosophers like Kant and Spencer, who viewed law in such a way that it could be used only to promote oneself, one’s desires and their views. But Pound criticized their views and viewed law in a completely different manner. He thought that law should be used as a medium to satisfy one’s wants. He thus viewed law in a much more realistic manner. To support this view, he agreed to the statement made by William James in his philosophy that said, “All demands are prima facie respectable, and that the best imaginary world would be one in which every demand was gratified as soon as made ((James, p. 205)).”
Further he was determined to rewrite the history that only recognised individual rights to promote one’s own desires. He said that there should be an effort made to promote human wants, human desires and recognise social wants. He mainly stressed on the fact that Sociological Jurisprudence should ensure the fact that execution, interpretation and application of laws should consider the social facts as well.
He said that Common law still bears to impress the individual rights. Therefore in order to achieve the purpose of legal order, there has to be a recognition of certain interests; individual, public and social ((Cf Ihering, p. 424)).
He has brought in the concept of Sociological Jurisprudence and has linked his philosophy with it. He said that, “the aim of social engineering is to build as efficient a structure of society as possible, which requires the satisfaction of the maximum of wants with the minimum friction ad waste ((Pound Interpretations of Legal History, p. 156)).” It is for this purpose that he has defined his classification of interests as the expectations of the humans to satisfy their claims, wants and desires.
He has further elaborately classified his interests:
INDIVIDUAL INTERESTS: They are mainly claims or demands or desires that are viewed from the point of an individual life. It is a subjective concept relating to the title of that individual life and his interests. Further classifying this:
- PERSONALITY: This includes individual opinion relating to honour, privacy, reputation, promotion of one’s own beliefs and opinions.
- DOMESTIC RELATIONS: This mainly includes interests that are personally involved in relation with parents, wife, husband, children etc.
- INTEREST OF SUBSISTANCE: This deals with the material interests. It may be related to property, relation with others, contracts, freedom to form associations etc.
PUBLIC INTERESTS: They are mainly claims or demands or desires that are related to an individual in view of his interests in relation to the political life of the society. Pound has said that, “the claims asserted in title of a politically organised society; as one might say for convenience, the claims of the state, the political organisation of society ((Pound Jurisprudence III, P. 235-236)).” He has further classified these interests as :
- INTERESTS OF THE STATE AS A JURISTIC PERSON: According to this, Pound has said that this category of political interests would include the integrity, freedom of action and honour of the state’s personality, and claims of the politically organised society as a corporation to property.
- INTERESTS OF THE STATE AS A GUARDIAN OF SOCIAL INTERESTS: This category of his interests would merge or in other words would collide with the next set of interests. i.e., Social interests.
SOCIAL INTERESTS: It is one of the most important category of interests. The mainly include claims or demands or desires of a social life that are involved in a civilised society, promoting their own interests. Further classifying these interests:
- SOCIAL INTEREST IN THE GENERAL SECURITY: “ The claim or want or demand, asserted in title of social life in a civilised society and through the social group, to be secure against those forms of action ad courses of conduct which threaten its existence ((Pound Jurisprudence III, p. 291)).” These interests are mainly related to the general safety and health of the individuals, maintenance of peace and order, security etc.
- SOCIAL INTEREST IN GENERAL MORALS: “The claims or want or demand involved in social life in a civilised society to be secured against acts or courses of conduct offensive to the moral sentiments of the general body of individuals therein for the time being ((Pound Jurisprudence, III, P. 303)). This category involves all those elements involved in maintaining the morality in a society. This deals with aspects like prostitution, gambling, racing, homosexuality etc.
- SOCIAL INTEREST IN INDIVIDUAL LIFE:“The claim or want or demand involved in social life in a civilised society that each individual be able to live a human life there in according to the standards of the society ((Pound Jurisprudence, III, P 311)).” This category involves those social interests that are required to promote the individual interests of the humans. They include aspects like various opportunities to the individuals, self -assertion and various other conditions of life.
Having classified these interests, Roscoe Pound, did not want a process of strict evaluation of these interests. Instead he was of the view that different interests will have an importance at different periods of time, and so they should be given preferential treatment accordingly.
HIS VIEW ON JUSTICE
Roscoe Pound has said that Justice can be administered with or without law. Justice with law means that the administration of Justice would follow a particular set of guidelines or rules and in this case, the individuals are all treated equally and are assured of getting a fair treatment in the eyes of law.
Justice without law means that the administration of Justice is according to the will of an individual, who uses his discretionary power in the decision-making. He does not have to follow any strict rules or guidelines of law for the administration of Justice. He also stated that the first form of Justice is of a Judicial character and the second form of Justice is of an Administrative character.
He further gave his view about a legal system and said that it should include both these elements in the administration of justice. He also points out that the problem with the legal system in the future, would be maintaining a proper balance between the above two elements of Justice which is very much required.