Practical applications of the Sociology School of Law in modern society.
“The role of law is to control society. Law’s task is to recognize and adjust competing interests with minimum friction and waste. (1940)”
- Roscoe Pound -
One of the highlights of the School of Sociological School of Law is how the law must function to balance the conflicting rights of the people, pointing out that the law of activism in society is the real law. When social rights conflict, successful solutions can be found using ‘The Social Engineering’ presented by Roscoe Pound. Many examples confirm this and some of them are as follows.
Concerning the case of Bulankulama and Six Others v. Ministry of Industrial Development and seven Others, it involved a proposed mineral investment agreement for the exploration and mining of phosphate in Eppawala. The said agreement between the Sri Lankan Government and Freeport McMoRan Inc. of the USA was to cause many adverse effects to the environment and the public.
When the NON-Government Organizations filed the case against regards with this, the court held that there was an imminent infringement of the fundamental rights4 of the petitioners. So the court has protected the public interests against the individual interests by applying minimum friction which is emphasized in the pound’s theory.In the case of the National Legal Authority v. Union of India, the Supreme Court of India questioned the rights of transgender people and ruled that the Supreme Court of India should change Indian society and recognize their rights. Rights were balanced and social transformation took place. The calamity that happened in India due to the Covid-19 second wave is a dire incident and it was not resolved under a well-planned stratagem by the authorities of the state. Thus the Supreme Court of India initiated a Suo Moto cognizance6 by addressing the vital issues of Indian society. Further, this analysis mainly focused on how this relevant judgment is reviewed from the eye view of the Sociological School of Law.
In the case of Shayara Bano v. Union of India, the Supreme Court of India ruled in 2017 that triple talaq divorce was illegal in India, and by recognizing talaq as a criminal offense under the 2019 Muslim Marriage Act, gender equality, women's rights, and the interests of the Muslim community. He balanced the conflicting rights in Indian society by balancing the needs as expressed in the sociological teaching caste.
In conclusion, every sphere of society is intertwined with the rule of law and balances the conflicting rights of a wide range of human beings. The above illustrative commentary on the Sociological School of Law, which is recognized as one of the schools of legal thought, plays a unique role in balancing the conflicting human rights of society, such as the social engineering theory of the Roscoe pound, and serves as the best tool mediator, balancer and harmonizer for the various needs of society.
Dilshika De Costha Dasanayaka
Faculty of Law
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