NIGERIAN LEGAL SYSTEMS

QUESTION: there is no universal acceptable definition of law, never the less, some jurist has attempted to define law on their perception of what law is. Discuss the various school of thought discussed in class, and in the end give your own definition of what law is.
ANSWER: The various schools of thought discussed are;

1. NATURAL SCHOOL OF THOUGHT: it is noted that the natural school of thought is the first school of law. This law is as old as man and society. They believed that God is the head and that his words are law and his laws are divine. See case THE DIRECTOR SSS V OLISA AGBAKOBA
2. POSITIVE SCHOOL OF THOUGHT: in this school they believed that to them law is a command from a sovereign backed by sanction. A sovereign may be a person, such as an absolute king, emperor, or a dictator, or a sovereignty may rest in a group of persons such as, the Armed Forces Ruling Group or in many people such as the people in a constitutional democracy as provided in SECTION 14(2)(a) of the 1999 CONSTITUTION. See case LAKANMI V A.G WESTERN STATE.
3. SOCIALOGICAL SCHOOL OF THOUGHT: in this school of thought DEAN PASCO POUND says that law is made to balance conflicting interest (society engineering) to a particular interest, Also in eminent Austrian jurist EUGEN EHRLICH(1862-1922) says that every society has norms, values, way of life, and acceptable conduct, and that these are the laws or the sources of law of that society, which determine what the members of that society usually do or do not do. They believed that a law is a law when it is meant to gain the needs of the society. See case EBIASSAH V ABABIO.
4. HISTORICAL SCHOOL OF THOUGHT: they believed that laws should be appreciated based on the culture of the people. The school was founded by FREDRICK KARL VON SAVIGNY. They also believed that the law is evolutionary and it evolves over time from the history, customs and ways of life of people, and that laws should be allowed to evolve over time from the way of life of people.
5. REALITY SCHOOL OF THHOUGHT: the school believed that the pronouncement of a judge is what makes a law. They believed that a law is not yet a law, only if it is declared by a judge in the court. They believed that a judge always has a choice between alternatives meanings of the words or provision of a law, and he may choose to follow a judicial precedent, or distinguish it and reach the decision he wishes. See case R V HOLLAND.
6. UTILITY SCHOOL OF THOUGHT: they believed that laws are made to secure, or ensure the happiness of the greatest possible members of people, that the aim of law is to maximize human happiness, by securing the “the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people”. See case COLE V COLE

In other words I observed and say that; law can be seen as the system of rules and regulations which a particular country or community recognizes as regulating action of its members and which it may enforce by the imposition of penalties.