KSLU Solved Question Papers
Legal Methods
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 1
2023 Mar Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 1 Legal Methods 2023 Mar Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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Model answers written and edited by the munotes.in editorial desk.
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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2023 Mar examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2023 Mar examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2023 Mar examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 80 · 20 questions answered
Instructions printed on the paper
- N.B. (1) Answer all five Units. (2) One essay type question and short note is compulsory from each Unit. (3) Figures to the right indicate marks. (4) Answers should be written either in Kannada or English completely.
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1
Unit I
(a)What is law ? Analyse different definitions of law.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: why "law" is hard to define; the senses of the word; each major definition with an analysis of its strength and weakness (natural law and Blackstone, Austin, Holland, Salmond, Holmes, Pound); the Indian constitutional definition; the common elements; a case where the definition decided the result; a table; a conclusion.
Why "law" is hard to define
The word "law" is used for many things: the law of gravity, moral law, the rules of a club, and the law of the land. Even within the legal sense, jurists disagree, because each school looks at law from a different angle. Some ask where law comes from, some what makes it binding, and some what it does. Analysing their definitions shows what law is and what each school leaves out.
The senses of the word
Blackstone noted that in its widest sense law "signifies a rule of action", applied to everything from motion to morals. A law of nature describes what happens and cannot be broken. A legal rule says what people ought to do and can be broken. The definitions below concern law in the legal sense, the law of a State, which Blackstone called municipal law.
1. The natural law definition: Blackstone
Blackstone defined municipal law as "a rule of civil conduct prescribed by the supreme power in a state, commanding what is right and prohibiting what is wrong". He also held that the law of nature is superior to human law: "no human laws are of any validity, if contrary to this."
Analysis. The definition ties law to right and wrong, which explains why unjust laws provoke resistance. But "right" and "wrong" are disputed, and a judge who refuses to apply a statute because he thinks it unjust puts his view above the legislature's.
2. The command definition: Austin
Austin wrote: "Every law or rule ... is a command." Law is a command of the sovereign, backed by a sanction. The sovereign is the person or body habitually obeyed by the bulk of society, who is not in the habit of obeying anyone else.
Analysis. Austin gives clarity: law is what the sovereign commands, whatever its moral merit. But his definition fits poorly a constitutional State like India, where Parliament is itself limited by the Constitution. It also cannot explain custom, which no one commanded, or rules that confer powers, such as those for making a will.
3. Holland's definition
Holland defined law as "a general rule of external human action enforced by a sovereign political authority".
Analysis. The word "external" is valuable: law governs acts, not thoughts. "General" shows that law applies to classes, not individuals. But Holland shares Austin's focus on the sovereign.
4. Salmond's definition
Salmond defined law as "the body of principles recognised and applied by the state in the administration of justice", or more shortly, "the rules recognised and acted on in courts of justice".
Analysis. This explains why custom and precedent are law: courts apply them. But a statute is law from the day it comes into force, before any court applies it.
5. The realist definition: Holmes
Holmes wrote: "The prophecies of what the courts will do in fact, and nothing more pretentious, are what I mean by the law."
Analysis. This is the view of a lawyer advising a client, and it reminds us that law in action may differ from law in books. But a judge does not predict his own decision; he asks what the law requires.
6. The sociological definition: Pound
Roscoe Pound saw law as a means of social control, "a continually more efficacious social engineering".
Analysis. Pound explains what law is for. But he describes law's purpose rather than its nature, and many institutions besides law serve social ends.
The Indian definition
Article 13(3)(a) of the Constitution says "law" includes "any Ordinance, order, bye-law, rule, regulation, notification, custom or usage having in the territory of India the force of law". This working definition is wide: it covers delegated legislation and custom, not just Acts.
A case where the definition mattered
A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras, 1950 AIR 27. Gopalan was detained without trial under the Preventive Detention Act 1950. He argued that "procedure established by law" in Article 21 meant a fair procedure, like American due process. The majority held that "law" means "State-made law", not natural justice in the abstract. The detention stood. In Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, (1978) 1 SCC 248, the Court later required the procedure to be "right and just and fair". The choice between a positivist and a justice-based definition decided whether a man stayed in prison.
| Definition | Law is | Strength | Weakness |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blackstone | A rule commanding right, subject to natural law | Links law to justice | Justice is disputed |
| Austin | A sovereign's command with a sanction | Clarity | Does not fit a limited legislature |
| Holland | A general rule of external action enforced by sovereign authority | Stresses external acts | Same narrow focus |
| Salmond | Principles applied by courts | Explains custom and precedent | Statute is law before courts apply it |
| Holmes | A prediction of what courts will do | Law in action | Ignores the judge's duty |
| Pound | Social engineering | Law's purpose | Not a definition of its nature |
What the definitions share
Most definitions agree that law is a set of general rules of conduct. They agree that the State makes or recognises these rules and enforces them through its courts. They differ about the source of law's authority.
Conclusion. Law is best understood as the body of general rules of conduct made or recognised by the State and enforced by its courts. Its aim is order with justice. Each definition captures part of this. Blackstone stresses its moral aim, Austin its command and Holland its external focus. Salmond stresses its courts, Holmes its practice and Pound its purpose. Gopalan and Maneka Gandhi show that the definition a court adopts can decide real cases.
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