Mumbai University Solved Question Papers
Jurisprudence and Legal Theory
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
BLS LLB 5 Years · Sem 8
Nov 2012 Examination
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BLS LLB 5 Years Sem 8 Jurisprudence and Legal Theory Nov 2012 Question Paper with Solutions
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First published on munotes.in on 24 October 2026.
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Model answers written and edited by the munotes.in editorial desk.
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The University does not publish an official answer key for this paper. The answers in this volume are model answers, written to show how a full-mark answer is built. They are a study aid, not an authority on what an examiner marked.
The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by the University of Mumbai at the Nov 2012 examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as the University of Mumbai set it at the Nov 2012 examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the Nov 2012 examination, reproduced as the University of Mumbai set them, in the order it set them. Nothing has been reworded, added or left out. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 100 · 25 questions answered
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.
Q.1
Q.1: Answer all ten questions
20 Marks - 2 marks each
(a)What is a legal theory?[2]
Answer
A legal theory is a reasoned and general account of what law is. It does not state the rules of one Act or one country. It asks the questions that every legal system raises. Where does law get its authority? Must a law be just to be law? Why do people obey it? What is law for?
The questions a legal theory answers.
- The nature of law. Is law a command, a set of norms, a social fact, or a rule of reason?
- The test of validity. What makes a rule a valid law?
- Law and morality. Is an unjust law still law?
- Law and society. How does law grow, and whose interests does it serve?
The main legal theories. Each school of jurisprudence gives its own.
- Natural law theory: law rests on reason and a higher moral order.
- Positivism: law is what a recognised authority lays down, as in Austin's command theory, Kelsen's pure theory and Hart's union of rules.
- Historical theory: law grows out of the spirit of a people (Savigny).
- Sociological theory: law is a tool for balancing social interests (Pound).
- Realism: law is what the courts actually do (Holmes).
Legal theory and jurisprudence. The two words are often used for the same study. The University's current examination timetable names this very paper "Jurisprudence/Legal Theory".
Why it matters. A legal theory explains the rules a lawyer applies, and gives a standard by which to criticise them.
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