LS300 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Legal Tests, Adversarial System
3 Apr 2016
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January 5th 2016: introduction to the sociology of law. The sociology of law is concerned with the relationship between law and society. It is shaped by social relations, and social relations are shaped by law. It calls into question the claims of neutrality and objectivity in law. The sociology of law deconstruct the official version of law. What the legal world would have us believe about itself - is that it is an impartial, neutral and objective system for resolving social conflict. (naffine quoted in comack, p. 11). This sets up an adversarial system in which the focus is to be on legal tests and rules, rather than the values of decision-makers. The rule of law claims that: everyone is subject to the law, including the state, and that the law is applied equally to everyone.
