B.A.LL.B Sociology – III - Unit-I: Social Basis of Law

Oct 22, 2026

Uploaded by Aria

B.A.LL.B Paper Code 216 covers Sociology–III topics focused on the social basis of law and its interaction with society. The material explains the meaning and characteristics of law, definitions of society, and why law must adapt as social conditions change. It also connects legal principles to order, sanctions, social behavior rules, and enforcement by the state. Key subtopics include customary law case studies, courts and lawyers as social engineers, social legislation and justice, social change, and introductory treatment of social problems and control.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages121

Reading Time5 h 5 min

AccessFree to download

Unit-I: Social Basis of Law

Relation between Law and Society

Customary Law and Case Studies

Role of Courts and Lawyers as Social Engineers

Social Legislation and Social Justice

Social Change and Law

Unit II: Social Problems and Social Legislation

Ethnic and Inter–caste Conflicts

Communalism and Fundamentalism

Alcoholism and Drug Addiction

Terrorism

Poverty

Unit III: Social Control

Meaning, Mechanisms, Agents, Functions

Formal vs Informal Social Control

Informal Agencies of Social Control

Formal Agencies of Social Control

Unit IV: Social Deviance

| | | --- | | | | B.A.LL.B
PAPER CODE:216
SOCIOLOGY –III
Unit-I: Social Basis of Law
a. Relation between law and society
b. Customary law-some case studies
c. Role of courts and lawyers as social engineers
d. Social legislation and social justice
e. Social change and law
Unit II: Social Problems and Social Legislation
a. Issues of ethnic and inter – caste conflicts
b. Communalism and fundamentalism
c. Alcoholism and drug addiction
d. Terrorism
e. Poverty
Unit III: Social Control
a. Social Control-its meaning; mechanisms and agents of social control, functions and dysfunctions of social control
b. Distinction between formal and informal social control
c. Informal Agencies of social control-customs, folkways, mores and religion
d. Formal Agencies-public opinion, media, propaganda and law
Unit IV: Social Deviance | | | | --- | | | | a. Meaning and types of deviance
b. Forms of crime-violent crime, property crime, white collar crime, organized crime, sex crimes, environmental crime, cyber crimes
c. Issues of domestic violence and juvenile delinquency
d. Some important theories of deviance-biological, psychological, anomie, sub-culture, learning and social disorganization
UNIT-I
A) RELATION BETWEEN LAW AND SOCIETY:
Law and society are related to each other. Nothing can explain without any of them. Society becomes the jungle without the law. Law also needs to be changed according to the changes the society faces, because without the necessary changes law cannot keep pace with society. Without the control of the law, the society became the jungle or at least barbaric. So, to keep the society peaceful, we need to create a harmonious relationship between law and society.
We can take an example of our country, where everyday we watch so many crimes. But due to lack of evidence the criminal is set free or there are too little penalty, that law breakers did not care about it. Just the example we can see few cases of eve teasing.
What is Law:
Law is the command of the Sovereign. Law must flow from a determinate person or group of persons with the threat of displeasure, if it is not obeyed. As we know, Sovereignty is a only part of the state. So, we can say that Law is used to denote rules of conduct emanated from and enforced by the state.
According to Holland, Law is “a rule of external human action enforced by the sovereign political authority.”
According to Salmon,“Law is the body of principles recognized and applied by the State in the administration of justice”
According to Woodrow Wilson,“Law is that portion of the established habit and thought of mankind which has gained distinct and formal recognition in the shape of uniform rules backed by the authority and power of the government.” | | | | --- | | | | According to Anson,”The objects of Law is Order, and the result of Order is that men are enables to look ahead with some sort of security as to the future. Although human action cannot be reduced to the uniformities of nature, men endeavoured to reproduce by Law something approaching to this uniformity.”
So we can say that law must have three characteristics which are given below: Law has its sovereign authority,
Law is accompanied by sanctions,
The command of law should compel a course of conduct. Being a command the law must flow from a determinate person or group of persons with the threat of displeasure, if it is not obeyed.
WHAT IS SOCIETY?
A community or a group of persons, living in any region, who are united by some common bond, is known as society. A society is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations such as social status, roles and social networks. They also share the same geographical territory and subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Common bond is some kind of uniformity of factors like nature of the people, habit, custom, beliefs, cultu

FAQs

How are law and society related according to the notes?

The notes state that law and society explain each other, and society becomes chaotic without law. Law must also change to keep pace with social changes to maintain peace and harmony.

What is described as the meaning and characteristics of law?

Law is presented as rules of conduct enforced by the state through sovereign authority and backed by sanctions. It is also said to compel a course of conduct through a determinate authority and threat of displeasure.

What distinguishes formal and informal social control?

Informal social control is linked to customs, folkways, mores, and religion, while formal social control includes public opinion, media, propaganda, and law.

Oct 22, 2026

Uploaded by Aria