Historical Foundations of Law

Historical School of Jurisprudence was never seen as a separate branch of Jurisprudence until a few centuries ago when it was craved out of the tussle between Natural theory and Positivist theory. There came a time in 18th when propounders of Historical School of Jurisprudence laid down a firm emphasis on development of law being a social phenomenon which took place over years. Montesquieu was the first one to come up and his theories of Historical School. Yet, it is Saviginy who came to be known as Father of Historical School. Sir Henry Maine and Puchta also had a role to play in development of this school. These Jurists had given a due importance to Roman Law to generalise the development process and cite examples. These Jurists saw the changing world. They saw the transition from a conservative Monarch society to a Liberal Democracy. They played their part in the revolution by bringing in new form of ideas about Freedom. International Law or “Law among nations” during that time was a debate topic whose essence could be seen in literary sources. This school has played a major role in development of the Western legal system and especially the English legal system. Within the same Historical school, there existed only few points of conformity between legal philosophers. However, the criticism is a tool which leads to possible rectification and development. These jurists used to refer Historical School of Jurisprudence as Historical Foundations of Law.