Law society

First step:

Define terms

Law:

Sir John Salmond - law may be defined as a body of principles recognised and applied by the State in the administration of Justice

Society:

Sociologists define society as a group of people with common territory, interaction and culture.

People of the same society will share some aspects of their culture, such as language or beliefs

Pluralism:

In this context, we can define pluralism as a form of society where members of minority groups maintain independent cultural traditions. Pluralist societies require tolerance to function.

Introduction to essay:

• there is a two-movement between law and society - law has a role in shaping social norms (deterrence) and society has the ability to influence the law (The Marriage Act 2013 - followed protests)

Intro p2

• the law can influence and change society’s views on moral issues, such as the Sexual Offences Act 1967 (legalisation of homosexuality) and the Abortion Act 1967 (legalisation of abortion)

Intro p3:

• However, according to Durkheim, we live in a pluralist society where people are from different cultures and have different beliefs, meaning that it is increasingly difficult for the law to influence and change society’s morals since there is no shared moral view

What is paragraph 2 about?

The role of the media

Media 1:

• the media can influence both the law and society, leading to changes in the law, such as the Snowdrop Campaign that followed the Dublane Massacre 1996, which ended the private ownership of guns

Media 2:

• however, critics would say that the law can have a knee-jerk reaction to ‘moral panics’ in society fuelled by the media - an example of this is the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 that skipped the green paper and was portly drafted due to media pressures

Media 3:

• Also, the media can be used by the G. as a tool to influence society’s views, for example right-wing newspapers continually highlight anti-immigration stories - this led to the drafting of the Rwanda bill

What is P3 about?

The law as a social control mechanism

Social control 1:

• the law can influence society through its role as a social control, as identified by Rosco Pound in his book ‘Social control through law’. Social control is essential or else there would be chaos and destruction. The law influences informal social controls such as the family and religious groups which results in the creation of social norms in society - such as the neighbourhood watch

Social control 2:

• however, due to the decline of the influence of these informal groups, the law is now far more influential with regard to formal social controls such as the police, prisons, the judiciary and Parliament. This is evidenced by increasingly overcrowded prisons

• Examples of social control by law can seen through the law on consent - certain types of harm can be consented to but others cannot

What is paragraph 4 on?

Consensus and conflict

Consensus and conflict 1

• the law’s influence on society is seems when it both creates and responds to consensus and conflict within society

• The consensus theory of Durkheim is that social order is produced by people being socialised into shared social norms of values and behaviours through education and family. The law helps to create a consensus through laws being made by P, and enforced by institutions such as the courts and and the police - good behaviour is rewarded and bad behaviour is punished

Consensus 2:

• whilst the consensus theory is supported by the influence of ordinary lay people (magistrates and jury) in the criminal justice system, it ignores the inequality in the legal system, and that the UK is a pluralist society where there are many beliefs and cultures and so there is a lack of consensus

Conflict 1:

• on the other hand, the conflict theory of Karl Marx is that society is in a state of constant conflict. Social order is not maintained due to consensus, but due to the domination and power of institutions such as P, the judiciary and the police over the powerless

Conflict 2

• whilst the conflict theory is supported by the fact that criminal offenders are disproportionately from a working class and ethnic minority background (2023 black people 5x more likely to be S+S), it is perhaps too extreme in a democracy to a large extent citizens are law abiding

Conflict and consensus final:

• the influence on law on society can be seen through the labelling theory which suggests that certain groups are labelled as criminal by the law, which produces criminal subcultures who conform to the label as a self-fulfilling prophecy. They feel that if they are judged as a criminal, they may as well act that way, since society won’t change their view

What is P5?

The realist approach to law making

Realist approach 1

• some argue that the law’s influence on society should be considered using the realist approach to law making - this is based on the idea that judges are more important than P, so that law should be understood as it is practised in reality in the courts - is is able to change

• this is supported by the fact that there are dissenting agreements in the appeal courts and judges do indeed develop the law through judicial precedent

Realistic approach P2

• However, critics would argue parliamentary sovereignty and the judges should just apply the law that is given to them

Realistic approach P3

• right realists focus on retribution and deterrence

• Left realists focus on rehabilitation