Reasons For Studying Sources of Law

 Reasons For Studying Sources of Law

1. It affords an understanding of the various means by which the law 

governing the society is made or through which it comes into 

existence, e.g. through formal Legislative processes in parliament 

or through judicial precedents

2. It affords the means by which authoritative written materials are 

derived. This constitutes the literary source such as are represented by 

the statute books and the various compilations of the annual laws and 

the statutes in force including textbooks and monographs, with which 

a lawyer should be thoroughly familiar.

3. The study of the sources of law facilitates an understanding of the 

process by which law derives its validity. This refers to formal 

sources of law such as reflected in the constitution of a country and 

the activities of enacting bodies like the National Assembly.

4. A mastery of the sources of law of a given society also enhances an 

understanding of the historical factors that have influenced the 

evolution of the laws to such a direction as it had taken. By delving 

into such historical sources, it may be possible to trace the nature and 

content of the law with a view to arriving at the stuff of which the law 

was made. For instance:

(i) The historical fact that it is difficult, if not really impracticable to 

divest customary law and Islamic law from the culture, religion 

and traditions of the people.

(ii) Similarly, by mere fact of history that Nigeria, for example, 

evolved from a unitary state to a federal state under a colonial 

domination, which spanned over a hundred years.

(iii) The consequence of the great impact of English law on The

Nigeria Legal System.

(iv) The fact of the multi-ethnic structure and political heterogeneity 

resulting in the plurality of laws and the concomitant complex 

legal system;

(v) The resultant proliferation of court to cater for the various 

dimensions exhibited in the ensuing polity.

 CONCLUSION

The source of law means the origin from which the system derives its 

validity, be it the electorate, a special body, the general will or the will of 

a dictator. It also means the historical origin of a rule of law. Statutes 

books, law reports and textbooks are sources of law in any legal system. 

Examples of legal sources of law are legislation and judicial precedents.