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.

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