Doctrinal and Non doctrinal Research
DOCTRINAL AND NON-DOCTRINAL LEGAL RESEARCH:
Meaning of Doctrinal Research: A doctrinal research means a research that has been carried out on a legal proposition or propositions by way of analysing the existing statutory provisions and cases by applying the reasoning power. According to S.N. Jain, doctrinal research involves analysis of case law, arranging, ordering and systematising legal propositions and study of legal institutions through legal reasoning or rational deduction. This type of research is also known as pure theoretical research. It mainly focuses on the nature of law and legal authority; the theories behind particular substantive areas of law, such as torts or contracts; and the nature of rights, justice and political authority. Thus, it involves:
(a) Systematic analysis of statutory provisions and of legal principles involves therein, or derived there from, and
(b) Logical and rational ordering of the legal propositions and principles.
The researcher gives emphasis on substantive law rules, doctrines, concepts and judicial pronouncements. He organizes his study around legal propositions and judicial pronouncements on the legal propositions of the Courts, and other conventional legal materials, such as parliamentary debates, revealing the legislative intent, policy and history of the rule or doctrine.
Doctrinal or library based research is the most common methodology employed by those undertaking research in law. In a nutshell, library-based research is predicated upon finding the ‘one right answer’ to a particular legal questions or set of questions. This involves a significant amount of background reading in order for the researcher to orient themselves with the area of law being studied. Background reading will often include sources such as dictionaries for definition of terms, encyclopedias for a summary of legal principles accompanied by footnoted sources, major textbooks and treatises on the subject and journals. Although
Meaning of Doctrinal Research: A doctrinal research means a research that has been carried out on a legal proposition or propositions by way of analysing the existing statutory provisions and cases by applying the reasoning power. According to S.N. Jain, doctrinal research involves analysis of case law, arranging, ordering and systematising legal propositions and study of legal institutions through legal reasoning or rational deduction. This type of research is also known as pure theoretical research. It mainly focuses on the nature of law and legal authority; the theories behind particular substantive areas of law, such as torts or contracts; and the nature of rights, justice and political authority. Thus, it involves:
(a) Systematic analysis of statutory provisions and of legal principles involves therein, or derived there from, and
(b) Logical and rational ordering of the legal propositions and principles.
The researcher gives emphasis on substantive law rules, doctrines, concepts and judicial pronouncements. He organizes his study around legal propositions and judicial pronouncements on the legal propositions of the Courts, and other conventional legal materials, such as parliamentary debates, revealing the legislative intent, policy and history of the rule or doctrine.
Doctrinal or library based research is the most common methodology employed by those undertaking research in law. In a nutshell, library-based research is predicated upon finding the ‘one right answer’ to a particular legal questions or set of questions. This involves a significant amount of background reading in order for the researcher to orient themselves with the area of law being studied. Background reading will often include sources such as dictionaries for definition of terms, encyclopedias for a summary of legal principles accompanied by footnoted sources, major textbooks and treatises on the subject and journals. Although