Relationship Between Law And Morality

IS THERE ANY PLACE FOR MORALITY IN LAW?

I. INTRODUCTION

The relationship between law and morality has been discussed and debated widely throughout the history of jurisprudence, and yet we still don’t have an absolute conclusion. There are some scholars like Austin, who are of the view that law should be absolutely independent of morality while other scholars like Immanuel Kant consider morality and law to be same. The problem is an intensely practical one.

Morality can be described as a set of values and principles that are derived from religions, history, philosophy, culture and standards that are universally applicable . Law on the other hand is a tool for a state to establish and uphold these values and principles. This essay talks about the relationship between the law and morality by referring to various theories.

II. WHAT IS MORAL AND WHAT IS THE LAW?

Moral codes and moral values are of dynamic nature, i.e., with time these values change, such that they reflect the changes in attitude in society. This dynamic nature of moral codes has been a problem for law. So it makes it difficult for law, which has to stay abreast with the changing values. For example, the case of R v R, the jury decided to change the law and overlooked the matrimonial exception to rape, by holding that marital rape is a crime. Marital rape before this case wasn’t considered a crime owing to the view that a wife becomes the property of husband as per the marriage agreement. But this mentality