Sources of law Is used to point out the origin or the

beginning of the stream law. Is used to denote the causes of law or the

matter of which law is composed. By Holland: Sources of law denotes the agent

where we obtain the knowledge of law. Natural law:By Natural law,law has divine

origin. Salmond: According to Salmond two main

sources of law were formal and material.

Authoritative sources Are allowed by the courts as the right. Establishes the law on the particular

issues. Are also the gates through which new

principles can find entrance to law. They influence more or less extensively

the course of legal development. These are the sources are recognized as

such by law itself.

Some authoritative sources

Precedents Customs Legislation Statute Constitutions Treaties

Precedents Judgments passed by learned and

experienced judges When there is no legislature on particular

point which arises the changing conditions, judges use own sense to decide right or wrong for any disputes.

Is more flexible to use, as it is almost ready to be used.

These decision become authority or guide for subsequent case of similar nature.

Customs A custom is a rule which in a particular family or

in a particular district or in a particular section, class or tribe, has from long usage obtained the force of law.

The dictionary of English law defines custom as a law not written, which being established by long use and consent of our ancestors has been and daily is put into practice.

Every custom is limited in its application. It is a path which is made from lane.

Legislation Legislature is the direct source of law. Legislature frames new laws, amends the

old laws and cancels existing laws in all countries.

It not only creates new rules of law it also sweeps away existing inconvenient rules.

So it is regarded as the authoritative source which can be reliable.

Statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a

legislative authority that governs a state, city, or country.

Statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy.

The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations issued by government agencies.

So it is regarded as the authoritative source of legal method.

Constitutions Supreme law of the country. Umbrella of law which exercises the other

laws of the country. Layout the basic structure of the

government to which people are governed.

Deals with the limitations of power. Regarded as the most important sources

to provide authority to every aspect of state.

Treaties The host country may be subject (or may

be about to become subject) to laws made by a regional or world grouping by becoming a signatory to a treaty.

Examples are the laws of the European of Union, trade treaties, rules of the WTO and bilateral treaties.

Non- authoritative sources Are not allowed by the law of courts as of

rights. do not have the power to affect legal rights,

and are referred to instead for their instructive value and for the references they provide to authoritative sources.

is information cited by lawyers in arguments and used by courts in reaching decisions.

Because of the broad overview of the law that they provide, non-authoritative sources can be an excellent starting point for legal research.

Some non -authoritative sources

Law review articles, comments and notes (written by law professors, practicing lawyers, law students, etc.)

Legal textbooks, such as legal treatises and hornbooks Annotations published in statute books, codes, or other materials,

such as the annotations in the American Law Reports series Legal encyclopedias (such as Corpus Juris

Secundum and American Jurisprudence) Legal dictionaries (such as Black's Law Dictionary) Restatements of the Law published by the American Law Institute Legal briefs Tax forms and instructions published by governments Government publications explaining or summarizing the laws Government employee manuals (such as the Internal Revenue

Manual for employees of the Internal Revenue Service) Course materials from continuing legal education seminars

Legal Dictionaries

Legal dictionaries provide definitions of words in their legal sense or use.

These publications provide a short definition for foreign and Latin legal words and phrases.

Refer to cases and other legal sources for authority.

  They also include tables defining legal abbreviations and acronyms.

Legal Encyclopedias

Legal Encyclopedias offer broad and general commentary on a full range.

These are useful as a starting point for researching unfamiliar areas of law.

Most of the articles in the encyclopedias focus primarily on case law and do not contain extensive citations to statutes or other secondary sources.

Words and Phrases

Words and Phrases are research tools, which are similar to legal dictionaries.

Both include legal definitions of words but Words and Phrases also include multiple entries of how the term or the word has been defined by the courts.

Annotated Law Reports

Annotated law reports provide essays that analyze and discuss particular points of law.

They focus on narrow legal issues rather than general points of law.

The articles provide references to the statutes, digests, texts, treatises.

The articles analyze and describe cases.

Legal Treatises, Hornbooks and Nutshells

Legal treatises are publications that present a highly organized, detailed explanation of a specific area of law (sample topics include contracts, torts, criminal law and property). 

Most treatises are updated by the use of supplements.

Legal Directories

Legal directories are heavily used locators for legal and government information.

There are a variety of resources that provide directory and biographical information about attorneys, law firms, legal experts, professors, government officers, corporate legal departments, legal aid organizations, and elected officials.

Differentiate between authoritative and non- authoritative sources

AUTHORITATIVE SOURCES NON AUTHORITATIVE SOURCES

These are legal materials.

These are formally recognized by law itself.

These are allowed by law courts as of rights.

These sources can be amended by the instruction given by non authoritative sources.

These are non legal sources.

These sources lack formal reorganization of law.

These have no such claims.

These sources describe about the authoritative materials.

Conclusion Being the distinct nature of the

authoritative and non authoritative sources, they play the vital role to describe nature of law and its functions. They both maintain the status of law in the society from its origin to the development. These both sources act as microscope of past laws, horoscope of present laws and telescope of future.

Prepared by:Laksmi karki

andPrativa sharma