LLM Notes: Doctrinal & non-doctrinal legal research (Part 2)

 Doctrinal and Non-Doctrinal Research are two distinct but complementary approaches to legal research, employed by legal scholars, lawyers, and researchers to study and analyse various aspects of law. 

Doctrinal research

(i) is defined as research into legal doctrines through analysis of statutory provisions and cases by the application of the power of reasoning.

(ii) is focused on analyzing and interpreting, understanding legal documents, such as statutes, case law, regulations, and treaties, in legal concepts, principles, and doctrines, & legal texts, such as laws, case law, and legal commentary.

(iii) comprises in-depth analysis of the legal doctrine with its development process and legal reasoning.

Non-Doctrinal research.

(i) is defined as research into the relationship of law with other behavioural sciences.

(ii) is focused on the social and cultural context in which law operates. It seeks to understand how the law is used, interpreted, and enforced in society.

(iii) seeks understanding of various social facts, relationship of law with those facts, impact of law on society . Non-doctrinal (Socio-Legal ) research often involves the use of social science research methods, such as surveys, experiments, and case studies, to investigate a particular phenomenon.

(iv) It is often used in disciplines such as sociology, psychology, and political science.

The methodology of doctrinal research involves several steps:

1. Identification of the research problem: This involves defining the research problem or question and clarifying the scope of the research.

2. Collection of legal sources: The next step is to gather relevant legal sources such as statutes, regulations, case law, and legal treatises.

3. Evaluation of legal sources: Once the legal sources have been collected, the researcher must evaluate them to determine their relevance, reliability, and credibility.

4. Analysis of legal sources: After evaluating the legal sources, the researcher must analyze them to identify legal principles, concepts, and arguments.

5. Synthesis of legal principles: The researcher must then synthesize the legal principles and concepts that have been identified through analysis, to form a coherent and logical understanding of the legal topic.

6. Application of legal principles: Finally, the researcher must apply the legal principles and concepts that have been synthesized to the research problem or question, to arrive at a conclusion or recommendation.

Overall, the methodology of doctrinal research is a systematic and rigorous approach to legal research that involves careful analysis and interpretation of legal sources to gain insights into legal principles and their application.

Merits of Doctrinal research methodology:

1. Provide clear and concise answers : Doctrinal research can provide clear and concise answers to legal questions, as it is based on legal texts that are authoritative sources of law.

It allows researchers to identify and analyze legal concepts, principles, and doctrines systematically and objectively.

2. Cost-effective: It is a cost-effective research methodology, as it does not require extensive data collection or empirical analysis.

Researchers can access legal documents online or in libraries, and analyze them using legal research tools and methodologies.

3. Time-efficient research methodology. As legal documents are readily available and can be analyzed quickly. Researchers can also use legal research tools and methodologies to streamline the research process and save time.

4. Provides a foundation for further research

It provides a foundation for further research, as it helps researchers identify legal gaps, inconsistencies, and ambiguities.

Researchers can use these insights to develop new legal theories, propose legal reforms, or conduct empirical research.

5. Enhance knowledge and skills of legal professionals in a particular legal field.

Doctrinal research can help legal professionals, such as lawyers, judges, and scholars, enhance their knowledge and skills in a particular legal field. It enables them to develop a deeper understanding of legal concepts, principles, and doctrines, and apply them to real-world legal problems.

De-merits of Doctrinal research methodology:

1. limited scope--- It is limited to the study of legal sources, which may not provide a comprehensive understanding of a particular legal issue. It may overlook non-legal factors that can affect legal outcomes.

2. Bias- Doctrinal research relies heavily on legal sources, which can be biased towards a particular interpretation of the law. This can lead to a limited or one-sided analysis of legal issues.

3. Lack of empirical evidence---It does not involve the collection of empirical data, such as surveys or interviews, which can provide insight into the impact of legal rules and practices on individuals and society.

4. Difficulty in predicting outcome---Doctrinal research is primarily focused on analyzing past legal decisions and interpreting legal sources. As a result, it may not always be reliable in predicting future legal outcomes or identifying trends in legal decision-making.

5. Limited applicability----The findings of doctrinal research may only apply to the specific legal system or jurisdiction being studied, and may not apply to other legal systems or jurisdictions.

6. Limited originality----Doctrinal research is primarily focused on analyzing existing legal sources and interpreting legal decisions. As a result, it may lack originality and creativity compared to other research methodologies.

Non-Doctrinal research.

Non-Doctrinal/Socio-legal research is a multidisciplinary field of inquiry that explores the intersection between law and society.

Socio-legal research is a methodology that combines social science and legal principles to study the interaction between law and society.

It involves the use of empirical methods to analyze legal institutions, practices, and policies within their social context.

The socio-legal approach recognizes that law is shaped by social, economic, cultural, and political factors and that legal norms and practices, in turn, influence behaviour and social change.

Socio-legal research typically involves.

A combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods, such as interviews,

surveys,

case studies,

content analysis,

and statistical analysis.

This interdisciplinary approach allows researchers to explore how legal systems and practices impact individuals and communities, and how social norms and behaviours shape legal institutions and decision-making.

Objective...

The ultimate goal of socio-legal research is to provide insights into the complex relationship between law and society and to inform policy decisions and legal reform efforts that can promote greater justice and equity in society.

Research question: How does the legal system in the United States impact immigrant communities?

Methodology: Qualitative research method, including interviews, focus groups, and participant observation.

Data collection: Interviews with immigrants, lawyers, judges, and other legal professionals; focus groups with community organizations and advocacy groups; participant observation at court hearings and other legal proceedings.

Data analysis: Thematic analysis of interview transcripts and focus group discussions, content analysis of legal documents and court records, and ethnographic analysis of participant observation data.

Finding---The research may find that the legal system in the United States has a disproportionate impact on immigrant communities, resulting in increased rates of detention and deportation, family separation, and other negative consequences.
It may also reveal how social factors, such as race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status, intersect with legal rules and institutions to create barriers to justice for immigrant populations.

Conclusion--The study may conclude that there is a need for reform in the legal system to address the needs and rights of immigrant communities and that greater attention should be paid to how social factors influence legal outcomes.

• Empirical legal research

Empirical legal research is based upon experiments and observations. It is the scientific method of arriving at the inference of the principle after the process covering and comprising a combination of reasoning with observation, and discovery with justification. It is the acquisition of fresh scientific knowledge of the principles. The knowledge is the product of the process of systematic intellectual enquiry, understanding and scientific solution of socio legal problems. Empirical research involves the procedure of collecting, analyzing and presenting data for the justification of the propositions. The research problem belongs mainly to the realm of reasoning. Empirical research helps in detecting the deficiencies in enactments and the problems of their implementation. It also explains a) the type of law to be enacted b) factors causing delay and other evils in the administration of justice and c) problems of uncertainty caused by the contradictory interpretations of the same principle.

Print Page