An essay which received 16/20 marks, answering the question - “Our laws should follow the progress of society.” Discuss the extent to which the law reflects the society it stems from.
“Our laws should follow the progress of society.”
Discuss the extent to which the law reflects the society
it stems from.
Society can be generically defined as a group of people with
common territory, interaction and culture. There are differing
opinions on what society really means and what should be included
in this definition as well as how the law should link with it. Different
countries have different societies; for example, Britain’s society is
described to be pluralist, meaning that the existence of different
types of people, beliefs and opinion is seen to be a good thing. It is
true that the law takes society and the people within it in to account
when making laws and implementing them (eg media pressure,
protests, social controls etc) but there’s also evidence that may
prove society does not have full influence over the law / legal
system such as the lack of diversity in certain legal professions
despite constant demands for change.
One aspect of society that has a strong influence over the law is the
media. The media has an important role in society and holds a
strong influence due to its importance and popularity. Whilst media
can help to influence legal action to be taken where needed and to
keep the law up to date with recent happenings in today’s society by
reflecting the views of many in an official way (through a legitimate
company), it can sometimes produce a negative impact. Since law
and society are closely linked, sometimes the law can become
pressured by the media potentially bending truths or exaggerating
and making situations into something they aren’t. Examples of this
includes the rushed law of the Dangerous Dogs Act in 1991 which
was hastily put into place as a result of media attention arising from
the attack on a 6 year old boy by a dog. Due to this panic and media
attention, Parliament was forced to make this Act without proper
review and consideration due to the pressure from society. This
shows the influence society holds over the law as well as showing
the law takes into account the opinions held by the majority in a
society and adjusts accordingly.
However, this influence can sometimes become negative due to this
pressure and may result in the law not properly reflecting the values
of society because of this rushed law-making process. Furthermore,
the example of Sarah’s Law, which was created after media
campaign to identify paedophiles, proves law doesn’t fully reflect the
society it stems from since it resulted in people trying to take law
into their own hands. A paediatrician’s office was broken into after
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