Relevance Of Volksgiest: A Theory Propounded By Savigny
Keywords:
Jurisprudence, the will of people, Friedrich Carl von SavignyAbstract
Friedrich Carl von Savigny (21 February 1779 – 25 October 1861) was a famous 19thcentury jurist and historian. One of the principal doctrines of Savigny was that laws are not of universal validity or application. Each people develop its own legal habits, as it has its own peculiar language, manners and constitution. Savigny insists on the parallel between language and the law. Neither is capable of application to other people and countries. The Volksgeist manifest itself in the law of the people; and he therefore said it is essential to follow up the evolution of the Volksgeist by legal historical research. Thus according to savigny the origin of law lies in the popular spirit of the people and this is what Savigny termed as Volksgeist. Friedrich Carl von Savigny was the main exponent of the historical interpretation of the law and is considered to be the propounder of historical jurisprudence. He traced the development of law as an evolutionary process much before Darwin gave this theory of evolution in the field of biological sciences in 1861. It is for this reason that Dr. Allen defined Savigny as ‘Darwinian before Darwin.’ It was observed that the essence of Savigny’s Volksgeist was that a nation’s legal system is greatly influenced by the historical culture and traditions of the people and the growth of law is to be located in their popular acceptance. This laid the foundation of the historical school of jurisprudence which was carried forward by Sir. Henry Maine in England, Vinodradoff, Lord Bryce and many others.
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