A Critical Analysis of the Soviet Legal System: The Relation Between Societal Values, Social Development and Legal Evolution
Date
2014-09-26
Authors
Contributor
Advisor
Department
Instructor
Depositor
Speaker
Researcher
Consultant
Interviewer
Narrator
Transcriber
Annotator
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Volume
Number/Issue
Starting Page
Ending Page
Alternative Title
Abstract
While any definition of law is extremely difficult, it is probably prudent to first determine what law does. It acts as a regulator of social action by prescribing what behavior will best serve the interests of the individual while providing for the greater social good It functions as a tool for the maintenance of social order by determining how political power is allocated and exercised throughout society. On a more abstract level, law is also an important indicator of societal development, for its evolution parallels a civilization’s growth. Daniel Kaiser, a noted American scholar of comparative legal history, believes that social evolution and the development of a legal system are interrelated. He adheres to an anthropological model of legal development that classifies legal systems as either “vertical” or “horizontal.” Horizontal systems prevail in societies which are usually homogenous, small and bound by kinship relations. In such cultures, dispute resolution is achieved through “invisible mediators,” such as ethics, morals, kinship, or religion. As the society develops, this system may become more differentiated, with the duty of solving disputes falling upon a particular person or group in the society. Whatever the case, horizontal systems are characterized by the achievement of dispute resolution through informal methods.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Extent
120 pages
Format
Geographic Location
Time Period
Related To
Related To (URI)
Table of Contents
Rights
All UHM Honors Projects are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission from the copyright owner.
Rights Holder
Local Contexts
Collections
Email libraryada-l@lists.hawaii.edu if you need this content in ADA-compliant format.