Prepared by

Asaduzzaman Nur
Joint Secretary
Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division
Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs
asadnur13@gmail.com
01916039027
 The word ‘Jurisprudence’ is derived from the Latin
word jurisprudentia, which means science or
knowledge of law.
 There are various sources from which we derive
law. Several jurists and scholars have attempted to
classify the sources of law.
 Source of law

material sources formal sources

historical sources
legal sources (decisions given by Legislation
foreign courts)

Legislation Precedent Customary law Primary/principal Secondary/delegated

Act, Ordinance, Rules, regulations,

Order, Regulations, bye-laws,
Presidential Rules notifications, ect.
 Kinds of law

National law International law

Private international law

Public international law
Public law Private law (regulates the relations
between the States)
(regulates the relations
between State and
individual or individual of
two different Sates)

Law of persons Law of property

Constitutional law Administrative law Criminal law
(personal law) (Contract, tort, etc)
 “Law is the commend of the sovereign”- Austin
 John Salmond, a legal scholar renowned for his
ideologies on law in the field of jurisprudence,
classified the sources of law into mainly two
categories, i.e.-
1. material sources, and
2. formal sources.
 1. Material sources: Material sources of law are those
sources from which the law gets its content or
matter, but not its validity.
 There are two types of material sources –
(i) legal sources and
(ii) historical sources.
 (i) Legal sources:
 Legal sources are the instruments used by the
state which create legal rules.
 They are authoritative in nature and followed by
courts of law. These are the sources or
instruments that permit newer legal principles to
be created.
 They are classified into four categories-
 (a) Legislation,
 (b) Precedent,
 (c) Customary law, and
 (d) Conventional law.
 (ii) Historical sources:
 Historical sources are sources that influence
the development of law without giving effect
to its validity or authority.
 These sources influence legal rules indirectly.
 The difference between legal and historical
sources is that all laws have a historical
source but they may or may not have a legal
source.
 Decisions given by foreign courts serve as an
example for this kind of source.
 2. Formal sources
 Formal sources of law are the instruments
through which the state manifests its will.
 In general, statutes and judicial precedents
are the modern formal sources of law.
 Law derives its force, authority, and validity
from its formal sources.
 Legislation refers to laws enacted by the
legislative organ of the government.
 It is one of the most important sources of law
in jurisprudence.