Statute, case law and scholarship.

THE QUESTION 80 The preceding chapters have said a good deal about the various sources of law, especially statute, case law (which is often closely associated with custom) and scholarship (which can be regarded as the creator of natural law). What is needed now is a systematic examination of the role and significance of each of these three great creative forces. What are the merits of each source? What social forces make use of which source? The aim of the chapter is to demonstrate historically that the use of these sources is not random or accidental; they are the basic options open to society when faced with the phenomenon of law. And if law is an instrument of social control, then it matters who controls the sources of law; this fundamental question is far more important than technical or scholarly problems. The origins of legislation and case law are very different: but with what interest groups in society are they associated? And what views of society are expressed by legislator, judge and scholar? ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES 81 Each of the three sources of law and legal development has its own advantages and disadvantages. Legislation has the advantage of being able to set out clear rules, and the authority necessary to ensure that they are respected. It is true that case law and scholarship have sometimes gone to extreme lengths to adapt, or even through interpretation to nullify, statutes which they considered outdated or unjust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]