'Lex Injusta non est lex
A comparison of four film jurists and their attitudes and perceptions on 'An unjust law is no law at all.'Lex injusta non est lex, or, 'An unjust law is no law at all' is a phrase which can entice a number of different perspectives on the way we think about law out into an open discussion forum. By considering this phrase form the perspectives of four different film jurist's, we can start to see some comparisons and contrasts between differing theories of law. 'To Kill A Mockingbird' provides us with Atticus Finch, a heroic individualist, idealist and liberalist, who fights for the end for his client, while 'Rumpole and the Younger Generation' showcases Horace Rumpole as an anti-heroic realist lawyer, who is said to be the 'best in the business' by the criminal society. 'Judgement at Nuremberg' provides us with two jurists for use, namely, Ernst Janning, the famous jurist who admits his guilt to become the tragic hero/villain, and finally the defence lawyer, Herr Rolfe, the contextual and positivist lawyer who defends the indefensible. The following discussion will be focusing more on the later thought of Ernst Janning rather than his first thoughts. The four jurist's attitudes and perceptions wi
This is comparable with the attitude of Herr Rolfe, who comes from a contextualist viewpoint. He would argue that moral philosophy; religion, human reason and individual conscience are also integral parts of the law. He is also known around the criminal society to be the best at doing what he does and usually wins the cases he contests. John Locke gave the notion that individuals have certain fundamental human rights that governments should not violate. Their attitudes are determinate on whether they let their moral and ethical beliefs impact on their practice and their views of the law. Ernst Janning states that he was just doing his job as a judge by enforcing the countries laws, but by the end of the movie has admitted his guilt and has the personal belief of people's natural rights. Parkinson continues this by suggesting that just because an immoral legal system is disapproved by one is not ground to describe it as not being law. Herr Rolfe has the uneasy task of defending Ernst Janning at the Nuremberg Trails. Horace Rumpole is the old, shabby, tricky lawyer, bending around statements and mocking the court while still achieving what he set out to achieve. He gets people off crimes that they may have actually committed, on legal technicalities. The differing positions highlight the diversity of legal theories. It is suggested that this is because Horace Rumpole is a realist, and would not draw emotions or morals into the debate. Herr Rolfe's attitude could also fall under the classification of positivism, as it believes that bad law is still classified as law as long as it has fulfilled the criteria for formal recognition as law within a given society. It is suggested that Horace Rumpole is a realist, and that he portrays what realists' say what lawyers should do.
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