WHAT IS A DOCTRINAL RESEARCH?

AUTHOR- NIYATI VISHWAKARMA*

EDITOR- RIYA LUHADIA

INTRODUCTION

Doctrinal research is described as a research method that is often considered as "normal judicial research."[1]The term doctrine comes from Latin and means "to instruct, read, or understand." [2] Doctrinal research is a study of constitutional principles, i.e., "It inquires about what the rule is on a specific subject." It's all about examining legal theory and how it's been formed and implemented.

The topics covered in this type of study are limited. The essence of law; ideas behind is specific whether substantive fields of law, such as civil law, criminal law, torts, or contract; political or the purpose of rights, obligation, responsibility, and justice, to name a few. The analyst also employs theories of judicial interpretation exploring legal principles in doctrinal work. Pure research is another name for this type of study.

A doctrinal analytical approach will concentrate on case law, legislation, and other legal documents. The process does not seek to study the influence of the Statute or its use. Instead, it focuses on the law as a written entity that can be distinguished and interpreted by legal sources based on the doctrinal approach.

It is about discovering the rules, evaluating them, and producing rational arguments behind them. It also adds to the stability, coherence, and accuracy of legislation as the essential information found is in the legislative sources, i.e., both primary and secondary sources.

METHODOLOGY OF DOCTRINAL RESEARCH

The most popular approach used by law researchers for doctrinal research is library-based analysis. As is well known, this is theoretical research that consists of either basic research aimed at locating a particular legal argument or legal study with more nuanced reasoning and depth. It is a library-based study to identify the "only correct answer" to specific legal issues or questions.

The keys to doctrinal or library-based analysis are primary responses to particular questions which can be sought and checked. These steps include examining legal issues to decide if more study is needed. This stage usually entails a lot of background reading on a topic, including dictionaries, encyclopedias, fundamental textbooks, treatises, and journals with footnotes. These tools include descriptions of terms that assist the researcher in comprehending and outlining the legal concepts at work in the area of law under consideration.

FEATURES OF DOCTRINAL RESEARCH

• The research is focused primarily on legal proposals.

• Appellate Courts and traditional legal theories are the basis of data for a doctrinal author.

ADVANTAGES OF DOCTRINAL RESEARCH

• In the initial stage of legal education, it is agreed that legal research methods should be used as it helps academicians with their primary studies.

• The doctrinal research takes less time.

• Doctrinal legal analysis is a result of a perception of the legal truth of a scholar. These two perceptions, though, are both compelling and logical.

• Doctrinal research provides the instruments required in the legal judgment for attorneys, judges, and others.

• This study attempts to find substantive law loopholes, anomalies, ambiguities, and contradictions. Such analysis provides quick responses on legal issues.

DISADVANTAGES OF DOCTRINAL RESEARCH

• Often it is found that the fundamental social action varies from the activities requested by the legal standard. The doctrinal legal research is thus arbitrary in nature.

• It is also known as a "trivial doctrinal examination" cause sometimes it is done without proper understanding of the legal system's social, financial, and political significance.[3]

• The doctrinal approach is often criticized for being detached from reality; by focusing on legal documents, it often fails to query or challenge the law's implementation, instead of analyzing it only on the basis of internal continuity.

Nonetheless, the doctrinal analysis should underpin most legal study, as a robust doctrinal analysis to determine what the policy is often a prerequisite to researching, particularly in places where the laws are unclear or changing.

PURPOSE OF DOCTRINAL LEGAL RESEARCH

The following points answer the question – why doctrinal research is essential in law. The principal objectives of the legal doctrinal study include but are not limited to:

• To build, assess and apply knowledge to contemporary legal issues by generating new ideas, concepts, and doctrines;

• Ensure continuity, accuracy, and legal clarity

• To provide prosecutors, judges, and those with the appropriate resources to take action on a vast spectrum of topics, often with little time.

The primary goal of the doctrinal legal analysis is to reinforce the significant part of the law that may accomplish the larger legal objective.

There are apparent differences in the level of complexity of the doctrinal legal study. In the first instance, the method of doctrinal research often used by students and professionals is unsuitable.

This method is based on the resolution of a single legal issue and includes the following measures in general:

• Compiling relevant facts

• Identifying legal problems

• Reviewing of problems to look for laws

• Going through articles/books Journal of publications in legal dictionaries, reference books, magazines, reform of the law and policy documents;

• Locating primary material, including legislation delegated legislation, and case law

• Summary of all the problems in the context

• To reach a temporary conclusion.

LIMITATIONS OF DOCTRINAL LEGAL RESEARCH

The main challenge for doctrinal interpretation is the absence of helpful information. To guarantee that the primary or secondary data is available, researchers must have adequate expertise to recognize reliable data.

Financers also condemn doctrinal legal researchers when they are ambiguous owing to the operation of the arcane framework.

Unless scholars are very familiar with doctrinal method limits, study findings can be "too academic, too analytical, unquestioning, conservative, irrelevant and without proper regard to the cultural, economic and political relevance of a legal procedure."

CONCLUSION

Finally, we can say that identifying the strengths and limitations of a particular technique is easy. Methods have no order, but they do have the same importance for the development and application of the rules. What's critical is that researchers aim to prepare themselves with the expertise they'll need to achieve their research goals effectively.

The legal review aims to understand and assess the effects of policy measures scientifically. Democracy allows citizens to participate in judgment and improves the opportunities for doctrinal study.

The purpose and philosophy of doctrinal study must be the same as that of law studies: the application of laws in social engineering.

REFERENCES

[1] Black's Law Dictionary (9th ed.). (2009)

[2] See, http://www.studymode.com/essays/Significance-And-Relevancy-OfDoctrinal-Research-55442354.html dated

[3]Singhal, Ashish Kumar & Malik, Ikramuddin (2012). Doctrinal and Socio-legal Methods of Research: Merits and Demerits. Educational Research Journal, 2(7).

*The Author is a 2nd year B.A.LLB (Hons) student at Jagran Lakecity University, Bhopal.

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