Legal Reasoning is a technique to solve a legal problem. The solution of a legal problem lies in the application of the principles of law to ascertained facts.
Generally, a question of legal reasoning consists of—
- A factual situation or a legal problem.
- A legal principle or rule to be applied.
- Alternative solutions
Illustration
Principle: A person is guilty of culpable homicide amounting to murder, if the act by which the death is caused is done with intention of causing death.
Facts: A and B are playing hide and seek. A hides behind a bush. C, who is on prowl to hunt for rabbits, observing some movement near the bush and assuming a rabbit was hiding there, fires and kills A. C does not know that A was hiding behind the bush. The police prosecute C for murder. Choose the correct option from the ones below:
- C would not be liable for murder, as he did not have the intention to kill A.
- C would be liable for murder, because he should have taken care to find out the target before shooting.
- C would not be liable for murder, because it would be too much to expect him to identify the target before shooting.
(NLSIU Entrance Exam)
Different parts of the given legal principle which is taken from criminal law may be —
- A person is guilty of culpable homicide
- amounting to murder,
- If the act by which the death is caused.
- Is done with an intention of causing death.
Intention of causing death is a must to hold a person guilty of culpable homicide amounting to murder. In the given case, ‘C’ had no intention to kill ‘A’. thus, 1 is the correct answer.
Importance of Legal Reasoning in Law Entrance examinations
Legal Reasoning forms an important section of the question paper, and thus is the key to the entrance examination of Delhi University’s Faculty of law and National Law Schools. A prior knowledge of some legal principles and their correct application is necessary to solve Legal Reasoning questions correctly.