Law is a normative value to help society live in collectivity and harmony. For law to be a supreme regulator of all, it must become integral in theory and practice. An integral dimension of law helps State, society and legal systems to balance and harmonize competing claims arising out of complexity and heterogeneity of life and changing needs. Professor Dr. K. Parameswaran outlines his integral theory of law in this series of articles by showing how law must integrate knowledge from other disciplines; bring them under what law wants from them. “…Thus, when law becomes integral, it opens practical and yet unfailing solutions to assist peace, progress, prosperity and protection of all, for our current times and future age…” – author claims. This introductory article, Part I, explains ‘integral dimension of law’ that exists between Law, Science and Technology.
Relationship between law on one side and science and technology on the other side is something not yet fully explored. This is partially because researchers on both sides see apparent contradictions in other’s domain at the initial stage when they have to relate with a system of knowledge other than their own. However, when research deepens between these two disciplines, they not only converge showing certain amount of commonness but also give fascinating insights.
Law regulates human behavior in society. It is created for convenience of social order and harmony by society through legal systems and Constitutional authorizations. Law changes according to nature, place and requirements of society. Laws are constantly evolving according to capability of performance that agents of law and society decide through approved mechanisms. However, when we try to understand science and technology, we need a cautious approach to see both of them interdependently as well as independently. Science is knowledge construed, constructed and organized towards predictable functions and universal applications. Whereas, technology is set of processes and methods by using scientific knowledge, externalized skills and techniques to achieve practical outcome. As there are different kinds of sciences like fundamental, formal, physical, applied, life, social or empirical and non-empirical etc., so also there are different kinds of technologies dependent upon knowledge used and skills applied to achieve designed utility. In this context, what is the nature of relationship between law and science and technology? What should govern both of them? Or who has primacy over the other? What are the inter-disciplinary considerations? These debates still hold attention of specialists of these two disciplines. All these can be studied and explained in two ways; one, relationship between law, science and technology, and the other, integral dimensions of law, science and technology. Let us deal with the first aspect in this Part I.
One wonders what can be the nature of relationship between law, science and technology. Scientific laws are discovered from existing reality of nature where as legal laws are invented or innovated by social requirements. Scientific laws cannot change, whereas legal laws can change according to time, context and considerations. Scientific laws cannot be rectified or questioned where as legal laws are subject to human discernment and social alteration. As there are different kinds of sciences, so also there are different types of laws such as natural, positive and real laws. Natural laws are derived from circum-conscience understanding of the state of Nature and fixed as ideal values and goals to be achieved in society; positive laws are made in consonance with existing or perceived requirements of society and, real laws are made out of dynamic interpretations of either needs of society or cloistered laws that are waiting to be re-activated by elucidation largely of judiciary and legislature and sometimes by the executive subject to the Constitutional rigor of judicial review. Scientific knowledge permeates permanence and legal knowledge permeates impermanence. They both cannot change their inherent rule of constancy in their respective nature and functions within their domains. Laws and legal systems cannot alter fundamental nature and function of science. And, science too cannot stop continuous and persistent evolving nature of human psyche and its consequent impact on social collectivity. Technology as such is nothing but an extension of science and its knowledge. Technology is an external application of internal scientific knowledge. Technology is tangible and visible with science in its invisible background. Technology to science is what expressed thoughts to the functioning of brain and its cerebral activity. It is technology that comes into direct relation with law and legal systems, and not the essential knowledge of science. Spirit of science is rationalized by the status of technology in relation to its active support to human wellbeing and social prosperity or in the words of Indian Constitution; the accomplishment of the goals of Preamble. A simple example could be plastic; where malleability of organic and synthetic compounds is science and its industrial production to the detriment of human health and surrounding ecosystem is a direct conflict with law relating to sustainable development.
This fundamental tenet or basic structure of the relationship between law, science and technology must be understood first by legal fraternity of law students, researchers and agents and processes of law and its system who want to interact with science and technology. A constant, eternal and unchangeable dimension exists in law, science and technology, yet divergent in their respective domains without any identity–loss till disturbances come to halt the growth of society in peace and development.
In this context, if researchers; either in law or in science and technology who want to understand the benefits of this interrelationship, must study respective entries relating to science and technology in Indian Constitutional Law. Some interesting provisions are as follows.“CHAPTER II.—PARLIAMENT, Constitution of Parliament, Composition of the Council of States – Article 80 (3) The members to be nominated by the President under sub-clause (a) of clause (1) shall consist of persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as the following, namely:-Literature, science, art and social service, CHAPTER III.—THE STATE LEGISLATURE, General Constitution of Legislatures in States – Article 171. (3) Of the total number of members of the Legislative Council of a State—Literature, science, art, co-operative movement and social service, SEVENTH SCHEDULE (Article 246) List I—Union List, 64. Institutions for scientific or technical education financed by the Government of India wholly or in part and declared by Parliament by law to be institutions of national importance, 65. Union agencies and institutions for—(c) scientific or technical assistance in the investigation or detection of crime, 66. Co-ordination and determination of standards in institutions for higher education or research and scientific and technical institutions, List II— State List, 32. Incorporation, regulation and winding up of corporations, other than those specified in List I, and universities; unincorporated trading, literary, scientific, religious and other societies and associations; co-operative societies, List III—Concurrent List 25. Education, including technical education, medical education and universities, subject to these provisions of entries 63, 64, 65 and 66 of List I; vocational and technical training of labor, ELEVENTH SCHEDULE, Article 243G, 18. Technical training and vocational education”. Similarly there are science treaties on international plane of action under the umbrella of United Nations Charter and other specialized international agencies that deal with protection of human wellbeing and planetary existence as a whole.
All these above-mentioned provisions of laws that deal with law, science and technology are substantive in nature. In addition to this, procedural laws too impact workings of science that play through technology and functional departments who are agents of science and carriers of technology to impact positively to the society as a whole. These procedural matters are; due diligence, necessary safeguards and protective mechanisms, assessment of degree of negligence and foresight, calculation of damages and impact assessments, laws relating to intellectual property rights, GM crops, cloning, drugs, surrogacy, euthanasia, environment, biodiversity, sustainable development, welfare of flora and fauna etc., which have to follow due procedures established by the authority of law and legal systems. There are also other issues of administration like evidence, forensic issues and statistics which science and technology understands and share with legal counterparts to increase efficiency of State and their welfare mechanisms.
Is the interdisciplinary relationship as shown above between law, science and technology without serious concerns? Integral dimensions as envisaged in the series of these columns that connect law, life, values, and knowledge and society resolve problems of inter, multi and transdisciplinary models of research and has lots of functions in law, science and technology. Especially with law and legal knowledge whose nature is to revolve around all kinds of knowledge and set them in motion without conflict and inconsistencies. If there exists deeper connections between these two other than outwardly apparent contradictions, there must certainly be tensions between scholars from both the camps when the task of unification or harmonization is being done. Why did the Constitution in PART IVA, FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES under 51A, reads ‘It shall be the duty of every citizen of India—(h) to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform’, and under Part IV.—Directive Principles of State Policy.—48, ‘The State shall endeavor to organize agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific linesand shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle. Or what is the meaning of ‘scientific advancement of India’ under Article 344 in PART XVII, OFFICIAL LANGUAGE, CHAPTER I.— LANGUAGE OF THE UNION?
Why are all these provisions enshrined in the Indian Constitution? Are they all harmonious and reconcilable? Follow Conclusion-Part II in the next issue that discusses concerns such as framing, executing and interpreting relationship between law, science and technology, human wellness and social wellbeing, socio-economic equality, predictability, peace, development with justice, ethics etc.
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