jurisprudence

n. science of law; body of laws, legal system

Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal philosophers, hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions. As jurisprudence has developed, there are three main aspects with which scholarly writing engages:Natural law is the idea that there are unchangeable laws of nature which govern us, and that our institutions should try to match this natural law.Analytic jurisprudence asks questions like, "What is law?" "What are the criteria for legal validity?" or "What is the relationship between law and morality?" and other such questions that legal philosophers may engage.Normative jurisprudence asks what law ought to be. It overlaps with moral and political philosophy, and includes questions of whether one ought to obey the law, on what grounds law-breakers might properly be punished, the proper uses and limits of regulation, how judges ought to decide cases.
See more at Wikipedia.org...

Noun
1. the branch of philosophy concerned with the law and the principles that lead courts to make the decisions they do
(synonym) law, legal philosophy
(hypernym) philosophy
(hyponym) contract law
2. the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order"
(synonym) law
(hypernym) collection, aggregation, accumulation, assemblage
(hyponym) administrative law
(part-meronym) law
(class) adjective, procedural

n. jurisprudence, science of law, legal system

(a.)
The science of juridical law; the knowledge of the laws, customs, and rights of men in a state or community, necessary for the due administration of justice.