Free Jurisprudence MCQs with Answers

• A. It is enforceable against a specific person or group
• B. It is enforceable against society at large
• C. It exists only against the state in public law
• D. It arises only from ownership of property

Explanation: A right in personam operates against a determinate person or persons, such as a contractual right against a debtor.

• A. The capacity to hold rights and bear duties
• B. The ability to exercise political power
• C. The moral quality of obeying the law
• D. The physical existence of a human being

Explanation: Legal personality is the capacity recognised by law to possess rights and duties.

• A. Liability imposed on one person for another's legally relevant act
• B. Liability imposed only after proof of personal intention
• C. Liability arising solely from an agreement between two persons
• D. Liability that ends whenever the injured person accepts compensation

Explanation: Vicarious liability makes one person, commonly an employer, legally responsible for an act committed by another, commonly an employee…

• A. It is law deliberately enacted by a recognised law-making authority
• B. It is a practice accepted by a community over a long period
• C. It is a rule inferred from the moral order of the universe
• D. It is a principle created only through repeated judicial decisions

Explanation: Legislation is deliberately made and promulgated by an authority empowered to legislate, such as Parliament.

• A. General words following specific words are limited to the same class
• B. Every statutory word must receive its ordinary dictionary meaning
• C. A statute must be interpreted to avoid every possible injustice
• D. Earlier judicial decisions must always control later decisions

Explanation: Ejusdem generis means of the same kind or class. When specific terms are followed by general terms, the general terms are normally read as…

• A. A legal duty is recognised and enforceable through the legal system
• B. A legal duty is always based on personal conscience
• C. A moral duty is always punishable by a court
• D. A moral duty can never influence the development of law

Explanation: A legal duty is imposed or recognised by law and may attract a legal remedy or sanction for breach.

• A. Like cases should be treated alike under general rules
• B. Punishment should always match the offender's income
• C. Resources should be distributed according to personal need
• D. Every dispute should be decided without using legal rules

Explanation: Formal justice requires consistency and equal treatment by applying general rules to similar cases.

• A. A judicial decision that may influence a court but does not bind it
• B. A decision that automatically overrides every statute
• C. A decision that binds only the judge who originally delivered it
• D. A decision that has legal force only when approved by a jury

Explanation: A persuasive precedent can guide judicial reasoning but leaves the later court free to accept or reject it.

• A. Political sovereignty concerns the ultimate political power, while legal sovereignty concerns the supreme law-making authority
• B. Political sovereignty belongs only to courts, while legal sovereignty belongs only to voters
• C. Political sovereignty means judicial review, while legal sovereignty means social custom
• D. Political sovereignty concerns private rights, while legal sovereignty concerns criminal liability

Explanation: Political sovereignty identifies the body or force regarded as ultimately controlling the state in practice, while legal sovereignty…

• A. The practical outcome may depend on facts, institutions and judicial choices
• B. Judges decide cases solely by applying mechanically fixed rules
• C. Legal validity depends entirely on whether a rule is morally good
• D. Custom is the only genuine source of law in every legal system

Explanation: Legal realists emphasise how facts, judicial behaviour, institutional setting and practical consequences affect decisions.

• A. A legal duty imposed on another person
• B. A legal disability imposed on another person
• C. A legal privilege enjoyed by another person
• D. A legal liability created for another person

Explanation: An immunity means that another person lacks the legal power to alter the holder's legal position.

• A. A rule that removes the need to prove any legal fact
• B. An assumption accepted by law despite contrary factual reality
• C. A moral principle applied when no statute exists
• D. A judicial statement that has no legal significance

Explanation: A legal fiction treats an assumed fact as true for a legal purpose, even when it is not literally true.

• A. To give every statutory word its ordinary meaning
• B. To prevent courts from considering earlier legal rules
• C. To identify and remedy the defect targeted by the statute
• D. To interpret legislation only according to dictionary definitions

Explanation: The mischief rule asks what defect in the previous law Parliament intended to correct.

• A. Law is entirely independent of economic and social power
• B. Law mainly expresses universal principles of natural justice
• C. Law can reflect and preserve the interests of dominant classes
• D. Law develops only through customs accepted by local communities

Explanation: Marxist jurisprudence views law in relation to economic structure and class power.

• A. The effect of legal rules on gender equality and social power
• B. The replacement of written law by religious customs
• C. The complete separation of law from all social institutions
• D. The classification of legal rules according to their historical age

Explanation: Feminist jurisprudence examines how law may reproduce gender inequality or ignore women's experiences.

• A. The new rule applies only to events occurring in the future
• B. The old rule continues permanently for every pending case
• C. The new rule applies only to criminal proceedings
• D. The judgment becomes advisory and creates no legal rule

Explanation: Prospective overruling changes the legal rule for future conduct while preserving the earlier rule for past transactions or cases.

• A. Whether the final distribution of wealth is equal
• B. Whether the punishment is proportionate to the offence
• C. Whether the decision-making process is fair and impartial
• D. Whether every legal rule follows a religious command

Explanation: Procedural justice concerns the fairness of the process used to reach a decision, including impartiality, hearing, and consistent…

• A. A right requiring another person to provide a benefit
• B. A right requiring others to refrain from interference
• C. A right that can never be enforced by a court
• D. A right belonging only to a public authority

Explanation: A negative right generally requires others to abstain from specified conduct, such as interfering with property or personal liberty.

• A. The guilty intention accompanying an offence
• B. The physical element or prohibited conduct of an offence
• C. The punishment imposed after conviction
• D. The motive that explains why an offence occurred

Explanation: Actus reus is the external or physical element of a crime, such as an act, omission, or prohibited state of affairs.

• A. The study of political institutions and constitutional conventions
• B. The science of the first principles of civil law
• C. The historical record of decisions made by superior courts
• D. The moral study of ideal conduct in private relationships

Explanation: Salmond described jurisprudence as the science of the first principles of civil law.