THE APPLICATION OF NATURAL LAW AND POSITIVE LAW TO THE NIGERIAN LEGAL SYSTEM

Abstract

Natural law means the law of reason. It means what is “fair”, “just”, or “right”. The philosophers of ancient
Greek where the idea of natural law originated considered that that there was a kind of perfect justice given to man
by nature which is discoverable through rational use of reason, and that human law (positive law) should conform
with this as closely as possible. On the other hand, positive law is the term generally used to describe human
legislations or man-made laws. Positive law theory, otherwise referred to as legal positivism emphasizes a firm
distinction between “what the law is” (positive law) and “what the law ought to be” (natural law). The research is
an inquiry into the application of natural and positive law to the Nigerian legal system. In the course of this inquiry,
it is the researcher’s finding that, in the Nigerian legal system, there is a firm separation of ‘what the law is’, from
‘what law ought to be’, that is to say, a firm separation of positive law from natural law. The researcher concludes
that a harmonious application of natural law and positive law, would ensure the existence of a better, balanced and
secured legal system, and to a large extent, forestall the enactment or enforcement of laws which are largely immoral,
grossly unjust or inherently unreasonable. It is therefore the researcher’s recommendation that the Constitution of
Nigeria should be amended to expressly provide for a critical reciprocity in the application of natural law and positive
law in the Nigerian legal system. The strict spirit of legal positivism should be constitutionally relaxed in the
Nigerian legal system and the blood of natural law should be constitutionally allowed to run in the vein of the
Nigerian legal system.