Relevance of American and Scandinavian Legal Realism in Indian Judiciary

"We are all Realists now," as the saying goes. Viewed not simply as jurisprudential movements, but as parts of their broader political cultures, American Legal Realism and Scandinavian Legal Realism sought to assert independence from the existing legal systems of the past. With their democratic claims and claims of scientific and empirical aspects of law, these movements significantly influenced subsequent critical legal studies. The impact of these movements was particularly traceable across the atlantic. Although the influence of these movements have now reduced, the claims and ideas of the two movements are still relevant to the Indian context to some extent. This article endeavors to explore the relevance of ALR and SLR within the framework of the contemporary Indian judiciary. The article commences with an examination of the shared characteristics and distinctions between these two jurisprudential movements. Subsequently, it scrutinizes the assertions of these movements within the specific context of India. By dissecting their relevance in the Indian legal landscape, the article aims to provide insights into how these theoretical frameworks intersect with the complexities of the Indian legal system.