Question

Assertion (A): Austin's concept of law is known as imperative theory.
Reason (R): Austin emphasized on the commanding character of law.

• A. Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A
• B. Both A and R are individually true but R is not the correct explanation of A
• C. A is true but R is false
• D. A is false but R is true

Hint:

Austin defined law as the command of a sovereign backed by a sanction. The word imperative comes from the Latin for command, so check whether the reason is the source of the name.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The assertion names Austin's theory of law as the imperative theory. The reason says Austin stressed the commanding character of law. Both must be tested, and then the link checked.

Step 2: What Austin actually said:
John Austin, the English jurist who founded the analytical school, defined law as a command of the sovereign backed by a sanction. His formula has four parts. There is a sovereign, a determinate human superior whom the bulk of society habitually obeys and who obeys no one else. The sovereign issues commands. Those commands create a duty in the person commanded. Failure to obey brings a sanction, an evil inflicted by the sovereign.

Step 3: Testing the Assertion:
Because the command sits at the centre of that definition, Austin's theory is universally labelled the imperative theory of law. It is also called the command theory or the analytical positivist theory. So the assertion is true.

Step 4: Testing the Reason and the link:
The reason says Austin emphasised the commanding character of law. That is exactly right; for Austin a rule that is not a command of a sovereign is not law properly so called, which is why he pushed customary law and international law out of the category. So the reason is true.
The link is direct. The word imperative comes from the Latin imperare, meaning to command. The theory is called imperative precisely because Austin put the command at its centre. So the reason explains the assertion.

Step 5: Why the other options fail:
Option (B) fails because the reason is not a separate fact; it is the very ground for the label in the assertion.
Option (C) fails because Austin's whole scheme rests on command, so the reason is true.
Option (D) fails because the imperative label for Austin's theory is standard in every jurisprudence text.

Final Answer:
Both statements are true and the reason explains the assertion, so the answer is option (A).