Public attitude on compliance to law in Kerala An analysis

Abstract

The process of Political modernization in India commenced with theadoption of the constitution of India on January 26th 1950. Many successfulprinciples of governance were adopted from different countries around the world asa part of modernisation efforts. Rule of law is one of such principles of moderngovernance and subsequently many associated structures and institutions wereadopted to implement it. The adopted structures and institutions become successfulonly if they have a supporting political culture and behavior. But Unfortunately inIndia the imported new structures and institutions had to work with traditionalculture and behaviors. This incongruity led to the development of Riggs' prismatic-sala model.In this background this research aims to investigate the attitude of people ofKerala towards compliance to law. The study is intended to address questions likewhy people obey or disobey laws in Kerala society, the factors influencingcompliance with law, public attitude towards law and punishment. It was identifiedthat there are four basic factors which shape compliance to law, like personal moralvalues, social pressure, deterrence and legitimacy. In traditional societies peoplebasically obeyed laws because of personal moral values and social pressure. Withthe establishment of the state, the factor influencing public compliance to lawbecame deterrence. State makes laws and forces the people to obey those laws withcertainty, severity and harshness of punishment mechanisms. Subject-rulerdifference is very prominent in such a society. Rulers force the people to obey thelaws with the help of deterrence mechanisms.Deterrence based governance is not very effective, it needs a lot of resourcesand it's very expensive. With the establishment of modern national states withdemocracy and republicanism, the difference between the rulers and subjectsdrastically reduced. The ideal democratic republicanism visualizes a commonwealth,where everyone is a ruler and a subject. Rational legal authority became the base ofgovernance and voluntary compliance with law is accepted by all. So it is a journey from personal moral values to voluntary compliance based on the acceptance ofrational legal authority. Law enforcement will be effective only if it is based uponthe factors shaping compliance to law. Blindly adopting reforms from highlydeveloped countries without considering the local factors shaping compliance to lawwill lead to lawlessness and anarchism. Additionally, the research considers the roleof the primary law enforcement agency, the police department, as a secondaryobjective of this research. It explores the public perception of the police and viceversa. Examining why policing remains a challenge despite numerous reformatoryefforts. Furthermore, the researcher analyzes various police reforms in the light ofthe survey results on public attitude towards laws and the factors shapingcompliance to law.