NARRATIVES OF JUSTICE AND POWER: A LAW AND LITERATURE ANALYSIS OF LEGAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH TEXTS

Tasneem  Sultana; Kiran Mamgain; Seema  Surendran; Gayathri  N M; Bineet  Singh

doi:10.29121/shodhkosh.v7.i11s.2026.8275

Authors

Dr. Tasneem Sultana Assistant Professor, Department of Law, Specialization in Constitutional Law, ICFAI Law School ,IFHE Deemed University, Hyderabad-501203
Dr. Kiran Mamgain Associate Professor, Christ University
Dr. Seema Surendran Professor, School of Legal Studies, CMR University, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560043
Dr. Gayathri N M Associate Professor, School of Legal Studies, CMR University, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560043
Bineet Singh Assistant Professor , School of Legal Studies, CGC University Mohali

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v7.i11s.2026.8275

Keywords:

Law and Literature, Legal Consciousness, Justice, Power, Judicial Narratives

Abstract [English]

The interrelation of law and literature provides a critical approach towards the legal texts as narrative and cultural texts and not as documents only. This paper explores the way justice and power are constructed narratively in the current English law books, especially the Supreme Court decisions. The proposed study with the qualitative and interpretive research design is based on the idea of narrative analysis, discourse analysis, and legal consciousness theory to examine the influence of judicial language on the formation of meanings of power, rights, and legitimacy. They were analysed with thematic coding, and a purposive sample of judgments was identified with the use of thematic coding. The results indicate that judicial rulings can be understood as narratives in a structured form in which justice is viewed as a dynamic and situational process, and it is usually based on constitutional and moral arguments. Power is expressed as a complicated interrelation of state power and judicial control, where the law serves as a source of legitimization of as well as the regulation of institutional control. Moreover, the analysis proves that legal texts themselves are also an active participant in the development of legal consciousness that shapes the perceptions and attitudes of individuals towards legal systems. The analysis of legal judgments in terms of law and literature highlights the value of the study of legal discourse as a cultural and interpretive practice that is situated in the wider socio-political framework. The study adds to the important debates of justice, inequality, and governance and is consistent with current academic endeavours to analyse law as a narrative construction site and social meaning.

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