module specification

Jurisprudence is a compulsory subject for legal practice in numerous jurisdictions abroad. It is also vital to a broader theoretical, practical and ethical perspective on law and legal practice more generally. This module provides an introduction to jurisprudence or legal theory, covering basic theoretical and ethical perspectives on the law and legal practice and its contemporary context. Students will receive a sound understanding of the theories of different jurisprudential schools of thought and the contributions made to legal thinking by leading jurists from the Ancient Greeks to contemporary thinkers. In addition, the course is placed in a modern setting and aims to raise contemporary ethical debates in order to raise awareness of the ethical background against which the law and legal practice needs to be understood.

The study of jurisprudence permits a fuller understanding of the rational and ethical values that underpin the law and systems of justice. The Law Society has sought that legal training 'make awareness of and commitment to legal values, and the moral context of the law, mandatory in undergraduate law degrees ...' Law Society Preparatory Ethics Training for Future Solicitors March 2009) This module aims to achieve this outcome.

None

This module, providing an introduction to jurisprudence or legal theory, aims to:

• Examine the writings of some outstanding legal theorists with a view to providing students with a solid theoretical background which will enable them to place legal issues in a wider perspective
• Explore philosophical questions relevant to all legal systems, particularly concerning the relationship between law and morality
• Encourage students to recognize the ethical issues inherent in legal thinking and practice and to examine and articulate their own arguments in respect of such issues
• Develop the students’ powers of reasoning and critical thinking and to increase their awareness of the relevance of theoretical issues to practical problems
• Enable students to increase their capacity to work in teams cooperatively and effectively through participation in topical debates and to take initiative and responsibility in the context of such group work, so increasing competence in discussion and oral presentation
• All of these aims will require students to get involved in researching particular areas within the subject and therefore to seek, handle and interpret information effectively
• Supply a course whose successful completion is compulsory for legal practice in numerous international jurisdictions.
• Supply a course whose successful completion will lead to fuller understanding of the ethical and legal values that underpin the law. The Law Society has sought that legal training 'make awareness of and commitment to legal values, and the moral context of the law, mandatory in undergraduate law degrees ...' Law Society Preparatory Ethics Training for Future Solicitors March 2009.

Introduction, Natural Law, Positivism, Liberalism, Utilitarianism, Lord Devlin and H.L.A. Hart’s debate and the Williams’ Report; Marx and Feminism

The course supplies ancient and modern texts via Blackboard, weblinks, short multiple choice tests, the opportunity for participation in the Socratic Method in class as well as the opportunity to perfect the vital skill of engaging in debate.

On successful completion of this module students will:
• Be able to understand, analyze and critically evaluate the main tenets of the theories examined during the course, including both the relationship between law and morality
• Relate the theories to the more concrete branches of the law and to transfer the analytical skills acquired during the course to those other disciplines
• Have improved his/her interpersonal skills and to have developed some insight into the personal qualities required for effective cooperation in a team
• Identify correctly the issues raised by a legal theory essay question, appropriately apply the theories to them, develop arguments logically and coherently and draw well thought out personal conclusions from these arguments
• Be capable of making ethical evaluations in respect not only of legal issues but also of a much wider range of contemporary debates
 

One piece of coursework: 100%
Formative assessment in preparation for the essay.
 

Bix B, Jurisprudence: Theory & Context Sweet & Maxwell
Cotterell R The Politics of Jurisprudence Butterworths
Davies M Asking the Law Question Sweet & Maxwell
Doherty M Jurisprudence Old Bailey Press
Harris JW Legal Philosophies Butterworths
Kerruish V Jurisprudence As Ideology Routledge
Lloyd Introduction to Jurisprudence Michael Freeman, ed
McLeod I Legal Theory Palgrave
McCoubrey & White Textbook on Jurisprudence Blackstone or Penner’s edition
Riddall JG Jurisprudence Butterworths
Tebbit M Philosophy of Law Routledge