Module: Jurisprudence

Module Specifications.

Current Academic Year 2024 - 2025

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Date posted: September 2024

Module Title	Jurisprudence
Module Code	LG327 (ITS) / LAW1027 (Banner)
Faculty	Humanities & Social Sciences	School	Law & Government
Module Co-ordinator	Beatrice Monciunskaite
Module Teachers	Kevin O'Sullivan, Thomas Hickey
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	5
Pre-requisite	Not Available
Co-requisite	Not Available
Compatibles	Not Available
Incompatibles	Not Available

None
same form and content as main examination

Description

The aims of this module are: (a) to enable students to understand some of the theories that underpin western legal philosophy, particularly positivism and natural law; (b) to facilitate students in developing an appreciation of how these theories relate to each other; (c) to enable students to indicate how such theories affect choices, particularly with regard to identifying how judges and legislators regard some principles as of higher importance than others. (d) to introduce students to the study of theories of justice, including liberalism and feminism, and to understand how these relate to law; (e) to appreciate the theoretical dimensions of the act of interpretation in law

Learning Outcomes

1. explain and describe some of the principal theories underpinning western legal philosophy;
2. indicate the shortcomings and strengths of each such theory, and to identify how these relate to each other in the broader history of thought;
3. define his or her own preferred intellectual position, and to be able to apply legal theories to legal practice and positive law;

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full-time hours per semester
Lecture	24	No Description
Tutorial	3	No Description
Independent Study	98	No Description
Total Workload: 125

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

- Jurisprudence
Positivism, classical positivism, Bentham and Austin; modern positivism: H.L.A. Hart; Fuller, - Natural law: classical natural law; naturalist revival; Finnis, Aquinas, Dworkin and interpretation; Rawls's theory of justice; introduction to feminist legal theory

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment	0%	Examination Weight	100%

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Course Work Breakdown

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories: Resit category 1: A resit is available for both* components of the module. Resit category 2: No resit is available for a 100% continuous assessment module. Resit category 3: No resit is available for the continuous assessment component where there is a continuous assessment and examination element.
* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a Continuous Assessment/Examination split; where the module is 100% continuous assessment, there will also be a resit of the assessment
This module is category 1

Indicative Reading List

Other Resources

36838, 0, Set texts: Patterson, A Companion to Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory, Oxford, Blackwell, 1999 Kelly, A Sort History of Western Legal Theory, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1992 Recommended texts: Wacks, Jurisprudence, 2nd edition, London: Blackstone, 1990 Di,