Module: Jurisprudence

Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title	Jurisprudence
Module Code	LAW1027 (ITS: LG327)
Faculty	Law & Government	School	Humanities & Social Sciences
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	5

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

Section Breakdown
CRN	10893	Part of Term	Semester 1
Coursework	0%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale	40PASS	Pass Both Elements	Y
Resit Category	RC1	Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator	Beatrice Monciunskaite	Module Teacher	Thomas Hickey

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
Formal Examination	End-of-Semester Final Examination	100%	End-of-Semester

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; RC1: A resit is available for both^* components of the module. RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module. RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element. ^* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

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

Indicative Reading List

Books:
None

Articles:
None

Other Resources

1: 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 e,