Registry
Module Specifications
Archived Version 2009 - 2010
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| Module Aims | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The aim of this module are:- To acquaint students with some of the theories that underpin law and legal principles in the legal systems of the world but with a particular emphasis on the common law legal system;- To teach students how these theories relate to each other;- To teach students the relationship between jurisprudential theory, politics, the legislative process and judicial interpretation; and,- To teach the students the court's approach in Ireland in respect of prevailing theories that currently underpin, or are said to underpin, Irish law.
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| Learning Outcomes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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At the end of the module, students must:- Appreciate that law does not operate in a vacuum but is based on principles and theories that owe their origin to political theory and realities;- Demonstrate a thorough knowledge and understanding of fundamental theories of jurisprudence, the aims of these theories, proponents and influence; and,- Understand how these theories have influenced the political, legislative and judicial process in Ireland and elsewhere.
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Assume that a 5 credit module load represents approximately 75 hours' work, which includes all teaching, in-course assignments, laboratory work or other specialised training and an estimated private learning time associated with the module. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indicative Syllabus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| - Jurisprudence: variety of issues; the questions; methodology; substantive context and reality; its value;- Positivism: classical positivism: Bentham and Austin; modern positivism: H.L.A. Hart;- Natural law: classical natural law; naturalist revival; natural law in Irish constitutional interpretation; present-day relevance; Islamic jurisprudence- Marxism- Realism: Scandinavian realism; American realism;- Other theories: pure theory; Dworkin and the rights thesis; critical legal studies; post-modern legal theory; the economic analysis of law; justice theory; the concept of injustice.Themes: Crime and Punishment, the Legal Profession, professional ethics and legal rules, how the administration of justice is examined, measured and reformed including both qualitative and quantitative analysis. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Indicative Reading List | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| - 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- Dias, Jurisprudence, 5th edition, London: Butterworths, 1985- Lloyd, of Hampstead Lloyd's Introduction to Jurisprudence, 5th edition, London: Sweet and Maxwell, 1985- Dias, A Bibliography of Jurisprudence, 3rd edition, London; Boston Butterworths, 1979- Hart, The Concept of Law, 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994- Neumann, The Rule of Law : Political Theory and the Legal System in Modern Society, Dover: Berg, 1986- Simmonds, Central Issues in Jurisprudence, London: Sweet and Maxwell, 1986- Unger, The Critical Legal Studies Movement, Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1986- Cotterrell, The Sociology of Law, 2nd edition, London: Butterworths, 1992- Harris, Legal Philosophies, London: Butterworths, 1980- Quinn, (Ed.) Justice and Legal Theory in Ireland, Dublin: Oak Tree Press, 1995- McCoubrey and White Textbook on Jurisprudence, 3rd edition, London: Blackstone, 1999 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Programme or List of Programmes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| EPL | BA in Economics, Politics and Law | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| EPLYA | BA in Economics, Politics and Law | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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