LAW3210 Theories of Law
|Semester 1, 2013 On-campus Springfield|
|Faculty or Section :||Faculty of Business and Law|
|School or Department :||School of Law|
|Version produced :||21 July 2014|
Examiner: Lisa Sylvester
Moderator: Reid Mortensen
Pre-requisite: LAW1202 or LAW5502
Students are required to have access to a personal computer, e-mail capabilities and Internet access to UConnect. Current details of computer requirements can be found at http://www.usq.edu.au/current-students/support/computing/hardware.
This is a core course in the Bachelor of Laws. It ensures that, in accordance with threshold learning outcomes, students learn broader contexts of law. These include political, social and philosophical contexts in which legal issues arise.
The course provides students with opportunities to learn theories of what law is and what law should be. It includes the learning of theories of how law changes in relation to society, and theories of justice.
While most law courses submerge students in the technical rules of various aspects of the law, this course places the law in the context of philosophies which critique the basis of those rules. Students will study various bodies of thought that have in the past influenced legal thinking, including legal positivism, natural law, feminist, realist and critical theories of law, and liberal, social and radical political theories. Against the background of classical and modern natural law theories, consideration will also be given to philosophies of virtue and character - particularly as applicable to lawyers.
On completion of this course, students will have covered material and assessment to enable the following areas to be developed:
i. international and comparative contexts of the social and historical development of law, and gender perspectives on the law
ii. broader contexts within which legal issues arise, namely social, historical, philosophical and economic contexts in which legal issues arise
iii. the principles and values of justice and of ethical practice in lawyers’ roles
iv. critical and normative theories of law: including positivist, natural law (including virtue ethics), feminist, realist and critical theories of law; and liberal, social and radical political theories
ethics and professional responsibility:
i. an ability to recognise and reflect upon the professional responsibilities of lawyers in promoting justice and in service to the community
ii. awareness of the social and economic consequences of law and lawyers’ work, together with the attendant professional obligation to practise in ways which are respectful to the interests of clients, communities, economies and the environment
i. identify and articulate philosophical explanations and critiques of legal issues
ii. comprehend philosophical materials
iii. apply philosophical reasoning and research to generate appropriate responses to legal issues
iv. engage in critical analysis and make a reasoned choice amongst philosophical and moral alternatives
v. think creatively in approaching legal issues and generating appropriate responses, including the ability to explore new philosophical ways to address contemporary social problems through the application of philosophical techniques, insights and understandings
- research skills in demonstrating the intellectual and practical skills needed to identify, research in an ethical manner, evaluate and synthesise relevant factual, legal and policy issues
- communication in ways that are effective, appropriate and persuasive for legal and non-legal audiences, including demonstrating skills in oral communication and argument
- self-management by learning and working independently, including demonstrating management, planning and organisation skills and self-directed engagement and initiative in the study of philosophies of law.
|1.||Introduction to legal theory||5.00|
|2.||British legal positivism||10.00|
|3.||Germanic legal positivism||10.00|
|4.||American legal realism||10.00|
|5.||Natural law – classical and Christian||5.00|
|6.||Natural law - modern||5.00|
|7.||Modern virtue ethics in legal practice||10.00|
|8.||Social theories of law and justice||10.00|
|10.||Evolutionary theories of law||10.00|
|11.||Liberalism and rights||10.00|
|12.||Postmodern and feminist theories of law and justice||10.00|
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from USQ's Online Bookshop (unless otherwise stated). (https://bookshop.usq.edu.au/bookweb/subject.cgi?year=2013&sem=01&subject1=LAW3210)
Please contact us for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://bookshop.usq.edu.au/contact/)
Ratnapala, S 2009, Jurisprudence, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, Victoria.
Bix, B 2012, Jurisprudence: theory and context, 6th edn, Sweet & Maxwell, London.
Crowe, J 2009, Legal theory, Lawbook Co, Pyrmont, New South Wales.
Davies, M 2008, Asking the law question, 3rd edn, Lawbook Co, Pyrmont, New South Wales.
Freeman, MDA 2008, Introduction to jurisprudence, 8th edn, Sweet & Maxwell, London.
Wacks, R 2012, Understanding jurisprudence: an introduction to legal theory, 3rd edn, Oxford University Press, Oxford, England.
Student workload requirements
|Description||Marks out of||Wtg (%)||Due Date||Notes|
|COURSE ENGAGEMENT - INDIC EX||0||0||22 Mar 2013|
|ESSAY 1||35||35||29 Apr 2013|
|COURSE ENGAGEMENT||30||30||03 Jun 2013|
|ESSAY 2||35||35||11 Jun 2013|
Important assessment information
It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures, tutorials, laboratories and practical work) scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.
Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks. (Depending upon the requirements in Statement 4 below, students may not have to satisfactorily complete each assessment item to receive a passing grade in this course.)
Penalties for late submission of required work:
If students submit assignments after the due date without prior approval of the examiner, then a penalty of 5% of the total marks gained by the student for the assignment may apply for each working day late up to ten working days at which time a mark of zero may be recorded.
Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.
Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course.
There is no examination in this course.
Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
University Student Policies:
Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene University policies and practices. These policies can be found at http://policy.usq.edu.au.
Referencing in assignments: Students studying this course as part of a Bachelor of Laws must use the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC) style. Students who are not enrolled in a Bachelor of Laws may use either Harvard (AGPS) or the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC) in their assignments to format details of the information sources they have cited in their work. For AGLC style guide enquiries, consult the AGLC manual from the USQ Library's referencing guide at http://www.usq.edu.au/library/referencing, or contact the Law librarian. The Harvard (AGPS) style to be used is defined by the USQ Library's referencing guide at http://www.usq.edu.au/library/referencing.
Computer, e-mail and Internet access: Students are required to have access to a personal computer, e-mail capabilities and Internet access to UConnect. Current details of computer requirements can be found at http://www.usq.edu.au/current-students/support/computing/hardware.