The main objective of the module is to introduce students to the most important theoretical, conceptual and critical frameworks developed in legal scholarship concerning the operation of legal institutions and law as a system, the relationship between law and values, and the interplay between law and its socio-economic context. Understanding the role of legal reasoning in law as a discipline will be given a special emphasis. The module will cover a selection of the most relevant Anglo-Saxon legal thinkers (Austin, Fuller, Hart, Dworkin, Posner, Kennedy, Fineman, Jasanoff).
The module will be taught in the form of on-line seminars which will combine frontal teaching, which will be limited, individual work and group discussions. Students will work with primary (e.g., statutory law (legislation) , judicial decisions) and secondary legal resources (i.e., legal scholarship). The course resources for each session will be made available in advance through Canvas. Teaching sessions will be organised so as to ensure that students develop basic legal skills, such as understanding and interpreting legal texts and developing coherent (coherently argued) responses to legal problems.