LLAW3256 Legal Theory

2016

4.5

1 x 2-hour seminar weekly

1 Admission into BLAWLP-Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice
1a Admission into BLAWLPG-Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Graduate Entry)
1b Admission into BLAWLPR-Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice
1c Admission into BLAWLPRG-Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Graduate Entry)
1d Admission into BLAWLPRH-Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Honours)
1e Admission into BLAWLPRGH-Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Graduate Entry) (Honours)
2 18 units of second year LLAW topics
3 LLAW2221 - The Constitution and the Australian People [Indigenous / Social Justice I]
Must Satisfy: ((1 or 1a or 1b or 1c or 1d or 1e) and 2 and 3)

LLAW3501 has been successfully completed

The study of law often emphasises the rules and principles which make up the law, but it is also shaped fundamentally by social values, beliefs, and ideas. The aim of this topic is to move beyond the content of different areas of law to an understanding of the nature of law in general. The topic will look at some of the ways law has been understood by philosophers of the past. More importantly, it will focus upon debates about the nature and place of law in a contemporary global context. Therefore, the topic will look at classical debates about the relationship of law to morality, but it will also ask how law works in a context characterised by social distributions of power such as those based on race, culture, gender, religion, and socio-economic status.

The topic aims to:

• promote an understanding of the nature and social context of law
• enhance skills of critical thinking about law, and the ability to see law in its relationship to a complex world
• develop an understanding of the significance of legal theory to a deep understanding of law

On completion of this topic, students will have:

• a good working knowledge of several classical legal theories
• an understanding of social and philosophical critiques of law
• a creative attitude to understanding law at a deep level, including the ability to compare legal ideas with knowledge gained elsewhere
• the ability to construct a sound theoretical argument in the context of either a research essay or an oral presentation, or both