PHILOSOPHY OF LAW
Learning outcomes of the course unit
This course is intended to provide instruments for both historical and theoretical knowledge of law’s institutional developments and conceptual transformations. Students are helped to master diverse critical perspectives in legal thought.
Course contents summary
Historical and theoretical outline of legal philosophy. A further special section shall cover the extension of the rule of law beyond the state.
Main issues: Natural Law. Law and Morality. The concept of legal validity. Tradition and revolution in modern constitutionalism. The process of codification.
Legitimacy. Rights.
Hans Kelsen. Legal Realism. H. L. A. Hart. The current debate.
Course contents
This course shall provide a theoretical and historical frame for the main issues belonging in the Philosophy of Law, by illustrating and discussing the fundamental themes in their both cultural and scientific features. A special, additional part shall be devoted to the recent developments of extra-state legalities.
The summary will include at least the following entries: Natural Law. Law and Morality. The concept of Validity. Institutional traditions and modern Constitutions. Theories and steps of the codification process in continental Europe. Legitimacy and Legality. Rights. Hans Kelsen normativism. Legal Realism. Legal Positivism in H.L.A Hart. The problems of the contemporary legal philosophical debates.The Rule of Law, Intenrational Law, and 'global law'.
Teaching shall follow the treatment of the mentioned subjects as it is developed in
G. PALOMBELLA, Filosofia del diritto, Padova, Cedam: pp. 13-88; 107-124; 141-182; 209-227; 247-264;
G. PALOMBELLA, È possibile una legalità globale? Il Rule of law e la governance del mondo, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2012.
Recommended readings
-Gianluigi Palombella, Filosofia del diritto, Padova, Cedam: pp. 13-88; 107-124; 141-182; 209-227; 247-264.
-Gianluigi Palombella, È possibile una legalità globale? Il Rule of law e la governance del mondo, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2012.
Teaching methods
Lectures and seminars. Lectures shall expose at length historical evolution of the contents of the course; they shall also focus on the theoretical controversies, and on the core meanings and articulation of diverse conceptions regarding the law. Seminars shall more specifically address additional questions, especially those that can be grasped after larger knowledge, and require an extended dialogue with the students. Seminars can also aim at enlarging the subjects already treated in the lectures, by addressing problems in contemporary practice of law.
Assessment methods and criteria
Oral Examination: It shall revolve around the themes enumerated in the description of the course. The candidate shall have to show his/her knowledge, mastering necessary notions pertaining to them. It shall be necessary to achieve adequate competence, in order to expose the course's subjects in a reasoned way, giving arguments pro and contra, comparing diverse conceptions of law, and attempting at autonomous appraisal of implications to be traced back to diverse theoretical views.
