Theory and Philosophy of Law - classes 2200-1CK003S
The subject of this class will be an analysis of the key disputes about the law, and their impact on practice. Law is usually perceived as a set of imperatives and prohibitions that are not subject to challenge, but in fact the law is a dynamic phenomenon, and changing views of what the legal order is, what justifies it and what obligations lawyers have are usually quickly reflected in the practice of law making and application. One can learn about the legal theory and legal philosophy by examining key disputes that have been waged over the years and sometimes centuries. In this class we will discuss the following disputes of legal theory and philosophy concerning fundamental questions about law, its interpretation, application and relation to other social phenomena.
1. Can the law have any content?
Class 1: Natural law theories
G. Radbruch, Five Minutes of Legal Philosophy (1945), Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, Vol. 26, No. 1 (2006), pp. 13–15.
G. Radbruch, Statutory Lawlessness and Supra-Statutory Law (1946), Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, Vol. 26, No. 1 (2006), pp. 1-11.
Class 2: Legal positivism
H. Kelsen, Introduction to the Problem of Legal Theory: A Translation of the First Edition of the Reine Rechtslehre or Pure Theory of Law, Clarendon Press, Oxford 2002, pp. 55-75 (chapter V).
Class 3: Legal realism
J. Frank, Law and the Modern Mind, Stevens & Sons Ltd., London 1949, pp. 3-13, 32-47
2. Is the legal language a sufficient basis for adjudication?
Class 4: Open texture of law
H.L.A. Hart, The Concept of Law, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1994, pp. 124-154 (chapter VII).
Class 5: Theories of legal interpretation
M. Romanowicz, Clara... vs Omnia... czyli język a proces stosowania prawa [Clara... vs Omnia... or language and the process of applying law] (in:) A. Mróz, A. Niewiadomski, M. Pawelec (eds.), Prawo, język, etyka [Law, Language, Ethics], Warsaw 2010, pp. 198-208 [Author's translation].
3. Can judicial decisions be right and fair?
Class 6: Integral legal theory
R. Dworkin, Law’s Empire, Harvard University Press, Cambridge (MA), London 1986, pp. 15-20, 31-33, 164-175, 225-232, 254-258.
Class 7: Theories of legal argumentation
Ch. Perelman, L. Olbrechts-Tyteca, The New Rhetoric. A Treatise on Argumentation, University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame, London 1971, pp. 13-35.
Class 8: Legal hermeneutics
H.-G. Gadamer, Truth and Method, Continuum, London, New York 2006, pp. 320-336.
4. How difficult is the relationship between law and politics?
Class 9: Rule of law
M. Krygier, Four puzzles about the rule of law: why, what, where? And who cares?, Nomos Vol. 50, 2011, pp. 1-21.
Class 10: The political nature of law
C. Schmitt, Political Theology. Four Chapters on the Concept of Sovereignty, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, London 2005, pp. 5-15.
Class 11: Critical theories
P. Skuczyński, Typy myśli krytycznej w prawoznawstwie. Od krytyki poznania do walki o uznanie [Types of critical thought in jurisprudence. From criticism of cognition to the struggle for recognition] (in:) M. Zirk-Sadowski, B. Wojciechowski T. Bekrycht (ed.), Integracja zewnętrzna i wewnętrzna nauk prawnych [External and internal integration of legal sciences], part 1, Łódź 2014, pp. 133-148 [Author's translation].
5. What does it mean for the law to be just?
Class 12: Justice in political liberalism
J. Rawls, A Theory of Justice. Revised Edition, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge (MA) 1999, pp. 10-24.
Class 13: Feminist critiques of political liberalism
N. Fraser, Feminist Politics in the Age of Recognition: A Two-Dimensional Approach to Gender Justice, Studies in Social Justice, Volume 1, Number 1, Winter 2007, pp. 23-35.
Type of course
Mode
Course coordinators
Bibliography
The subject of this class will be an analysis of the key disputes about the law, and their impact on practice. Law is usually perceived as a set of imperatives and prohibitions that are not subject to challenge, but in fact the law is a dynamic phenomenon, and changing views of what the legal order is, what justifies it and what obligations lawyers have are usually quickly reflected in the practice of law making and application. One can learn about the legal theory and legal philosophy by examining key disputes that have been waged over the years and sometimes centuries. In this class we will discuss the following disputes of legal theory and philosophy concerning fundamental questions about law, its interpretation, application and relation to other social phenomena.
1. Can the law have any content?
Class 1: Natural law theories
G. Radbruch, Five Minutes of Legal Philosophy (1945), Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, Vol. 26, No. 1 (2006), pp. 13–15.
G. Radbruch, Statutory Lawlessness and Supra-Statutory Law (1946), Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, Vol. 26, No. 1 (2006), pp. 1-11.
Class 2: Legal positivism
H. Kelsen, Introduction to the Problem of Legal Theory: A Translation of the First Edition of the Reine Rechtslehre or Pure Theory of Law, Clarendon Press, Oxford 2002, pp. 55-75 (chapter V).
Class 3: Legal realism
J. Frank, Law and the Modern Mind, Stevens & Sons Ltd., London 1949, pp. 3-13, 32-47
2. Is the legal language a sufficient basis for adjudication?
Class 4: Open texture of law
H.L.A. Hart, The Concept of Law, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1994, pp. 124-154 (chapter VII).
Class 5: Theories of legal interpretation
M. Romanowicz, Clara... vs Omnia... czyli język a proces stosowania prawa [Clara... vs Omnia... or language and the process of applying law] (in:) A. Mróz, A. Niewiadomski, M. Pawelec (eds.), Prawo, język, etyka [Law, Language, Ethics], Warsaw 2010, pp. 198-208 [Author's translation].
3. Can judicial decisions be right and fair?
Class 6: Integral legal theory
R. Dworkin, Law’s Empire, Harvard University Press, Cambridge (MA), London 1986, pp. 15-20, 31-33, 164-175, 225-232, 254-258.
Class 7: Theories of legal argumentation
Ch. Perelman, L. Olbrechts-Tyteca, The New Rhetoric. A Treatise on Argumentation, University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame, London 1971, pp. 13-35.
Class 8: Legal hermeneutics
H.-G. Gadamer, Truth and Method, Continuum, London, New York 2006, pp. 320-336.
4. How difficult is the relationship between law and politics?
Class 9: Rule of law
M. Krygier, Four puzzles about the rule of law: why, what, where? And who cares?, Nomos Vol. 50, 2011, pp. 1-21.
Class 10: The political nature of law
C. Schmitt, Political Theology. Four Chapters on the Concept of Sovereignty, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, London 2005, pp. 5-15.
Class 11: Critical theories
P. Skuczyński, Typy myśli krytycznej w prawoznawstwie. Od krytyki poznania do walki o uznanie [Types of critical thought in jurisprudence. From criticism of cognition to the struggle for recognition] (in:) M. Zirk-Sadowski, B. Wojciechowski T. Bekrycht (ed.), Integracja zewnętrzna i wewnętrzna nauk prawnych [External and internal integration of legal sciences], part 1, Łódź 2014, pp. 133-148 [Author's translation].
5. What does it mean for the law to be just?
Class 12: Justice in political liberalism
J. Rawls, A Theory of Justice. Revised Edition, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge (MA) 1999, pp. 10-24.
Class 13: Feminist critiques of political liberalism
N. Fraser, Feminist Politics in the Age of Recognition: A Two-Dimensional Approach to Gender Justice, Studies in Social Justice, Volume 1, Number 1, Winter 2007, pp. 23-35.
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