00385 - Philosophy of Law (D-L)

Learning outcomes

Students will be introduced to the critical study of the history of legal philosophy, to the fundamental issues of legal theory (such as the typology of norms and the interpretation, integration, and systematization of law), and to the most relevant authors and problems discussed in the contemporary legal-philosophical debate. The course is meant to provide first-year students in legal studies both with a non-superficial knowledge of the historical development of theoretical thinking about law in the Western philosophical culture and with an introduction to the basic concepts of legal theory.

Course contents

A critical, theoretical, and historical introduction to the main concepts in legal philosophy, with specific reference to the following:

• Natural-law theory and legal positivism

• Legal realism

• Norms and normative systems

• Interpretation of law

• Law, morality, and justice

• Relevant issues in contemporary debate

Readings/Bibliography

Attending Students

a) A.A.V.V., Argomenti di teoria del diritto. Materiali per gli studenti, Giappichelli, Torino, 2016.

b) C. Faralli, Le grandi correnti della filosofia del diritto, Giappichelli, Torino, 2014 (new edition with an appendix).

c) A. Rotolo, Perché il diritto è una convenzione? Il gioco delle norme e il suo linguaggio, Giappichelli, Torino, 2nd ed., 2017.

Seminars and side lectures will be indicated during the course.

 

Non-attending Students

a) A.A.V.V., Argomenti di teoria del diritto. Materiali per gli studenti, Giappichelli, Torino, 2016.

b) C. Faralli, Le grandi correnti della filosofia del diritto, Giappichelli, Torino, 2014 (new ed. with appendix).

c) A. Rotolo, Perché il diritto è una convenzione? Il gioco delle norme e il suo linguaggio, Giappichelli, Torino, 2nd ed., 2017.

and one of the following books:

- C. Faralli, La filosofia del diritto contemporanea, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2002.

- C. Valentini, Le ragioni della costituzione: La Corte Suprema americana, i diritti e le regole della democrazia, Giappichelli, Torino, 2011 (capp. 1, 2 e 4)

 

For students who are behind schedule with their exams and who are enrolled in the five-year programme inGiurisprudenza (Magistrale),the four-year programme in Giurisprudenza (vecchio or nuovo ordinamento), in the three-year programme in Scienze giuridiche, or in the two-year Laurea Specialistica in Giurisprudenza

There are two options for students who are behind schedule (students who have registered for this course in a previous academic year and have yet to take the exam): They can choose the syllabus for non-attending students who have registered for the course in the current academic year, or they can choose the syllabus relative to the academic year in which they registered. Any changes a student wishes to make to the syllabus will have to be made in agreement with the professor.

 

Students who have to earn credits

Students who are required to supplement this exam with one additional credit (1 CFU) will be be tested (oral exam only) on the following text:

G. Zagrebelsky, Il diritto mite (Turin: Einaudi, 1992), chaps. 2 and 3

Students who are required to supplement this exam with three additional credits (3 CFU) will be be tested (oral exam only) on one of the following texts (of student's own choice):

1) A. Rotolo, Perché il diritto è una convenzione? Il gioco delle norme e il suo linguaggio, Giappichelli, Torino, 2nd ed., 2017.

2) G. Zagrebelsky, Il diritto mite, Einaudi, Torino 1992.

 

Erasmus Students

One of the following options:

1) Option 1

a) A.A.V.V., Argomenti di teoria del diritto. Materiali per gli studenti, Giappichelli, Torino, 2016.

b) C. Faralli, Le grandi correnti della filosofia del diritto, Giappichelli, Torino, 2014 (new ed. with appendix).

c) A. Rotolo, Perché il diritto è una convenzione? Il gioco delle norme e il suo linguaggio, Giappichelli, Torino, 2nd ed., 2017.

 

2) Option 2

a) A.A.V.V., Argomenti di teoria del diritto. Materiali per gli studenti, Giappichelli, Torino, 2016. 

b) C. Faralli, Le grandi correnti della filosofia del diritto, Giappichelli, Torino, 2014 (new ed. with appendix).

and one of the following books:

- C.S. Nino, Derecho, moral y política, Barcelona, Ariel 1994;

- R. Alexy, Begriff und Geltung des Rechts, Freiburg, Alber 1992;

- H. Hart, The Concept of Law, 2nd ed. with a Postscript, Oxford, Clarendon 1994 (chaps. 1-6 and Postscript);

- J. Coleman, The Practice of Principle, Oxford, Oxford University Press 2001 (Part Two);

- M. Troper, La théorie du droit, le droit, l'état, Paris, Presses Universitaires de France, 2001.

Teaching methods

The lectures will either cover course contents or will consist in the reading and commenting of a text related to those contents.

Attending students will have to certify their attendance by filling in a form that can be downloaded here.

Further information about the course will be provided in class and published online. Seminars and side lectures could be indicated during the course.

This is a first-semester course. Please check on the Law School website for the room and the weekly schedule of the lectures.

Assessment methods

Student performance will be assessed through a final oral exam of about 20/30 minutes. The exam is meant to assess the critical abilities and the methods learned by the student by means of a discussion of textbooks adopted for the course. We will acknowledge a high positive assessment to students who acquire skills to navigate the sources and bibliographical material in order to identify and handle the core ideas and cultural areas of the discipline. When students achieve an organic view of the issues addressed in lectures, demonstrating a mastery of the specific terminology and conceptual framework of the discipline, they will be assessed with marks of excellence. Lack of concision and the usage of language and terminology which are not always appropriate will lead to a fair evaluation; knowledge gaps and inappropriate language - although in a context of acceptable knowledge - will not go beyond the grade threshold “sufficient”. Knowledge gaps, inappropriate language, and lack of any overall view of the basic issues discussed in textbooks and during the course that will lead to an insufficient assessment.

Teaching tools

These include handouts summarizing the main course topics, the reading and commenting of texts in class, and tests by which to assess student performance.

All the information relative to the course, along with any notice the instructors may give, as well as any supplemental course material, will be available online. 

Slides on law and conventions can be downloaded here.

Dissertation thesis

Students wishing to write a thesis in this subject area are advised to include the following courses in their curriculum:

• Theory of Law and of Legal Interpretation

• Legal Logic and Argumentation

• Sociology of Law

• Applied Ethics

Office hours

See the website of Antonino Rotolo