DIPLOMA IN LAW LEGAL PROFESSION ADMISSION BOARD LAW EXTENSION COMMITTEE LAW EXTENSION COMMITTEE SUBJECT GUIDE 24 JURISPRUDENCE WINTER SESSION 2016 This Guide includes the Law Extension Committee’s course information and teaching program and the Legal Profession Admission Board’s syllabus. The syllabus is contained under the heading “Prescribed Topics and Course Outline” and has been prepared in accordance with Rule 27H(a) of the NSW Admission Board Rules 2015. Course Description and Objectives Lecturers Assessment September 2016 Examination Lecture Program Weekend Schools 1 and 2 Texts and Materials Reading Guide External Students Prescribed Topics and Course Outline Compulsory Assignment Assignment Question 1 1 1-2 2 3 4-5 5 5-6 6 6-10 11 11 1 LAW EXTENSION COMMITTEE WINTER 2016 24 JURISPRUDENCE COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES This course in jurisprudence will apply the concepts and techniques of philosophical analysis to an examination of the nature of law, issues surrounding legal reasoning, and the relationship between law, morals and theories of justice. The course will examine some of the most important theories of jurisprudence, and trace their historical development. The course will consider the debate about the separation between law and morals, and arguments for and against natural law. The course seeks not only to introduce students to modern legal philosophy, but to demonstrate how that study gives insights into the nature and function of law important to the practice of law. LECTURERS Dr Christopher Birch, SC, BA, LLB, PhD (Syd) Dr Birch, Barrister-at-Law, has practised at the Sydney Bar since 1982 and is a part-time lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Sydney. Ms Sophie York, BA, LLB (UNSW), GDLP (UTS) Ms York was admitted as a legal practitioner in 1991 and was called to the Bar in 1995. She is a part-time lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Sydney, Officer of the Royal Australian Naval Legal Reserve (NSW Panel), and author. Dr Philip Andrew Quadrio BA (USyd), GCM (UWoll), PhD (USyd) Philip is a philosopher based at the University of New South Wales. His work focuses on ethics, political theory and social theory. He is the author of Towards a Theory of Organic Relations: Hegel’s Social Theory from Tübingen to Jena (2010, LAP) and has published numerous academic papers and edited collections. ASSESSMENT To be eligible to sit for the Board’s examinations, all students must complete the LEC teaching and learning program, the first step of which is to ensure that you have registered online with the LEC in each subject for which you have enrolled with the Board. This gives you access to the full range of learning resources offered by the LEC. To register with the LEC, go to www.sydney.edu.au/lec and click on the WEBCAMPUS link and follow the instructions. Detailed guides to the Webcampus are contained in the material distributed by the LEC, in the Course Information Handbook, and on the Webcampus. Eligibility to Sit for Examinations In accordance with the Legal Profession Admission Rules, the LEC must be satisfied with a student’s performance in a subject in order for the student to be eligible to sit for the 2 examination, conducted by the Legal Profession Admission Board (LPAB). Assignments are used to assess eligibility. Students are expected to achieve at least a pass mark of 50% in assignments to be eligible to sit for examinations. However, a category of “deemed eligible” has been introduced to offer students whose assignment mark is between 40-49% an opportunity to sit for the examination. In these circumstances students are often advised not to sit. A mark below 40% means a student is not eligible to sit for the examination. Assignments as part of the Board’s Examinations Assignment results contribute 20% to the final mark in each subject. The Law Extension Committee (LEC) administers the setting and marking of assignments. The LEC engages the LPAB’s Examiners to assess or supervise the assessment of assignments. Submission Assignments must be received by 11:59pm on the due date unless an extension has been granted. Extensions must be requested by email prior to the due date. Specific supporting evidence must be provided. Assignments that are more than ten days late will not be accepted. Late assignments attract a penalty of one mark out of 20, or 5% of the total marks available, per day. Assessment Assignments are assessed according to the “Assignment Grading and Assessment Criteria” outlined in the Guide to the Presentation and Submission of Assignments. Prior to the examination, assignments will be returned to students and results posted on students’ individual results pages of the LEC Webcampus. Students are responsible for checking their results screen and ascertaining their eligibility to sit for the examination. Review Where a student’s overall mark after the examination is between 40-49%, the student’s assignment in that subject will be reviewed prior to a final mark in the subject being awarded. Except in the case of demonstrable error, assignment marks will not otherwise be reviewed prior to the examination. SEPTEMBER 2016 EXAMINATION Candidates will be expected to have a detailed knowledge of the prescribed topics. Candidates will be expected to have studied the prescribed topics, and to have analysed the cases contained in the Law Extension Committee's course outline. The examination paper will comprise eight questions, of which four must be attempted. All enquiries relating to examinations should be directed to the Legal Profession Admission Board. 3 LECTURE PROGRAM Lectures in Jurisprudence will be held on Thursdays from 6.00pm until 9.00pm, commencing on 12 May 2016. In the first half of the semester, they will be held in New Law School Lecture Theatre 026 (New LSLT 026). Lecture venues for the second half of the semester have yet to be confirmed. The following program is a general guide and may be varied according to need. Readings are suggested to introduce you to the material to be covered in the lecture, to enhance your understanding of the topic, and to encourage further reading. You should not rely on them alone. WEEK 1 12 May TOPIC The Doctrine of Precedent and the American Realists KEY READING McCoubrey – Chapter 9 2 19 May 3 26 May 4 2 June 5 9 June 6 16 June HLA Hart & Dworkin’s Theories of Legal Interpretation Language, Meaning, and Drafter’s Intentions The Duty to Obey the Law McCoubrey – Chapters 4, 5 & 6 John Rawls & the Theory of Justice McCoubrey – Chapter 12 7 7 July 8 14 July 9 21July 10 28 July Critical Legal Studies, Marxist Jurisprudence Natural Law and Positivism McCoubrey – Chapters 13, 14 & 15 The Philosophy of International Law: From Kelsen to Human Rights Theory Crime & Punishment Mc Coubrey – Chapters 2 & 3 11 4 Aug Law & Economics Bix – Chapter 18 12 11 Aug Philosophy and the Law of Property 13 18 Aug Philosophy and Contract Law/Course Review Waldron, J, ‘Property Law’, Chapter 1 from Companion to Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory Benson P, ‘Contract’, Chapter 2 from Companion to Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory McCoubrey – Chapters 5, 6 & 9 McCoubrey – Chapters 2, 8 & 10 John Locke and Robert Nozick (1) Kymlicka, W. (2002) Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction Oxford UP, Oxford (p 102-121) (2) Hudson, B. (2003) Justice in the Risk Society, Sage Publications, London (p 3-9) Study Break: Saturday 18 June – Sunday 3 July 2016 McCoubrey – Chapters 2 & 3 Bix – Chapter 9 4 WEEKEND SCHOOLS 1 AND 2 There are two weekend schools principally for external students. Jurisprudence classes are held at both Weekend School 1 and 2. Lecture students may attend on the understanding that weekend classes aim to cover the topics covered in weekly lectures and are held for the benefit of external students. It may not be possible to cover the entire course at the weekend schools. These programs are a general guide, and may be varied according to need. Readings are suggested to introduce you to the material to be covered in the lecture, to enhance your understanding of the topic, and to encourage further reading. You should not rely on them alone. Weekend School 1: Sunday 29 May 2016: 8.00am – noon in New Law School Lecture Theatre 024 (New LSLT 024) and 4.00pm – 8.00pm in New Law School Lecture Theatre 024 (New LSLT 024) TIME: 8am-12noon MAJOR TOPICS KEY READING The Doctrine of Precedent and the American Realists McCoubrey – Chapter 9 HLA Hart & Dworkin’s Theory of Legal Interpretation Language, Meaning, and Drafter’s intentions McCoubrey – Chapters 4, 5 & 6 Natural Law and Positivism McCoubrey – Chapters 2 & 3 The Philosophy of International Law: From Kelsen to Human Rights Theory Crime and Punishment McCoubrey – Chapters 2 & 3 McCoubrey – Chapters 5, 6 & 9 TIME: 4pm-8pm Bix – Chapter 9 Weekend School 2: Sunday 24 July 2016: 8.00am – noon in New Law School Lecture Theatre 104 (New LSLT 104) and 4.00pm – 8.00pm in New Law School Lecture Theatre 024 (New LSLT 024) TIME: 8am-12noon MAJOR TOPICS KEY READING Law and Economics – The Philosophy of Tort Law The Concept of Property – John Locke & Robert Nozick Bix – Chapter 18 Philosophy and the Law of Property (1) Kymlicka, W. (2002) Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction Oxford UP, Oxford (p 102-121) (2) Hudson, B. (2003) Justice in the Risk Society, Sage Publications, London (p 3-9) Waldron, J, ‘Property Law’ Chapter 1 from Companion to Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory 5 Philosophy and the Law of Contract Benson P, ‘Contract’, Chapter 2 from Companion to Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory The Duty to Obey the Law McCoubrey – Chapters 2, 8 & 10 John Rawls and the Theory of Justice Critical Legal Studies, Marxist Jurisprudence McCoubrey – Chapter 12 TIME: 4pm-8pm McCoubrey – Chapters 13, 14, 15 TEXTS AND MATERIALS Course Materials Jurisprudence Course Materials (available via the link to the Law Library on the LEC Webcampus Course Materials section) Guide to Presentation and Submission of Assignments (available to download from the LEC Webcampus) Prescribed Materials Bix, Brian Jurisprudence: Theory & Context, Sweet & Maxwell, 7th Revised Edition, 2015 Or Penner, James “McCoubrey and White’s Textbook on Jurisprudence”, 5th Edition, Oxford UP, Oxford, 2012. Lecture Outlines Once you have registered online with the LEC, you will have access to all the facilities on the LEC Webcampus, including useful links to relevant websites and lecture outlines by Dr Christopher Birch. All these may be accessed in the Course Materials section of the Webcampus. READING GUIDE In addition to the prescribed readings, students will gain useful background from the following works which may also be referred to as alternative texts in the event of difficulty in obtaining the prescribed readings. Lord Lloyd of Hampstead and Freeman, Lloyd's Introduction to Jurisprudence, 9th Edition Sweet & Maxwell, 2014 Lloyd's Introduction to Jurisprudence is a very substantial work but has useful introductory chapters on the major sections providing a good general survey. Posner, The Problems Massachusetts, 1993 of Jurisprudence, Harvard University Press, Cambridge 6 Posner’s work provides an excellent discussion about many of the contemporary debates in modern legal philosophy and is particularly recommended for external students who are unable to attend lectures. EXTERNAL STUDENTS External students who are attempting the subject on the basis that they will not be attending the lectures or the weekend schools should contact the subject coordinator, Dr Christopher Birch, early in the session to ensure that they have been kept informed of any late changes to the course outline or materials. PRESCRIBED TOPICS AND COURSE OUTLINE The course will consist of 13 lectures and topics. Topic 1 The doctrine of precedent and the American realists Do judges really decide cases in accordance with precedents, or does the doctrine of precedent merely operate as ex poste facto justification? The lecture will examine the American realists' attack on the doctrine of precedent, in particular Jerome Frank's rule scepticism. Basic reading McCoubrey – Chapter 9 Further reading Frank, Law and the Modern Mind, Stevens, London, 1949 Topic 2 HLA Hart & Dworkin's theories of legal interpretation HLA Hart’s theory of law as primary and secondary rules will be examined. Hart sought to deal with the problem of uncertainty about the meaning of legal rules with his notion that rules had a determinate core of meaning surrounded by a penumbra of less certain meanings. In a large body of work created over his lifetime Dworkin rejected Hart’s theory of law as a set of rules and sought to develop an alternative account of law showing that there were right answers to legal questions. This interpretative theory of law was most substantially developed in Dworkin’s work Law’s Empire. The lecture will consider whether Dworkin successfully defends precedent and judicial rationalism from legal realists and pragmatists. 7 Basic reading McCoubrey – Chapters 4, 5 & 6 Bix – Chapters 3 & 7 Further reading Dworkin, Law’s Empire, Fontana, London, 1986 Dworkin, A Matter of Principle, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1985, chapters 6, 7 Topic 3 Language, meaning and Drafter's intentions Language is the basic material with which the law operates. Any workable theory of precedent or theory of legal reasoning must in turn depend upon a coherent theory of meaning or semantics. The lecture will examine these matters from the perspective of the current debate about constitutional interpretation and the relevance of the intentions of drafters of constitutions or statutes. Basic reading McCoubrey – Chapters 5, 6 & 9 Further reading Stokes, Constitutional Commitments Not Original Intentions Interpretation in the Freedom of Speech Cases (1994) Syd Law Rev 250 Fish, There Is No Such Thing as Free Speech, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1994, Chapter 11 Topic 4 Crime and punishment This lecture will examine the theories of justice that underlie the criminal law and sentencing policy. The lecture will examine deterrence theories of punishment and the new retributivist theories of punishment. Basic reading Bix – Chapter 9 Further reading Fletcher, George P, “Punishment and Responsibility” in Patterson, D, Companion to Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory, Chapter 36, pp514-523 Morris, ‘Persons and Punishment’ (1968) 52 Monist 475 Braithwaite, Not Just Deserts, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1990 8 Topic 5 The duty to obey the law What ought our attitude to the law to be? Do we have an obligation to obey all laws or only those we consider just? On what moral basis, if any, is the state entitled to enforce the law and in what circumstances, if any, are we entitled to resist? Basic reading McCoubrey – Chapters 2, 8 & 10 Further reading Raz, The Authority of Law, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1979, Chapter 12 Wolff, In Defence of Anarchism, Harper Torch Books, New York, 1970 Topic 6 John Rawls and the “Theory of Justice” This lecture will examine some contemporary theories of distributive justice. In particular, Rawls’ concept of justice as fairness, and Nozick’s concept of justice as rights. These concepts provide an important groundwork for understanding the analysis of legal doctrine. Basic reading McCoubrey – Chapter 12 Further reading Bix – Chapter 8 Wolff, J, An Introduction to Political Philosophy, Oxford UP, Oxford, 1996 Topic 7 Natural law and positivism This lecture will commence with a brief examination of eighteenth-century English and continental jurisprudence, and will deal briefly with the natural law theories espoused by Blackstone. The attack by Jeremy Bentham on natural law and his development of a secular materialist analysis of law will be examined in detail. Austin's refinement of Benthamite positivism will be examined. The positivist concept of sovereignty and law as a command will be considered. Basic reading McCoubrey – Chapters 2 & 3 Further reading Bix – Chapters 3, 6 & 11 Moens, Gabriel, “The German Bodyguard Cases: Natural Law and the Duty to Disobey Immoral Laws” in Ratnapala and Moens, Jurisprudence of Liberty, Chapter 8, pp146-164 9 Topic 8 The philosophy of international law: from Kelsen to human rights theory Kelsen’s theory of norms will be examined and his concept of the norm, the grundnorm and theory of grundnorm explained. International law and human rights’ theory are also examined and analysed from a jurisprudential perspective. Basic reading McCoubrey – Chapters 2 & 3 Further reading Ratnapala, Suri, Jurisprudence, Cambridge University Press 2009 – Chapter 3 Bix p57-66 Lloyd p105 p20; pp270-271; 299-303 Topic 9 John Locke and Robert Nozick Basic reading Kymlicka, W, Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction, Oxford UP, Oxford, 2002, pp102-121 Hudson, B. Justice in the Risk Society, Sage Publications, London, 2003, pp3-9 Topic 10 Critical Legal Studies, Marxist Jurisprudence Basic reading McCoubrey – Chapters 13, 14 & 15 Topic 11 Law and economics The law and economics movement has argued that many of our principal legal doctrines and legal rules have been formulated to reflect principles of economic efficiency. Opponents of the movement have argued in turn that this fails to reflect the relationship between many legal doctrines and principles of justice. The debate will be examined, particularly in relation to explanations about the underlying principles of the modern law of negligence. Basic reading Bix – Chapter 18 Further reading Fletcher, Basic Legal Concepts, London, 1996 10 Topic 12 Philosophy and the Law of Property This lecture will apply some of the philosophical concepts discussed in an earlier lecture to a number of areas of property law. In particular the course will examine issues about the nature and basis for succession and inheritance law. Issues concerning the body as property, and issues related to claims that there can or should be legal restitution for historical wrongs. Basic reading Waldron, J, ‘Property Law’, Chapter 1 from Companion to Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory, edited by Dennis Patterson, Blackwell, Oxford, 1999 (available in course materials) Further reading To be advised Topic 13 Philosophy and the Law of Contract/Course Review The first part of this lecture will examine arguments about the basis of contract law. Is contract law based on a moral obligation to keep promises, or is it better understood as the application of concepts of economic efficiency? When and why does the law allow exploitative or unconscionable contracts to be set aside? Basic reading Benson P. – Contract, Chapter 2 from Companion to Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory Further reading To be advised 11 COMPULSORY ASSIGNMENT In Jurisprudence, there is only ONE ASSIGNMENT. This assignment is compulsory and must be submitted by all students by the due date. A pass mark is 50%. Refer to the Guide to the Presentation and Submission of Assignments for the assignment grading and assessment criteria. Students who fail to satisfy the compulsory requirements will be notified through the Results screen on the Webcampus before the examination period of their ineligibility to sit the examination in this subject. Students must submit a satisfactory assignment of at least 1500 words or as prescribed. The maximum word limit for the assignment is 2000 words (inclusive of all footnotes but not bibliography). The rules regarding the presentation of assignments and instructions on how to submit an assignment are set out in the LEC Guide to the Presentation and Submission of Assignments which can be accessed on the LEC Webcampus. Please read this guide carefully before completing and submitting an assignment. The completed assignment should be lodged through the LEC Webcampus, arriving by 11:59pm on the following date: Compulsory Assignment Wednesday 6 July 2016 (Week 7) ASSIGNMENT QUESTION To obtain the Jurisprudence assignment questions for the Winter Session 2016, please follow the instructions below: 1. Register online with the LEC (see page 26 of the Course Information Handbook for detailed instructions). Once you have registered, you will have full access to the facilities of the LEC Webcampus. 2. Then go into the Webcampus, select the Course Materials section and click on the link to the assignment questions for this subject.