Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Introduction of Law
Other languages of instruction: Catalan
Teaching staff
Wednesday, from 12:00 PM untill 13:00 PM
Introduction
The introduction to the law means first, a conceptual rounds as to what law approximation.
It is a first contact of the student with the great philosophical questions that have surrounded and surround the law.
Familiarize students with the legal vocabulary you will encounter throughout the race will be one of the main goals of the course. Vocabulary that will be essential to acquire after more legal expertise.
We examine determinants such as the meaning of the law. The relationships you have with power. The validity of legal norms and the difference to the value thereof.
We will want to focus on the different social functions performed by the law.
We stop at the sources of law, in the structure of the legal rule in the general principles of law, in the various branches of law.
They will also detailed the fundamental individual rights. And in the final section we will delve into the different theories of justice.
Pre-course requirements
No pre-requisites for this course.
Objectives
-
To make a first approach to the legal reality, its sense and meaning.
-
To familiarize the student with the basic components of a legal system: elements, concepts and institutions, functions...
-
To acquire the basic legal vocabulary to face the study of the rest of the legal disciplines.
-
To reflect on the differences and relationships between Law, Justice and Law.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- 01 - To acquire the ability to understand main ideas and participate in conferences or professor led lectures in their academic context.
- 02 - To acquire the ability to understand, analyse and synthesise
- 03 - To be able to express one's ideas and arguments in an orderly and coherent way both in oral and written form (written and oral techniques)
- 09 - To develop mechanisms that favour sensitivity towards issues related to fundamental rights as well as respect for other cultures and customs
- 14 - To be aware of the importance of the Law as a regulatory system for social relationships
- 16 - To be able to use constitutional principles and values as work tools when interpreting the legal system
- 18 - To understand the different ways of creating Law within its historical evolution as well as its current state
Learning outcomes of the subject
- To know and understand the fundamental concepts in law.
- To have acquired the vocabulary and legal culture necessary for study and legal material.
- To know and understand the differnt concepts of law and justice.
- To have acquired basic knowledge on standard theories.
- To identify the main agents that participate in the elaboration, interpretation and application of law.
- To have acquired skills for oral and written communication.
- To have acquired the ability to analyse and sythesise information received in class and from the material provided by the professor.
- To be able to work autonomously and be able to plan and organise one's own learning.
- To have acquired the skills that foster reading comprehension.
- To use basic legal terminology accurately.
- To have developed habits for neatness in one's presentations and documents.
Syllabus
T. 1 Introduction
1.1. An intuitive approach to law
1.2. Law as an art
1.3. The presuppositions of law
1.4. Justice as a virtue
1.5. The necessity of law
1.6. Law, Justice and Law
T. 2 The concept of law
2.1. Ambiguity and vagueness of the term
2.2. Description and definition of law
2.3. Aims of law
2.4. The branches of law
2..5. The great legal traditions
T. 3 Law and other normative orders
3.1. Dimensions of law
3.2. Law and other normative orders
3.3. Law and social customs
3.4. Law and Morality
T. 4 Law and Society
4.1 Relationships law with other social factors
4.2 The functions of law
T. 5 Person and Law
5.1 Person, personality, legal capacity and capacity to act.
5.2 Human dignity
5.3 Family
T. 6 Fundamental legal concepts I: Legal relationship, subjective right, legal act, legal business, contract
T. 7 Fundamental legal concepts II: Legal duty, liability, unlawfulness, crime, sanction, coercion.
T. 8 The legal rule, its structure and classification.
T. 9 The legal system and its properties
T. 10 The legal interpretation: Classes, theories and problems of interpretation
T. 11 The principles of law and Legal values
T. 12 Justice. Natural law and positive law
T. 13 Human rights
Teaching and learning activities
In person
For the development of the first block, in the classroom we will have, together with the lectures, the analysis of the basic concepts through the realization of basic exercises. A comprehensive reading of a text will be carried out, which will be exposed and commented with the teacher.
Outside the classroom, the student will study the essential legal vocabulary, prepare exercises of reflection and understanding of concepts.
| TRAINING ACTIVITY | COMPETENCES |
|---|---|
| Presentación en el aula de los conceptos y su aplicación práctica | 01 14 18 |
| Actividades en el aula para el seguimiento de los alumnos (individual y en grupo) | 02 03 09 16 |
| Estudio y trabajo independiente del alumno | 02 03 11 16 18 |
| Tutorías | 02 |
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
The evaluation system of the course will be as follows:
1. Written midterm exam on October 30.
There will be a partial exam. The exams passed will average with the final exam. The exam will be based on the contents seen in class up to the date of the exam.
2. Final written exam
The final exam will be worth 7 points of the final grade.
3. Continuous evaluation.
There will be a comprehensive reading of the book: ¿Qué es el derecho? by Javier Hervada. It will be worth 2 points of the final grade. Students will have to discuss the book individually with the teacher (requesting an appointment by e-mail).
Chapters I-V (p.1-105), can be commented until October 20th as deadline.
Chapters VI-X (p.105- 208), can be commented until December 15th.
The remaining point will be obtained from class attendance, which will be checked with small tests that will be taken randomly.
*Continuous evaluation will be taken into account in the second call.
NOTE: Following the initiative of some of the most prestigious universities in the world, the use of computers and cell phones will not be allowed in the Introduction classes.
Bibliography and resources
Paloma Durán, Notas de Teoría del Derecho. Universitat Jaume I, 2002 Javier Hervada. ¿Qué es el Derecho?, Eunsa