ΠΙΘ621: Law ΙΙ (The Method of Legal Reasoning – Elements of Jurisprudence)

  • Κωδικός / Course Code: ΠΙΘ621
  • ECTS: 15
  • Τρόποι Αξιολόγησης / Assessment: 2 Assignments (30%), Interactive activities (10%), Final exam (60%)
  • Διάρκεια Φοίτησης/ Length of Study: Εξαμηνιαία (εαρινό)/ Semi-annual (spring)
  • Κόστος/ Tuition Fees: 675 euro
  • Επίπεδο Σπουδών/ Level: Μεταπτυχιακό/ Postgraduate
  • Προαπαιτούμενα/ Prerequisites: ΠΙΘ511: Political and Economic Theory ΠΙΘ521: Aspects of Greek and Cypriot History
  • Αναλυτική πληροφόρηση: PITH621_11.2023.pdf

The aim of the Course ΠΙΘ621 is to acquaint students (especially non-lawyers) with the “peculiar” way of thinking, which characterizes lawyers and their science and has its deep roots in ideas and thoughts of a pure philosophical origin. The bridge that connects the modern “expert” lawyer who is involved in politics either as a politician himself or in advisory roles, with the non-lawyer citizen who wants to understand policies which are to a great extent “legalized”, can only be the common place of the Philosophy of Law (Jurisprudence); Law, morals and politics are interconnected and any attempt to strictly distinguish between “legal” and “moral” is, probably, condemned to failure. Students of the Course ΠΙΘ621 should become familiar with many “open issues” of Jurisprudence, already known from the Greek Antiquity (Greek philosophers, Plato, Aristotle et al.) and still constituting an active field of interest for modern scholars. This acquaintance shall allow them to better grasp the way and the reasons why modern societies have transformed themselves into totally “legalized” communities, although Justice still remains the “desideratum” in them. The Course also aims to persuade future politicians that an effective “translation” of legal concepts found into statutes, Acts and other legal texts, into an ordinary-language “vocabulary”, more natural and more “non-lawyer citizen-friendly” should not be considered as an impossible task. On the contrary, such an effort should be undertaken and can succeed under the following prerequisite: Jurisprudence should be used as the “translatory programme” for this aim. The Module ΠΙΘ621 is divided in 4 Parts:

  • 1st Part: Basic definitions and distinctions: Seeking the foundations and "materials" of positive law
  • 2nd Part: Interpretation of law and legal reasoning: The limits, the methods and the problems of interpretation
  • 3rd Part: Moral-political dimensions of positive law: The relationship of law to justice and morality and the promise of human rights
  • 4th Part: Modern critical approaches to law: critical legal studies, feminist legal theory, law and literature