Legal Philosophy - Master
Postgraduate course
- ECTS credits
- 10
- Teaching semesters
- Spring
- Course code
- JUS3512
- Number of semesters
- 1
- Teaching language
- English
- Resources
- Schedule
- Reading list
Course description
Objectives and Content
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge
After successful completion of this course, students will have:
- advanced knowledge of key debates in legal philosophy generally, and specialized insight into debate about the rule of law
- thorough knowledge about critical perspectives on law, about debates about the role of precedents in and about reason-giving for legal argumentation.
- Knowledge about debate about the methodology of legal philosophy.
Skills and general competence
Students will also have developed certain skills and general competence, including:
- the ability to analyse, distinguish clearly and discuss critically central positions in and texts about legal philosophy, and to use such sources to present arguments in the course
- compare and evaluate differences between central positions and texts in international discourse of legal philosophy
- identify, discuss and state thoroughly substantiate opinions about the character and role of legal argumentation in a modern democratic society based on the rule of law.
- the ability to apply their knowledge and skills when thinking about new problems in legal philosophy
- use such competence and skills both orally and in writing
- refer correctly in writing.
ECTS Credits
Level of Study
Semester of Instruction
Place of Instruction
Required Previous Knowledge
Recommended Previous Knowledge
Credit Reduction due to Course Overlap
Combined with Legal Philosophy JUS273-2-A or JUS2312 Legal Philosophy this course will generate no new credits.
The course combines well with any of the elective courses offered at the Faculty of Law, but in particular with:
Access to the Course
The course is available for students:
- admitted to the five-year master programme in law
- admitted to the two-year master programme in law
- admitted to the Master of Laws (LLM) in EU and EEA Law
- granted admission to elective courses at the Faculty of Law
- granted additional right to study following completed Master in Law degree at UiB
- exchange students at the Faculty of Law
The pre-requirements may still limit certain students' access to the course
Teaching and learning methods
Compulsory Assignments and Attendance
Participation in both master classes.
A student presentation as part of a master class.
Mandatory paper of maximum 2000 words (excluding footnotes), of a topic announced during the course. The paper will be awarded a pass/no pass. No grade will be given. Students who have failed the paper will be given an opportunity to write a new paper prior to the exam.
Forms of Assessment
Grading Scale
Assessment Semester
Reading List
Course Evaluation
Examination Support Material
Hjelpemidler til eksamen
Support materials allowed during school exam
See section 3-5 of the Supplementary Regulations for Studies at the Faculty of Law at the University of Bergen.
Special regulations about dictionaries
- According to the Regulations for Studies, one dictionary is permitted support material during the examination. Bilingual dictionaries containing for example both Norwegian-English and English-Norwegian are considered as one dictionary.
- Bilingual dictionaries to/from the same two languages - for example Norwegian-English/English-Norwegian - in two different volumes are also considered as one dictionary (irrespective of publisher or edition).
- Dictionaries as described above cannot be combined with any other types of dictionaries.
- Any kind of combination which makes up more than two physical volumes is forbidden.
- In case a student has a special need for any other combination than the above mentioned, such combination has to be clarified with/approved by the course coordinator minimum two weeks before the exam. Students who have not been granted permission to have a special combination minimum two weeks before the exam will be subject to the usual regulations (Section 3-5) about examination support materials.