Introduction to Law

Academic year 2011-12

Date last modified

23-4-2012 1:29

Period

Period 2		Startdate:	31-Oct-11		Enddate:	23-Dec-11
Period 5		Startdate:	09-Apr-12		Enddate:	01-Jun-12

Code

SSC1007

ECTS credits

5.0

Organisational unit

University College Maastricht

Coordinator

S.L.T. Schoenmaekers

Description

Students of Introduction to Law will discover that the term ‘law’ does not lend itself to a single, clear definition. Law can be described in general terms, as well as in a case-based context. Law can also be viewed as a framework of democratically settled rules and norms intended to regulate society in an appropriate and just manner. Law is expected to provide solutions to parties with conflicting or opposing interests. We expect law to bring order, stability and justice to a society. Because societies differ from one another, systems of law differ as well. Students will develop insight into the differences and similarities among the most important systems of law in Europe, the civil or Roman law based systems and the common law systems. We shall study the basic contours of several areas of law, including three areas of private law: contract, tort and property law, and the main areas of public law: criminal law, administrative law, constitutional law and international law. Fundamental principles that play a role in all areas of law will also be examined, such as the rule of law and fairness. The rule of law brings into focus the relationship between the state and its citizens and imposes limitations on the exercise of authority. Law should protect people from abuses of power by others and the state, but law also obliges people to respect the rights and liberties of others, and to respect the legal arrangements that others have made or norms of behavior that have been settled. Law should also create and protect possibilities for people to make their own arrangements. Fairness requires that legal procedures be conducted in a carefully balanced system of rules. The relationship between law and morality will also be touched upon.

Goals

• To familiarize students with basic concepts of legal systems, including civil law and common law systems, and the distinction between private and public law. • To teach students to recognize and categorize legal problems and to approach legal problems systematically and analytically. • To show the dynamics of law, both in general terms and theoretically and in application to practical cases.

Instruction language

Prerequisites

Recommended literature

• T. Honore, About Law, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995 • S. Taekema (ed.), Understanding Dutch Law, Boom Juridische uitgevers, 2004

Teaching methods

PBL
PRESENTATION(S)
LECTURE(S)
ASSIGNMENT(S)
PAPER(S)

Assessment methods

FINAL PAPER
ATTENDANCE
PARTICIPATION
WRITTEN EXAM
ORAL EXAM
TAKE HOME EXAM

Key words