Course 2020-2021 a.y.

50217 - LEGAL ARGUMENTATION AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF LAW

Department of Law

Course taught in English
Go to class group/s: 19 - 20
CLMG (8 credits - II sem. - OB  |  IUS/20)
Course Director:
GIOVANNI TUZET

Classes: 19 (II sem.) - 20 (II sem.)
Instructors:
Class 19: GIOVANNI TUZET, Class 20: GIOVANNI TUZET


Mission & Content Summary

MISSION

How to argue in legal contexts? What are the main argumentative schemes used in legal practice? What is the place of economic arguments in law? The first part of the course (general part) will present the main argumentative and interpretive techniques used in legal practice and some models of justification of judicial decisions. It will also discuss the role of economic arguments in this field and the main tools of the economic analysis of law. The second part of the course (special part) will discuss the role of arguments from expert opinion. In legal practice, expert opinions are given by scientists and economists to provide decision-makers with relevant information. But how to distinguish reliable from unreliable opinions? The course will explore some ways in which legal systems address this issue.

CONTENT SUMMARY

GENERAL PART

  • Argumentation and Reasoning
  • The Contexts of Legal Argumentation
  • The Justification of Judicial Decisions
  • The Syllogism Model
  • The Double Justification Model
  • Arguments on Facts
  • Interpretive and Integrative Arguments
  • Legal and Economic Arguments
  • Positive and Normative Economics
  • The Varieties of Efficiency
  • Coase Theorem
  • Property, Liability, Inalienability
  • Hand Rule

 

SPECIAL PART

  • Expert Evidence (Daubert Trilogy)
  • Expertise, Presumptions and Burdens of Proof
  • Experts and Meaning
  • Purposive Interpretation and Expertise
  • Economic Expertise
  • Expert Precautions in Torts
  • Risk Analysis
  • Proportionality and Economics

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

At the end of the course student will be able to...
  • Distinguish the main interpretive and argumentative techniques in law
  • Understand the main differences, merits and limits of the main economic approaches to law

    .

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

At the end of the course student will be able to...
  • Analyze and critically assess judicial reasoning and economic claims about law
  • Apply the notions presented in the course to concrete cases and discuss these critically

Teaching methods

  • Face-to-face lectures
  • Exercises (exercises, database, software etc.)
  • Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)

DETAILS

  • Exercises on tests simulating the exam
  • Traditional case studies on legal and economic issues

Assessment methods

  Continuous assessment Partial exams General exam
  • Written individual exam (traditional/online)
   x x

ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

The exam grade will be determined with these criteria (of equal weight):

  • quality of presentation (clarity and order)
  • correctness of the answers
  • completeness of the answers

The exam aims to assess students' knowledge of the relevant notions and the ability to apply them to concrete cases.

The partial exams will be on the program (in English) of the current academic year.

Students enrolled in old codes (in Italian) can take the exam in English with the methods and contents of the current program or, alternatively, take the general exam in Italian.


Teaching materials


ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

  • Materials available on Blackboard
  • P. Cserne and F. Esposito (eds.), "Economics in Legal Reasoning", Palgrave 2020
  • A.W. Dnes, Teaching the Essentials of Law and Economics, Edward Elgar, 2020 (last chapter excluded).
Last change 26/06/2020 09:57