Course 2026-2027 a.y.

General Part:

· What is General Jurisprudence All About?

· Legal Monism and its Crisis

· Forms and Aspects of Legal Pluralism

Special Part:

· The Contemporary Idea of Human Rights

· Justifying Human Rights

· The Challenge of Relativism to Human Rights

General Part:

· Provide an overview of the main problems in general jurisprudence.

· Illustrate the foundation and evolution of state law over the past three centuries.

· Explain the transformation of legal systems in the age of legal pluralism.

Special Part:

· Identify the core idea of human rights and the challenges related to their foundation.

· Illustrate the various strategies used to justify human rights, along with their limitations.

· Address the challenge of relativism in relation to human rights claims.

General Part:

· Use theoretical legal vocabulary and assess the different current standpoints on the nature of law.

· Properly apply the legal concepts characterizing State law and discuss their implications.

· Argue in favor and against the pluralistic conceptions of legality.

Special Part:

· Compare different theoretical accounts of human rights, and assess their pros and cons.

· Discuss the challenge posed by moral, social and political relativism to the very idea of human rights and design a possible answer to it.

• Lectures
• Collaborative Works / Assignments

Case studies will be conducted in class. They will take place in two forms. In the first form, the entire class will be assigned a relevant case/scenario/problem to be analysed on the basis of the knowledge and understanding acquired during the module, leaving students the choice to work through it either collaboratively or individually. Then, a general discussion of the students’ findings will take place in class, with peer questioning and feedback. In the second form, students will be divided into groups and each group will be assigned a relevant case/scenario/problem to be analysed on the basis of the knowledge and understanding acquired during the module. Then each group of students will be assigned a slot to present their findings to the rest of the cohort.

a) Mid-term written exam 3 open-ended questions, up to approximately 400 words per answer.

Weight toward the final grade: 60%

b) Final written exam 2 open-ended questions, up to approximately 400 words per answer.

Weight toward the final grade: 40%

A maximum of 2 bonus points may be awarded on the basis of the evaluation of the group assignment.

After the mid-term exam, attending students may choose one of the following options:

1) Final written exam on the second part of the course only In this case, the mid-term exam will count for 60% of the final grade and the final exam for 40%.

2) Final written exam covering the entire course programme In this case, the result achieved in the mid-term exam will not be taken into account in the calculation of the final grade. The exam will consist of 5 open-ended questions, up to approximately 400 words per answer, and will account for 100% of the final grade.

a) Final written exam (5 open-ended questions, up to about 400 words per answer) on the program for non-attending students

Weight toward the final grade: 100%

Notes: 1) Written exams are not open book. The use of LLMs is permitted for preparing and presenting group assignments, but not during exams. Students are not permitted to read a text during the presentation. 2) Attending students are requested to attend at least 75% of the lectures. 3) As for the group assignment, attending students will be randomly divided into groups, and each group will be asked to analyse and discuss in class a case related to the course content. 4) Group assignments will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria: a) quality of the presentation; b) depth and rigor of the case analysis; c) demonstration of critical thinking.

General Part:

Lecture notes and course reader uploaded on the Balckboard Platform.

Special Part:

Nickel, James. Making Sense of Human Rights, 2nd ed., Blackwell Publishing, 2007, Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12.

Bix, Brian. 2023. Jurisprudence: Theory and Context, 9th ed. Sweet & Maxwell. Chapters 1-9.

Tamanaha, Brian. 2021. Legal Pluralism Explained: History, Theories, Consequences, Oxford University Press. Pages 1-18, 55-96, 129-168. 

Nickel, James. 2007. Making Sense of Human Rights, 2nd ed. Blackwell Publishing. Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12.