Postgraduate Course: The Rule of Law (LAWS11490)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course examines various dimensions of the idea and practice of the Rule of Law. In particular, it examines, first, its historical development from classical times to the present day; secondly, the philosophical arguments that can be made and have been made to defend the idea of the Rule of Law, and also to criticise it; and thirdly, key contemporary developments that challenge conventional understanding of the Rule of Law, including the development of notions of legality as a regional or global good, and attacks on the Rule of Law in the name of supposedly rival conceptions of authority, such as national or popular sovereignty. The core aim is to provide a rounded, critical overview of a topic that is fundamental to our understanding of the claims that law makes on us. |
| Course description |
History
1. History of Rule of Law: Classical Foundations
2. Developmental Questions: Rule of Law or Rule by Law?
3. Developmental Questions: Rechtsstaat versus the Rule of Law
Philosophical Questions
4 The Rule of Law and the idea of Constitutional Legitimacy
5 The legalism critique
6 The radical critique
Contemporary Challenges
7 The Rule of Law in global context
8 The Rule of Law in regional context : the case of the EU
9 Post-conflict Rule of Law
10 The Rule of Law and popular democracy
Please note that classes for this course will be jointly taught with Honours level students. Although students at both levels will study the same course materials, assessments will be graded according to the relevant benchmark appropriate to the level of study.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | A minimum of 15 course spaces will be available to each cohort of students, in an attempt to share course spaces equally across both levels of study. The split of spaces at UG or PG level may be adjusted during the allocation process according to demand. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 25 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
An essay of 6000 words (100%) |
| Feedback |
Each student will be asked to provide the 'lead' oral presentation in one seminar, and also act as 'first respondent' to the 'lead' presentation in one other. Students will also be given the opportunity to submit a 'practice' essay, normally based on their 'lead' oral presentation. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
| Have a rounded understanding of a topic that is fundamental to our understanding of the claims law makes on us
|
Reading List
Brian Tamanaha , On the Rule of Law: History, Politics, Theory (CUP, 2004)
Gianluigi Palombella and Neil Walker (eds) Relocating the Rule of Law (CUP, 2009):
Jens Meierhenrich and Martin Loughlin (eds), The Cambridge Companion to the Rule of Law (CUP, 2021)
Fernanda Pirie, The Rule of Laws: A 4,000-year quest form order in the world (Profile Books, 2021)
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Encourages wide-ranging research
Encourages autonomous conduct of research
Encourages this through class participation and oral formative assessments
Provides good measure of ability to apply skills effectively in pursuit of course |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Neil Walker
Tel:
Email: neil.walker@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Lauren McCrory-Irving
Tel:
Email: lmccrory@ed.ac.uk |
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