- Law in a social context- nature
and functions of law in society: law,
order and justice; law and freedom; law and the state; law and legitimacy;
law and sovereignty.
- Aspects of the law – types of law – eternal law,
divine law, natural law and human or positive law.
- Classification of law: common law and civil law;
common law and equity; public and private law; civil and criminal law,
- substantive and procedural law;
written and unwritten law; customary law and Islamic law and global legal
traditions (common, civil, Roman-Dutch, Chinese, Islamic and customary
laws.
- Methods of social control through law – penal
method; grievance – remedial method; private arranging method;
constitutive method.
- administrative, regulatory
method; fiscal method; conferral or social benefits method. Legal
reasoning and approach to problems – the language of the law; principles,
standards and issues in law.
- Formality and precision in the
use of language and distinctiveness of legal terminology; legal rhetoric
and legal logic; legal reasoning and practical reasoning.
- Legalism: Legal reasoning in judicial processes:
sifting of facts and law in courts; ratio decidendi; precedents.
- Legal reasoning in legislation –
legislative proposals; legislative drafting; ambiguity, vagueness, open
texture, semantics in law.
- Legislative process: construction of statutes;
types of legislation; codification of laws.