LLM Specialisms 2009/10
Legal Theory
The Law Department is at the forefront of research in legal theory, with experts teaching in the areas of traditional jurisprudence, law and social theory, law and political theory, feminist legal theory, the philosophy of punishment and criminal justice, intellectual history and the theory of international law and human rights. Individual subjects are generally taught by teams of teachers so as to draw on their particular expertise. This offers an intellectually rich and varied field of study, in which students may develop their own conceptual and analytic skills and interests. Students also benefit from the unique LSE environment that constantly attracts speakers from around the world, thus enriching the intellectual resources available within the Department.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (LL402): methods of resolving disputes by negotiation and mediation, studied through theoretical analyses and practical exercises.
Comparative Constitutional Law (LL4F7): builds on knowledge students have acquired from having taken courses such as public law, administrative law, EU law and public international law at undergraduate level. It provides a detailed and sophisticated knowledge, and a critical understanding, of the legal issues surrounding the central issues in comparative constitutional law today. An introductory session will focus on the justifications for and dangers of comparative constitutional law, drawing on material from law and sociology. The section on rights will not only compare rights, but also examine their evolution in the respective cultural context. The section on comparison of courts will compare the interpretive methods and underlying principles that have guided the courts, and explore the reasons for differences between methods and principles. The focus on emergency and anti-terrorist legislation will highlight some key tensions in theory (legality vs. legitimacy) and practice (individual liberty vs. national security). Finally, the debates about the migration of constitutional ideas cover the use of comparative material in courts (see the discussion between Scalia and Breyer), and for the purposes of legislative change, and institutional design.
Comparative Law: Theory and Practice (LL441): a critical exploration of the development of the opposition between the Anglo-American common law and the continental law of Europe as the privileged subject of comparative law.
Constitutional Theory (LL444): an inquiry into the nature, functions and significance of constitutions.
Crime and Control: The Ethics and Political Economy of Criminalisation (LL4C7): criminalisation and punishment, at both national and international levels, depend on an exercise of coercion which exceeds that of almost any social phenomenon other than war. This course examines recent trends in patterns of criminal legislation, punishment and actual criminalisation; the main justifications advanced for these practices; and the explanatory theories offered to account for them.
Jurisprudence and Legal Theory (LL400): mainstream and alternative theoretical approaches to understanding the phenomenon of law, with particular emphasis on the work of important schools and individual theorists.
Law and Social Theory (LL465): an introduction to the study of law through the perspective of modern social theory with particular emphasis on contemporary critical European thought.
Law in Society: A Joint Course in Anthropology and Law (AN438): the anthropological analysis of political, cultural and legal institutions as revealed in relevant theoretical debates and with reference to selected ethnography.
Modern Legal History (LL474): developments in English law in the period 1750-1950 in their social, economic and political context.
Regulation: Legal and Political Aspects (LL446): theories and case studies of regulation encountered in public policy, administration, legal literature, examining the origins, development and reform of regulation; the styles and processes of regulation; the issues surrounding enforcement; the inter-organizational and international aspects of regulation; and questions of evaluation and accountability. [not offered 2009/10]
Regulating New Medical Technologies (LL416): the course addresses regulatory responses to new medical technologies. It focuses upon the legal and ethical dilemmas which arise as a result of novel and/or controversial medical practices.
Rethinking International Law (LL423): an advanced level general course in Public International Law, studying the discipline as a whole from distinctively theoretical, historical and practical perspectives.
Terrorism and the Rule of Law (H) (LL475): a theoretical and historical introduction to the concept of terrorism. It will critically consider definitions of terrorism, and analyse the relationship between terrorism and the right to rebel, and the right to engage in civil disobedience. The role of international law generally and international human rights law in particular in the context of terrorism and anti-terrorism action will be considered in detail. [not offered 2009/10]
The Theory, History and Practice of Human Rights Law (H) (LL469): a theoretical and historical introduction to the theory and practice of human rights. It covers the development of the idea of human rights since the 18th century.
