Jurisprudence Assignment Topics & Ideas

This page contains a selection of 6 assignmenttopics and ideas on jurisprudence. Feel free to use these topics to help you create your own law assignment topics.

1. Is there a place for Morality in the Rule of Law?

This assignment topic will explore the jurisprudence of Fuller, Hart and Dworkin in order to determine if there is a place for morality in the rule of law. It will use a case study approach, so the application of rights will be applied to a variety of controversial subjects (such as, gender and sexuality rights stemming from the Wolfenden Report). The rationale for taking this approach is that the quagmire of morality and the law will not only be explored in theory, but also practice.

2. The Common Law Model has been identified as Essential to the Legal Origins Tradition, which enables harmonisation of laws through cultural development. To what extent is this model being successfully employed in enhancing the rule of law and liberalisation of economies in developing countries?

This discussion will explore the legal origins thesis, which supports the integration of legal norms through a common law system. This approach has been supported in the “Doing Business” Measures of the World Bank; whereby targets are set for countries to meet through the natural evolution of the domestic legislation. The rationale of this system is that the only manner for harmonisation of laws to occur (especially in developing countries) is through natural adaptation; as opposed the “direct transfer” of laws. Therefore, this discussion will examine the basis of this thesis, the arguments of cultural relatively and if the legal origins thesis is the most appropriate model to enhance the rule of law and liberalisation. 

3. Does Rawls provide a model of law that successfully balances individual wants and the needs of the greater good?

The Rawlsian model can be identified as a model of re-distributive justice, which means that the law should be centred on equality. The concept of equality can result in individual rights being eroded for the greater good, thus This assignment topic will explore laws that limit individual's economic rights for the greater good (e.g. the compulsory purchase laws, or the empty property acquisition provisions). In order, to provide a fully rounded examination this discussion will compare the approaches in English, US and Canadian law, in order to determine if there is a place for re-distributive justice at the expense of individual property rights.  

4. To what extent is Dworkin's model of Rights Reflected in the Jurisprudence of the European Convention of Human Rights?

This assignment topic will examine the Coalition Government's calls for a British Bill of Rights, which focuses on the traditional principles of Mill (i.e. rights and responsibilities). The European Convention of Human Rights has been criticised for ensuring “unqualified” rights, but this is a misconception of the system. Rather, the Dworkian model of trumps is a more appropriate identification of the ECHR model. Therefore, this examination will assess Dworkin's and Mill's models of rights, and then determine whether the Coalition Government's review of the ECHR is correct. Finally, it will identify whether the government's recommendations or the ECHR's approach is the best approach.

5. To what extent should judges be able to make decisions on political grounds? A Feminist Treatise on Political Decisions in the Judiciary:

This discussion will question whether there is such a concept as “value-neutral” law, which has been important in the development of equality and anti-discrimination laws. The “value-neutral” approach has been criticised by feminist commentators, because it is failing to ascertain the “differences” between men and women. Thus, the following topic will explore whether it is allowable for the judiciary to make political decisions. The approach that will be taken is to begin from the theory, and then to apply this theory by examining a number of so-called “feminist judgements”.

6. To what extent should (and can) the law be treated as separate from Politics and Economic? An Autopoetic Examination of the Rule of Law:

This assignment topic will explore the reflexive model of law, as put forward by Luhmann and Teubner, in order to determine if law can be determined in abstract from the political and the economic. This discussion will begin from the positivist models of the law, and then consider if a “separated model” is appropriate. It will then move to the “systems model”, which accepts the multiple influences on the law. Finally, it will undertake a comparative review of various legal systems to determine if the reflexive model is more appropriate. These countries will include the German model, which has an abstract model of law, and English law, which is recognised to have a semi-reflexive model through the common law. 

7. Critically evaluate Lord Devlin's claim that the central function of the criminal law is to simply enforce a moral principle and nothing else.

The debate surrounding whether the criminal law is a mere enforcement of morality touches upon a heated topic and sparks endless arguments as to whether the law is an embodiment of moral codes, or whether it is necessarily based on something else. The fundamental question that will be explored by this study is: does the criminal law base its foundations upon concepts of immoral behaviour? This debate was largely a product of the controversy following the Wolfenden Report, though it has burned since the birth of the criminal law. An endless number of cases demonstrate the reluctance of the courts to interfere into the private sphere of the individual, yet if not in immorality, where do the criminal law's roots lie? When can an act be justifiably prohibited at law? This study will examine the extent to which it can be said that the criminal law is based on moral assumptions and conclude that while it may be grounded in immorality, the limits of the law lie in the causation of harm to others. Ultimately, there is an important line to be drawn between immorality and actual harm where the law is concerned.

Suggested Reading

• Audi, R 2007. Moral Value and Human Diversity, New York: Oxford University Press.
• Curzon, LB 2001. Jurisprudence, 3rd edn, London: Cavendish.
• Devlin, P 1965. The Enforcement of Morals, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Dworkin, R 1966. 'Lord Devlin and the Enforcement of Morals', Yale Law Journal, vol. 75, no. 6.
• Hart, HLA 1963. Law, Liberty and Morality, Stanford: Stanford University Press.

8. Why We Obey Law: Positivism or Naturalism?

The debate between the plausibility of natural and positive law has resounded in all of its intricacy throughout legal theories for centuries. Profound and powerful arguments for each, however, remain almost equally convincing and although certain eras have seen one favoured over the other, any definite victory has occurred for neither. It is however accurate to state that natural law is somewhat more troublesome in its content and application than positive law; indeed, any attempt to prove that truth is absolute is ripe with theoretical problems. This study will explore the positivist/naturalist debate I a bid to explain why we obey the law. Can either provide a watertight approach to conformity with the law? A mere simplistic explanation of each approach will do little justice to the topic, and therefore an in-depth review is needed which attempts to link each theory to practical observations. It will ultimately be proposed that a hybrid approach to the understanding of why we obey law which combines features of both naturalist and positivist theories can provide a much more enlightening result.