Course

Unit 1

Introduction 

Meaning, definition, and relevance of law – Evolution of law: from divine law to codified law. Classification of law:Civil and criminal law-Substantive and procedural law-Municipal and international law-Public and private international law;Hierarchy of civil and criminal courts – Tribunals -Sources of legal materials: primary and secondary -Legal terminology and pleadings in civil cases-Stages in criminal proceedings -Appeals, review, and revision in civil and criminal cases – Common legal documents-Legal maxims. 

Unit 2

Schools and Sources of Law 

Nature, value, and methodology of jurisprudence – Schools of jurisprudence:Analytical / Positivist School-Historical School-Natural Law School-Sociological School-Realist School- Marxist jurisprudence-Dworkin’s interpretivism-Critical Legal Studies-Feminist jurisprudence-Critical Race Theory-Postmodern and deconstructionist approaches-Law and economics-Legal pluralism-Comparative jurisprudence. 

Sources of law:Legislation and codification-Custom-Precedent (ratio decidendi, obiter dicta, stare decisis, overruling) 

Unit 3

Rights and Legal Personality 

Concept, meaning, and characteristics of rights-Theories and classifications of rights- Hohfeld’s theory of jural relations-Natural rights and fundamental rights-Generations of rights-Constitutional and statutory rights-Legal personality:Status of unborn, minor, lunatic, drunken, and dead persons,Corporate personality,Legal personality of non-human beings. 

Unit 4

Possession, Ownership, Property and Title 

Concept and kinds of possession-Concept and kinds of ownership-Distinction between possession and ownership-Concept and kinds of property-Title and its legal significance. 

Unit 5

Liability 

Conditions for imposing liability-Mens rea-Intention and malice-Negligence and recklessness-Causation-Strict liability-Vicarious liability 

Course Objectives 

1. To enable understanding of the meaning, relevance, evolution, classifications, and procedural framework of law. 
2. To introduce students to jurisprudence as the philosophical foundation of law and to examine major schools of legal thought. 
3. To analyse the sources of law and methods of judicial interpretation, including legislation, custom, and precedent. 
4. To understand the jurisprudential basis of rights, legal personality, and property, including ownership, possession, and title. 
5. To examine the principles governing legal liability, including fault, mens rea, negligence, and the doctrines of strict and vicarious liability. 

Course Outcomes 

1. Explain the meaning, relevance, and historical development of law and distinguish between its various classification. Analyze the hierarchy of codes, sources of legal material, and procedural stage in civil and criminal cases and apply basic legal terminology, documents, and maxims in legal contexts. 
2. Explain the nature, value, and methodology approaches of jurisprudence and critically examine major schools of legal thought. Analyse different sources of law, including legislation, custom, and judicial precedent, and evaluate their role in legal reasoning and interpretation across diverse jurisprudential perspectives. 
3. Explain the concept, nature, and classifications of rights and analyze major theories including of Hohfeld’s jural relations and the evolution of the human rights and examine constitutional and statutory rights and apply the concept of legal personality to various entities, including corporations and non-human beings, in contemporary legal contexts. 
4. Differentiate and apply the concept, nature, and kinds of position, ownership and property in legal contexts. Analyse the distinction between possession and ownership and explain the concept of title and its legal significance in determining rights over property. 
5. Explain the conditions for imposing legal liability, including the role of mens rea, intention, malice, negligence, recklessness, and causation. Analyse and apply the principles of strict liability and vicarious liability to determine responsibility in various legal contexts. 

Teaching Methododology:Lecture, Group Discussion, PowerPoint Presentation etc. as per the requirement of each module. 

1. W. Friedmann, Legal Theory, Columbia University Press. 
2. John W. Salmond, Jurisprudence, Sweet and Maxwell. 
3. G. W. Paton, A Textbook of Jurisprudence, Oxford University Press. 
4. R. W. M. Dias, Jurisprudence, Aditya Books. 
5. Dennis Lloyd, Introduction to Jurisprudence, Sweet and Maxwell. 
6. V. D. Mahajan, Jurisprudence and Legal Theory, EBC.