The legal system organises and expresses multiple meanings. This subject considers the structure of wickedness and vice it communicates. The approach taken is consistent with traditional jurisprudential concerns such as natural law theory and positivism, and theorising about the criminal legal system as a system of blaming. The subject introduces students to various jurisprudential and general philosophical accounts of the legal system's approach to wickedness and vice. These theories are applied to specific issues, including questions about our duty to obey, the regulation of morality, the malice of the law and the characterisation of terrorism. This course is particularly timely, given increasing international reliance on a 'discourse of evil'.
Theory is essential to the law. Theory gives us a way of thinking about issues differently. This is particularly important when a legal problem appears to be insurmountable. Theory offers the possibility of imagining the world differently.
2008 contribution for post-2008 Commonwealth-supported students: $1,062.38
Note: Students who commenced prior to 1 January 2008 should consult the Student contribution charges for Commonwealth supported students
Not all students are eligible for Commonwealth Supported places.
2008 amount for undergraduate domestic fee-paying students: $2,544.00
Note: Fees for Postgraduate domestic fee-paying students and international students are charged according to the course they are enrolled in. Students should refer to the Annual Fees Schedule.
Subject EFTSL: 0.125