Jurisprudence - Central Issues in Jurisprudence: Justice, Law and Rights

This book aims to provide a brief guide to the major theories and arguments which currently dominate discussion in Jurisprudence. The book is a "key". It gives the basic idea of the subject just enough to get the student started.

The book is highly relevant for the Jurisprudence course in the LL.B. programme, as prescribed in the latest UGC Model curriculum, valid from July 2002, as it is broken up into three parts which mirror closely the way the topics in the course are broken up: Justice, Law and Rights and since the book is so short and simple students can pick up key concepts quickly and easily. For students of the LL.M. programme, as prescribed in the latest UGC curriculum, valid from July 2002, it will prove an easy and readable introductory book for the courses "Concepts of Justice" and "Theories of Rights".

Preface

• Introduction: Studying Jurisprudence
• Principles and justice
• Coherence, rules and illusions
• Rights, rules and utility

• Part One: JUSTICE
  • Utilitarianism
    • Consequences
    • Positive view of welfare
    • Rationality
    • Liberalism, happiness and preferences
    • Utility and distribution
    • Rules and utility
  • Rawls
    • Introduction
      • Ignoring the distinctness of persons
      • The right and the good
    • The basic idea of the theory
    • The difference principle
    • The first principle of justice
    • Reflective equilibrium
  • Nozick, Markets and Justice
    • Markets and equality
    • Problems of private law
  • Finnis on Objective Goods
    • Desires and objective goods
    • Objective goods
  • Goods and the common good
    • Objective goods and utilitarianism
    • Justice
• Part Two: LAW
  • Hart
    • Legal positivism
    • Rules and the internal point of view
    • Powers and secondary rules
    • The legal system
    • Judicial decisions
    • The errors of rival theories
    • Rules and formal justice
    • The shared content of legal systems
    • Legal obligation and the internal point of view
    • The ambiguity of legal positivism
  • Dworkin
    • Rules and principles
    • Principles and positivism
    • The rule of recognition and the soundest theory
    • Discretion and rights
    • Principles and policies
      • Consistency
      • Democracy
      • Retroactivity
    • The claims of legal positivism
  • Fuller
    • Facts, values and purposes
    • The eight principles
    • Law and purpose
    • Internal and external morality
    • Reciprocity, obligation and the rule of recognition
• Part Three: RIGHTS
  • The Analysis of Rights
    • Hohfeld
    • Correlativity of rights and duties
    • Will and interest theories
    • Legal and moral rights
  • The Foundation of Rights
    • Rights and utility
    • Rights and freedom
    • Rights as trumps

Index