MLJ101 | Law and Justice in a Globalising World

Undergraduate law students in India study a compulsory course in Jurisprudence and Legal Philosophy. Some undergraduate law students complete a Bachelor of Arts degree and study political science and political philosophy. So students have varied levels of exposure to philosophical readings and analysis.

This LLM Core Course requires all students to develop a sound analytical foundation in legal and political philosophy that guides their understanding and engagement with law. In order to appreciate how concepts of law and justice may apply in a changing world, students will first need to appreciate basic philosophical concepts before they confront the complexity of real world application.

Legal education in India has increasingly emphasised technical and mechanical virtuosity with legal rules and concepts that avoids a contextual and ethical evaluation of law and legal institutions. Invariably deeper enquiry into questions of law and policy merge into questions of political and philosophical justice, both within and across national communities. Hence, it is essential for students to develop a keen appreciation for the relationship between legal and policy disputes and philosophical questions.

This course investigates the ethical and normative foundations of law and legal institutions. While it is not prescriptive about legal and philosophical outcomes, it explores how a commitment to particular moral and political values and principles yields a more meaningful understanding of, and engagement with, law and legal institutions.

This course aims to encourage reflection on a critical and ethical practice of law by cultivating the ability to move between doctrinal analysis of what the law is and philosophical arguments about why and how the law should be.

Course Objectives:

This course enables students to achieve the following objectives:

● Grasp the fundamentals of the philosophical and analytical method including close reading, logical analysis and exemplary modes of problem solving.

● Understand the concept of justice as a political and legal ideal and appreciate the different motivations and assumptions behind key conceptions of justice.

● Apply their understanding of justice in adopting a critical perspective on the nature of the law and legal systems.

● Identify and analyze problems of justice within and beyond national communities with a special emphasis on the distinction between national, international, global and cosmopolitan justice.

● To appreciate the institutional and practical dimensions of securing a just and equitable society.