LJU4801 STUDY GUIDE

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University of South Africa
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LJU4801/1/2018–2020

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, LJU4801/1/2018–2020



CONTENTS

Page

LEARNING UNIT 1: OVERVIEW 1
1.1 Welcome! 1
1.2 Putting the rumours to rest 3
1.3 What do we want to achieve in this module? 3
1.4 How to approach the study material 9
1.4.1 General 9
1.4.2 A suggested study method 9
1.4.3 Your lecturers’ expectations 13
1.4.4 Assessment of legal philosophy 17
1.4.5 A note on academic integrity 19
1.5 The module plan 21
1.6 Additional resources and readings 23

LEARNING UNIT 2: THE FIELD OF STUDY 27
2.1 Introduction 27
2.2 Broader objectives 27
2.2.1 Graduateness 27
2.2.2 Critical thinking 35
2.2.3 Transformative constitutionalism 39
2.3 Definition of legal philosophy 43
2.3.1 Introduction 43
2.3.2 Definitions of legal philosophy 43
2.3.2.1 What is philosophy? 43
2.3.2.2 The basic questions in legal philosophy 45
2.3.2.3 Characteristics of legal philosophy 47
2.3.2.4 Definitions of legal philosophy 49
2.4 Conclusion 51
2.5 Self-assessment questions 53
2.6 Additional resources and readings 53


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, LEARNING UNIT 3: PERSISTENT DEBATES IN LEGAL PHILOSOPHY 59
3.1 Introduction 59
3.2 The relationship between law and morality 61
3.2.1 Natural law 63
3.2.1.1 General introduction 63
3.2.1.2 The Greeks and Romans 65
3.2.1.3 After the Greeks and Romans 69
3.2.1.4 Contemporary natural law 75
3.2.2 Legal positivism 77
3.2.2.1 General introduction 77
3.2.2.2 The three main ideas in legal positivism 79
3.2.2.3 The Hart debates 85
3.2.2.4 The African debate 87
3.2.2.5 The South African debate 93
3.2.3 Evaluation 99
3.3 How judges decide cases 103
3.3.1 Introduction 103
3.3.2 Natural law theories 107
3.3.2.1 Islamic legal philosophy 109
3.3.2.2 African legal philosophy 111
3.3.3 Objectivist theories 113
3.3.3.1 Judges are constrained by the text itself 115
3.3.3.2 Judges are constrained by the intention of the
legislature 117
3.3.3.3 Judges are constrained by the community of
interpreters 117
3.3.4 Postmodern theories 121
3.3.5 Evaluation 127
3.4 Conclusion 129
3.5 Self-assessment questions 129

LEARNING UNIT 4: AFRICAN LEGAL PHILOSOPHY 133
4.1 Introduction 133
4.2 The nature of African Legal Philosophy 135
4.3 Types of African Legal Philosophy 139
4.4 Themes in African Legal Philosophy 145


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