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Theory of Law

Code: 102267
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Law FB 1

Contact lecturer

Name :
Encarnación Bodelon Gonzalez
Email :
encarna.bodelon@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Rocio Medina Martin
Lucia Ortiz Amaro
Noelia Igareda González
Patricia Gonzalez Prado
Luisa Pilar Moreno Cuerva
Esther Murillo Blasco
Marc Abraham Puig Hernandez
Bárbara Lirios Monllor Taltavull
Maria Barcons Campmajo
Ana Nahxeli Beas

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

To be able to follow the subject, it is essential to have optimal linguistic and reading competence in accordance with the level of university studies. Basic knowledge of philosophy and sociology will help to follow the subject.

The teaching of the subject is given taking into account the perspective of the Sustainable Development Goals.

 

Group 1. Theory: Maria Barcons

Seminar 11: Patricia González

Seminar 12: Maria Barcons

Seminar 13: Lorena Garrido

 

Group 2. Theory: Encarna Bodelón

Seminar 21: Patricia González

Seminar 22: Encarna Bodelón

Seminario 23: Rocío Medina

 

Group 3. Theory: Noelia Igareda

Seminar 31: Marc Puig 

Seminar 32: Nelia Igareda

Seminar 33: Lorena Garrido

 

Group 51. Theory: Luisa Moreno 

Seminar 511: Esther Murillo

Seminar 512: Luisa Moreno 

 

Group 70. Theory: Marc-Abraham Puig

Seminar 701: Bárbara Monllor

Seminar 702: Marc-Abraham Puig

Seminar 703: Pendent d'assignació

Objectives

Theory of Law is a subject taught in the first semester of the first year of Law. It is an introductory subject to the Law degree. It seeks to develop critical thinking about law, argumentation and interpretation of rights from the perspective of human rights. Basic legal concepts are introduced, essential for the development of the rest of the subjects in the legal field. This subject includes the major areas of contemporary Theory of Law, based on the plurality of schools and visions that form the Theory of Law, Legal Sociology and Modern Philosophy of Law.

The objectives of the program are linked to the following topics:

1. Forms of approach to Law: Legal Science, Sociology and Philosophy of Law.

2. Theory of the norm and the legal system.

3. Interpretation and application of Law.

4. Values ​​of Law and theories of justice.

5. Fundamentals of the Sociology of Law.

The main training objectives of the subject are:

1. To know the main forms of approach to Law from the Science of Law, the Sociology of Law and the Philosophy of Law.

2. To identify, know and apply the essential legal concepts.

3. To understand the foundations of legal argumentation.

4. To reflect on the values ​​and functions of Law.

5. To understand the formation of contemporary legal concepts in their historical and social context.

6. To introduce the gender perspective in the theory of law.




Learning outcomes

  1. Demonstrating a sensible and critical reasoning: analysis, synthesis, conclusions.
  2. Students must be capable of communicating their points of view in a compelling way.
  3. Working in teams, being either a member or a coordinator of working groups, as well as making decisions affecting the whole group.
  4. Students must be effective in a changing environment and when facing new tasks, responsibilities or people.
  5. Defend and promote the basic values of coexistence in democracy.
  6. Working in multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary fields.
  7. Students must be capable of producing initiative, creative and innovative knowledge, as well as new ideas.
  8. Students must be capable of perceiving the impact and implications of the decisions taken.
  9. Producing theoretical discussions about the role of the principles in the legal system.
  10. Defining the main basic principles of the legal system.
  11. Identifying the values of the social and democratic state of law.
  12. Interpreting the evolution of the social and democratic state of law.
  13. Defining the relationships between law and morals in the social and democratic state of law.
  14. Enumerating the different contemporary theories of the legal reasoning.
  15. Identifying the problems of law implementation.
  16. Defining the importance of the legal deontology.
  17. Identifying the contemporary deontological problems.
  18. Describing the law-society relationships.
  19. Interpreting the contributions of the sociology of law.
  20. Defining the jusnaturalist (natural law), positivist, and realist legal theories and its view on the unitary nature of the legal system.
  21. Identifying the socio-legal problems in the current socio-legal theories.
  22. Describing the different critical contributions to the theory of Law.
  23. Identifying the sexual discrimination factors in law.
  24. Defining the legal instruments oriented to eradicate social inequality between men and women.
  25. Distinguishing the theories and necessary concepts for the analysis of the inequality between men and women.
  26. Present information in a way that is appropriate to the type of audience.

Contents

Contents

1. Ways to approach the Law. 1.1 Jurisprudence, Sociology of Law and Philosophy of Law. 1.2. Methodological tools. 1.3. Law’s Dimensions: effectiveness and efficiency, validity, justice.

2. Concepts of Law. 2.1. Natural Law: Classical and Contemporary Schools. 2.2. Legal positivism: theoretical (structuralist), ideological, methodological, inclusive and exclusive positivism. 2.3. Legal Realism: Scandinavian and American.

3. Law and morality. 3.1. Relationship between Law and morality. 3.2. Differences and connections between Law and morality. 3.3. Dimensions of morality. 3.4. Types of morality: positive and critical. 3.5. The value of justice. 3.6. Conscientious objection and civil disobedience.

4. Law and society. 4.1. Law as a social phenomenon and as a social construction. 4.2. Social uses. 4.3. Religious norms. 4.4. Functionalist theories of Law. 4.5. Theories of conflict. .

5. The social functions of Law. 5.1. Social control. 5.2. Direct and indirect functions. 5.3. Social integration. 5.4. Conflict resolution. 5.5. Educational. 5.6. Repressive or sanctioning. 5.7. Promotional. 5.8. Distributive. 5.9. Legitimation of power.

6. Law, power and state. 6.1. Relations between the State and the Law. 6.4. Theories of the rule of law: liberal, social, democratic 6.4. State models: liberal, welfare, neoliberal and authoritarian.

7. Legal language and Theory of Legal Norm. 7.1. Norms and language. 7.2. Types of rules. 7.3. Structure of the legal norm. 7.4. Classification of legal norms. 7.5. Non-sexist legal legend

8. Legal systems. 8.1. Concept of legal system. 8.2. Legal system and regulatory system. 8.3. Unity. 8.4. Coherence. 8.5. Fullness. 8.6. Legal pluralism and indigenous legal systems. 8.7. Criticism of colonial legal systems.

9. Fundamental legal concepts. 9.1. Levels of abstraction. 9.2. Fundamental concepts from “pure” theory: sanction, illicit act, legal obligation, responsibility. 9.3. Legal positions: correlation and opposition of positions. 9.4. Evaluation of the types.

10. The legal interpretation. 10.1. Concept of interpretation. 10.2. The problems of language. 10.3. Types of interpretation. 10.4. Theories of legal interpretation.

11. The application of the law. 11.1. Interpretation and application of Law. 11.2. Justification of legal decisions. 11.3. Justification of the premises. 11.4. On judicial creativity.

12. The legal argument. 12.1. Concept of (legal) argumentation. 12.2. Argument dimensions. 12.3. Paradigmatic modes. 12.4. Evaluation of the arguments. 12.5 Gender stereotypes. 12.6. Racist stereotypes

13. Justice, deontology and bioethics. 13.1. Dimensions of justice: material and formal. 13.2. Introduction to deontology and legal professions. 13.3. Introduction to bioethics.

14.Introduction to legal theories and gender perspective

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Theoretical classes 22 0.88 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 24
Individual works 36 1.44 1, 2, 4, 7, 8
Reading and study of materials 45 1.8 11, 12, 15, 17, 19, 21
Teamwork 20 0.8 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8
Seminars 22 0.88 11, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25

Preliminary Note

Attendance at seminars, except for justified cases, will be mandatory for students.

The teaching of the subject and the training of the students is based on the following activities:

1. Directed activities:

1.1 Master classes: where the students reach the conceptual bases of the subject and the legal and jurisprudence framework. The master classes are the activities in which the student is required less interactivity and are conceived as an exhibition to establish conceptual references in each topic.

1.2. Seminars: where students, in small groups, analyze previously developed practical cases together with teachers. In specific cases, the cases will be prepared in class. The basis of the practical work is the understanding and application of the concepts explained in the theoretical classes.

1.3. Evaluation: continuous assessment activities (the nature of which will be informed by the person in charge of the group: written, oral, presentations, etc.) and final exam.

2. Supervised activities:

These are activities that the students develop in the classroom, with the supervision and support of the teaching staff. It is the elaboration of some practical assumption in the classroom.

3. Autonomous activities:

3.1. Preparation of documents of practical activities: which will be delivered and analyzed in the classroom.

3.2. Search for bibliography and instrumental materials for the resolution of practical cases. In some cases, students will have to do the autonomous search of the documentation.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Individual and teamwork 50% 0 0 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26
Evaluation tests 50% 5 0.2 1, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25

IMPORTANT: In the event that the student copies, quotes plagiarism or is discovered with a prohibited device in any evaluation test, the teacher will rate it with a 0 in this evaluation act, and will notify the fact to the Decanate of the Facultancy by presenting a report on the circumstances and evidence of the fact produced to request the opening of an eventual disciplinary file to the student. This evaluation activity will not be recoverable. In the event that more than one irregularity occurs in the evaluation acts of the same subject, the final grade of this subject is 0.


In each teaching group, the specific date or week of carrying out the evaluable activities will be published on the Virtual Campus before the beginning of teaching, without prejudice to the fact that, exceptionally and due to reasons of force majeure, these may, with sufficient notice and advance notice, be modified.

Students will be evaluable provided that they have carried out a set of activities whose weight is equivalent to a minimum of 2/3 of the total grade of the subject. If the value of the activities carried out does not reach this threshold, the teacher responsible for the subject may consider the student as \"not evaluable\".

The final grade of the subject will be obtained from the following elements:


Continuous evaluation. Attendance at seminars, except for justified cases, will be mandatory for students. The typology of the evaluable tests will be notified by the person responsible for the group in advance: practical cases, oral presentations, argumentation and debate, participation, exams, etc.

Seminar tests (50% of the grade): 1st Seminar test (25%) + 2nd Seminar test (25%).

Final exam: 50% of the grade.

The final exam must be passed with a qualification higher than 5 to average with the rest of the continuous assessment grades.


Single Assessment (Guidelines)

First Activity (25%). Reading comprehension.

Second Activity (25%). Essay question.

Common activity (50% of the note). Same task as final exam.

The same \"non-evaluable\" criterion will be applied as for the continuous evaluation.


Re-evaluation

There will be a re-evaluation just of the part related to the final exam. For single assessment students, the same re-evaluation system will be applied as for continuous assessment.

Themaximum grade in the re-evaluation cannot be higher than 6.


Use of AI


Restricted use: For this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is allowed exclusively in the bibliographic or information search and the correction of texts in classroom activities. The students will have to clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final result of the activity. The non-transparency of the use of AI in this evaluable activity will be considered lack of academic honesty and may lead to a partial or total penalty in the grade of the activity, or greater penalties in cases of severity.

Bibliography

COURSEBOOK

AÑON, M. José, et. al. (2023). Teoría del Derecho (3rd ed.). Tirant lo Blanch (electronic edition available at the UAB Library).




FURTHER READING


APARICIO WILHELMI M. (2015). Derechos y pueblos indígenas: avances objetivos, debilidades subjetivas. Revista de Antropología Social, 24, 127-147. https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_RASO.2015.v24.50646

ANDRÉS IBÁNEZ, PERFECTO (2023), ¿QUÉ JUEZ?, Teoría & Derecho. Revista De Pensamiento jurídico, 34, 14-33. https://doi.org/10.36151/TD.2023.064

ATIENZA, Manuel (2015), El Derecho como argumentación. Ariel.

CALVO GARCÍA, Manuel (2000). Teoría del Derecho (2a ed.). Tecnos.

CALVO GARCÍA, Manuel & PICONTÓ, Teresa (2017). Introducción y perspectivas actuales de la sociología jurídica. Editorial UOC.

CASADO GONZÁEZ, María (1998), Ética, derecho y deontología profesional. DS. Derecho y Salud, 6(1), pp. 30-35.

DE LUCAS, Javier (coord) (1997). Introducció a la teoria del dret (3a ed.). Tirant lo Blanch.

DWORKING, Ronald (2012), Los derechos en serio. Ariel.

DE SOUSA SANTOS, Boaventura (2009). Sociología jurídica crítica. Para un nuevo sentido común en el derecho. Trotta.

FALCÓN Y TELLA, María José (2025). Lecciones de Teoría del Derecho (3a ed.). Tirant lo Blanch.

FERRAJOLI, Luigi (2017). La lógica del Derecho. Trotta.

FREEMAN, Michael D. A. (2014). Lloyd’s introduction to jurisprudence (9a ed., Repr.). Sweet & Maxwell.

GARGARELLA, ROBERTO, “El derecho de resistencia en situaciones de carencia extrema”, Astrolabio: revista internacional de filosofía, Nº. 4, 2007, págs. 1-29. https://www.ub.edu/astrolabio/Articulos4/ARTICULOgargarella.pdfINI,

GRANADA, JOSEP, RICHI, MARTINA, Abordajes innovadores al problema del racismo en el campo jurídico, SOS RACISME, Barcelona. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JkFmCT2t4JUx1hnmqEE8JSFJjU8BzWML/view

HAACK, S. (2024). Justicia, verdad y prueba: ensayos sobre epistemología en el derecho. Palestra.

LEMA AÑÓN, Carlos (2023). De la ignorancia del derecho a la justicia epistémica en el derecho: Injusticia testimonial e injusticia hermenéutica como obstáculos para el acceso a la justicia. Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 13(3), pp. 761-796. https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1377

MARRADES, A., SEVILLA, Julia, Calero, M. L., & Salazar Benítez, O. (2019). El lenguaje jurídico con perspectiva de género. Algunas reflexiones para la reforma constitucional. Revista de Derecho Político, 1(105), 127–160. https://doi.org/10.5944/rdp.105.2019.25270

MESTRE, Ruth, La protección de los derechos sociales por el Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos, The protection of Social Rights by the European Court of Human Rights, Cuadernos electrónicos de filosofía del derecho, Nº. 33, 2016

MORESO, José Juan & VILAJOSANA, Josep Maria (2004). Introduccion a la teoria del derecho. Marcial Pons.

NINO, Carlos S. (2015). Introducción al Análisis del Derecho (2a ed.). Astrea.

PUIG HERNÁNDEZ, Marc-A. (2024). Libertad ideológica. Sobre el uso, su ejercicio y las objeciones. Colex.

PUIGPELAT, Francesca (Coord.) (1996). Teoria del dret. Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.

RIBOTTA, Silvina (2025). Huellas de Rousseau en Rawls. La construcción colectiva de la justicia. Anales de la Cátedra Francisco Suárez, 59, pp. 457-483. https://doi.org/10.30827/acfs.v59i.31169

RIDDALL, John G. (2008). Teoría del Derecho. Gedisa.

RUBIO, ANA, I BODELÓN, ENCARNA, Lenguaje jurídico y género: sobre el sexismo en el lenguaje jurídico, CGPJ, Madrid, 2012. https://redmujeresjusticia.org.ar/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Lenguaje-jur%C3%ADdico-y-g%C3%A9nero.-Sobre-el-sexismo-en-el-lenguaje-jur%C3%ADdico.pdf

RUIZ RESA, Josefa (2017). Teoría del derecho. Tirant lo Blanc (versió digital disponible a la biblioteca de la UAB).

VEITCH, Scott, CHRISTODOULIDIS, Emilios & GOLDONI, Marco (2024). Jurisprudence. Themes and Concepts. Routledge.

WACKS, Raymond (2021). Understanding Jurisprudence. An Introduction to Legal Theory. Oxford University Press.

Software

The subject does not requiere any specific software

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 2 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 3 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 11 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 12 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 13 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 21 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 22 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 23 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 31 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 32 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 33 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 51 Catalan first semester afternoon
(TE) Theory 70 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 511 Catalan first semester afternoon
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 512 Catalan first semester afternoon
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 701 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 702 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 703 Spanish first semester morning-mixed