 Jurisprudence - broadly understood as the philosophical inquiry into the nature of law and the values it should serve - has a long and distinguished tradition in the Faculty. Our former professors in
the subject include two canonical legal philosophers: John Austin, one of the most influential
exponents of classical legal positivism and an advocate of utilitarianism, and Ronald Dworkin,
the leading contemporary critic of legal positivism and a key figure in the revival of
rights-centred approaches to law and politics. The Quain Chair of Jurisprudence, currently held
by John Tasioulas, is an established professorship devoted to the study of legal philosophy.
Past
holders of the Quain chair include the political philosophers G.A. Cohen (2008-10) and Ross Harrison (2006-7),
Ronald Dworkin (1998-2005), the legal theorists William Twining (1983-1996) and Lord Lloyd of Hampstead (1956-1980), and
the legal scholar and law reformer Glanville Williams (1945-1955).
The jurisprudential tradition at UCL continues to flourish, with a large number of faculty members conducting research in jurisprudence and related areas of philosophy. They include:
- John Tasioulas, Quain Chair of Jurisprudence
- Professor Alison Diduck
- Stephen Guest, Professor of Legal Philosophy
- Professor Riz Mokal
- Professor James Penner
- Philip Schofield, Professor of the History of Legal and Political Thought
- Dr Sylvie Delacroix
- Dr George Letsas
- Dr Prince Saprai
- and other teachers and researchers.
We are united not by adherence to any common set of jurisprudential doctrines, but by a joint
commitment to the use of clear and rigorous philosophical argumentation to probe some
of the deepest problems of law and society. A shared focus, in keeping with the Benthamite ideals
of the founders of UCL, is the aim of relating law to fundamental ethical values in order to achieve an enhanced appreciation of how law can be a force for good in the lives of individuals and societies. This
commitment to the practical significance of legal philosophy finds an important outlet in the
activities of the Centre for Law and Ethics and the Institute for Human Rights. We also maintain close teaching and research ties with members of the Department of Philosophy and the School of
Public Policy.
Research by faculty members addresses a diverse, and continually changing, array of topics. These
include questions concerning the general nature of law and legal adjudication, questions about
basic moral and political values that bear on law generally, and questions about the conceptual and normative underpinnings
of particular areas of law, such as human rights law, property law, contract, tort, criminal law,
public law, and international law. There is also a strong focus on the history of legal philosophy, exemplified primarily by the world-famous Bentham Project, which was established in 1959
and is based in the Faculty. Regular highlights in the UCL jurisprudence calendar include the
Colloquium in Legal and Social Philosophy and the newly-established annual Quain Lecture in
Jurisprudence.
We have many opportunities for graduate students who wish to study jurisprudence. In addition to
our Ph.D programme, we offer a large number of interdisciplinary postgraduate courses in legal and
political philosophy as part of one or more of the following degrees: the MA in Legal & Political
Theory, the MA in Human Rights, and the LLM (with specialization in Legal Theory). Details of the
courses offered at UCL can be found on our Programmes section.
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