About the Quain Centre of Jurisprudence
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 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. A large number of Faculty members conduct research in jurisprudence and related areas of legal theory and philosophy. They include:
- Dr Haim Abraham (feminist legal theory; queer theory; international legal theory)
- Dr Tim Causer (Bentham Studies)
- Professor Alison Diduck (feminist legal theory)
- Dr Megan Donaldson (international legal theory)
- Dr Mark Dsouza (philosophy of criminal law)
- Levin Guever (criminal jurisprudence)
- Dr Martin Fischer (private law theory)
- Dr Oliver Gerstenberg (European constitutionalism and governance)
- Lara Giuliana Gouveia Simonetti (jurisprudence)
- Professor Stephen Guest (legal and political philosophy)
- Professor Myriam Hunter-Henin (philosophy of law and religion)
- Professor Anthony Julius (law and literature)
- Professor Jeff King (constitutional theory)
- Professor George Letsas (general jurisprudence; philosophy of human rights)
- Professor Andrew Lewis (history of legal philosophy)
- Dr Peter Lythe (Bentham Studies)
- Professor Virginia Mantouvalou (philosophy of labour law and human rights)
- James Milton (political philosophy)
- Professor Colm O’Cinneide (philosophy of anti-discrimination law)
- Professor Judith Resnik (government, courts, and punishment)
- Dr Chris Riley (Bentham Studies)
- Professor Prince Saprai (philosophy of contract law)
- Professor Philippe Sands (international law)
- Professor Philip Schofield (Bentham Studies)
- Dr Ewan Smith (constitutional theory; international legal theory)
- Anna Stelle (philosophy of contract law)
- Dr Silvia Suteu (constitutional theory)
- Professor Kevin Toh (general jurisprudence)
Our commitment
We are united not by adherence to any common set of jurisprudential doctrines, but by a collective 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 to enhance an 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 Ethics and Law and the UCL Institute for Human Rights.
Quain Centre of Jurisprudence members work closely with other networks within the Faculty, including the Private Law Group and the Public Law Group.
The Faculty hosts the annual Quain Lectures in Jurisprudence, which are given by a major figure working in legal or political philosophy.
Through the activities of the Institute for Law, Politics and Philosophy we also maintain close teaching and research links with members of the UCL Department of Philosophy and the Department of Political Science. Together with scholars from Philosophy and Politics, the Faculty of Laws coordinates the running of a Colloquium in Law, Politics and Philosophy which takes place in Terms 2 and 3 of the academic year.
We organise the John Austin Seminars, in which leading academics from around the world present their theoretical or philosophical work on various legal topics.
The UCL Legal Philosophy Forum is a more informal discussion group for work-in-progress in legal philosophy, run by UCL research students.
In addition to these ongoing activities, the Faculty has organised major international conferences on philosophical themes, including the philosophical foundations of private and public law aspects.
Events
The lectures, seminars and events programmes from the UCL Quain Centre of Jurisprudence.
The Jurisprudes podcast
The Jurisprudes is a podcast series by Professor George Letsas (Professor of the Philosophy of Law at UCL Laws) and Professor Nicos Stavropoulos (Professor of Law and Philosophy at the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford). It aims to bring their research outside the classroom and discuss what jurisprudence looks like in the real world today.
Research
Research by Faculty members addresses a diverse and continually changing array of topics. This includes questions concerning the general nature of law and legal adjudication, and questions about the conceptual and normative underpinnings of particular areas of law, including through the lens of gender and race theory, such as constitutional theory, the philosophy of international law, human rights and labour law, medical law and ethics, the ethics of markets and the philosophy of criminal law and contract 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. The mission of the Bentham Project is to produce the new authoritative edition of the Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham.
Get involved
We have many opportunities for graduate students who wish to study legal philosophy. In addition to our PhD programme, we offer many interdisciplinary postgraduate courses in legal and political philosophy as part of one or more of the following degrees: the MA in Legal and Political Theory, the MA in Human Rights, and the LLM (with specialisation in Legal Theory).
UCL Legal Philosophy Forum
The Legal Philosophy Forum is convened by research students in jurisprudence. It is a forum for discussing work-in-progress in legal theory by scholars and research students from within or outside UCL.
The Forum welcomes papers on any theoretical aspect of law. Meetings start with a 30-minute presentation by the speaker, followed by discussion and refreshments.
Contact: To express interest in presenting a paper or for further information, please email laws.legalphilosophy.forum@ucl.ac.uk.