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Jurisprudence — University of Cambridge notes | caselaw

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Jurisprudence

Jurisprudence on the University of Cambridge Law Tripos (Part II). Legal theory — what law is, where its authority comes from, and how it relates to morality and justice. Examined as essays rather than problem questions.

What is law? — Hart and positivism

Hart’s positivism explains law as a social practice without collapsing legality into morality.

Dworkin and interpretivism

Dworkin recasts law as principled interpretation rather than a pedigree-based system of rules.

Legal reasoning and judicial discretion

How judges move from legal materials to justified outcomes without collapsing law into politics.

Raz makes rights central to practical reason without abandoning legal positivism.

Law and morality — the Hart–Devlin debate

A debate about whether criminal law may preserve shared morality as such.

Feminist and critical legal theory

Feminist and critical theory expose how legal neutrality may reproduce hierarchy while denying it.

Punishment and theories of justice

Punishment exposes the point at which legal authority, moral desert and public power collide.

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