50217 - LEGAL ARGUMENTATION AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF LAW

Remembering what was discussed in the "Critical Thinking" seminar will help students orientate here.

How to argue in legal contexts? What are the main arguments used in judicial decisions? What is the place of economic arguments in law? The course aims at fostering students’ skills in legal argument and economic analysis. The first part of the course presents the main argumentative and interpretive techniques used in legal practice, and some models of justification of judicial decisions. Judicial opinions will be analyzed in those respects. The second part of the course presents the main tools and claims of the economic analysis of law. It discusses, in particular, the economic approach to property law, tort law, and contracts. Overall, the mission of the course is to teach students to “think like a lawyer” and provide an understanding of the economic issues in law.

FIRST PART

• Argumentation and Reasoning
• The Contexts of Legal Argumentation
• The Justification of Judicial Decisions
• The Syllogism Model
• The Double Justification Model
• Interpretive Arguments
• Arguments on Facts
• Evidence and Probability

SECOND PART

• Positive and Normative Economics
• Efficiency Concepts
• Coase Theorem
• Economic Analysis of Torts
• Economic Analysis of Contracts
• The Efficient Breach Model
• Economic Analysis of Property Law

• Distinguish the main interpretive and argumentative techniques in law
• Understand the main tools, merits and limits of the economic approach to law
• Think and write like a lawyer

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• Analyze and critically assess judicial reasoning and economic claims about law
• Apply the notions presented in the course to concrete cases and discuss critical issues

• Face-to-face lectures
• Exercises (exercises, database, software etc.)
• Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)

• Exercises on tests simulating the exam
• Traditional case studies on legal and economic issues

Points for the open answers will be attributed in the following respects (of equal weight):

• problem identification
• reconstruction of the theoretical framework
• solution to the problem
• relevant comments.

The exam aims to assess students' knowledge of the relevant notions and the ability to apply them to concrete cases.

The partial exams will be on the program (in English) of the current academic year.

Students enrolled in the past who have not yet passed the exam must prepare it according to the contents and rules of the current a.y.

• Materials available on Blackboard

• Economic Analysis of Law, by S.M. Shavell, Ch. 7 of “Analytical Methods for Lawyers”, 3rd ed. (Foundation Press, 2017)