Checking date: 04/04/2025 20:40:12


Course: 2025/2026

Historical Foundations of the legal system
(13567)
Bachelor in Law (2008 Study Plan) (Plan: 149 - Estudio: 206)


Coordinating teacher: LOPEZ DE RAMON, MARIA

Department assigned to the subject: Criminal Law, Procedural Law and History Law Department

Type: Basic Core
ECTS Credits: 6.0 ECTS

Course:
Semester:

Branch of knowledge: Social Sciences and Law



Objectives
Historical Foundations of the Legal System is a formative course that provides students with a deeper understanding of legal concepts through their historical analysis within the framework of various and successive political models. These concepts, originally derived from Western legal tradition, were reinterpreted by the Enlightenment and the liberal revolution, and today (after the crisis of the liberal system and the triumph of the constitutional and democratic state) carry a new significance. Only through an awareness of this historical depth can students fully comprehend and assess the instruments they will use in a globalized and unstable legal order. Throughout the course, through the study of the evolution of the normative system, certain institutions, and legal-political doctrine, students will be able to discover the social value of law, develop critical thinking, enhance their capacity for synthesis, and ultimately equip themselves with interpretive tools that will allow them to be active participants in their professional future, rather than mere accumulators of data.
Learning Outcomes
K1: Know basic humanistic contents, oral and written expression, following ethical principles and completing a multidisciplinary training profile. K2: To know the principles and values of democracy and sustainable development, in particular, respect for human rights and fundamental rights, gender equality and non-discrimination, the principles of universal accessibility and climate change. K3: Master the fundamental concepts and principles of the different sectors of the legal system. K4: To know the importance of fundamental rights and public freedoms, as well as their scope and content. K10: To know the institutional organisation of the State and the international and community organisations of which it is a part. K12: Understand the ethical dimension of law and the need to act responsibly in the defence of fundamental rights and social justice. S1: Plan and organize teamwork by making the right decisions based on available information and gathering data in digital environments. S2: Use the information by interpreting relevant data avoiding plagiarism, and in accordance with the academic and professional conventions of the area of study, being able to evaluate the reliability and quality of such information. S3: Apply the necessary skills to search for information in the different legal sources (legal, jurisprudential and doctrinal). S4: Apply organizational skills and critical management of legal knowledge. S5: Correctly diagnose legal problems and apply the appropriate tools for their solution. S7: Apply knowledge to identify social processes and possible solutions with rigor, precision and scientific objectivity S8: Apply social, economic and environmental sensitivity to conflict resolution. S9: Correctly and effectively use oratory and legal argumentation. S10: Write and structure legal documents correctly. C1: Know how to analyse, elaborate and defend individually a problem in the disciplinary field of the Bachelor's Degree by applying the knowledge, skills, tools and strategies acquired or developed in it. C2: Know and be able to manage interpersonal skills on initiative, responsibility, conflict resolution, negotiation, etc., that are required in the professional field. C4: Be able to solve complex legal problems by applying creativity and innovative ideas.
Description of contents: programme
MEDIEVAL PERIOD (5th Century - 15th Century): High Middle Ages: The medieval social, political, and legal order. Late Middle Ages (12th-15th centuries): The overcoming of the feudal model and common law. MODERN PERIOD (15th Century - 17th Century): The sovereign monarch and the humanist revision of the ius commune. 18th Century: Power as jurisdiction and the "administrative monarchy." The Age of Revolutions (18th Century): French and American revolutions. CONTEMPORARY PERIOD (19th-20th Century): Liberal state and liberal codes. The crisis of the liberal system. Dictatorial regimes. The "Constitutional State" and the democratic Constitution.
Learning activities and methodology
The teaching is structured around ten topics, which can be downloaded from 'Aula Global.' The course follows a continuous assessment model and is organized through lectures and seminars. In the lecture, students receive guidance on the content (fundamental concepts, issues) and the working materials. In seminars, once the personal work has been completed, students, through group work, discuss the readings related to the topic and debate various issues concerning the content of the subject. To assess the students, several individual essays will be required throughout the course, covering the different topics explained and debated in the group sessions. The essay serves to evaluate the student's individual work and how they relate the course content to the readings and historical texts uploaded on Aula Global. It is essential to include references and use the bibliography (readings and texts) available on Aula Global. The use of generative AI is NOT permitted for this activity. Additionally, student attendance and participation in the course are recorded by the instructor and taken into account for the final grade. A minimum attendance of 75% of the sessions (including both lectures and seminars) is required to receive a final grade through continuous assessment (and avoid taking the final exam).
Assessment System
  • % end-of-term-examination/test 60
  • % of continuous assessment (assigments, laboratory, practicals...) 40

Calendar of Continuous assessment


Extraordinary call: regulations
Basic Bibliography
  • Grossi, P.,. A History of European Law. Firenze. 2007
  • Hergoz, Tamar,. A short history of European Law : the last two and half millennia,. Harvard UP. 2018
  • Mannori / Sordi,. Science of Administration and Administrative Law. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. 2009
Additional Bibliography
  • Batlan, Felice., /. Engendiring Legal History. Law & Society Inquiry. 2005
  • Bellomo, M./. The Common Legal Past of Europe (1000-1800). The Catholic University of America Press. 1995
  • Bridenthal, R., Stuard, S., Mosher, W., Merry E./. Becoming Visible. Women in European History. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 1998

The course syllabus may change due academic events or other reasons.