This formative course provides first-year students with a better understanding of legal concepts through their historical analysis within the framework of various and successive political models. Although they are grounded in Western legal tradition, these concepts were reformulated by the Enlightenment and the Liberal Revolution and have acquired today (following the crisis of the liberal system and the triumph of the constitutional and democratic state) a whole new meaning. Only by becoming aware of this historical depth can students understand and value the conceptual tools they will employ in a globalized and changing legal order. In this course, students will learn about the evolution of the legal system, its institutions, and the legal-political doctrines. This way, they will discover the social value of the law, acquire a critical sense of its evolution, and develop their ability to synthesize information. In short, it will provide students with interpretive elements that will allow them to take ownership of their professional future instead of simply being the recipients of facts.

Ancien Régime (Old Order) and legal pluralism: the culture of European Common Law.- The Enlightenment and law. The Liberal Revolution and the Rule of Law.- Legal monism (legalism) and codification in Europe.- Constitutionalism and constitution. American constitutionalism.- The emergence of administrative law.- New branches of the legal system. The crisis of the liberal system: authoritarianism and the Constitutional State.- The birth of labour law.- Decodification and the deregulation of law

The course is divided into ten learning units which can be downloaded from Aula Global. The course is continuously assessed and organised through lectures and seminars. In the lecture sessions, the fundamental concepts and questions of every unit, together with the course materials, will be explained. After completing their prep work at home, the students will discuss each unit's assigned readings and comprehension questions in groups in the seminars. Additionally, the students will turn in individual essays throughout the course on different topics to assess their individual work and how they understand the readings uploaded to Aula Global in light of the fundamental notions of that topic. Attendance and class participation in the continuous assessment is computed in the course's final grade.