MVD016K Legal Argumentation as Applied to the Case Analysis

Faculty of Law
Autumn 2011
Extent and Intensity
0/1. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Lucie Atkinsová, LL.M. (lecturer)
Ing. Mgr. Jaroslav Benák, Ph.D. (assistant)
Mgr. Slavomír Halla, Ph.D. (assistant)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Lucie Atkinsová, LL.M.
Institute of Legal Skills and Innovation of Studies – Faculty of Law
Contact Person: Bc. Martin Pěnčík
Timetable of Seminar Groups
MVD016K/01: Fri 30. 9. 15:05–16:35 315, Thu 3. 11. 13:30–15:00 315, Fri 4. 11. 11:10–12:40 315, Thu 24. 11. 13:30–15:00 315, Fri 25. 11. 11:10–12:40 315, Fri 16. 12. 13:30–15:00 315, 15:05–16:35 315, L. Atkinsová
MVD016K/02: No timetable has been entered into IS. L. Atkinsová
Prerequisites (in Czech)
MP410Zk Civil Law III || CM410Zk Civil Law III
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 25 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/25, only registered: 0/25
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
  • Law (programme PrF, M-PPV)
Course objectives
The overall goal of the course is to create or further develop skills that the students need in order to understand and manage a case. With the help of certain general topics and the application of these topics to a particular case study we first explore and next solve problems which students face when they meet the case in its raw, undeveloped form. They must be capable to spot and formulate legal problems contained in the case. They must also be able to correctly determine the interests of the parties, to suggest and help these parties to select a proper strategy for the solution as well as to disclose the risks and evaluate the possibility of success of different strategies and approaches which can be applied to the case.
Within the course the students shall be exposed to and at least partially practice these skills:
To familiarize themselves with extensive materials about the case and to select from these materials legally relevant information; to evaluate the credibility, to spot the discrepancies and to choose a method how to remedy and handle such discrepancies; to recognize the difference between fact findings and legal opinions.
To find and honor the interests of individual parties and to reflect on such interests when evaluating strategies and recommending solutions.
To identify legal problems and to research legal framework (including jurisprudence) surrounding these problems; to work with legal texts utilizing teleological argument and other legal argumentation tools; to understand the importance of legal principles when searching for the content of a legal norm.
To identify and present strategies for solutions as well as approaches to the case in order to obtain feedback from the professional colleagues.
Syllabus
  • Several general topics have been selected to support the overall focus of the course:
  • (1) Background terminology, scope of the course; the importance of legal argumentation (discussion about various theories of law - from positivist to natural law theories).
  • (2) Specific features of cases which contain constitutional or human rights issues; introducing students to approaches for working with cases concerning basic (human) rights and legal principles.
  • (3) Principles of a specific branch of law (in our case family law) and the impact these principles create on legal texts (and norms) relevant to our case study.
  • (4) Useful hints for handling case law, in particular the case law of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic and the European Court of Human Rights.
  • (5) Role of procedural parties (as well as legal counsel;s role) in court's task of fact finding and legal analysis; shifts in these roles as they reflect historical shifts (joining the European Union, separation of administrative courts' agenda, judicial law-creation (activism?).
  • (6) Relationship of an individual to state or to a society (content and extent of the term public interest); discretionary decision-making by state bodies and the proper limits for the margin of discretion; limiting abuse of discretion by the state bodies.
  • (7) Unconstitutional breaches of proceedings (evidence gathering and evaluation); abuse of discretion in judicial decision-making and in actions of state bodies.
  • (8) Role of legal counsel in goal-setting and the selection of solutions from the point of view of respecting and following client's choice (client-centered representation).
  • However, due to the fact that this is a skill-based rather than knowledge-based course, these general topics are not explored within their wide theoretical level, but merely touched upon in their applied level. That is only to the extent to which their understanding is necessary and crucial for understanding and managing our particular case study.
Literature
    required literature
  • MELZER, Filip. Metodologie nalézání práva : úvod do právní argumentace. Vyd. 1. Praha: C.H. Beck, 2010, xviii, 276. ISBN 9788074001499. info
  • Judikatura a právní argumentace : teoretické a praktické aspekty práce s judikaturou. Edited by Zdeněk Kühn - Michal Bobek - Radim Polčák. Vyd. 1. Praha: Auditorium, 2006, xxii, 234. ISBN 8090378609. info
    recommended literature
  • SOBEK, Tomáš. Argumenty teorie práva. Plzeň: Vydavatelství a nakladatelství Aleš Čeněk, 2008, 330 s. ISBN 9788073801342. info
  • HANUŠ, Libor. Právní argumentace nebo svévole. Úvahy o právu, spravedlnosti a etice. (Legal Argumentation or Arbitrariness). 1st ed. Praha: C.H.Beck, 2008, 222 pp. Beckova edice Právní instituty. ISBN 978-80-7400-035-5. info
  • KÜHN, Zdeněk. Aplikace práva ve složitých případech : k úloze právních principů v judikatuře. Vyd. 1. Praha: Karolinum, 2002, 419 s. ISBN 8024604833. info
Teaching methods
Interaction between the general part (topics) and the special part (working with a case study) is secured by task-lists addressing both of these parts and via the class discussion within the lessons, where this interconnection (of general and practical) is emphasized. The discussion therefore constantly floats from a general (knowledge) level into the practical level of working on a case study.
These class discussions, the related preparatory work of students in small groups (max. 5 students) as well as the final presentation of possible solutions of the case by the small groups in a plenary session of a full class enable students to create habits and to develop skills necessary to understand and manage a case.
Assessment methods
50% written proposal for the solution of the case prepared in small groups
25% presentation of a task prepared according to the instructions of a lecturer by each small group for one of the lessons
25% individual level of participation in lessons
Language of instruction
Czech
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2012, Autumn 2013, Autumn 2014, Autumn 2015.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2011, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/law/autumn2011/MVD016K