Details for LAW213 Christian Jurisprudence

The common law did not grow in a vacuum. Christian Jurisprudence traces how Christian concepts of natural law, natural rights and natural justice shaped English, American and Australian legal traditions. You’ll study great common-law jurists, the Rule of Law in the West, American constitutionalism and religious freedom in Australia. You’ll finish able to appraise the shared Christian heritage that still echoes in these legal systems.

Quick Stats

• Currently offered by Alphacrucis: Yes
• Course code: LAW213
• Credit points: 10

Subject Coordinator

Prerequisite

LAW301 Legal Theory  

Unit Content

Outcomes

1. Critically examine how Christian concepts such as ‘natural law’, ‘natural rights’ and ‘natural justice’, contributed to the development of the common law.
2. Appraise the contributions of the great jurists in English legal history (including Bracton, Fortescue, Hale, Coke, and Blackstone) and communicate your understanding in verbal and written expression.
3. Demonstrate intellectual independence to evaluate and discuss how Christian values and principles influenced in important ways the development of the Rule of Law in the West.
4. Research the importance of Christian philosophy to the origins of American constitutionalism, including the concept of ‘fundamental rights’ and the doctrine of separation of powers.
5. Appraise the development of the English, American and Australian legal systems and commonalities found in these legal systems, particularly their shared Christian heritage.

Subject Content

1. Introduction to Christian Jurisprudence
2. Christianity and Law in Anglo-Saxon Britain
3. The Norman Conquest; Canon Law and the Magna Carta
4. Equity; Reason and the Common Law
5. Great Jurists of the Common Law – Part 1
6. Great Jurists of the Common Law – Part 2
7. Christianity and Law in Colonial America
8. Christianity and the American Revolution
9. Christianity and American Constitutionalism
10. Christianity and Law in Australia
11. Religious Freedom and the Establishment Clause in Australia
12. Subject Revision
13. Examination Week

This course may be offered in the following formats

Face to Face on site

Please check the timetable to see when this subject will next be offered at Alphacrucis University College.

Assessment Methods

1. Class Presentation (30%)
2. Critical Essay  (20%)
3. Final Examination  (50%)

Prescribed Text

• Augusto Zimmermann, Christian Foundations of the Common Law – Volume 1: England (Connor Court, 2018)  
• Augusto Zimmermann, Christian Foundations of the Common Law – Volume 2: The United States (Connor Court, 2018)  
• Augusto Zimmermann, Christian Foundations of the Common Law – Volume 3: Australia (Connor Court, 2018)  
• Melbourne University Law Review Association, Australian Guide to Legal Citation (Melbourne University Law Review Association, 4th ed, 2018) 

Check with your instructor before purchasing any textbooks