Nathan Oman wrote:

> Obligations Aficionados,

>

> I've heard that for many years there was a great seminar taught at

> Oxford on the "Foundations of the Common Law."  

http://www2.law.ox.ac.uk/jurisprudence/bcl.shtml

¨BCL students (although not normally MJur students) may also take

another long-established legal philsophy course, called Philosophical

Foundations of the Common Law. The topics here are not the topics of

general jurisprudence covered in the Jurisprudence and Political Theory

paper, such as the nature of law and legal interpretation or the extent

of the obligation to obey the law. Instead they are topics of special

(or parochial) jurisprudence, namely philosophical issues raised by the

common law in the fields of contract, tort, and criminal law. Of course,

although the issues are raised by the common law, some of them turn out

to be timeless philosophical puzzles that do afflict every legal system,

such as puzzles about the nature of human action. Some previous

philosophical education might therefore come in handy, but is not essential.

      Philosophical Foundations of the Common Law is taught by dedicated

seminars running through all three terms, supported by a modest

allocation of tutorials. There is a regular three-hour unseen

examination at the end of the year. Again, if you are on an ox.ac.uk

computer you may visit the Philosophical Foundations of the Common Law

course materials pages on our student site for more details of the

syllabus and curriculum, while the outline of the seminar programme is

published here.¨