Introduction to Law

Course Description
This course aims to introduce students to the basic concepts and rules of law. The main objective of the course is to equip students with a theoretical and practical understanding of the law. Students should learn how a lawyer approaches legal problems, and become sufficiently familiar with the relevant rules so that they too can advise a hypothetical client of what his rights and liabilities are likely to be in a particular situation, for example, if he is charged with a crime, or considers that his private rights have been violated and wishes to sue the perpetrator.
Students will become familiar with the main areas of law, i.e. government, property, contracts and treaties, crimes, torts, forms and procedures, interpretation, and justice through a comparative approach in European continental tradition and common law tradtion.

Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:

• Discuss critically the role of law in contemporary societies;
• Demonstrate a clear understanding of the main concepts of law, in particular the nature of legal rights and the remedies available to plaintiffs when their rights are breached;
• Evaluate the application of foundational principles of law in his/her future studies;
• Demonstrate knowledge of the basic principles of constitutional, property, contract, criminal, and tort law and comparative approach to the civil law and common law systems;
• Distinguish clearly between the concepts of public and private law, and between natural persons and legal persons;
• Use appropriate legal terminology and language with reasonable confidence and accuracy.