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Introduction to Law - LEG101/2 Fall 2026
Course
Libor Lukasek
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 and to stimulate and deepen their motivation for studying 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.
The course surveys the principal rules governing civil and criminal actions, examines how courts operate, what sources of law are available to them, and looks in detail at typical legal problems. Students will become familiar with the main areas of law, i.e., constitutional law, government, property, contracts and treaties, crimes, torts, forms and procedures, legal interpretation, and justice through a comparative approach in European continental tradition and common law tradition. The course also includes the basics of International and European law and the protection of human rights.
READING MATERIALS:
Required Materials (Available in the Library or at NEO)
• Honoré, Tony. About Law. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2005
• Simpson, A.W.B. Invitation to Law. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 1988
• Apple, James G., A Primer on the Civil-Law System, Washington, D.C., FJC, 1994
• Aust, Anthony. Handbook of International Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Chapters 1, 11, 23.
Recommended Materials (Available in the Library or via Interlibrary Loan)
• The Avalon Project. Documents in Law History and Diplomacy at https://avalon.law.yale.edu/default.asp
• Gary L. U. Slapper, How the law works (Taylor & Francis 2016).
• Rupert Haigh, International Legal English, A Practical Introduction for Students and
Professionals (Taylor & Francis, 2021, 6th ed.).
• Federalist Papers. New York, 1787-1788.
• Gearey, Adam, et all. The Politics of the Common Law. Perspectives, Rights, Processes, Institutions. London: Routledge, 2013.
• Weinrib, Ernest. The Idea of Private Law. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1995.
• Pipes, Richard. Property and Freedom. Vintage Books, 1999.
• Fried, Charles. Contract as Promise. A Theory of Contractual Obligation. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1981.
• Glenn, Patrick. Legal Traditions of the World. Sustainable Diversity in Law. Oxford University Press, 2007, p. 224-272.
Here is the course outline:
1. LESSON 1
Sep 2 3pm .. 5:45pm, AAU Campus, Main building, Room 3.12
Topic: Introduction to Law Description: Class information, discussion of class expectations. Brainstorm discussion about the issue. Reading: None Assignments/deadlines: Division of power point presentation topics and short speeches topics |
2. LESSON 2
Sep 9 3pm .. 5:45pm, AAU Campus, Main building, Room 3.12
Topic: Constitutional law and the Government Description: This topic focuses on the role of constitutions, the authority of the constitutional and supreme courts, and the role of the European Court of Human Rights of the Council of Europe in interpreting the European Convention on Human Rights. Reading: Honoré, About Law, p. 23-34 Assignments/Deadlines: PowerPoint presentations, short speeches, home study to prepare the review presentations Presentation: Stone Landon Jungk: Why do people obey the law? Short speech: Stone Landon Jungk: The enforcement of Supreme Court rulings |
3. LESSON 3
Sep 16 3pm .. 5:45pm, AAU Campus, Main building, Room 3.12
Topis: Property and Ownership Description: This session will address questions such as - What counts as property from the legal point of view? How and why do laws protect property? Reading: Honore, About Law, p. 35-43 Assignments/Deadlines: PowerPoint presentations, short speeches, home study to prepare the review presentations Presentations: Valentina Gastauer Viktor Lekeš Short Speeches: Theodore Barker Nicholas Zeman |
4. LESSON 4
Sep 23 3pm .. 5:45pm, AAU Campus, Main building, Room 3.12
Topic: Contracts and Treaties Description: Contract law, contract language and negotiations, solving contractual problems. What we consider as agreements and which of them are legally binding. The difference between contracts and treaties. How could contracts and treaties be enforced legally. Reading: Honore, About Law, p. 45-52 Assignments/Deadlines: PowerPoint presentations, short speeches, home study to prepare the review presentations Presentation: Viktor Lekeš Cem Bertan Mulayim Short Speech: Nicholas Zeman Maja Malyszka Claire Vivian Axnessd Caden Ross Haynor |
5. LESSON 5
Sep 30 3pm .. 3pm, AAU Campus, Main building, Room 3.12
Topic: Tort law Description: What the aims of tort law are - when it is fair to make someone who harms another pay them compensation - what interests tort law protects - the problem of intentional, negligence and strict liability. Reading: Honoré, About Law, Torts, p. 65-75. Assignments/Deadlines: PowerPoint presentations, short speeches, home study to prepare the review presentations Presentation: Nicholas Zeman Claire Axness Theodore Barker Nicolas Trontz Short speech: Valentina Simone Petra Gastauer Petra Mariia Motrynets |
6. LESSON 6
Oct 7 3pm .. 5:45pm, AAU Main Building (3.12)
Topic: Criminal Law, Crimes, Courts and Legal Procedures Description: The need for criminal law in society (a cause). The aims of criminal law (a goal). The type of behavior the state criminalizes Reading: Honoré, About Law, Crimes, p. 53-64; Assignments/Deadlines: PowerPoint presentations, short speeches, home study to prepare the review presentations Presentation: Tymofii Kozak Darya Kozhukhovska Maja Olga Malyzska Claire Vivian Axness (moved from 30.9.2026- Session 5) Short speech: Hugo Alexander Armenta Guevara Gavin Allen Kerr Valentina Simone Petra Gastauer (moved 30.9.2026 - Session 5) |
7. LESSON 7
Oct 14 3pm .. 4pm, AAU Main Building (3.12)
Topic: Mid-Term Exam Description: Testing. Exam will be in-class paper tests in written form combining multiply choice and false and true questions (closed book - question, 4 possibilities, only 1 correct answer). In case studies, students solve real-life situations in the field of law. Reading: All materials studied during classes 2- 6 |
8. LESSON 8
Oct 21 3pm .. 5:45pm, AAU Main Building (3.12)
Topic: Legal Forms and Procedures Description: This session discusses the reasons for having forms and procedures in general; the reasons for having forms e.g., the birth certificate, driver license, marriage, the will; the function of the right of defense in procedures; the question of fairness in a dispute of the citizen vs. the state, etc. Reading: Honore, About Law, p. 77-86 Assignments/Deadlines: PowerPoint presentations, short speeches, home study to prepare the review presentations Presentation: Llusa Krejsova, Georgina Post Williams Allen Rodriguez, Zuzana Felicita Short speech: Kozak, Tymofii Ouaki, Mark Simon Syed, Surhan Fatima |