The Department of Social Law is one of the leading departments of the Faculty of Law of the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv.  It was formed by reorganization of the department of civil law and process on April 1, 1976, under the name of the department of labour, land and collective farm law. At that time, there were only 5 people in the department: associate professors R.I. Kondratiev – head of the department, N.I. Titova, T.I. Tsygylyk and senior teachers S.F. Vasylyuk and Ya.I. Bezuhla.

In 1991, associate professor P. D. Pylypenko became the head of the department. and the department received its modern name. Development of the department in the 90s of the 20th century is also connected with the pedagogical and scientific activities of assoc. prof. N.B. Bolotina and prof. S.M. Kravchenko.

The department operates a scientific school of labour law under the leadership of prof. Pylypenko P.D. who actually developed it and gave a new direction to the scientific activity of the Lviv Scientific School of Labour Law. The work of this scientist is associated with a new understanding of the problems of the theory of labour law in the conditions of Ukraine’s transition to a market economy. From the standpoint of natural legal understanding, he substantiated fundamentally new approaches to the concept, subject, method, principles, social purpose, functions, system, sources of national labour law, as well as to labour legal relations and the grounds for their emergence.

Active representatives of this scientific school are famous scientists prof. P.D. Pylypenko, prof. V.Ya. Burak, prof. M. Ya. Vashchyshyn, prof. O. M. Rym, prof. S.M. Synchuk and others. The department provides teaching of normative courses for students: “Labour law”, “Social security law”, “Environmental law of Ukraine”, “Land law of Ukraine”, “Fundamentals of labour protection”, and also provides training of specialists specializing in “Ensuring social and economic rights to citizens” and masters of “Social and legal specialization”.

Currently, scientific and pedagogical support of the educational process at the department is provided by five doctors of Law Sciences and 17 candidates of Law Sciences. The lecturers of the department have prepared a number of textbooks on the vast majority of subjects taught at the department.

The main ones are: Labour law of Ukraine: textbook [for students of law of higher education establishments / P.D. Pylypenko, V.Ya. Burak, Z.Ya. Kozak and others]; under the editorship by P.D. Pylypenko – 5th ed., corrected and supplemented – K.: InYure, 2014. – 536 p.; Labour protection in the field of jurisprudence: for students of law of higher education establishments / P.D. Pylypenko, O.I. Zholnovych, Z.Ya. Kozak [etc.]; edited by P.D. Pylypenko – K.: In Yure, 2013. – 272 p.; The law of social security of Ukraine: textbook. [for students of law of higher education establishments / P.D. Pylypenko, V.Ya. Burak, S.M. Synchuk and others] / edited by P.D. Pylypenko – 3rd ed., corrected and supplemented – K.: InYure, 2010. – 504 p.; Environmental law (ecological law): textbook for students of law of higher education establishments / P.D. Pylypenko, V.I. Fedorovych, M.Ya. Vashchyshyn, under the editorship by P.D. Pylypenko – K.: InYure, 2010. – 401p.

The teachers of the department constantly participate in scientific events at the national and international levels.