This module is designed for students who have not had any previous knowledge of UK law. Students will be introduced to the general principles of the legal system and develop an understanding of how the law operates in practice. This module will provide them with knowledge and skills at foundation level upon which to build their undergraduate programme. The topics in this module complement the topics taught in the Legal Theory module and the Human Rights module.

The Autumn Term introduces the basic concepts of law, the hierarchy of the courts and introduces students to the personnel involved in the legal system. The Spring Term builds upon this knowledge and starts by exploring the alternatives to court before looking at civil law and criminal law in depth. The Summer term is slanted toward revision and reinforcing students' learning skills.

Module Aims

- To develop students' knowledge of the scope and classification within English law and enable them to define the relevant legal concepts within the syllabus
- To encourage discussion within the class regarding legal issues by providing practical scenarios in order to enable the student to identify the liabilities within the topic.
- To promote students to create a legal argument in a given situation
To inspire students to critically analyse case law and identify judicial interpretation of statute law
- To foster good practice in order for students to be able to construct and defend legal arguments

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module a student will be expected to be able to:

1. Gain knowledge of law and be able to define the relevant legal concepts within the syllabus.
2. Discuss legal issues raised in practical scenarios and identify the liabilities within each topic.
3. Demonstrate their ability to apply the law in a given situation.
4. Analyse and criticise case law and utilise their ability to identify judicial interpretation of statute law within cases.
5. Construct legal arguments and defend the arguments.

Syllabus

Autumn Term

Legal research
Legal personnel
Legal services
Constitutional law
Statute law – acts of parliament
Judicial review
Classification
The courts
Rules and law
Statute law

Spring Term

Alternatives to Court
Consequences of wrongdoing
Case Law
Reform
Criminal law I
Criminal law II
Civil law I
Civil law II

Summer Term

Revision classes

Assessment

Essay 1: 1,500 words including footnotes, submitted in week 9 (40%)
Essay 2: 1,500 words including footnotes, submitted during week 20 (50%)
Participation mark: 10%
A final three-hour exam will constitute the other 50% of the total mark for the module.

Non-assessed coursework

A formative essay consisting of a maximum of 500 words will be set in the second week of term and returned to the student within two weeks. The essay will indicate the students' ability to use the Oxford referencing system.

50% coursework and 50% exam
Pass mark: 40%