Law LLB

Core modules:

Introduction to Law

This module introduces students to key concepts relating to law. This includes exploring what 'law' is, its role and its impacts within society. It examines how law is categorised and made, including looking at the role of the common law, legislation and equity. It also considers the individuals and organisations involved in making, interpreting and enforcing the law. The module highlights the ways in which the law interacts with ethics and includes case studies, examining the law in practice. It also explores key legal and academic skills, including reading and interpreting different sources of law, conducting legal research, and studying healthily.

Aims:

1. Enable students to think critically about the functions, role and impacts of the law within society.2. Introduce students to key concepts relating to law, with a particular focus upon the English legal system.3. Introduce students to key legal and academic skills relating to the study of law.4. Equip students with core knowledge, understanding and skills to enable them to successfully study other substantive legal topics.

20 credits

Criminal Law and Justice

This module is one of the core foundation subjects of the degree which cover the Foundations of Legal Knowledge. This module will introduce students to the concepts, theories and institutions of criminal law and justice, and its place in society. It will develop an understanding of the essential concepts of criminal liability. It will focus on the main institutional and procedural features of the criminal justice system, with the aim of stimulating an enquiring attitude towards the practice of criminal process. Students will have the opportunity to practise applying these processes to factual scenarios. The module provides a firm foundation for the more advanced study of criminal law and also of criminal evidence, criminal justice and criminal process.

20 credits

Contemporary Issues in Law and Justice

The module is one of the core subjects of the degree, through which students cover the Foundations of Legal Knowledge. It introduces students to techniques of analysing the contributions of law in addressing social problems. Case studies will be explored, based on the research expertise of School staff and selected to demonstrate controversies in the law and a variety of approaches to legal analysis. Students will be challenged to identify how different perspectives on law relate to one another, and how they are portrayed through various media. The module provides a foundation for more advanced critical analysis of the law.

20 credits

Constitutional Law in the UK and EU

This module comprises three sections. In the first theoretical ideas as to the ideal design of constitutions are developed. This is followed in the second section by coverage of the constitutional arrangements of the UK and of the EU, as well as the constitutional relationship between them. In the remainder of the module some of the more significant and controversial aspects of the constitution are studied in more detail, leading to a discussion of the general principles of administrative law.

Contract Law

This module is one of the core foundation subjects of the degree which cover the Foundations of Legal Knowledge.The module will be delivered by a combination of in person lectures and seminars/workshops, where students will be encouraged to participate in discussions and develop their own skills as independent learners.

The Contract Law module provides the opportunity for students to explore issues of contract formation and variation including an analysis of the doctrines of estoppel, duress, undue influence, mistake and misrepresentation.  The module also extends to an evaluation of the law relating to the interpretation and construction of contractual terms including implied terms, exclusion clauses, the doctrines of frustration and remedies.  Students will be expected to critique existing legal solutions and apply complex legal principles to mock scenarios.

20 credits

Resolving Legal Disputes

This module introduces students to a range of methods for resolving legal disputes, including self-help, negotiation, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, adjudication, court proceedings, tribunals and ombudsmen. It encourages students to think about the nature and characteristics of legal disputes, the considerations involved in the resolution of such a dispute, the different remedies available and the broader societal values and factors which may influence such a resolution. Students are given the opportunity to apply their knowledge and understanding to real-world scenarios and consider the range of skills involved in dispute resolution.

Aims:

1. Introduce students to key concepts and principles relating to the resolution of legal disputes, and the limits of the law as it relates to remedies.2. Facilitate an understanding of different methods of dispute resolution and the challenges and opportunities these provide.3. Develop and strengthen students' appreciation of the wider societal values and factors (for example, unequal access to justice) which influence the resolution of legal disputes.4. Develop students' ability to look at a problem creatively and engage actively in choices about how to use the law to address that problem, including answering hypothetical scenarios which reflect real-world issues.

20 credits

Land Law

This module is a foundational module for the study of law. It will introduce students to the concepts, theories and institutions of land law and its place in the legal system and society.

The module critically examines the nature of property rights, their creation and transfer, and their protection against third parties. Some non land examples will be used to draw comparison with both the unregistered and registered land systems in England and Wales. The module will introduce the role of equity in creating and protecting proprietary rights. Particular consideration is given to the unregistered land system, the registered land system, the protection of third parties and the mechanisms of land transactions.

This unit aims to:1. explore in depth the core principles of land law and of other 'types' of property, building a foundation for students' knowledge and understanding of the discipline which will be necessary for the later study of Equity and Trusts;2. focus on legal solutions in Land Law offered at common law and in statute;3. equip students, through an understanding of these principles, with the legal and conceptual tools and skills needed to appreciate the importance of land law within the broader framework of domestic law;4. challenge students to apply such principles in problem solving;5. foster the skills necessary for students to use knowledge and understanding to explain and critique existing land law arrangements and possible alternatives;6. develop the intellectual and practical skills needed to find, research and analyse the law from a diverse range of sources;7. enhance and practise the ability to communicate findings and arguments.

20 credits

Torts Law

This module is one of the core foundation subjects of the degree, through which students cover the Foundations of Legal Knowledge. It follows on from the introduction to the legal systems of the UK which were covered in Introduction to Law and Legal Systems and the introduction to the general principles of obligations in Contract Law.

This module will examine the tort of negligence, concentrating on the principles of duty of care and breach of duty, focusing on the tensions raised by issues such as liability for economic loss and psychiatric injury, and also on the complex problems of proving causation. It will also look at the place of torts law within the law on obligations. It will consider the effectiveness of the torts system in light of the concept of vicarious liability, the available defences, the law of damages, and the policy considerations involved. Torts to be studied will vary each semester and could include occupiers' liability, nuisance, products liability, trespass and defamation. 

This module aims to:1. explore in depth the core principles of the law of torts to develop knowledge and understanding of the discipline;2. equip students, through an understanding of these principles, with the legal and conceptual tools and skills needed to appreciate the importance of tort law principles within the broader framework of domestic law;3. raise awareness of the contemporary and fast-moving nature of the legal discipline;4. develop and strengthen a critical and inquiring mind capable of making coherent evidence and theory-based arguments about the law;5. foster basic skills of research and practise the use of a range of primary and academic sources;6. develop skills of argumentation in written form, appropriate to the audience being targeted;7. develop skills of effective team-work and collaboration.

20 credits

Plus the below:
- Law, Justice and Ethics
- The Individual and the State

You’ll also have the opportunity to deepen your understanding of the legal field through a range of optional modules spanning areas such as Advanced Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Advanced EU Law, Advanced Law of Contract, Criminal Law and Criminal Process.

Equity and Trusts

This module develops the student's understanding of the nature of equitable rights, doctrines, processes, and remedies in domestic law. Particular attention is devoted to the creation of trusts, both private and charitable, to variation of trusts, and to the administrative powers of trustees and their personal liability for breach of trust. The relationship between constructive trusts and proprietary estoppel is considered, as is the relationship between equitable principles and the law of restitution. Amongst equitable remedies considered are specific performance and injunctions. The process of tracing (including a comparison with tracing at common law) is also analysed.

Plus the below:
- Researching Law and Society

You’ll also have the opportunity to conduct further study of a specialist area of your choice through a range of optional modules spanning areas such as International Trade Law, Advanced Torts Law, Family Law, Policing, International Property Law, Criminal Process and Jurisprudence.