Module LAW1013: PUBLIC LAW

Department: LAW

LAW1013: PUBLIC LAW

Prerequisites

• None.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• Introduction to Law (LAW1031).

Aims

• Constitutional Law course: the aim of the course is to introduce students to the basic principles of constitutional law and convention, that is the system of legal rules and accepted principles which underpin and regulate the whole system of Government and law in the UK. It will enable them to to employ a variety of critical perspectives as a means of assessing the traditional understanding of the constitution and evaluating the Labour Government???s extensive reform programme, as well as rival proposals for reform. It further aims to give students the ability to recognise how the development of the constitution was and is influenced by a variety of political, economic and social factors. It thereby provides a grounding for the students' future and concurrent study of specific areas of substantive law.
• Introduction to the Law of European Integration: In this part of the triple module, students are introduced to basic institutions, concepts and principles relating to European integration, focussing on the European Union and the European Convention on Human Rights. The methodology of the Court of Justice of the European Communities is the primary focus, with discussion as well of the work of the European Court of Human Rights.

Content

• Constitutional theory: institutions of the state in comparative perspective, constitutional review.
• The nature and sources of UK constitutional law.
• European Integration: the historical, political and economic foundations of the European Union, institutions of the EC and the EC legislative process, the legal structure of the EC, the legal relationship of the EC with member states, judicial protection of 'Community rights' in both Community and national courts.
• Constitutional Conventions; The Rule of Law and Separation of Powers; Parliamentary sovereignty
• The Structure of the United Kingdom after Devolution: Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland; the English Regions
• Parliament and reform; the Executive, Accountability and the Freedom of Information Act
• Methods of legal challenge to official power in the UK: the constitutional function of judicial review, the Application for Judicial Review.
• The protection of Human Rights in the United Kingdom and the Human Rights Act 1998.
• Judicial review of Community acts.
• The development of the European Union and certain wider issues of European Integration.
• The origin and development of the ECHR, its institutions and procedures and interpretation of selected ECHR rights.

Learning Outcomes

• Students should be able to:
• Demonstrate a thorough knowledge of basic principles of UK constitutional law, convention and practice and a grasp of basic principles of constitutionalism, as generally understood in liberal democracies;
• A thorough knowledge of basic principles of the law of European Community institutions and remedies and the European Convention on Human Rights.

• Students should be able to demonstrate:
• An ability to use the above to evaluate both the current state of the constitution, the on-going programme of reform and the critics thereof; an ability to use their knowledge to evaluate the current state of European Community law and the European Convention on Human Rights, and critiques of the current state of the law
• An ability to use the above to evaluate both the current state of the constitution, the on-going programme of reform and the critics thereof; an ability to use their knowledge to evaluate the current state of European Community law and the European Convention on Human Rights, and critiques of the current state of the law
• The ability to engage in legal analysis of specific factual situations raising key issues of constitutional law, European Community institutional law and law of remedies and the European Convention on Human Rights.
• An awareness of the necessity of placing their study of law in a wider social, historical and cultural context

• Students should be able to demonstrate:
• The development of basic analytical and writing skills, including the ability to work independently and for the student to take responsibility for his/her own learning

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures are used primarily to impart knowledge - and also to suggest approaches to evaluation and critical analysis;
• Tutorials will be used to develop and enhance students capacity for legal-problem solving in a particular factual situation, evaluative critical analysis and their appreciation of laws' linkage with broader fields of enquiry;
• Assignments (formative) are used both to develop problem-solving skills, the ability to engage in sustained evaluation of proposed schemes of reforms, and the ability to evaluate the law in a critical and contextual wa
• Summative assessment comprises one unseen examination of three hours. Students are given a choice of questions to answer, but the paper is structured in such a way as to assess students on all the specific outcomes. In particular, students are required to answer both problem and essay type questions: the former primarily assessing knowledge and analysis of specific factual situations raising key legal issues; the latter primarily assess knowledge, evaluative capacity and an awareness of placing the analysis of law in wider contexts of enquiry.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

1 Essays/Term (Michaelmas and Epiphany only) 1500 words max.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University