Module LAW2221: CRIMINAL LAW

Department: Law

LAW2221: CRIMINAL LAW

Prerequisites

• Legal Skills (LAW 1041) and UK Constitutional Law (LAW 1091) and Individual and the State (LAW 1081).

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To provide a general understanding of the nature and functions of the criminal law (to include both an understanding of the general principles of criminal law and the principles governing selected crimes).

Content

• Introduction to the criminal justice system; the elements of criminal liability; modes of participation; inchoate offences; defences; and the elements of selected crimes.

Learning Outcomes

• Students should be able to demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the general principles of English and Welsh criminal law, and of the constituent elements of selected crimes.

• Students should be able to demonstrate a capacity to apply the subject knowledge to factual situations raising issues of law which may be uncertain and complex, and to evaluate critically the doctrinal coherence and consistency of English and Welsh criminal law.

• Students should be able to demonstrate sound analytical and writing skills as well as the ability to engage in unsupervised research and work independently and to take responsibility for their 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;
• Seminars 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 and essay-writing 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 way.
• The examination tests the ability to focus on relevant legal issues and organise knowledge and argument appropriate to questions raised. The summative essay will provide an opportunity for research-led teaching and require students to address questions about which they have not been taught to any large extent, such as new case law, law reform issues etc., thereby employing transferable analytical and conceptual skills. This assignment will be returned with formative feedback. The examination questions will provide the means for students to demonstrate the acquisition of subject knowledge and the development of their problem-solving skills

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One essay of about 1,500 words during the course of the year.

■ 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