Module LAW3251: ADVANCED ISSUES IN PRIVATE LAW

Department: Law

LAW3251: ADVANCED ISSUES IN PRIVATE LAW

Prerequisites

• Legal Skills [OR LAW 1107 (Legal Skills) AND LAW 1117 (Legal System of England and Wales)] and Law of Torts (LAW 1051) and Contract Law (LAW 1071) and Land Law (LAW2011) and Trusts and Equity (LAW2211). Land Law and Trusts and Equity may alternatively be taken as Co-requisites.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To develop an understanding of specialized aspects of private law, including advanced obligations, real property, trusts, banking, restitution and private law theory, to be chosen from six topic areas, encompassing advanced doctrinal and socio-legal materials and concepts, representing some of the main research areas in private law in the Law School and aiming in particular to enhance the student’s experience of research-led teaching.

Content

• A SELECTION OF TOPICS IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS WILL RUN EACH YEAR. NOT ALL TOPICS WILL BE TAUGHT IN ANY ONE YEAR.
• Long-term contracts
• Gain-based remedies
• The bases of contractual liability
• The law and economics of nuisance.
• Property Law and human rights.
• The internationalization of private law.
• Tort law, harm, and sexual violence
• Introduction to law and economics
• Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the right to respect for the home
• Philosophical foundations of property law
• Feminist, social and moral perspectives on property law and private property
• Islamic Land Law
• Suretyship
• History of Contract: Aspects of contract law
• The Economic Torts
• The Law of Agency
• Aspects of EU Consumer Law
• Aspects of the Law of Restitution

Learning Outcomes

• Students will have:
• A thorough knowledge of the intellectual topography of selected issues in private law.
• A demonstrably in-depth knowledge of certain key issues.
• A familiarity with the secondary literature and debates surrounding key issues.

• Students should be able to:
• interpret and critically evaluate relevant domestic law, comparative law and theoretical approaches;
• identify key reasoning tools employed by domestic and foreign courts in resolving private law issues and be capable of applying these to new situations and legal provisions;
• appreciate how cultural, social and historical factors affect legal approaches to key private law issues

• Students should be able to:
• demonstrate an ability to understand and critically analyse a wide variety of complex issues, drawing on comparative and theoretical materials;
• develop expertise in conducting research into materials from a variety of national and international sources;
• describe accurately and comprehensibly the arguments and analysis of other commentators
• write in a clear and structured way and to put forward ideas in a scholarly manner
• demonstrate an ability to explore complex issues creatively in writing.

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

• The course will be taught through a series of twelve two-hour seminars. This format is calculated to encourage pre-session reading and preparation followed by in depth discussion.
• Each of six topics will be taught in two seminars, but all of the topics will be cross-referenced by the teaching team and themes will be developed.
• The assessment will be through a summatively assessed paper with a formatively assessed draft, followed by an unseen exam at the end of the year.
• The exam will feature at least two questions designed to cut across topics and ensure that students have attained the required substantive knowledge and analytical skills.
• The formative and summative papers, based on student choice of one of the topics taught, will ensure that students have met the research, analysis, and communication objectives.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One 2,000 word essay. This will take the form of a draft section of the eventual summative essay.

■ 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