LLB Law

Introduction to Law (Core)

In your first year, you will study Core Law, which consists of three of the seven Foundations in Legal Knowledge subjects such as Public Law, Criminal Law and Contract Law. You will be taught by lectures followed by seminars, where the subject of lectures will be explored in further detail. There are also weekly tutorials which will provide an opportunity feedback on your work. Tutorials will also cover study skills, discussions and presentations.

Public Law

Public Law explores the dynamic nature of constitutional and administrative law in the UK. This topic pays particular attention to the legislation, case law, treaties, history, politics, values and related phenomena that have shaped and continue to shape the British Constitution. Along the way, you will encounter key subjects such as parliamentary supremacy, separation of powers, the rule of law, judicial review, and human rights, all of which are essential to understanding constitutional and administrative law in the UK today. The topic also considers select issues from a comparative law angle.

Criminal Law

This topic develops your understanding of Criminal Law as a particular subject in all its complexity. This involves a broad understanding of the conditions of criminal liability, the analytic structure of crime and its integral components (actus reus, mens rea and defences), and last but not least the machinery of Criminal Law in England and Wales. You will explore the political, social and philosophical background of Criminal Law by investigating its policies, aspirations and purposes in a modern (liberal) society. You also explore the legal framework which is common in every specific crime. Finally, you will deal with specific crimes such as murder, theft, fraud and sexual assaults.

Law of Obligations I (Contract Law)

In this subject, you will develop an understanding of the importance of Contract Law in commercial life and private settings and how contract problems may be approached and resolved. Emphasis is placed on developing a critical understanding of key principles of Contract law, as well as the ways in which its principles relate to the practical aspects of contractual relationships. Attention is focused on the ways in which legislation, common law, and equity have influenced the development of Contract law, as well as the impact of social, economic and business factors on case law during the last few hundred years.

You will also be exposed to the policy issues raised by Contract law. The approach that is adopted in the teaching of Contract Law is very much a problem-solving one. Topics include the nature, development and theory of Contract law; formation; formalities; contractual capacity; contractual terms and their interpretation; vitiating factors; termination of contracts and remedies. You will find this area of law interesting, challenging and relevant to your future career.

Legal Method

Legal Method is defined by Ian McLeod as “the techniques that are available to lawyers when they are handling the law.” You are introduced to a range of skills that you will then draw on explicitly throughout your degree, including legal research, case analysis, statutory interpretation and legal reasoning. These skills, together with the more generic skills of oral and written communication, are developed extensively at every level.

Introduction to Law (Additional)

As well as studying an Introduction to Law (Core), you will also undertake Additional subjects of Legal Theory and Ethics, Legal Praxis, and Criminal Process and Criminal Evidence These subjects not only provide an opportunity to analyse and discover different concepts of Law and procedural devices, but to put the legal skills that you have acquired throughout the year into practice.

Criminal Process and Criminal Evidence

This topic concentrates exclusively on criminal rather than civil evidence. It provides a critical insight into the modern law of criminal evidence in England and Wales. You will be invited to change your perspective and understand criminal adjudication as a decision-making process under uncertainty. A recurrent theme of the topic is the main procedural devices of the Law of Evidence: burden of proof, standard of proof, legal presumptions and the presumption of innocence. We examine how the police and the prosecution services gather evidence, especially confessions, from suspects and how the law regulates the admissibility, relevance and probative force of the evidence. Focus will be on the following themes and topics:

• admissibility and exclusion of evidence
• probative value and prejudicial effect
• hearsay
• silence and the privilege against self-incrimination
• testimony
• eyewitness identification
• bad character evidence
• expert testimony
• vulnerable and intimidated witnesses

Legal Praxis

The societal context of the theory and practice of law is woven pervasively into different law subject areas. You will encounter a number of legal subjects in an applied manner, developing your advocacy, negotiation, interviewing and legal drafting skills. There is an opportunity for you to reflect on your own sense of professional identity and ethic, as well as encountering the various codes and standards that applies in the modern professional environment.

Legal Theory & Ethics

Law lies at the heart of our social and political life. In this subject, you will explore the main schools of thought which have analysed what law is conceptually. The theory and doctrine of the law (commonly called Jurisprudence) illuminates the structural relationship between law, politics, and society while also paying attention to universal questions of justice, rights, and morality. It analyses the nature and purpose of our legal system, and its practice by courts, lawyers, and judges.

Explorations in Law (Core)

Year two core subjects include EU Law, Land Law (two “Foundations in Legal Knowledge subjects”), and Business Law. Whilst you learn about these specific subjects, you are also taught general legal skills that aim to develop your critical thinking, logical and analytical reasoning, problem solving and teamwork skills.

European Law

You build upon your knowledge and understanding of the key concepts that underpin the Constitutional and Administrative Law arrangements within the English Legal System. This theme aims to investigate the foundations, institutional law and constitutional principles of the European Union and on these bases explores the rights and freedoms that European Union Law affords the citizens of Europe. EU Internal Market and EU Competition Law are at the heart of these freedoms.

Land Law

You will critically analyse the principles governing the English system of ownership, use and occupation of land and the concurrent rights of third parties in land. Land law must find a way to apply concepts that are hundreds, if not thousands, of years old to the very latest technologies for transferring and registering land, and do so in a way that means we maximise its use. This unit takes a critical approach to English Land Law’s ongoing efforts to meet these challenges.

Business Law

Business Law will include encounters with aspects of Company Law, Partnership Law, and the Law relating to Sole Traders. In essence, this topic covers the law relating to business organisations, the most important of which is the limited liability company. The limited company (both private and public) is the entity that lies at the heart of economic activity in Europe and most of the rest of the developed world, so the rules that govern how companies are organised and behave have an impact on the lives of everyone in the community. You will go beyond the rules and constitution of the company to critically examine how Business Law attempts to achieve the correct balance between encouraging enterprise and curbing abuse.

Explorations in Law (Additional)

Your second year also allows you to study the following additional subjects: International Law, Justice, Life & Law, and Law in Action. From studying these subjects, you will learn how to distinguish and differentiate different sources and sectors of Law (i.e. national and international laws using customs, treaties, and statutes in a public or private law sector). You will be given the opportunity to debate and discuss key issues surrounding Law, Ethics and Justice, as well as being able to consider an area of ‘Law in Action.’

Law in Action

This theme concentrates on active enquiry within a relevant law subject area. At present, this theme covers Employment Law.  In this course, you will learn about the law regulating employer and employee relationships within the workplace. The course covers matters relating to the rights, duties and obligations of an employer and an employee and will provide you with an in-depth knowledge of the United Kingdom employment legislation and case law. By the end of the course, you will gain the knowledge and skills to identify breach of employment contracts and understand the legal regulation of termination of employment and available recourse.

Justice, Life and Law

You will study some key concepts and contemporary debates on law, ethics, justice and the environment (life). This topic builds on Legal Theory and Ethics which you study in your first year, and presents an expanded exploration of concepts of law and ethics, and an enhanced exploration of contemporary issues of law and life understood in terms of social justice and environmental sustainability. A reading of a Course core text of Capra & Mattei, An Ecology of Law: Towards A Legal System in Tune with Nature and Community (2015) forms the centre of this topic.

Equality and Discrimination Law

You will study the key concepts and current discourse on equality and discrimination law. To broaden your knowledge, we will approach this course from a wide perspective looking at discrimination and equality from the context of international law, human rights law (national and regional) and the Equality Act. You will experience a range of case studies on sex, race, religion and disability discrimination.

Advanced Studies in Law (Core)

In the final year of your LLB Law degree, you will undertake a 45 credit “Advanced Studies in Law”, consisting of two topics selected from a range of topic options supported by the Law School.
Advanced Studies in Law will be delivered by means of lectures followed by seminars, with an enhanced focus upon student learning autonomy and contribution. Dissertation projects will have been provisionally specified towards the end of your second year, and will be supported by named tutor supervision and guidance through your third year, up to the submission date in late Spring.

Law of Equity and Trusts

You will build on the knowledge of equitable principles to which you were introduced to in the related subject of Land Law in your second year. You will critically analyse the role of trusts in their social and economic context and develop an appreciation of the nature of fiduciary relationships, drawing links with similar themes in Company Law. Equitable remedies are also included in the curriculum and related to learning in other elements of the degree, including Contract and Tort.

Law of Obligations II (Tort Law)

This topic considers the nature of Tort Law through a focused exploration of the Tort of Negligence. The Tort of Negligence concerns private law liability for damage caused to property, persons, and exceptionally for economic loss, where the party causing the damage is at fault. The topic moves through the full extent and depth of the Law of Negligence, cumulatively building a holistic engagement with the nature of Tort Law and the Law of Negligence.

Advanced Studies in Law (Additional)

You also choose two from the following to study:

Law of Succession

This theme explores the legal procedures and laws around death. You will look at wills, intestacy, inheritance tax and the administration of estates.

Comparative Public Law

 Comparative Public Law examines public law from the perspectives of various countries throughout the world, including, but not limited to, the United States, Norway, China, the former Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Nigeria, Canada, Ireland, Australia, and Pakistan, as well as from supranational perspectives.  After some introductory matters, the class considers the powers, nature, and methods of courts that handle constitutional issues.  Then the class moves to consideration of individual rights, looking at topics such as freedom of expression, freedom of religion/belief, and others. 

Medical Ethics and International Biomedical Law 1

You will look at some of the most emotive and contentious medical laws. You will study the doctor-patient relationship, medical paternalism and the ethical principles underpinning the doctrine of informed consent, medical negligence and medical confidentiality.

Medical Ethics and International Biomedical Law 2

You are introduced to medical oaths, declarations and codes promulgated since 1947. You will also master the profound ethical and medico-legal issues of today such as abortion, donation and transplantation of organs, sterilisation, assisted dying, embryo experimentation, creating property rights in the human body, and biomedical human research.

NB: These options are subject to change dependent on staff specialties.

Dissertation

You will complete a research project on a legal topic which falls under the expertise of our current Law School Staff.