Law BA

The module provides an introduction to the basic techniques of legal study and reasoning. It familiarises law students with the main theoretical perspectives on law while connecting this knowledge to the practical operation of the law and its impact on society. It also encourages the development of a critical approach to understanding law in its context.

This module is concerned with aspects of the substantive principles of general contact law. Topics include aspects of contract formation and vitiating factors, the contents of contracts, and discharge and remedies.

This module examines the nature of constitutionalism and the structure of the UK state. Core constitutional concepts - limitations on governmental power, the rule of law, human rights - are analysed. 

The module examines changes that have taken place in relation to the traditional notion of parliamentary sovereignty with reference to the UK's membership of the EC/EU and the incorporation of the ECHR via the Human Rights Act. 

This module also covers the procedures and major principles of judicial review of administrative action and fundamental aspects of civil liberties law, including the powers of the police.

This module includes an introduction to the general principles of criminal law and the study of some offences.

The module covers the tort of negligence and other major torts.

This module examines the nature of land ownership in English law, and the conceptual framework of the creation and transfer of estates and interests in land. This module also examines the principal third party interests affecting land, with particular emphasis on their creation/acquisition and their protection through changes of ownership.

This module involves a critical analysis of the law relating to spouses and cohabitants. It focuses on the definition of the family in law, on legal remedies for domestic violence, and on the regulation and legal consequences of marriage breakdown. 

This module provides an introduction to the institutions, substantive law and procedure, and policies of international criminal justice. Starting with an introduction to the historical origins international criminal law in the wake of the Second World War with the International Military Tribunals at Nuremberg and Tokyo, before turning to the birth of modern international criminal law with the creation and operation of the ad hoc Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. We will then focus on the International Criminal Court, the most important international institution operating in this field to date.

The module examines how, beyond, creating a permanent international court mandated to investigate and prosecute core international crimes within its jurisdiction, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court created a regime for the investigation and prosecution of international crimes within national legal systems.

The module introduces you to the laws and regulations that apply to online settings and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in general. While focussing primarily on the UK legal perspective, it develops also a comparative legal approach, in view of the cross-border performance of its subject matter.

Therefore, it engages with fundamental questions about the development of Internet governance, to then proceed with examining pertinent issues of jurisdiction and enforcement, the development of a seemingly borderless, global digital economy, and the range of liabilities which emerge from relevant ICT contexts.

In this respect, the module expands on the transactional aspects of e-commerce, looking at the specific challenges involved in setting up an e-commerce business, from minimum information requirements and the design of the relations between providers of goods and services and their customers through terms and conditions. Subsequently, it examines the formation of contracts online, the special obligations businesses incur in relation to consumer protection in the field of online provision of services, and the specific regulatory regimes which govern online payments.

Along these lines, it discusses cloud computing, cryptocurrencies, online legal tech, smart contracts, digital assets, disputes over the use of domain names and social media regulation.

Finally, the module touches briefly upon issues of licensing, online creativity and content, data protection and online defamation, which are explored in greater depth within other, dedicated modules.

A simulated Clinical Legal Education module. Students assume the role of student advisers in a Law Clinic and the tutor assumes the role of a Law Clinic Supervisor. Material is delivered using simulated case studies and activities, where you attend whole group and small group sessions depending on the specific tasks related to the case study.  

You will work independently and in small groups to prepare for, and conduct, the set practical tasks in each case study reporting back to the tutor, such as interviews with clients, writing letters, advising clients, advocacy/negotiation exercises with the tutor/facilitator role-playing as the client/supervisor/ judge/mediator as appropriate. You attend and observe a court or tribunal hearing.

The module replicates practical student experience in a Law Clinic (from fact gathering client interviews, providing advice, representing clients to observing final hearings). You will complete independent self-directed study, small group work and attend whole group sessions. 

This module examines the impact of the Human Rights Act (1998). Its focus is on the workings of the Act, and on the (interpretative) jurisprudence of the UK courts and the European Court of Human Rights on relevant points.

The module considers the legal and political impact of the Human Rights Act (1998), and reflects upon the idea of human rights and the appropriateness of their application to the resolution of disputes between different members of a democratic society.

The module considers the idea of human rights; the rights in the European Convention on Human Rights, and the enforcement of human rights norms in the United Kingdom. Drawing upon case-law and human rights activism in the three jurisdictions of the UK, it charts the ongoing transformation of the relationship between parliaments, executives and courts, and the development of different theories of rights-adjudication by senior judges. It also assesses the effects of the new rights cultures on different actors such as public authorities and NGOs.

This module analyses the legal order established by the European Union (EU) treaties. It considers the law governing the establishment and operation of the EU, including the methods for enforcement of EU law.  This module also considers the substantive law of the European Union. It involves a detailed examination of the law relating to the internal market, and related areas of EU law. 

This module examines the conceptual context of trusts, and the requirements for the creation and validity of express private trusts and charitable trusts. This module also examines resulting and constructive trusts, the duties of trustees and the imposition of fiduciary liability, together with associated remedies.

Building on existing foundational knowledge (Foundations of Criminal Evidence), this module will provide opportunities for more specialist, advanced studies in criminal trial procedure and evidence, involving in-depth analysis of key topics with major theoretical, policy and practical significance, and drawing out interdisciplinary links to, eg, psychology, philosophy, criminology, forensic science and socio-legal studies.

Particular topics may include:

• Common sense inferential reasoning
• Covert evidence, entrapment and PII (including CHIS; special counsel)
• Testimonial witness evidence
• Identification evidence 
• Principles of examination-in-chief and cross-examination
• Hearsay and the right to confrontation
• Vulnerable witnesses ‘special measures’
• Previous sexual history evidence
• Bad character evidence
• Forensic science evidence and expert witness testimony 
• DNA profiling evidence and probabilities

The course is divided into four sections:

1. Basic Concepts and Guiding Principles: What are the principles which guide the courts in making decisions about children? What are the legal consequences of being a parent? Do parents have rights? Do children have rights?
2. Children and their Biological Parents: What are the consequences of parenthood outside marriage? What happens if parents cannot agree about how their children should be brought up? Where do the children live if their parents separate? How is the decision made? What is the position of the non-residential parent? 
3. Children and Third Parties – Guardians, Step-parents, Relatives, Foster parents and Adoptive parents: How can non-parents obtain parental responsibility for – or even become the legal parent of - someone else’s child? 
4. Children and the State: What state assistance is available to parents temporarily unable to care for their children? When can the state take children away from their parents?

You will explore a topic of your choice under the supervision of a member of staff. The nature and topic of the dissertation will be decided by you and the proposed supervisor. The dissertation will normally be an essay of 46 pages, exclusive of bibliography.

The module examines the rationale for intellectual property rights and their commercial importance; the national, European and wider international dimensions of the legal regulation of intellectual property rights; and the law governing the acquisition, exploitation and infringement of copyright and allied rights, including the application of copyright law in the context of modern information technology developments.

Given the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services’ finding that approximately 1 million species of animals and plants are threatened with extinction, and given that a decline in abundance of native species around the globe of 20% has taken place since 1900, biological diversity is seriously in decline.

This decline is unprecedented, linked to anthropogenic threats, and driving ever more vocal public protests and direct action by groups like Extinction Rebellion. It is also taking place and continuing despite there being many international treaties in place to tackle the threats and problem.

This module sets out to examine the problem, and the legal response under the principal global treaties that are in place to protect wildlife and habitats.

This module seeks to deal with fundamental and complex issues of corporate law. In the beginning we will set 'the scene' by looking at various business mediums available while focusing on the distinction between private and public companies. 

We will examine how companies are formed, and the consequences of formation - discussing concepts such as the corporate legal personality and the corporate 'veil', and the phenomenon of the corporate group. We will also examine contractual and non-contractual liability of companies and those dealing with them; and finally we will consider various issues relating to shareholding and the share capital of companies.

You will arrange and complete a 50-hour law related activity placement (approved by the module convener) to take place after the end of your second year of studies. Law-related activities, include, but are not limited to: work experience with a solicitor’s firm or barristers chambers or work as a paralegal, volunteering for a not for profit organisation such as Citizens Advice or a law centre,  or gaining pro bono experience in a legal context, including delivering public legal education presentations to the local community (for example, streetlaw sessions); working in-house in a legal department of a company, or trade union or other organisation,  advising individuals or groups on bringing and defending legal claims, or on non-contentious legal matters, providing advice and assistance on an area of law, including virtual internships.  

You are then required to produce a critical reflective report (and deliver an oral presentation) on the legal and professional skills developed, observed and acquired during the experience, together with a critical evaluation of the legal and wider contextual issues encountered on the experience).  

This module concerns the law relating to people in the psychiatric system. Issues - including hospital admissions, treatment, competency and guardianship, and advocacy on behalf of the mad - are discussed from a variety of perspectives including patient rights, social control, and medical humanitarianism. 

Underlying the module is the question of what madness is, how it is to be responded to, and whether the existing legal provisions are sufficient or appropriate. 

The module builds on a your knowledge and understanding of Public Law, Criminal Law and Public International Law to apply it, along with Military Law, within the military context.

Focusing mainly on the status, internal and external deployment of British armed forces, the module draws on a variety of materials and case studies to examine the domestic and international legal frameworks within which the military operate.

From public inquiries into the Bloody Sunday killings in Northern Ireland, the court martial of soldiers for crimes committed in Iraq and Afghanistan, to the extension of human rights protection to soldiers as well as civilians, and the on-going debate about the prosecution of British soldiers, the module considers whether the scales of military justice are in balance.

Corporate insolvency gives rise to a number of fascinating and complex questions. Which assets can be claimed by the company's creditors? What should be done with them? How should the proceeds raised be distributed amongst the creditors? How should those responsible for the losses be dealt with? 

The module seeks to develop an understanding of the ways these issues are resolved by the current law. You will be expected to analyse and evaluate the law, and consideration will be paid to the real-world context in which insolvency disputes arise.