This module examines core public law principles, and seeks to enable students to further develop within the context of a substantive law subject, the academic and legal skills which students will have learned in the Legal Skills and Methods module in the first semester.
The substantive material covered in the module involves two components (each of which in any one year may involve the following topics).
Section A examines foundational constitutional principles and issues including : the purpose of constitutions and the sources of constitutional rules; the evolution of the UK constitution including reference to international law, the European Union, devolution and the Human Rights Act 1998; and the distribution, use and control of legislative, judicial and executive powers in the UK.
Section B is concerned with the grounds, procedure, remedies and constitutional foundations of judicial review in England and Wales.
Building upon the introduction to legal and academic skills covered in the Legal Skills and Methods module in the first semester, the Public Law module will focus on essay writing skills (small group seminars 1-4); reflecting on feedback (small group seminar 5); answering legal problem questions (small group seminars 6 and 7).
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Identify, explain and comment on key issues relating to constitutions in general and the United Kingdom constitution in particular
Demonstrate a basic knowledge and understanding of public law issues in their political context
Make a personal and reasoned judgement based on a basic understanding of standard arguments in the areas of public law covered in the module
Explain and comment on the grounds, procedures, remedies and constitutional foundations of judicial review in England and Wales, summarising the current state of doctrinal and policy debates
Use grounds of judicial review to advise on reasonably complex hypothetical scenarios, recognise potential alternative conclusions for particular situations and provide supporting reasons for them
Show development of top key legal and study skills including legal and academic writing critical analysis, reasoning and legal research.
Assessment
29403-01 : Essay : Coursework (50%)
29403-02 : Take Home Exam : Exam (School Arranged) - Open Book (50%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions
Assessments: Take home exam (open-book) - 3hrs (50%) 1,500 word essay (50%)