Law LLB (Hons) including specialist pathways

It is essentially a practice-focused module that will equip the students through teaching and assessed practice to undertake a time-constrained simulation of the first stage of judicial review as their summative assessment. In the teaching and learning students engage with as part of the module, particular emphasis is placed on the UK human rights framework and the ongoing dialogue between the executive and the courts in relation to rights in public law. Employability will be enhanced for students seeking to work in legal professional practice connected to administrative and human rights law, as well as for students seeking to work in the public sector more broadly.

The traditional underlying principles of the British constitution will be explored and examined in their historical context and their relevance in light of modern constitutional arrangements explored. The effect of external influences such as membership of the European Union, the European Convention on Human Rights and international law obligations will also be addressed. Finally, the efficiency of the constitution in protecting civil liberties will be explored. In addition, students, through regular assessed tutorial essays, will be taught the vital skill of academic legal writing.

This module will be taught through a combination of media: lectures, tutorials, reflective questions and group work. Lectures will be used to introduce each subject and explore difficult topics in depth. 

Tutorials provide an opportunity for students to analyse practical questions related to the subject material, thus providing a real link between the academic subject material and legal practice. Reflective questions on Blackboard will reinforce the independent self-study that is undertaken. Students will be expected to work in groups for Contract Law in Practice, in the style of a law firm providing advice to a client.

An opportunity for all students to complete a formative mock-examination will be provided in the first semester of the module.

This module provides the opportunity for student to do this. An undergraduate student of Law also needs to acquire appropriate skills. As well as skills which relate to the study and method of Law, students require reinforcement and development of their communication, research, information technology and basic legal research skills together with development of general critical abilities. 

This module seeks to provide a structured route, allowing students to achieve these objectives and demonstrate their skills development in a tangible way and at a level that may not always be required through the skills development that takes places within substantive modules. It acts as a foundation for further study and assists employability by giving the student transferable skills to use while undertaking the award and also in further vocational stages and research stages of education.

An international context is delivered by consideration of comparative legal systems and the European influence on the UK jurisdiction. The study of ethics is introduced and a specific workshop is delivered in which key areas are highlighted.

The module develops valuable generic skills, including those relating to employability and personal development. Students are encouraged to operate within the context of professional ethics and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Codes of Conduct. The module enables students to gain an appreciation of how lawyers use their skills in order to deal with a demanding case load.

Employability and timekeeping elements bring ‘everyday reality’ and an excellent opportunity to develop generic skills. It gives an understanding of general procedural requirements and skills-based activities. The assessment strategy is in place in order to enable students to gain knowledge of how law ‘works in practice’ and students are then prepared for further study such as ILEX (Institute of Legal Executives), LPC (Legal Practice Course) or BPTC (Bar Professional Training Course). There is an international dimension in that students are asked to negotiate in a matter involving European Union issues.

The module aims to explore these concepts in relation to the application of these to a variety of both fatal offences and non-fatal offences. The module also considers mechanisms of liability which deal with discrete areas of criminal liability and the application of these concepts in practice.

The assessment strategy is in place in order to enable students to gain academic understanding of the substantive law and how such law ‘works in practice’. The module has links with professional accreditation bodies such as ILEX (Institute of Legal Executives). It provides a foundation to further vocational study with ILEX, LPC (Legal Practice Course) or BPTC (Bar Professional Training Course). Students will gain employability skills and benefit from knowledge of the general workings of the criminal litigation process, coupled with property offences, in contemporary legal society. There is an international dimension in that the module considers the possibility of foreign nationals absconding in the Bail process.

It, therefore, examines the various sources of European Union law, its implementation and enforcement at both European and national levels and the judicial controls which exist to fetter the exercise of power by the European Union. It will examine, as a precursor to the subsequent module of European Union Trade Law and its International Context, the notion of citizenship of the European Union and the development of fundamental and human rights.

It, therefore, examines the various sources of European Union law, its implementation and enforcement at both European and national levels and the judicial controls which exist to fetter the exercise of power by the European Union. It will examine, as a precursor to the subsequent module of European Union Trade Law and its International Context, the notion of citizenship of the European Union and the development of fundamental and human rights.

The module is taught in themes:

• Equity’s History and Maxims
• The Express Trust
• Unwritten Trusts
• Equitable Remedies
• Significant Uses of Equity Today
• Fundamental Principles of Succession

Assessment is broken down into two component parts:

• An examination aimed at testing knowledge, understanding and analytical skills relating to the subject material
• A practical element of coursework, aimed at testing knowledge and application of the subject material in a real-world inspired setting

This module, therefore, will first seek to define prejudice and stereotyping and then move to discuss processes of discrimination, intolerance, hate crimes and violent acts. The origins and historical context of hate crimes will be analysed, as will the confusion/resentment which may be driven by social and cultural change.

By the combination of two approaches to legal study, the student can develop a level of specialism through in-depth research which would otherwise not be possible in a 20-credit module. Students are required to undertake an examination assessment in the chosen area of study in order to meet the requirements of professional accreditation.

It equips students for further study and gives a broad understanding of both substantive and procedural requirements. The assessment strategy is in place in order to enable students to gain academic understanding and how such law works in practice in the commercial sectors. It provides a foundation to further vocational study with ILEX (Institute of Legal Executives), LPC (Legal Practice Course) or BPTC (Bar Professional Training Course) or postgraduate courses. 

Students will gain employability skills and benefit from knowledge of the workings of the commercial and consumer processes in contemporary legal society. There is an international dimension in that the module considers international consumer protection issues and their applicability in the UK jurisdiction.

By the combination of the study of two legal disciplines, the student can develop a level of interdisciplinary specialism which would otherwise not be possible at undergraduate level. Students are required to undertake an examination assessment in Company Law, Consumer and Commercial Law, Evidence or Family Law and Practice in order to meet the requirements of professional accreditation.

Further, the roles of directors, shareholders, the company secretary and auditors are explored. Analysis of reconstructions, mergers and acquisitions is undertaken as well as the implications and options available on insolvency. Module content includes topics applicable for the relevant ILEX (Institute of Legal Executives) module and serves to prepare students wishing to undertake the ILEX assessments for this area of study. Students are assessed by coursework and written examination.

The module offers students the opportunity to explore the concept of offence seriousness as well as other practical issues most likely to be taken into account by the courts. Safeguards and challenges to this process will also be a focal point throughout the module.

The sentencing structure of England and Wales will also be compared with that set out in the Australian Criminal Code. It goes without saying that the sentencing of offenders engages the State’s obligations under Art 6 of the ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights).

The need to maintain a sustainable balance between environmental protection and socio-economic development is fundamental to preserving natural resources and the influence of environmental law will be discussed. The module will be assessed by coursework.

This module addresses the development of human rights protection through the consideration of a variety of international instruments and assessing their impact and efficacy in eradicating abuses. Through a series of case studies students will address areas of modern concern and assess the enforcement of human rights norms at both regional and international level.

The question arises, therefore, is the classical conception on international law still valid given modern global realities. To this end, the module explores and challenges the basic concepts of public international law – the state, treaty as a source of public international law, the role of custom, territorial and jurisdictional sovereignty, diplomatic law, non-intervention and a state's right to self-defence, against the practical concepts under which these have to now be applied.

As such, this module aims to provide the student with a significant opportunity to explore, among other things, the nature of the comparative method, its functions, its significance, the division of the world’s legal systems into families, the idea of law harmonisation, and the comparison of contract, constitutional and family laws from different jurisdictions. The module will enable the student to describe and comment upon particular aspects of current research, or equivalent advanced scholarship in the subject of comparative law. 

The range of issues embraced in the subject includes comprehensive methodological analysis in a number of substantive areas of law. The delivery of the module will connect also to other subjects of legal epistemology, eg legal theory and legal sociology, in that it will not only examine the division of legal families of systems but will also demonstrate the jurisprudential and socio-historical reasons for such a division.

Accordingly, the module takes a multidisciplinary approach. The module enhances the employability of the students:

• By encouraging students to appreciate and examine domestic law and structures, while allowing them to become familiar with foreign legal material
• By providing students following the module with the intellectual tools to work beyond the domestic legal system
• By enhancing as a whole the comparative-analytical proficiency of the student body

The assessment strategy of the module involves a research paper in the form of an essay. Individual essay topics are agreed between the students and the module leader.

The module explores the body of legal rules regulating the roles and input of the judge, jury and witnesses, and the court process. Rules relating to the level of proof and burden of proof required in court actions and the role and rights of the police in obtaining evidence are studied. Specific types of evidence are studied along with issues of their admissibility and their value and weight. It is assessed by coursework and by written examination.

The module will explore and analyse the theory and practice of sustainable development as well as analyse international business transaction as it relates to the sale of goods and the provision of services. In this capacity, the module will link these two strands and will engage students with live and contemporary development problems facing governments and then allow the students to implement functional and realistic business solutions to these problems.

The module places the student at the heart of sustainable international business and fosters problem-solving, creativity, enterprise, critical analysis and innovation for the purpose of direct impact. To bolster this, the module will engage and interact with the Government Department for International Development and, the British Council through guest speakers and projects offered by these institutions. The assessment is by coursework and will require students to analyse a series of case studies and implement a sustainable business transaction.

It also raises increasingly challenging issues in relation to the regulation of rapidly emerging potentials in the field of assisted reproduction technologies, organ transplantation and in the light of changing societal attitudes to the care of the terminally ill. Quite literally, it concerns life and death matters and consequently interfaces significantly with ethical and philosophical perspectives which will form an integral part of this course.

The role of the coroner in ascertaining the cause of death is considered as well as the role of the expert medical witness. The module explores the process and requirement for reporting a death to the coroner, as well the conduct of the inquest with consideration as to when a jury will be involved in this process. The module also considers the power of the coroner to report findings where the death was preventable. Additionally access to legal aid to assist at coroners court is considered along a consideration of possible action following the inquest.

A patient can be sectioned under the Mental Health Act 1983 if they are suspected to be suffering from a mental disorder. These provisions will be explored and their fairness will be called into question. The definition of treatment is also rather controversial, and students will get an opportunity to learn how medical treatment has developed over the generations. 

Anorexic patients are deemed to have a mental disorder under the Mental Health Act 1983, and many human rights complaints have arisen as a result of force-feeding these vulnerable patients. The notion of “food” being a “treatment” for a mental disorder will be examined in this module.

The role of the Mental Health Review Tribunal will be outlined, and their role in community care will be researched. Patients can, of course, admit themselves to hospital and care for themselves. The provisions to allow this will be highlighted towards the end of the module.

Finally, the healthcare of prisoners will be explored in this module. It is thought by some commentators that prisoners are suffering from significant mental health disorders and are not being treated appropriately in their prison environment.

Based on research done in support of the Medical Innovations Bill currently before Parliament, this module explores the law of the cutting edge in medical science and the challenges to traditional concepts from insurance to negligence, contract to public law.

The concept of ownership will be examined from several areas including that of biological parents to surrogacy, donated and frozen gametes and embryos. The module explores the advancing area of genetics and stem –cell research for the possible use of sex selection, saviour siblings and designer babies. The module also considers whether the time has come for the possible rights of the unborn to be reconsidered by the legislative. Finally, whether the United Kingdom can continue to legislate and control reproduction, through the HFEA (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority), against the globalisation of this rapidly expanding area of medical advancement.

It considers the unique complexity of civil and criminal litigation. It forms a basis for CILEX (Chartered Institute of Legal Executives) Level 6 exemptions in these areas and provides an opportunity for those completing a qualifying law degree to claim graduate membership of the Institute without further qualification.

The module then moves into international war crimes including genocide, crimes against humanity and torture. Human rights and fundamental freedoms will play a large role throughout this module. The module then moves on to terrorism as an international crime including preparation and joint enterprise, attempt, conspiracy and omissions. The module will also investigate justifications, excuses, mistakes and duress as defences. Immunity will also be covered. Finally, the module will finish with the establishment of international criminal law trials. This final topic will include different jurisdictions, cooperation, appeals and trial systems.

The module will also consider the liability of road users and third parties for their actions in relation to crimes categorised as road traffic offences. It equips students for further study and gives an understanding of general procedural requirements. The assessment strategy is in place in order to enable students to gain academic understanding of the substantive law and how such law ‘works in practice’.

The module has links with professional accreditation bodies such as ILEX (Institute of Legal Executives), The Law Society and the Bar Council. It provides a foundation to further vocational study with ILEX, LPC (Legal Practice Course) or BPTC (Bar Professional Training Course). 

Students will gain employability skills and benefit from knowledge of the general workings of road traffic litigation, coupled with sub-offences, in contemporary legal society. There is an international dimension in that the module considers the possibility of foreign nationals driving in the United Kingdom.

The module gives students the opportunity to test and develop their own views on complex and controversial issues, including: how to do justice in ‘tragic choice’ situations; what it is that makes law ‘law’, and the implications of a proposition (not) being law; what judges should do in corrupt or unjust legal systems; whether law is binding; and whether law is a solution to social problems, or is itself one of the problems. 

In developing their views, students will have the opportunity to deploy skills which they have been developing elsewhere in the curriculum, and by doing so, also to enhance those skills. Those skills include:

• Research – students will be asked to pursue issues independently and to identify and retrieve relevant information
• Communication – students will be asked to discuss and present their views to colleagues, and of course, over time, to construct a piece of assessed written work
• Evaluation – students will be encouraged not merely to develop their understanding of the sources and the issues they encounter, but also to test, develop, refine and critique their own views, supported by good quality reasoning and evidence

The module is constructed around a number of key thematic blocks, which may vary from year to year depending on developments in the subject area and on the availability of real-world examples of interest. An indicative set of blocks would be:

• Dilemmas, reasoning and justice
• The characteristics of law
• The authority of law
• The nature of judging
• Critical accounts of law

Assessment is broken down into two component parts:

1. A written task, for which there is no prescribed title, and which can take a variety of formats, for example, an ‘essay’, a ‘report’, a ‘judgment’
2. A reflective research trail in which students are required to evidence and account for a proportion of their research, for example, by commenting on their research strategy, and explaining the relative usefulness of sources which they encountered as part of their research

The module will include the licensing of alcohol and entertainment, sexual entertainment venues and gambling.

Assessment will primarily be by way of examination to test knowledge and understanding but there will also be a practical element of coursework aimed at testing knowledge and application of the subject material. An administrative licensing process inevitably warrants applications to be made to licensing authorities and to the court and students will gain an understanding of Licensing Law in part through completing the necessary applications.

The first part of the module takes a more traditional and theoretical approach to the subject area which is, subsequently applied during the second half of the year using live cases. The rationale for this module is to identify common themes and causes of MOJ and to make recommendations for best practice and thus prevent and minimise the number of cases going to appeal.

Engagement with this module will develop both professional legal skills and transferrable skills. Furthermore, it will assist with employability.

This module provides the students with the opportunity to participate in the Centre’s provision of free legal and advice assistance to the community of Derby on a range of areas of law, which in itself will expose the students to social justice.

The module equips students, where necessary, to address ethical and professional research issues, but also scaffolds the development of pure normative research approaches. Students will develop advanced research skills through independent learning, online and collaborative sessions with limited guidance from academic staff.