European Legal Studies LLB Honours

This module will introduce you to the subject of Criminal Law. You will study the principles that form the core of Criminal Law including offences such as murder, manslaughter, non-fatal offences against the person, sexual offences, theft, burglary, robbery and attempts. You will also study defences such as insanity, automatism, self-defence and intoxication.

As well as being taught these core principles you will also be taught the theories that underpin the creation of criminal law in order to understand how we decide when to use the criminal law. You will also develop an understanding of the contextual dimension of the subject such as its role in politics, economics and society.

You will develop your research, writing and lawyering skills and apply these skills to the skeleton argument assessment. You will be taught via a variety of methods including television programmes, the media and online resources to reflect the interesting and dynamic subject that criminal law is.

This module will develop your legal research and writing skills within a structured and supported context, working with fellow students and guided and supervised by a tutor. You will explore ways to map ideas, locate and use sources, and present legal arguments effectively.

This module will introduce you to aspects of the ways in which lawyers think and use laws in different contexts. It will allow you to develop an understanding of the ways in which lawyers and legal scholars locate, interpret, apply and evaluate the law and its effect on the world. It will also introduce you to the principles which govern and structure some key legal systems, including the English legal system, as well as other key legal traditions, including regional and international ones. You will learn to find, understand and present scholarly commentary on the law and its content, and present your own viewpoint.

Private law covers all aspects of our lives that cannot be described as criminal law or public law. It is the law that governs the rights and duties that exist between individuals and/or organisations, rather than the State. This module will introduce you to the legal duties and rights which govern the relationship between individuals and their application, within the fields of tort and contract law. You will look at the main tort of negligence and consider for example the circumstances in which it is possible to succeed on a claim for harm suffered as a result of an accident that was not your fault. You will also consider how contracts are formed and what rights can arise and be excluded in some common forms of contract.

This module is an introduction to the basic principles of constitutional and administrative law, which are important because they underpin the democratic state with which you interact every day. The content will cover fundamental concepts such as the nature of the British constitution, the status of the Parliament in the constitutional system and the impact of Brexit on UK law. There will be a focus on engaging with current issues and how these impact on the relationship between individuals and the state.

This module will enable you to understand and evaluate aspects of the legal framework which relates to business and businesses. It will provide you with an opportunity to consider the formation and internal organisation of businesses, the law related to the relationship between businesses, as well as the relationship between businesses and other stakeholders, including the community. In this module you will learn how a company is formed, the legal duties of a company, and the company's broader responsibilities in the wider business community.

The module provides you with an introduction to, and a comparative study of, European codified legal systems. It contrasts those with the English common law system and familiarises you with the academic civil law environment, while explaining the basics of comparative legal study. As also a core module for the LLB European Legal Studies programme, it prepares you for study abroad at a higher education institution in Year 3.

During the course of the module, we will consider why, what, and how we compare in law; what are civil law systems and what legal materials they use to find the law (constitutions, codes, laws, judicial decisions); how are the legal professions set up and organised in common law and civil law systems. In addition, learning to use different civil law materials, we will examine different ways legal systems think about contract, tort, constitutional law, and IP law in the civil law and common law traditions, and explore questions of convergence and harmonisation between civil law and common law in an increasingly globalised world. How big are the similarities and how big the differences? Does a single European Code make sense?

The module encourages you to develop your independent learning and critical reflection on your performance in the context of relevant work-based learning experiences, providing an opportunity for you to evaluate the workplace culture, your development, and your potential future role in the legal services industry. The module will also contribute to the development of your communication, interpersonal and other transferable skills in the context of relevant work-based learning. The module also encourages you to critically reflect on the changing nature and future of the legal profession, providing you with an opportunity to consider your potential future role within this context.

This module provides an immersive introduction to professional legal skills, enabling you to develop and apply a range of core lawyering skills, as well as strategic and creative thinking, in a realistic professional context. The module also provides an overview of the changing nature of the legal profession. You will have the opportunity to exercise key skills such as negotiating, advocacy, client interviewing, professional legal research, and professional legal writing and drafting.

This module introduces you to the principles and concepts of modern English property law. You will explore the legal framework of registered land to understand why land transactions are registered at the Land Registry, estates and interests in land, distinguishing between law and equity to understand how the various interests in land are protected, the law relating to mortgages, to understand how a bank can take steps to repossess and how defaulting borrowers can defend a potential claim, the creation of a constructive trust and quantification of land in implied co-ownership, to understand what happens to the home when more parties buy a home together and the relationship breaks down – how the courts deal with the different scenarios, dispute resolution to understand what happens when co-owners end up in a dispute, express trust, implied trusts, constructive trust of the family home, fiduciary duties and the three certainties and remedies.

This module allows you to engage in an advanced research project, working closely under the supervision of an academic or professional expert in the relevant field. You will develop advanced legal and critical research skills, and use these to map the state of the art in the area of your project. You will produce a research project which either contributes to a larger on-going project as part of a team or individually with your expert supervisor, and your findings will be presented in the form of a relevant written submission which contains your critical perspectives and conclusions. You will also work with to produce an artefact or creative work which reflects your journey throughout your law degree.

This module will allow you to develop a deeper understanding of criminal law. You will study a variety of areas of criminal law, starting with the theoretical approaches to criminalisation. The theories and processes of punishment will also be explored, as well as the causes and rectification of miscarriages of justice. The module then examines various aspects of criminal law, with a particular focus on how it operates in both regulatory and social contexts. These areas include how the law regulates aspects of social control, such as public order, healthcare choices (including the right to die), sexual autonomy, and immigration. It then looks at criminal law in a social context, including areas such as drugs and crime, domestic crime, and hate crime. The module examines the law underpinning these areas, but it also adopts a broad criminological perspective, situating these areas of law within the context of political, economic, policy, and societal influences.

This module is designed to enhance legal knowledge on property law matters. It places emphasis on commercial and residential leases and redefines the context of trusts in which charitable and non-charitable trusts operate through examining their relation to taxation.

This module provides an opportunity to consider the role of the law in relation to commercial transactions and the ways in which the law intervenes and regulates commerce, trade and business. It will examine the purposes of commercial law and the way it facilitates the commercial practices of the business community. The module will also identify the substantive law in key areas, consider its development and application to contracts for the sale of goods, the law of agency, and methods of payment, security, and finance of business.

Employment law provides you with a broad framework to understand, analyse and apply the fundamental principles of the law of work, workers’ rights and the rights and duties of employers. Employment law is an exciting and extremely practical area of law which allows you to develop an advanced understanding of how the law balances competing political, legal, economic and ethical issues in the real world. The module covers the legal structure of employment relationships, looking at matters such as fundamental rights at work, wages, dismissal and equal pay. The module, therefore, combines questions of justice and rights, on the one hand, with practical questions relating to businesses and how they are run.

The module aims to provide an opportunity to consider the role of the law in relation to the family, the ways in which the state and the law intervene in and regulate private and family life, and whether such intervention and regulation is justifiable. It will cover subjects such as domestic violence, divorce and child law. The module will also identify the substantive law in key areas, consider its origins and development, and consider its application to solve factual problems.

This module supports you in launching yourself in the media industries, or other intended careers. You present and promote yourself and your work to potential employers, with this facilitated through a programme of visiting professionals and workshops. Tasks include the production of a career plan and associated promotional materials, which you show to relevant professionals for advice and feedback.

This module enables you to consider the nature of intellectual property law in relation to specific rights and in the context of contemporary issues, as well as its important role in trade and commerce. You are introduced to the creation and internationalisation of intellectual property law. The underlying legal and economic philosophy of intellectual property law is examined. You will consider topics and themes from a variety of rights, issues, and perspectives, which may include patents, copyright, trademarks, passing off, and the law of confidence.