University of the West of England, Bristol
SUBJECT SPECIFICATION
Code: UJXU5A-20-3 Title: Public Law Version: 2
Level: 3 UWE credit rating: 20 ECTS credit rating: 10 credits
Subject type: Non MAR subject (but standard module equivalent)
Owning Faculty: Social Sciences and Humanities
Valid from: September 2008
Pre-requisites: None
Co-requisites: all other Foundation subjects, the other (8th) area of legal study (Independent research project) and English Legal System
Excluded combinations: None
Learning outcomes:
Knowledge and Understanding
At the end of this subject students will be able to demonstrate:
• knowledge and understanding of the working of the UK constitution
• an appreciation of the theoretical principles which underlie it.
• An appreciation of the significance of human rights at the European and national level.
• A sound knowledge and understanding of the legal machinery for the protection of human rights
• A sound knowledge and understanding of the substance and procedure of judicial review.
These skills are developed throughout the course, in lectures, seminars and workshops and are assessed in any coursework which is part of the assessment schedule in any given academic year, and examination.
Intellectual skills
At the end of this subject students will be able to demonstrate:
• Skills of analysis and synthesis in examining constitutional law
• Skills of evaluation and criticism in the study of the continuing process of constitutional reform,
• Problem solving skills in the application of the law in areas such as human rights and judicial review.
• An ability to make reasoned proposals for constitutional reform.
These skills are developed through preparation for and discussion in seminars and workshops, are assessed in examinations and form an important part in any coursework which is part of the assessment schedule in any given academic year.
Subject specific skills
At the end of this subject the following subject specific skills will have been developed and enhanced:
• the ability to research using both legal and non-legal materials, particularly using electronic sources,
• the capacity to become aware of and comment on current developments, often on a daily basis.
• the ability to present reasoned legal and constitutional argument, both orally and in writing
• the ability to evaluate a wide range of written materials, both legal and non-legal
These skills are developed in preparation for and participation in seminars and workshops and in the preparation of the assessed coursework.
Transferable skills
At the end of this subject the following skills will have been developed and enhanced.
• Oral communication skills are developed in seminars and particularly in workshops, where individual students may be called on to present arguments for or against a proposition, either to a group within the workshop or to the whole plenary session.
• Skills of persuasive advocacy are developed through workshop and seminar debate.
• Written communication skills of a high order are required for any coursework tasks.
• IT skills are developed through the research necessary for any coursework which is part of the assessment schedule in any given academic year and for the preparation for classes; students are referred to relevant sites on the Internet and are expected to use a variety of research tools.
• students are expected to make connections across subject boundaries; for example between public law and european union law, and between human rights and criminal law.
• Teamworking is developed in workshop activities, where co-operative work is the norm. For example, students may be asked to divide a range of tasks among themselves, or to prepare and present a joint defence of a proposition.
Syllabus outline:
PART A. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
1. Nature of the UK constitution
Comparison with written constitutions.
2. Sources of the UK constitution
Written sources
Constitutional conventions
3. Constitutional theory
Constitutionalism
Rule of Law
Separation of Powers
4. The Supremacy of Parliament
Traditional theories
Impact of the EC
Devolution
5. Parliament
Electoral systems
Functions and powers of the House of Commons
Parliamentary privilege
Functions and reform of the House of Lords
6. Government
The royal prerogative
Prime Minister and Cabinet
Ministerial responsibility
PART B. ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
1. Judicial review
Natural Justice
Ultra vires
Remedies and procedures
2. Liability of public authorities
Tortious liability
Crown proceedings
Public Interest Immunity
3. Tribunals, Inquiries and Ombudsmen
PART C RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES
1. Human Rights
The European Convention on Human Rights
The Human Rights Act
2. Freedom of expression
Obscenity
Official Secrecy
Breach of Confidence
The Freedom of Information Act
3. Freedom to protest
Police powers
Public order offences.
Teaching and learning methods:
Class Contact
Full Time CPE
The basic class contact pattern of the subject for Public Law consists of:-
One hour per week plenary session in lecture room
One hour per week seminar discussion in groups of not more then 12
Two hours per week workshop session, for student discussion of work prepared in advance, debate on aspects of the syllabus, and application of the law to practical situations.
In any given academic year, there will normally be
• 13 lectures, including one lecture and one revision lecture;
• 12 workshops, including a revision workshop; and
• 11 seminars (including one cycle of revision seminars)
Consequently, in any academic year, there will normally be 48 hours of contact time for each student.
Part Time CPE
In any academic year, the basic class contact for the subject is normally as follows:
At the September Induction residential session:
• 1 hour introductory lecture (whole cohort)
At each of the first for four subsequent residential sessions:
• 2 hours plenary session (whole cohort)
• 2 hours seminar sessions (max of 12 students per seminar group)
At the final residential session of the academic year:
• 4 hours plenary sessions (whole group)
Consequently, in any academic year, there will normally be 21 hours of contact time for each student.
Assessment
Assessment in any given academic year takes the form of either:
(a) Coursework and Examination
(i) An unseen examination of two and a half hours duration at the end of the Teaching Block. Students will be required to answer no more than three questions from a minimum of six questions. Students are permitted to take their own, unannotated copy of the relevant statute book in the examination. The examination requires students to adapt their knowledge and demonstrate their understanding of the law in relation to novel situations and under time constraint; and
(ii) a coursework task set on a syllabus topic requiring students to demonstrate their ability to research a topic and to produce an appropriate response to the task set. For example, this may take the form of a critical analysis of the syllabus topic, an evaluative response to proposed reforms of the law in that context; advice to a hypothetical client based on a factual scenario provided by the tutor; the draft of a short scholarly article or conference paper etc.
OR
(b) Examination only
An unseen examination of three and a half hours duration at the end of the Teaching Block. Students will be required to answer four questions from a choice of eight questions. Students are permitted to take their own, unannotated copy of the relevant statute book in the examination. The examination requires students to adapt their knowledge and demonstrate their understanding of the law in relation to novel situations and under time constraint.
Reading strategy:
At the start of the academic year, each student will be provided with some core published materials for the subject, being a text book; a book of cases and materials, and a book of legislation (see below: Indicative Sources).
Any essential reading will be indicated clearly to students (normally by a combination of Topic Outlines; workshop / plenary instructions and seminar instructions). Essential reading for a particular topic or class will normally be a combination of parts of the core material provided to students and / or other specific references that students will need to access for themselves (eg case reports, journal articles, Law Commission reports, etc).
If further reading is expected, this will be indicated clearly to students (normally by a combination of Topic Outlines; workshop / plenary instructions and seminar instructions).
Students will be encouraged to make full use of the printed and electronic resources available to them through membership of the University (for the purposes of both class contact preparation and research in preparation for coursework and examination assessments). These include (amongst other things) a range of printed case reports, legislation, texts and journals, as well as a range of electronic journals and a wide variety of resources available through web sites and information gateways (including online study and legal research sites provided by the Law Library). The University Library’s web pages provide access to subject relevant resources and services, and to the library catalogue. Many resources can be accessed remotely. Students will be presented with opportunities within the curriculum to develop their information retrieval and evaluation skills in order to identify relevant resources effectively.
Indicative sources:
Each year the subject team will determine which texts are to be purchased for the individual use of the students studying this subject. The selection may vary from one year to another but will usually comprise, as a minimum, one student textbook appropriate in style for the intensive nature of the course; one casebook and one volume of selected statutes. In addition students will be referred to the range of materials in the Bolland Library and they will be expected to fully utilise the variety of legal journals available both in hard copy and electronically, as part of their research for coursework in the Foundation subjects.
By way of illustration, in the 2007/2008 academic year, the texts provided to students will be:
“Constitutional & Administrative Law” 14th edition, Bradley & Ewing, Pearson Longman
“British Government & The Constitution; Text, Cases & Materials” 6th edition, Turpin & Tomkins, Cambridge
“Statutes on Public Law & Human Rights” 17th edition, Wallington & Lee, Oxford 2007
Assessment
Public Law is taught and examined at the same stage of the Diploma as Property, European Union Law and Equity & Trusts. In any given academic year, there will be a coursework in two of these four subjects. Consequently, in one of each two year cycle, there will be assessed coursework in Public Law. In every academic year, there will be an unseen examination in each of the three subjects.
Weighting between components A and B
In an academic year in which there is an assessed coursework
A: 75% B: 25%
In an academic year in which there is no assessed coursework
A: 100%
First attempt within CPE Regulations
In an academic year in which there is an assessed coursework
Component A
1 Unseen examination of two and a half hours duration. Students are permitted to take their own, unannotated, copy of the relevant statute book into the examination.
Component B
1 Coursework task
In an academic year in which there is no assessed coursework
Component A
1 Unseen examination of three and a half hours duration. Students are permitted to take their own, unannotated, copy of the relevant statute book into the examination.
Second attempt within CPE Regulations
(further attendance at taught classes is not required)
In an academic year in which there is an assessed coursework
Component A
1 Unseen examination of two and a half hours duration. Students are permitted to take their own, unannotated copy of the relevant statute book into the examination
Component B
1 Coursework task
In an academic year in which there is no assessed coursework
Component A
1 Unseen examination of three and a half hours duration. Students are permitted to take their own, unannotated, copy of the relevant statute book into the examination.
Third and last attempt within CPE Regulations
Attendance at taught classes is not required.
In an academic year in which there is an assessed coursework
Component A
1 Unseen examination of two and a half hours duration. Students are permitted to take their own, unannotated copy of the relevant statute book into the examination
Component B
1 Coursework task
In an academic year in which there is no assessed coursework
Component A
1 Unseen examination of three and a half hours duration. Students are permitted to take their own, unannotated copy of the relevant statute book into the examination
Specification confirmed by …………………………………………………
Date ……………………………
(Head of Department / Programme Director)