University of the West of England, Bristol
SUBJECT SPECIFICATION
Code: UJXU55-20-3 Title: Obligations II (Tort) Version: 2
Level: 3 UWE credit rating: 20 credits 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 a student will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of
• the nature of tortious liability, whether fault-based or strict liability
• the substantive law of tort, by virtue of having studied a range of nominate torts
• the relationship between liability in tort and contract within the law of Obligations
• the role of tort as a compensation system for harm caused and its relationship within the English Legal system to other compensation mechanisms
• the policy issues relevant to both the historical evolution of various torts and to their ongoing development
• the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 on the substantive law of tort
Intellectual skills
At the end of this subject the student will be able to
• identify relevant legal principles when faced with a fictional or hypothetical scenario
• analyse the material facts in a task or make a textual analysis of the content of a relevant document
• apply the legal principles in the context of the task
• evaluate a range of solutions as appropriate to the task
• make reasoned proposals for reform in an area of law and to evaluate the proposals for reform made by others
Subject specific skills
At the end of the subject the student will be able to
• conduct independent research using both primary and secondary sources of law
• access the relevant sources whether contained in print or electronic form
• present a reasoned legal argument that demonstrates legal method skills
Transferable skills
At the end of the subject the student will have developed
• oral and written communication skills through the interactive small group sessions
• time management skills by virtue of the demanding syllabus content and personal scheduling of advance preparation for all classes which is required of students
• skills in the use of C&IT both as a research tool and for the presentation of any coursework which is part of the assessment schedule in any given academic year
• team-working skills through workshop activities, where small group discussion (groups of 4 or 5) is followed by more general debate between subgroups, the whole workshop group and the tutor.
Syllabus outline:
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF TORTIOUS LIABILITY: elements of wrongdoing and policy considerations; critique of fault as a basis of liability and critical analysis of alternatives.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES (cont.): Parties; Defences; Remedies.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF THE TORT OF NEGLIGENCE:
• Duty of Care: tests for determining existence of duty of care in law and fact; policy considerations.
• Breach of Duty: standard of care of reasonable person; proof of negligence; res ipsa loquitur.
• Causation and Remoteness of damage: causation in fact and law; novus actus interveniens.
• Types of damage: pure economic loss; psychiatric damage; personal injury and death; damage to property.
SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS OF NEGLIGENCE PRINCIPLES
• Liability for negligent misstatement: Hedley Byrne v Heller and later developments.
• Liability for Dangerous Premises: occupiers' and non-occupiers' liability under statute and common law.
• Liability for Accidents arising at or out of work: employers' duty of care to employees compared with vicarious liability and breach of statutory duty
LAND RELATED TORTS: Nuisance ; Rylands v Fletcher; trespass to land
TORTS REQUIRING PROOF OF INTENTION: Illustrative examples to be selected (eg deceit; Wilkinson v Downton; trespass the person).
STRICT LIABILITY TORTS: as under 5 above. Illustrative examples to be selected (eg defamation; liability of a producer under Part I, Consumer Protection Act 1987).
Teaching and learning methods:
The aims of the subject are to enable the student to understand the conceptual basis of tortious liability and to acquire a sound knowledge of the main substantive areas of tort. To this end the student will be encouraged to draw contrasts and make comparisons, as appropriate, with other areas of legal liability and to evaluate the law of tort as a compensation system.
Class Contact
Full Time CPE
The study of the law of tort presents a good opportunity to develop legal method skills and powers of analysis through oral and written discussion of aspects of tortious liability and the civil litigation process.
The basic class contact pattern on the subject for Obligations II (Tort) is as follows:
1 hour per week plenary session in lecture room
1 hour per week seminar discussion (max 12 students per seminar)
2 hours per week workshop sessions (ie 3 seminar groups combined) for purposes of interactive consideration of practical tasks and discussion of current syllabus topic
In any given academic year, there will normally be
• 15 lectures, including one or two introductory lectures and one or two revision lectures;
• 12 workshops, including an opportunity to undertake a ‘winter test’ (being a formative examination exercise) and a revision workshop; and
• 12 seminars (including one cycle of revision seminars)
Consequently, in any academic year, there will normally be 51 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.
All students are provided with a voluntary opportunity to sit a test paper before the formal and summative assessment by examination takes place.
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:
“Law of Tort” 8th edition, Cooke, Oxford 2007
“Casebook on Torts” 9th edition, Kidner, Oxford 2006
“Statutes on Contract, Tort & Restitution” 18th edition, Rose, Oxford 2007
Assessment
Obligations II (Tort) is taught and examined at the same stage of the Diploma as Obligations I (Contract) and Criminal Law. In any given academic year, there will be a coursework in two of these three subjects. Consequently, in two of each three year cycle, there will be assessed coursework in Obligations II (Tort). 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