English Legal System

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 1

This module covers use of the library and electronic resources, and reading cases, statutes and academic literature. You will learn how to produce fully-referenced academic work provide you with the necessary skills to help you study law. You will learn about the doctrine of judicial precedent and the principles involved in drafting and interpreting legislation. This module gives you the opportunity to specialise as well as to consider the English legal system in a broad context, by critically examining its structures, process and personnel.

Introduction to American Studies

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 1

What is American studies? What makes what we do American studies as opposed to just plain historical or literary studies? This module examines the history and development of the discipline and explores key debates using an archive of seminal essays by leading figures that highlight the key problems and developments in the field.

Issues to be discussed may include:

• an American 'tradition'
• interdisciplinarity
• popular culture
• American ethnicity and race
• masculinity and gender
• media
• environment
• America as 'global village'.

Justice, Equality and Society

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 1

In this module, special attention is given to justice, equality and rights. You are introduced to theory which is then explored through a number of case studies focusing in particular on the development of non-discrimination and equality law in the English Legal System. The module will encourage you to think about contemporary issues from the perspectives of justice, equality and rights.

The Law of Contract

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 1

This module explores the legal rules and principles related to the formation, enforcement and vitiation of contractual promises. In particular, you will consider ideas of offer and acceptance. You will study the legal doctrine of consideration and the equitable doctrine of promissory estoppel. You will consider rights of enforceability under the doctrine of privity and then go on to consider the classification and substance of particular terms in a contract, eg implied terms or exemption clauses. The module goes on to look at factors which may vitiate or void agreement, such as misrepresentation, mistake, frusration, duress and undue influence.

The Law of Tort

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 1

In broad terms, the law of tort is the area of civil law primarily concerned with providing a remedy to persons who have been wrongfully harmed by the conduct of others. This module explores a number of the most important areas of tort law, for example negligence, nuisance, trespass to the person, liability for dangerous premises, liability for psychiatric harm and employers' liability. You will consider these and other areas as they are approached by the courts in England and Wales, to some extent the approach of other legal jurisdictions and also the social and political context of tort law.

The Look of America

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 1

This module takes as its premise the notion that ever since the explosion of mass media and mass society in the industrial age, the United States has taken an increasingly dominant place in the global visual imagination. This process reached its peak at the beginning of the twentieth century, and since then America has generated for the world innumerable iconic and hegemonic visual representations of its own cultural narratives.

The task of this module will be to explore and deconstruct some of these visual representations, along with the ideologies and narratives that sustain and refract them. You will begin with an introduction to visual theory, especially as it applies to the American context, and acquire the critical tools necessary for the module. You will then locate the period under scrutiny within a broader visual and cultural 'prehistory', illuminating the roots of the modern world and its visual scene.

After this, you will concentrate on the culture of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Taking a thematic approach, you will examine the issues that emerge over the module of the twentieth century, referring forwards and backwards in order to generate connections where appropriate. The intention here is to introduce you to aspects of visual culture and its criticism, as well as to defamiliarise and explore some of the more familiar American iconography surrounding us.

Equity and Trusts

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 2

This module consists of two related parts: key principles and concepts of equity and equitable remedies; and the institution of the trust. The module aims to set Equity and Trusts in its social, economic and political contexts. You will consider the historical development of equity and the use of particular equitable remedies. We will look at the institution of the trust, it's formation and constitution, moving on to regard the idea of beneficial ownership. The nature of private and public purpose trusts and implied trusts is considered. Further, we look at the duties, responsibilities and rights of the personnel involved in a trust relationship; finally moving on to look at the liability for strangers to a trust. Within this framework, the basic principles and theoretical underpinnings of the subject will be analysed.

Land Law

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 2

This module explores the legal rules determining what it means to own land and/or other rights that relate to land. Specific topics may include: the doctrines of estates and tenure; the meaning of land (fixtures); and the distinction between personal and property rights; the role of equity and the trust and the doctrine of proprietary estoppel; the contractual formalities for buying an interest or estate in land; acquiring ownership rights, including the rules of adverse possession; unregistered and registered title; mortgages; leases (and licences); co-ownership; trusts of land; freehold covenants; and easements.

Public Law I: Constitutional and Administrative Law

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 2

The module considers the nature and structure of the British Constitution. It addresses some of the core theoretical principles of the Constitution and examine how those principles are applied in the institutional arrangements of government in the UK. The relationship between the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government will be considered, and the allocation of power between them is analysed in terms of both constitutional theory and political practice. The module also considers the extent to which state power is subject to control and restraint. The mechanisms that are used to control the exercises of state power are examined in some detail; the principles of Judicial Review, as well as the alternative mechanisms for holding the institutions of the state to account, are considered.

American Cities: New Orleans

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 2

American Cities: New York

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 2

From New Amsterdam to 9/11 and beyond, New York has always been iconic. We experience the Big Apple through the sounds and sights that came before us: the movies, the music, the literature, the songs. But what goes on behind these images of ceaseless activity and glamour? Now the hub of global finace, New York was also a haven for immigrants, with Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty sitting right there in its harbour. Because of its diversity of population and ever-changing urban development, we will in this module be looking at the city from many perspectives, and find that to study its history and culture is to discover that the city that never sleeps never ceases to pose questions either.

Canadian Constitutional Law in Comparative Perspective

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 2

The distinctive nature and history of the Canadian state and Canadian constitutional arrangements make it an interesting study in its own right and a useful comparator at a time of growing discussion and interest in the field of constitutionalism. The Canadian model with its Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides a source of influence and inspiration to the UK and other Commonwealth countries and is frequently used as a comparator particularly because of the multi-faceted nature of the Canadian state and the commitment of the Canadian Constitution to multi-culturalism. Canadian constitutional law is examined in comparative perspective.

This module introduces you to the history, structures, sources and nature of the Canadian Constitution. In particular the module examines the distinctive history of the Canadian constitutional arrangements and the development of a rich Canadian constitutional literature which has made a major contribution to discussions of constitutionalism and difference. The context of multi-national Canadian democracy provides a particularly interesting case study for an examination of Constitutional contestation and the course examines how this context has influenced the structure of the Canadian state, including Canadian federalism, constitutional change in Canada and the adjudication of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms 1982 through the courts.

Public Law II: Power, the Individual and the State

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 2

The module builds upon Public Law I to develop a deeper understanding of the British constitution and of constitutional law more generally. Drawing upon legal, political and social theory, you examine the theoretical principles of constitutions focussing upon the operation and distribution of power within the state and its impact upon the lives of groups and individuals. Both theories and historical accounts of legitimacy, democracy and human rights will be examined, and their operation in contemporary legal and political practice will be considered.

Pulp Culture: American Popular Literature

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 2

Popular literature is often overlooked in favour of what is considered more highbrow literary culture, yet an understanding of the cultural history of a nation necessitates an examination of what was popular as well as what became canonical.

This module enables an examination of a variety of mass-produced popular American literatures from the 18th and 19th centuries through to the 20th, from early magazines and comics, dime novels, Westerns and juvenile or sentimental literature, to 'hardboiled' crime fiction, self-help books and 'middlebrow' bestsellers of the 20th century. You will look at the relationship between 'high' and 'low' fiction, as well as examining how the mode of production affected the literature produced at the time. You will also explore both the writing styles that developed as well as the reception and cultural circulation of texts. Included in this will be a consideration of the way that issues of gender, class and race in America affected the discourses of the popular narratives that we will be looking at and how we can understand the society that they emerged from more fully as a result of looking at them.

The African American Experience

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 2

This module examines the rich history of African Americans in the United States, from 1863 to the present. One of your main objectives will be to contextualise and analyse the debates, disagreements, and downright fights that African Americans have had among themselves between emancipation and the beginnings of the modern Civil Rights Movement, thus establishing a deep historical understanding of the ongoing freedom struggle in the late 20th- and early 21st centuries.

You will critique arguments over the proper relationship of blacks to the US government, over racial and class identities, and over diverse tactics and strategies for the advancement of the race. In addition, the lectures will interrogate the connections between African American history and its broader, more diffuse, cultural mythology.  Full attention is given not only to well-known black leaders - such as Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey, and Martin Luther King - but also to less celebrated figures such as Fannie Lou Hamer and Ella Baker.

Criminal Law

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

This module encompasses the elements of a crime; actus reus and mens rea; negligence and strict liability; the criminal liability of corporations and children; defences; accomplices; homicide; non-fatal offences against the person; sexual offences; theft and other property offences; damage to property; and inchoate offences. This module places the law within the framework of the Human Rights Act 1998. Some aspects of criminal law theory such as theories of punishment, why conduct should be criminalised, and issues of procedure and evidence that are relevant to the substantive law are covered.

Law and Policy of the European Union

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

This module examines the law and policy of the EU, with an emphasis on the role of law as a tool of European integration. The first part concentrates on a detailed study of the constitutional principles and values of the EU as expressed in the treaties and case law of the Court of Justice. The second half of the module addresses substantive law, particularly in relation to the single market (in persons, goods and services) and non-market issues such as citizenship of the European Union and protection of fundamental rights.

Access to Land

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 3

Commercial Law

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

One of the most powerful influences on human activity is the driving force of trade. Commercial law is primarily concerned with the rights and duties arising from the supply of goods and services by way of trade. This module adopts the specific-contract approach to the subject and focuses on the paradigm commercial transaction – the sale and supply of goods by one merchant to another.

Company Law

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

Topics covered include:

• Introduction to company law: an outline of the new statute: Companies Act 2006; the inter-relationship between statute and the common law; the role of the European Company Law Harmonisation Programme; Company Law in context, theory and history.
• Legal personality and limited liability: different categories of companies (the private/public divide); the rule in Salomon's case and lifting the veil of incorporation.
• The promotion of companies: the role of the Stock Exchange and investor protection; the role, duties and liabilities of the promoter; pre-incorporation contracts.
• The relationship between the company and the outside world: the objects of the company and the rise and fall of the ultra vires rule; the nullity principle; the internal operations of the company and their effect on third parties; principles of agency/vicarious liability, corporate crimes and criminal liability.
• The internal relations within the company: shareholders inter se; inter-relationship between the company's constitution and the Companies Act; alteration of the constitution; different classes of shares; preference shares and the alteration of their rights; the company and its employees; the stakeholder debate.
• The role of corporate governance in company life: the regulatory framework for companies; self-regulation by business and Government intervention; the work of the CG committees, a definition of CG and Corporate Social Responsibility;
• The management of the company: composition of the board of directors; formalities of management; division of functions between the company's organs.
• The qualification of directors: different kinds of directors (non-executive/executive; nominee; shadow; de facto); how are directors qualified?; the disqualification framework..
• Directors' duties and their enforcement: the new statutory statement of duties; to whom are the duties owed?; the rule in Foss v. Harbottle; derivative and representative actions.
• Protection of minority shareholders: just and equitable winding up; the action for unfair prejudice.

Comparative Law

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

This module is designed to offer you an introduction to the subject of comparative law, its methodology and rationale. It permits you to appreciate the diversity in the legal systems of the world, their history as well as their contemporary development, particularly in the context of law reform, the phenomenon of legal transplants and the competition between legal systems for adherents, including such concepts as legal imperialism. The major legal systems (including common law and civilian) will be explored through their context, structure and rule-formation process as well an analysis of discrete topics (selected from the public and private law areas, including constitutional law, administrative law, criminal law, property law and the law of obligations). Finally, the role of comparative law as an agent of harmonisation and the formation of international rules, benchmarks and standards will be explored.

Competition Law of the European Union

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

The module examines the detailed rules of competition law and policy in the EU. You cover the law relating to cartels, abuses of dominant position, mergers, enforcement, state aid and the application of competition law to public services and undertakings entrusted with services of general economic interest.

Corporate Finance and Insolvency

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

This module is designed to offer you an introduction to the topics of corporate finance, security and insolvency. It allows you to appreciate the role of security in the financing of business, its importance when compared to equity financing, and the diversity of techniques used for the securitization of participants' entitlements. The module is also designed to enable you to consider how the presence of asset-security and the disparity between the position of various categories of creditors have an impact in insolvency, what procedures are available and how outcomes are affected by the presence of security, including the consequent restructuring potential for corporate debtors.

Criminology

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

The first part of the module considers the development of explanations for criminal offending, looking at the classical and positivist schools of criminology as well as sociological, psychological and behaviouralist approaches. It concludes by examining the more radical alternatives offered by neo-Marxist and feminist criminologists, the so called ‘Left Realists’ and contemporary criminology. The second part looks at the more practical dimensions of criminal justice, dealing with crime statistics and victim surveys; victims in the criminal justice system; punishment, rehabilitation and compensation; diversion of offenders; sentencing and penal policy; imprisonment and prison regimes; and non-custodial and community sentences.

Dissertation

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

This module involves you researching and writing a 10,000 word dissertation on a subject of your choice. Having chosen your research topic in consultation with a supervisor, you work under the guidance of your supervisor for the duration of the academic year. The teaching component of the module takes place during the first teaching block only and is seminar-based. The seminars are designed to equip you with the research skills required to complete your dissertations. The topics covered include: research methodology, writing up, advanced word processing, and researching online. You submit a 2,000 word research proposal to your supervisor during the first term and receive feedback on this. You also present your research proposals to the tutor and the other students at one of the seminars towards the end of the first term. The module seeks to develop the skills of independent research and learning; good time management; the ability to reflect upon progress; and an appreciation of the value of constructive criticism.

Documentary America: Non-Fiction Writing

30 credits
Spring teaching, Year 3

The study of American fiction often precludes an examination of some of the best writing and forms of self-representation that America has produced: political and photo-essays, social science publications, journalism, reportage, and documentary films. On this module you examine the development of iconic non-fictional literature and other forms of visual representation (such as film and photography) from the 19th and 20th centuries.

You will look at the style, content and circulation of non-fictional forms and examine their relationship within wider discourses of cultural, social and political representation in America. You will also consider the ways that these forms intersect with the development of modernist and postmodernist literature in the US more broadly. For this module you will have to read from a broad selection of materials that do not necessarily fit into conventional literary genres, and you will be watching a number of realist and neo-realist American documentaries. You will analyse why writers and artists have chosen to represent events in the way that they do and the wider cultural impact of those forms.

Employment Law

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

Employment law is one of the fastest growing areas of law and practice: the volume of both case law and legislation is considerable. The election of a different political party to government inevitably brings new employment legislation in its wake and the current coalition government which seeks to reconcile rather different aspirations is producing fairly radical proposals for change. It is against this backdrop that the module seeks to examine and explore both the individual contract of employment and the tripartite relationship involving employers, employees and trade unions. You look at the dramatic changes in working arrangements (such as the growing participation and influence of women in the workforce coupled with the very varied patterns of work (such as part-time/casuals/agency/flexible working),the employee/self-employed distinction, the employment contract and its sources with particular reference to implied terms such as mutual trust and confidence and also the controversial expansion of employers' liability to encompass psychiatric harm caused by stress at work. Protection of wages and limitations on working hours, together with 'family-friendly' entitlements covering maternity, paternity, adoptive and parental issues, are also examined. Topics of current interest which also now feature in the module are 'whistleblowing', restraint of trade covenants and references. Thereafter, the module addresses termination of employment, in particular wrongful and unfair dismissal, redundancy and transfers. Last but certainly not least the important and expanding subject of discrimination and equality law is examined in some detail, including sex, religion or belief, race, disability and age. We also examine equal pay issues in this section of the module. Overall, the aim is to make the module informative, relevant and stimulating by combining the academic aspects of employment law with an appreciation of current developments and proposals in this dynamic area of law which affects all our lives. To keep you abreast of the latest developments, particularly in relation to the most substantial second term topic of discrimination and equality law, separate handbooks are issued at the start of each main teaching term.

Environmental Law 1

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 3

Environmental Law 2

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 3

Family Law

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

This module introduces you to the most important rules of family law. But it does more than just outline the rules on marriage and divorce, parental status and parental responsibility, child protection, domestic violence, contact and residence disputes, etc. It also considers the application of those rules in the social and political context that frames them. The module requires you to think about the nature of the family in it broadest sense (to include married and unmarried partners in adult relationships, and the great variety of ways in which adults raise and care for children) and to consider the appropriateness of the rules that govern the family in law. You will also be required to reflect on the place of law in the regulation of family life. The module will, for that reason, be both theoretical and extremely practical; and it will be both thoroughly legal (in a black letter sense) and a little sociological.

Global Business Law and Regulation

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

Hate Crime and the Law

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 3

Healthcare Law and Ethics

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

This module introduces you to a number of key contemporary issues and debates within the field of health care law and policy. As well as gaining knowledge of the subject's substantive legal rules, you will acquire an understanding of the main ethical principles underlying these. The module is also designed to create an awareness of the historical development of health care law and policy and of how their contemporary nature is influenced by wider political and economic transformations at the national, EU and global levels.

Human Rights

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

Human rights has become part of the contemporary political discourse, so much so that we generally take for granted that we know what the concept covers. Today almost everyone around the globe is acquainted with the idea of human rights. We often hear about 'human rights', especially in the media. This module covers both domestic and international human rights systems as well as theoretical critiques of human rights (eg by cultural relativists and feminists). It also looks at contemporary human rights issues and some of the current challenges facing the human rights community.

Immigrant America

30 credits
Spring teaching, Year 3

Intellectual Property Law

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

The module covers aspects of the law of copyright, unregistered and registered trade marks, confidential information and patents. The module aims to introduce you to the principles of intellectual property law and its philosophical and economic justifications, but it will also encourage in-depth analysis of particular issues in the law and policy of intellectual property, such as internet 'piracy' and access to medicines in developing countries. The focus of the module will be on UK law and policy, however reference will be made to EU and international law where relevant.

International Business Transactions

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 3

International Litigation

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

The module examines particularly the law and practice of the International Court of Justice. Other tribunals that will be covered include ICSID (International Centre for Settlement of International Disputes), the WTO, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, and the Iran-US Claims Tribunal. On this module you may also be offered the opportunity to take part in an international law mooting competition.

Note: Students who participate in the moot are assessed by unseen examination and memorial; students who do not participate in the mooting competition are assessed by unseen examination and essay.

Internet Law and Regulation

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 3

Law and Development

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 3

Law and the Creative Industries

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

Legal Theory

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

Media Law and Regulation

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 3

Personal Property Law

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

Personal property law is probably the most important and yet the most neglected and least understood aspect of English law. Historically this discipline was neglected because it was commonly, but misleadingly, regarded as belonging to a number of entirely separate legal categories. This module adopts a concept-orientated approach, avoiding the specific-contract approach that has hitherto impoverished the study of the concepts and philosophy of personal property law in England and Wales.

Private International Law

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 3

Professional Liability

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

Professional Liability encompasses a range of areas of law - notably tort, contract, criminal law, professional regulation and self-regulation - which govern the activities of professionals. This module will examine this specialist area of law, looking at the nature and definition of professions, the general legal and regulatory principles, and their application to selected professions.

Public International Law

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

Public International Law governs the relations between states. Increasingly, during the 20th and early 21st centuries it has also come to regulate the activity of individuals and organisations. This module aims to provide a grounding in the basic concepts and general principles of international law. You will be encouraged to examine the legal basis of international law, the sources of the law and the relationship between international law and national law. The module will also examine recent developments and matters of controversy in international law and will introduce you to interdisciplinary aspects of the study of international law.

Short Dissertation A

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 3

Short Dissertation B

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 3

Sociology of Law

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

The first part of the module introduces you to a variety of historical and contemporary sociological perspectives on law. Taking the theme of the relationship between law and modernity as its point of departure, this part begins with a consideration of some of the key works of the founders of the sociology of law. Thereafter, you are introduced to contemporary literature in both sociology and law that analyses the nature of some important changes in contemporary Western societies (including in politics and the economy) and how these developments may be affecting traditional understandings of the nature and function of law and regulation.

The second part of the module is designed to enable you to think through the ideas and theories explored in part one in the context of a particular institution the welfare state. The types of question that will interest us here include the following: how has the way in which states provide for the social protection of their citizens altered over time? What role has law played in this? What is 'social law', and how (and why) might its nature have changed in the light of recent developments in the welfare state? What can contemporary social policy reveal about the relationship between the citizen and the state? What is the relationship between law, the welfare state, and the economy today? We will think through possible answers to these questions via a consideration of some examples from the field of social policy for instance, health care, unemployment, and social housing.

The Conservation of Biological Diversity in International Law and Policy

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 3

The Ethics and Conduct of Lawyers

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 3

The Law of Evidence

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

This module is a study of the law of evidence in England and Wales but we also take the opportunity to examine and assess selected developments in other common law jurisdictions such as Australia, Canada and the USA. An outline of the history and development of evidence law puts into context the significance of key principles as developed very largely by case-law and, increasingly, now to be found in statutory provisions. From the last quarter of the 20th century to the present day we examine and assess the significant impact that issues such as re-balancing the interests of victims as against those of defendants plus the rapid development of anti-terrorist legislation aimed at protecting society are having on the fundamental principles of presumption of innocence, burden of proof and right of silence.

The overall objective of a fair trial is considered in both domestic and ECtHR jurisprudence. We also explore the impact of changes over the same period on the worrying prevalence of miscarriages of justice in areas such as confession evidence and eyewitness identification. The two major exclusionary rules of evidence - bad character and hearsay - are examined in some depth in the latter part of the module and we also address important issues relating to witnesses, such as competence, compellability, special measures for vulnerable or intimidated witnesses and the very vexed question of sexual history evidence. To ensure particularly that the rapidly developing law on bad character and hearsay is as up-to-date as possible, separate handbooks are issued at the start of each main teaching term.