| Unit name | Public Law |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWDM0059 |
| Credit points | 30 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Phillipson |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
Not applicable |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
Studying UK public law is both empowering and intellectually fulfilling; empowering because learning where legal power lies in the state, how its central institutions operate and how government is held accountable, equips individuals to engage more meaningfully in civic and public life. It is fulfilling because the topics – constitutionalism, parliamentary sovereignty, separation of powers, the protection of human rights – have a rich intellectual history and are challenging to master.
The Unit is also foundational for the rest of your legal studies because it entails developing a core understanding of English Legal System; that is, the different sources and institutions of legislative and adjudicative practice by which law is produced, revised and legal disputes resolved. Further, by introducing you to foundational concepts like the rule of law, individual rights and the distinction between legislation and adjudication, it will inform and facilitate all your further studies in law.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This Unit introduces you to core legal skills, including basic knowledge of English Legal System and how to start thinking and writing like a lawyer. It explains key evaluative principles, deriving from the rule of law, such as clarity, coherence and the importance of independent adjudication, that you will use to analyse and critique all the areas of law you will study. By explaining the constitutional constraints on governing and legislating that arise from the common law, the separation of powers, and incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights, it illuminates the framework within which all English law is produced and adjudicated. This is a core unit on the Law (MA) programme and can also be chosen by students on LLM programmes who have not previously studied English law.
An overview of content
The Unit investigates the structure of the UK constitution, the powers and functions of its major institutions, and the relationship between the individual and the state. We start with core principles of constitutionalism, consider the distinctive nature of the UK’s uncodified constitution and its disparate sources, in particular the Crown’s historic prerogative powers and their contemporary significance. The prerogative is analysed through the lens of the rule of law, and we explore other key constitutional principles: parliamentary sovereignty, separation of powers and devolution. We examine judicial review as the most important way of ensuring the legal accountability of government and how the UK protects human rights and civil liberties, in particular through how the Human Rights Act gives domestic effect to the European Convention on Human Rights.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
The Unit will equip you with knowledge of your fundamental rights and how citizens can gain redress for unlawful state action. It will give you deeper insights into the news stories you encounter daily about constitutional and human rights controversies. It will give you informed critical perspectives on our system of government, how well its checks and balances work and how robust are the protections against abuses of power and violations of individual rights.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the unit, a successful student will be able to:
The Unit is based around the principles of active learning through participation in a variety of group and individual tasks. Lectures provide immediate ways of testing the knowledge imparted through MCQs and padlets; preparation for seminars often requires not just reading, but short writing exercises, some in small groups, in which students learn how to engage with primary and secondary legal sources, flag points on which they’re unclear for questions and discussion in seminars and analyse and solve legal problems. You will quickly receive oral and written feedback from the tutor and their peers on these tasks.
Such exercises, together the formative tasks detailed above, allow students to gain the key skills required for success in the summatives and recognise that they are the same as those used daily by practitioners. The Unit thus starts to ground students in the basics of legal craft that induct them into the community of practice shared by legal scholars, practitioners and judges.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
As further explained below under ‘How you will learn’, a wide variety of teaching and learning methods will provide preparation for the summative assessments. In particular, a group formative essay will provide the opportunity for students to work together to plan and draft an answer to an essay-style question, in preparation for the first coursework. Students will receive both written feedback on each individual essay and all-cohort feedback identifying common strengths and weaknesses. You will be taken through a series of scaffolded learning stages in preparation for the second (a problem question). This includes drafting bullet-point plans for discrete elements of a past paper in small groups, on which you will get both written feedback and oral discussion in the seminar, an issue-spotting exercise in seminars with immediate feedback from the tutor and a recorded presentation in which two members of staff break down a past coursework problem question and take students, step by step through how to approach answering it.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Two pieces of coursework, each of 2,000 words and worth 50% of the unit assessment. As noted above, the first is an essay-style question (ILO 1 and 3), the second a problem question (ILO 1 and 2).
When assessment does not go to plan:
When a student fails the unit and is eligible to resubmit, the unit will be reassessed on a like-for-like basis with new assessment questions.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. LAWDM0059).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
