| Unit name | Constitutional Rights |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWD10013 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Mr. Burton |
| 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 |
None |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
The British Constitution provides the framework for the vital interactions between citizens and the State. An important part of this framework is the legal protection of human rights. Constitutional Rights examines two critical aspects of the British Constitution: the status and mechanisms of protection for human rights (particularly the role of judges in developing and enforcing those rights), and in enabling citizens to participate in governance through mechanisms such as judicial review. As such, you will study some of the most important and controversial aspects of the British Constitution and legal system, including key statutes such as the Human Rights Act 1998. Constitutional Rights provides you with a solid foundation in what human rights are and how they are protected in the British Constitution, and will give you invaluable insights into the difficult decisions judges have to make in the field of administrative law through judicial review.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
Constitutional Rights is a mandatory first year Law unit that builds on knowledge learned in Law and State (LAWD10012). It provides you with essential understanding of both the role of judges within the British Constitution and the place of human rights within legal, academic and constitutional discourse. As such, issues that you explore in Constitutional Rights will be developed in units that you may study in the future, including Family Law, Medical Law, Intellectual Property, Evidence, Environmental Law, Employment Law, Human Rights in Law, Politics and Society and many others.
An overview of content
You will learn about the major mechanisms for the protection of human rights in the British Constitution and the role that judges have in enforcing human rights and administrative law. As such, you will learn about the Human Rights Act 1998, the rule of law as a constitutional value, the process of legal accountability known as judicial review and relevant human rights topics, including but not limited to: freedom of expression, the law governing protest in the United Kingdom, freedom of religion and other relevant human rights topics. This will involve detailed consideration of key pieces of primary legislation and international treaties relevant to human rights protection as well as important case law relevant to these topics. You will also consider and engage with many of the ongoing academic debates about these topics.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
Studying Constitutional Rights will give you a detailed understanding of how human rights are protected within the British Constitution and the role that judges have in terms of protecting human rights and upholding administrative law more generally. This will give you a deeper appreciation for the complex relationship between the British Constitution and the protection of human rights and the difficult role that judges play in the overall scheme of the British Constitution.
Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
The unit consists of a weekly mix of seminar, lecture and guided independent activities. These activities combine teacher delivery to students, asynchronous activities such as recorded interviews/talks and other teaching materials, student discussion, student group work and student independent activities including structured reading, engaging with audio/visual resources and analysing different written data sources.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare for summative tasks (formative):
Formative assessment will take several forms in Constitutional Rights. There will be multiple choice quizzes to enable you to self-assess your own learning and opportunities to gain formative feedback in large group sessions and seminars in the form of advice from academic members of staff and self-assessment of your own knowledge.
The unit will also have an optional, marked formative assessment during the teaching term. The formative assessment does not count towards the final mark for the unit and is aimed at directly assisting you in preparing for the summative assessment by testing your ability to engage critically with a topic or topics and your general writing abilities. As well as developing deeper understanding of a particular topic or topics, by engaging with formative assessment you can further develop your skills and better evaluate your ability to engage with the subject and respond effectively to questions. The formative assessment will require you to complete a 750 word answer to either an unseen problem question or an essay question. You will receive individual feedback on your answer, a mark and general written feedback on both questions to the whole cohort. This will be a shortened form of the same kind of assessment questions that you will have in your summative assessment and will be the same kinds of assessment questions that you discuss in your seminars and large group sessions as the unit progresses.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
The summative assessment for Constitutional Rights will consist of a 3,000 word Timed Assessment (take home exam), which will take place at the end of the teaching block. The Timed Assessment will require you to answer a set number of questions and submit your paper online. It will be 3,000 words in total made up of two 1,500 word answers that forms 100% of the assessment. The assessment will assess all the Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO) for this unit in the context of topics selected by the examiners.
When assessment does not go to plan
If a student fails the summative assessment and is eligible to resubmit, the unit will be reassessed on a like-for-like basis in the reassessment period.
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. LAWD10013).
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.
