Unit information: Law and Government in 2016/17

Unit name	Law and Government
Unit code	LAWD30105
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Professor. Tony Prosser
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	LAWD10012 Law and State and LAWD10013 Constitutional Rights
Co-requisites	None
School/department	University of Bristol Law School
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

This unit will examine the key issues of the use of law as a means of holding government accountable in the UK. It will be organised by reference to different purposes of law as a means of accountability; resolving grievances, ensuring legality, developing and implementing standards of good administration and facilitating participation in politics. As well as examining the rapidly growing area of judicial review, there will be detailed consideration of other mechanisms for accountability, such as ombudsmen, audit, grievance procedures and the Better Regulation initiatives.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this unit a successful student will be able to:

• Demonstrate a well-developed understanding of the various uses of law to hold government accountable and relate them to recent changes in types of governance, including the procedures before the courts and the role of other institutions such as regulators and tribunals.
• Conduct comparative analysis both of the different ways in which law is used and between the UK and other jurisdictions.
• Demonstrate an understanding of both the context in which law operates and how to analyse the caselaw.
• Apply the law correctly through answering problem questions.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the political context within which the law operates.

Teaching Information

Ten two-hour seminars and ten lectures.

Assessment Information

One three-hour closed book examination in May/June, in which students answer 3 questions from a choice of 7 or 8 questions. Two formative essays of 1000 words each, one compulsory, one optional.

The assessments will assess all of the intended learning outcomes for this unit.

Reading and References

P. Craig, Administrative Law (Sweet and Maxwell, 7th ed., 2012) C. Harlow and R. Rawlings, Law and Administration (Cambridge University Press, 3rd ed., 2009)