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 | Dr. Psygkas |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites | |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
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.
At the end of the year students should have a well-developed understanding of the various uses of law to hold government accountable, and should be able to relate them to recent changes in types of governance. This includes the procedures before the courts and the role of other institutions such as regulators and tribunals. They should be able to conduct comparative analysis both of the different ways in which law is used and between the UK and other jurisdictions. They should understand both the context in which law operates and how to analyse the caselaw. They should be able to apply the law correctly through answering problem questions and understand the political context within which the law operates.
Eleven two-hour seminars plus one revision seminar
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.
P. Craig, Administrative Law (Sweet and Maxwell, 7th ed., 2012) C. Harlow and R. Rawlings, Law and Administration (Butterworths, 3rd ed., 2009)