| Unit name | Introduction to Law |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWD10016 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Gammage |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This unit provides new law students with an intensive orientation towards their subject. It covers a basic knowledge of the English Legal System in terms of the purposes and functions of law, the historical development and sources of English law, the criminal, administrative, family and civil justice systems (structure, procedures and remedies), the role of practitioners, adjudicators and legal scholars as well as the funding of legal services. Basic legal skills of research, analysis, synthesis and problem-solving involving the handling of primary legal materials (case-law and legislation) are developed, as are the techniques of legal scholarship.
This unit aims to give new students a solid foundation to their study of law by providing them with a basic account of law, the English legal system, skills of legal reasoning and legal study skills. Students will be able to offer a basic account of the nature and purposes of law and the main divisions of law as well as the legal processes and remedies associated with those divisions. They will understand the sources of English law and where to find law. They will be able to solve simple legal problems by the application of statutory rules and precedential cases, and they will be equipped to launch into their further study of law by being able to undertake basic research exercises in a wide range of paper and electronic resources.
After completing this unit, students will have a social and intellectual context within which to place their study of first year foundational legal subjects such as constitutional law, criminal law, the law of tort, and contract law.
This unit will be taught intensively over the latter part of introductory week and throughout weeks 0, 1 and 2 in a mixture of lectures and small groups. No other law unit will be taught. This will amount to a total of 20 lectures, 4 two-hour seminars, a library/IT skills session, and a personal tutor meeting. Focused worksheets will be provided for each day providing students with a disciplined initial programme of reading and study on their arrival at university. All lectures will be podcast and classes supported by online materials.
Please note the information given above about the way in which the unit is taught between weeks 0-2. Contact hours per week given in the next section are indicative only and represent total contact hours averaged over the entire teaching block.
The assessment for this unit requires students to demonstrate an ability to identify relevant legal issues and/or principles, to develop arguments in relation to those issues or principles, and to reach a considered and well-structured application of issues and principles.
The assessment for this unit will be a single two part examination of 1.5 hours duration to be held in week 6. The first part will involve drawing up an essay question outline and the second part will be about identification of legal issues in a problem question format.
The unit is pass/fail only and students will not be given a grade for their work. Re-sit opportunities will be offered in the summer assessment period
Martin Partington Introduction to the English Legal System: 2013-2014 published by Oxford University Press (2013, 8th edition).
Ian McLeod, Legal Method (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009)
Linda Mulcahy and Carl Stychin, Legal Methods and Systems (Sweet & Maxwell, 2010)
Gary Slapper and David Kelly, The English Legal System (Routledge, 2010)
Catherine Elliot and Frances Quinn, English Legal System (Longman, 2010)
