The focus in this unit is not only on the possession of knowledge about the English Legal System, but on the acquisition of skills, both legal and from a more general study skills perspective. Accordingly the unit will be taught by both lectures and seminars. You should find yourself, over the course of the year, coming back to your Introduction to Law materials and sources as you progress with your legal studies. Lectures The lectures will focus on introducing the main features of the English Legal System and on introducing you to key study skills. The general purpose of the lectures will be to provide an organised introduction and overview of material contained in the syllabus. In general, the lecture will take the form of an oral presentation by various lecturers. Apart from the pre-arrival reading required for the unit, students are not required to prepare in advance for lectures BUT they MUST read the essential materials in order to prepare for the seminars. Lectures will take place in weeks 0, 1 and 2 of the autumn term. The lecture schedule is as follows: Lecture Schedule Times and venues will be on your welcome week programme for the introductory sessions in Week 0. Thereafter, times and dates can be found on your personalized timetable. Please check your online timetable, just in case there have been any changes to the schedule below: Title Date/Time Room Lecturer 1 A Welcome to the School of Law Wednesday 24 September 09:00-09:50 PHYS BLDG 1.11 TYNDALL Joanne Conaghan, Ken Oliphant, Gwen Seabourne, Chandy, Oliver Quick 2 An Introduction to Introduction to Law (including Blackboard) Thursday 25 September 10:00-10:50 PHYS BLDG 1.11 TYNDALL Oliver Quick 3 Introducing the English Legal System – perceptions and challenges Thursday 25 September VIC ROOMS G38 AUDI Martin Partington 4 Study skills: Reading and understanding cases Thursday 25 September 14:00-14:50 VIC ROOMS G38 AUDI Keith Stanton Trial
5 skills: Library resources Friday 26 September 11:00-11:50 PHYS BLDG 1.11 TYNDALL Mary-Jane Steer 6 The Nature and Sources of Law Monday 29 September 10:00-10:50 VIC ROOMS G38 AUDI Julian Rivers 7 The Impact of Law on Society Monday 29 September 13:00-13:50 VIC ROOMS G38 AUDI Martin Partington 8 Statutes and Statutory Interpretation Tuesday 30 September 11:00-11:50 PHYS BLDG 1.11 TYNDALL Jennifer Collins 9 The Doctrine of Precedent Tuesday 30 September 16:00-16:50 VIC ROOMS G38 AUDI Ardavan Arzandeh 10 How Policy becomes Law Wednesday 1 October 12:00-12:50 VIC ROOMS G38 AUDI Diggory Bailey Office of the Parliamentary Counsel 11 Study skills: Critical thinking, analysis and synthesis Thursday 2 October 11:00-11:50 VIC ROOMS G38 AUDI Julian Rivers 12 The Civil Justice System (structure, procedure, remedies) Thursday 2 October 12:00-12:50 VIC ROOMS G38 AUDI Paula Giliker 13 Exam/Assessment skills: Writing essays and problem questions Thursday 2 October 16:00-16:50 VIC ROOMS G38 AUDI Harry McVea 14 The Criminal Justice System (structure, procedure, remedies) Friday 3 October 13:00-13:50 PHYS BLDG 1.11 TYNDALL Oliver Quick 15 The Administrative Justice System (structure, procedure, remedies) Friday 3 October 16:00-16:50 PHYS BLDG 1.11 TYNDALL Akis Psygkas 16 Study skills: Research Monday 6 October 10:00-10:50 VIC ROOMS G38 AUDI Paddy Ireland
17 Introduction to European Law Monday 6 October 13:00-13:50 VIC ROOMS G38 AUDI Phil Syrpis 18 Introduction to International Law Monday 6 October 16:00-16:50 VIC ROOMS G38 AUDI Malcolm Evans 19 Introduction to Contract Law Tuesday 7 October 13:00-13:50 VIC ROOMS G38 AUDI McVea 20 Feedback and plagiarism Tuesday 7 October 16:00-16:50 VIC ROOMS G38 AUDI Keith Stanton Guest lecture from Mr Justice Mostyn “The craft of judging” 8 December, 13:00-14:00, venue to be confirmed (see your online timetable). Lectures are an important part of the unit and experience tells us that those students who do not attend regularly do not do well in assessments as lectures are designed to prepare the students for assessments. All lectures will start punctually on the hour (i.e. at 9am, 10am, 11am etc and will last for 50 minutes). Students are asked to attend on time out of courtesy to others. Those arriving late may be excluded or asked not to enter the lecture hall until a suitable break. If the lecturer allows a student to enter the hall they must sit down in the first available seat. Mobile phones must be turned off during lectures. Infringement of this rule may lead to exclusion. PowerPoint slides and other visual materials may be used. Slides used in lectures will be available on blackboard after the lecture has taken place. Seminars Each student will be expected to attend the seminar group to which they have been assigned. A record of attendance will be taken. There will be four seminars over ten days in weeks 1 and 2 of the autumn term. Seminars will normally last for 2 hours with a break of 10-15 minutes. Seminars will concentrate on the students’ acquisition of legal skills. Students will therefore be expected to have read the primary and secondary reading materials for themselves, which will then be discussed in class. Accordingly, the style of teaching in seminars is known as ‘Socratic’. It follows the style of teaching developed by the Greek philosopher Socrates who taught, not by simply handing over information, but by means of dialogue with his students. By asking questions and commenting on the answers the teacher does not just aim to ensure that the students know and understand the subject matter of the lesson, s/he also aims to help the students to develop new