Law LLB

Core modules:

Contemporary Issues in Law and Justice

The module is one of the core subjects of the degree, through which students cover the Foundations of Legal Knowledge. It introduces students to techniques of analysing the contributions of law in addressing social problems. Case studies will be explored, based on the research expertise of School staff and selected to demonstrate controversies in the law and a variety of approaches to legal analysis. Students will be challenged to identify how different perspectives on law relate to one another, and how they are portrayed through various media. The module provides a foundation for more advanced critical analysis of the law.

20 credits

Criminal Law and Justice

This module will introduce students to the concepts, theories and institutions of criminal law and justice, and its place in society. It will develop an understanding of the essential concepts of criminal liability. It will focus on the main institutional and procedural features of the criminal justice system, with the aim of stimulating an enquiring attitude towards the practice of criminal process. Students will have the opportunity to practise applying these processes to factual scenarios. The module provides a firm foundation for the more advanced study of criminal law and also of criminal evidence, criminal justice and criminal process.

20 credits

Law of Obligations (Contract, Torts & Restitution)

The module is one of the core foundation subjects of the degree, which cover the Foundations of Legal Knowledge. It introduces students to the Law of Obligations, within the context of the Common Law. It facilitates an understanding of basic principles of Contract, Tort and Restitution (as appropriate), engendering an understanding of the substantive law, whilst recognising and appreciating the role of these comparators as illustrative of the broader nature of the Common Law. The module provides a firm foundation for more advanced study in the areas of contract, torts, restitution and unjust enrichment.

20 credits

Property Law (Land Law, Equity and Trusts)

This module is one of the core foundation subjects of the degree, through which students cover the Foundations of Legal Knowledge. It introduces students to the concepts, theories and institutions of property law, and its place in society, focussing on the mechanisms for the creation, protection, transfer and loss of the different types of property right, specifically in Land Law and in Equity and Trusts. Students have the opportunity to practise the application of these mechanisms to factual scenarios. The module is essential for more advanced study of property-related subjects, including commercial property law, intellectual property law, and environmental law.

20 credits

Public Law in the UK and the EU

This module is one of the core foundation subjects of the degree, through which students cover the Foundations of Legal Knowledge. It covers the key principles of constitutional, administrative, EU and Human Rights Law, enabling students to acquire knowledge of the key institutions and laws of the UK and the EU relevant to the constitutional and administrative justice systems of those legal orders. The module challenges students to explore at least one contemporary constitutional debate in some depth. The module provides a firm foundation for the more advanced study of a range of areas of public law.

20 credits

Remedies in Private Law

This module introduces students to the different remedies available to parties seeking redress under the law, including damages (both compensatory and otherwise), account, specific performance, injunctions, interim relief, and self-help. It also introduces students to issues relating to the international and regional harmonisation of remedies. In addition, the module facilitates an understanding of the concepts and theories underlying the remedies that are available under the law. The module provides a good foundation for the advanced study of contract, tort, restitution, equity and trusts, and property.

20 credits

Core Legal and Study Skills 1 (CLASS1)

This module supports students throughout Level 1 of their undergraduate studies. Following a programme of group learning experiences, lectures, tutorials, and self-reflection, it offers professional and peer support to students as they begin their University studies. It teaches the `English Legal System¿ element of the `Foundations of Legal Knowledge' taught through the other Level 1 Law modules, providing a basis for subsequent legal learning. It provides guidance to ensure students navigate the programme to their specific needs and interests. In doing so, the module will create a foundation for communities of learning that will sustain them throughout their degree.

Core modules:

Core Legal and Study Skills 2 (CLASS2)

This module supports students through Level 2 of their Qualifying Law degree at the University of Sheffield, in particular by assisting students in the transition to a higher level of learning. Lectures are focussed in the first weeks of each semester and are supported by tutorials, and self-reflection exercises which offer professional and peer support. It provides guidance to ensure students navigate the programme to their specific needs and interests, and assists students to gain the most from communities of learning that will sustain them for the remainder of their degree.

Optional modules:

Advanced Administrative Law and Justice

This module is one of the optional foundation subjects of the degree, which students can take to cover in more detail the Foundations of Legal Knowledge. The module develops in more detail the foundational concepts of administrative law introduced in the compulsory module `Public Law in the UK and the EU', with a particular emphasis on theories of administrative law and justice. The main focus will be judicial review: its development, purpose and place within the legal system; the substantive grounds and procedural aspects; and the remedies available. There will also be emphasis on non-judicial remedies in administrative law.

20 credits

Advanced Constitutional Law

This module is one of the optional foundation subjects of the degree, which students can take to cover in more detail the Foundations of Legal Knowledge'. The module develops in more detail the foundational concepts of constitutional law introduced in the compulsory module `Public Law in the UK and the EU¿. Theories of constitutionalism will be explored, alongside recent developments in British constitutional practice. Various proposals for constitutional reform will be analysed and the extensive operation of constitutional law through layers of public bodies identified.

20 credits

Advanced Contract: Contract Theories in a Commercial Perspective

This module seeks to give students an overview of the various theories of contract law and their influence on the law relating to commercial contracts. Having provided an introduction to the classical theories of contract law it will then consider competing theories such as contracts as obligation, economic perspectives on contract law, expectational and relational theories of contract law and contract as formalism or realism. Judicial attitudes to commercial contracts will be considered in the light of these different theoretical perspectives. In doing so topics such as the construction of commercial contracts, standard form contracts, and harmonisation attempts in respect of commercial contract law will be considered.

20 credits

Advanced Criminal Law and Justice

This module builds upon the foundational learning in LAW135 Criminal Law and Justice, developing students' knowledge about the doctrine and principles of criminal law. The focus rests upon the theme of criminalisation 'Beyond Homicide', the main family of substantive crimes examined by the predecessor module. It examines the range and scope of criminal law in critical detail, looking at the substantive offences and considering them in wider socio-legal context.

20 credits

Advanced EU Law

This module is one of the core/optional foundation subjects of the Qualifying Law Degree programmes offered by Sheffield Law School. Building on `Public Law in the UK and the EU¿, it explores the institutional structure and legal framework of the EU, as well as its substantive law. The module offers a distinct perspective on the dynamics of the EU, focusing on fundamental rights, the internal market and citizenship. Students will engage with Treaty provisions, EU legislation and cases, and practise a range of legal skills in applying EU law to concrete situations, thereby developing their employability.

20 credits

Advanced Equity & Trusts

This module is one of the optional foundation subjects of the degree, which students can take to cover in more detail the Foundations of Legal Knowledge. The module critically examines the nature of property rights, their creation and transfer, and their protection against third parties. The module emphasises the role of equity in creating new proprietary rights and remedies. Particular consideration is given to the creation of express trusts (predominantly private), to resulting and constructive trusts, to the administration of trusts, and to the personal liability of trustees.

20 credits

Advanced Issues in International Law

Advanced Issues in International Law builds on the knowledge and skills learnt in Foundations of International Law, and applies it to a number of selected issues in international law. These issues will vary from year to year and will reflect to a large degree current issues of international concern. They are likely to be in the areas of Law of the Sea, International Environmental Law, International Institutional Law, International Criminal Law, International Law on Terrorism, and International Economic Law.

20 credits

Advanced Land Law

This module is one of the optional foundation subjects of the degree, which students can take to cover in more detail the Foundations of Legal Knowledge. The module critically examines the nature of property rights and applies the student's knowledge and understanding of these in the broader structure of land law. The module will primarily explore in depth the system of registered titles to land and, within this framework, co-ownership, trusts of land, mortgages, and commercial interests (including easements and restrictive covenants) will be considered. Within the module, the prevailing system of unregistered titles is used as a comparator.

20 credits

Advanced Law of Contract

This module is one of the optional foundation subjects of the degree, which students can take to cover in more detail the Foundations of Legal Knowledge. Issues of contract formation and variation will be examined in depth, alongside an analysis of the doctrines of estoppel, duress, undue influence, mistake and misrepresentation. The module will also re-evaluate the law relating to the interpretation and construction of the terms of the contract including implied terms, exclusion clauses, the doctrines of frustration and remedies. Students will be expected to critique existing legal solutions and apply complex legal principles to mock scenarios.

20 credits

Advanced Torts Law

This module is one of the optional foundation subjects of the degree, which students can take to cover in more detail the Foundations of Legal Knowledge. In Law of Obligations the students will already have been introduced to the tort of negligence. We will build upon this foundation and further develop depth and breadth of understanding. Students will then enhance their understanding of tort by reference to other substantive torts. Which may include nuisance, trespass to the person and defamation.

20 credits

Criminal Process

The module aims to familiarise students with various criminal justice models and the nature of English criminal processes. Students will study the structure and functions of key institutions, and the role of various actors within the system. This may include modelling of the criminal justice system; values and the criminal justice system; police powers (eg, stop and search, detention); suspect rights; prosecution and pre-trial decisions; bail custody decisions; criminal legal aid; mode of trial; magistrates' court personnel and proceedings; judges and jury trial; 'system errors' and the machinery for correcting them.

20 credits

Criminology Research Project

This module develops on the earlier research methods module (Analysing Crime Data). There, students learned to manipulate and analyse data using SPSS on a computer. Here, students will work in small groups developing research ideas to form a fully developed questionnaire, which will be subsequently administered to a small general public sample via Corporate Information and Computing Systems (CICS). Thereafter, resulting data iscoded, computerised and analysed, and results written up as an individual report.

20 credits

Criminology and War

The module enables students to critically analyse the nature of contemporary war from a variety of criminological perspectives. It does so through the following debates: criminology of war; war as policing; war as crime; crime in war; masculinity, violence and war; victimology and war; environmental criminology and war; war and domestic criminal policy; war, veterans and domestic crime; and criminology as peacemaking. These debates are informed by a range of examples, in particular from the post-9/11 battlefields of the Middle East.

20 credits

Drugs, Crime and Control

This module aims to develop a multidisciplinary understanding of drugs, crime and control by engaging with the key academic and policy literature. Students will explore a wide range of drug-related issues and debates, critically analyse the laws, policies and institutions of drug control, and situate them within the wider social context. The topics covered will include: the social construction of the `drug problem'; drugs and crime; historical and contemporary perspectives on drug policy; drugs policing from the global to the local; tackling drugs through criminal justice interventions; drug control across the world; and the legalisation debate and alternatives to criminalisation.

20 credits

Employment Law

Employment law regulates work. Its sources are UK common law and statute and, of increasing importance, European Community law. The course will cover the tension between employment rights and labour flexibility, between regulation and deregulation. Recruitment, rights and obligations at work, pay, discrimination, unfair dismissal and redundancy will be examined, and the links between Employment Law and the law which deals with trade unions and industrial conflict will be identified. The module aims to set employment law in its social, political and European context; to encourage a critical understanding of the law; and to consider future development and reform.

20 credits

Foundations of International Law

Foundations of International Law provides foundational knowledge of the principles and institutions of the international legal order, and applies it to specific areas of international relations (further developed in Advanced Issues in International Law). The foundational knowledge covers issues of nature and sources, sovereignty, liability and enforcement. Emphasis will be on developing analytical and problem solving skills in relation to a new and different type of legal order to the domestic one with which students are familiar.

20 credits

Foundations of International Law

Foundations of International Law provides foundational knowledge of the principles and institutions of the international legal order, and applies it to specific areas of international relations (further developed in Advanced Issues in International Law). The foundational knowledge covers issues of nature and sources, sovereignty, liability and enforcement. Emphasis will be on developing analytical and problem solving skills in relation to a new and different type of legal order to the domestic one with which students are familiar.

20 credits

Gender, Crime and Criminal Justice

This module examines the experiences and treatment of men and women as victims and criminals. It examines whether and how offending patterns vary according to gender and explores connections between gender, offending and victimisation. The module also explores the treatment of and experiences of men and women within the criminal justice system. It argues that in order best to understand crime and criminal justice, criminologists must understand both as gendered.

20 credits

International Commercial Arbitration

This module introduces the students to the international arbitration legal framework based on the 1958 UN Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York Convention). It offers a systematic study of the international arbitration system, focusing on many important legal issues and processes including, among others, enforcement of arbitration agreements, selecting and challenging arbitrators, choosing the procedure and applicable law in arbitral proceedings, and enforcement of the arbitration awards. In particular, the module will not limit the discussions to any single country's arbitration law and practice, but will instead present arbitration as a transnational phenomenon and thus enable the students to analyse relevant legal issues from a truly international perspective.

20 credits

International Legal Theory and Practice

International Legal Theory and Practice seeks to raise students' appreciation of the various theoretical perspectives that underpin public international law. Through an analysis of such approaches as Natural law, positivism, the 'New Haven' policy-school, critical legal studies, and feminism, the unit encourages students to consider their own views on the theoretical basis of public international law.

20 credits

Law, Accountability and Government

The unit builds on Constitutional Law, with a more detailed analysis of the accountability arrangements in operation in the UK. It will examine how the modern constitution has evolved a number of interesting and sophisticated techniques of control, which work beyond traditional Parliamentary and court based institutions, and evaluate the theoretical need for such techniques. Specific areas of study will include: modernising Parliament, multi-layered governance, unelected institutions, enforcing constitutional values and constitutional theory. The aim of the unit is to expand the student's comprehension of how government in the UK is controlled in practice and enhance analytical skills.

20 credits

Police and Policing in a Global Context

This module explores policing on a macro-level, taking into account developments on a national and global scale. The topics covered will include: conceptualizing the police and policing; key features of policing, such as police powers, discretion, police culture and accountability; models of policing; the history of policing in the UK and elsewhere; the policing of multi-ethnic communities (who can also be thought of as 'global citizens'); the role of the police in policing, in the light of the growing involvement of non-warranted civilians and others in policing activities; policing in other countries, including post-colonial countries; and policing in a transnational context; policing in global, late modern societies. The module will be partly empirical, but it will also be grounded in theories about the use of power; for example, it will be situated within theories about governance and social control, whilst also exploring whether and from where the police derive legitimacy in exerting power/authority over citizens.

20 credits

Principles of Healthcare Law and Ethics

This module will introduce students to the nature and scope of healthcare law and ethics in the UK as it is affected by statute, the common law and international instruments. It will address fundamental aspects of healthcare law and ethics as they arise in practice including resource allocation, regulation, elements of clinical negligence as well the important concepts of consent and confidentiality.

20 credits

Private Law Aspects of Company Law

This module aims to develop knowledge and understanding of the application of contract law, tort law and equity in the corporate context.

20 credits

Punishment and Penal Policy

This module is concerned with the sentencing and punishment of offenders. It considers, in historical context: the philosophical underpinnings of punishment; sentencing policy and practice; and the forms that punishment takes (including custodial and non-custodial options). It also considers what we know about public attitudes toward punishment. A key issue addressed by this module is the rapid growth of the prison population since the mid-1990s: how can we explain this state of affairs, and can/should this trend be reversed?

20 credits

Responding to Crime and Victimisation

This module examines the legal response to international and transnational crimes, from atrocities such as genocide to crimes with a trans- or international element, such as drug and people trafficking. In particular, the module will cover issues of jurisdiction, criminalisation (including contentious international crimes, such as terrorism and organised crime), justifications of international criminal prosecution and its alternatives, and concepts surrounding the implementation of the punishment of international crimes. Special attention is paid to how domestic public laws influence the applicability and `reach' of contemporary international criminal mechanisms.

20 credits

Sale of Goods

Commercial Law is the law that governs contracts for the supply of goods and services, particularly those concerned with large scale transactions. This module concentrates on the legal machinery by which goods and services are marketed, including the law of sale, agency and payment mechanisms. Its aims are to provide students with a knowledge of the core areas of commercial law; critically to evaluate the relevant legal rules and, in particular, their suitability for application to commercial and consumer contracts in modern economic conditions; and, by concentrating on legal problem questions, to develop students' skills of legal reasoning and problem solving.

20 credits

The Law Relating to Public Companies

This module introduces students to the law and governance of public companies through an interdisciplinary lens. Students learn about the different theories about the purpose of corporations in society and the different conceptions of corporate governance. This theoretical framework is then used as the basis for a critical exploration of a number of topical aspects of company law and corporate governance, including soft law, corporate social responsibility, information disclosure, insider dealing and market abuse, corporate finance, takeovers and executive remuneration.

20 credits

The Rehabilitation of Offenders

Attempts to rehabilitate offenders have a long history and have taken a variety of forms. This module considers the legitimacy and effectiveness of approaches toward offenders which come under the umbrella of `rehabilitation¿. The module focuses in particular on contemporary rehabilitative approaches used in prisons and in the context of community penalties, including the current popularity of cognitive-behavioural treatment programmes. It also examines in detail the relevance and effectiveness of rehabilitation in respect of specific groups of offenders, such as those who commit sexual offences and drug misusing offenders.

20 credits

Understanding Criminology: Advanced Level Introduction

This module introduces students who have not taken criminology core modules to key areas of criminological definition, empirical study, theory and the development of criminal justice systems. It equips non-criminology students with a broad understanding and so enables them to take further criminology modules if they choose. The module looks at case studies of crime and deviance from contemporary life to help students understand how some of the history and theory of criminology can be brought to bear on social and legal issues.

20 credits

Youth Crime and Justice

This module examines youth crime and `antisocial behaviour, as well as formal responses to young people who offend. During the first half of the module, contemporary and historical views of youth crime are critically examined, attending particularly to class, ethnicity and gender, and to the historical construction of youth as problematic. The second half of the module focuses on youth justice, including the role of the police, the courts, Youth Offending Teams, custodial institutions and other bodies in regulating unruly youth and preventing and responding to youth crime.

20 credits

Core modules:

Core Legal and Study Skills Final Year (CLASS-FY)

This module supports students through their final year of undergraduate study in the School of Law and builds on WINS at Levels 1 and 2. Lectures are focussed in the first weeks of each semester and are supported by a programme of tutorials, led by Personal and Academic Tutors, and self-reflection exercises which offer professional and peer support to students. It teaches a range of research skills, and values, supporting `research-based¿ modules on offer in final year. It provides guidance to help students create a solid foundation for communities of learning that will sustain them after graduation.

Optional modules:

Advanced Administrative Law and Justice

This module is one of the optional foundation subjects of the degree, which students can take to cover in more detail the Foundations of Legal Knowledge. The module develops in more detail the foundational concepts of administrative law introduced in the compulsory module `Public Law in the UK and the EU', with a particular emphasis on theories of administrative law and justice. The main focus will be judicial review: its development, purpose and place within the legal system; the substantive grounds and procedural aspects; and the remedies available. There will also be emphasis on non-judicial remedies in administrative law.

20 credits

Advanced Constitutional Law

This module is one of the optional foundation subjects of the degree, which students can take to cover in more detail the Foundations of Legal Knowledge'. The module develops in more detail the foundational concepts of constitutional law introduced in the compulsory module `Public Law in the UK and the EU¿. Theories of constitutionalism will be explored, alongside recent developments in British constitutional practice. Various proposals for constitutional reform will be analysed and the extensive operation of constitutional law through layers of public bodies identified.

20 credits

Advanced Contract: Contract Theories in a Commercial Perspective

This module seeks to give students an overview of the various theories of contract law and their influence on the law relating to commercial contracts. Having provided an introduction to the classical theories of contract law it will then consider competing theories such as contracts as obligation, economic perspectives on contract law, expectational and relational theories of contract law and contract as formalism or realism. Judicial attitudes to commercial contracts will be considered in the light of these different theoretical perspectives. In doing so topics such as the construction of commercial contracts, standard form contracts, and harmonisation attempts in respect of commercial contract law will be considered.

20 credits

Advanced Criminal Law and Justice

This module builds upon the foundational learning in LAW135 Criminal Law and Justice, developing students' knowledge about the doctrine and principles of criminal law. The focus rests upon the theme of criminalisation 'Beyond Homicide', the main family of substantive crimes examined by the predecessor module. It examines the range and scope of criminal law in critical detail, looking at the substantive offences and considering them in wider socio-legal context.

20 credits

Advanced EU Law

This module is one of the core/optional foundation subjects of the Qualifying Law Degree programmes offered by Sheffield Law School. Building on `Public Law in the UK and the EU¿, it explores the institutional structure and legal framework of the EU, as well as its substantive law. The module offers a distinct perspective on the dynamics of the EU, focusing on fundamental rights, the internal market and citizenship. Students will engage with Treaty provisions, EU legislation and cases, and practise a range of legal skills in applying EU law to concrete situations, thereby developing their employability.

20 credits

Advanced Equity & Trusts

This module is one of the optional foundation subjects of the degree, which students can take to cover in more detail the Foundations of Legal Knowledge. The module critically examines the nature of property rights, their creation and transfer, and their protection against third parties. The module emphasises the role of equity in creating new proprietary rights and remedies. Particular consideration is given to the creation of express trusts (predominantly private), to resulting and constructive trusts, to the administration of trusts, and to the personal liability of trustees.

20 credits

Advanced Issues in International Law

Advanced Issues in International Law builds on the knowledge and skills learnt in Foundations of International Law, and applies it to a number of selected issues in international law. These issues will vary from year to year and will reflect to a large degree current issues of international concern. They are likely to be in the areas of Law of the Sea, International Environmental Law, International Institutional Law, International Criminal Law, International Law on Terrorism, and International Economic Law.

20 credits

Advanced Land Law

This module is one of the optional foundation subjects of the degree, which students can take to cover in more detail the Foundations of Legal Knowledge. The module critically examines the nature of property rights and applies the student's knowledge and understanding of these in the broader structure of land law. The module will primarily explore in depth the system of registered titles to land and, within this framework, co-ownership, trusts of land, mortgages, and commercial interests (including easements and restrictive covenants) will be considered. Within the module, the prevailing system of unregistered titles is used as a comparator.

20 credits

Advanced Law of Contract

This module is one of the optional foundation subjects of the degree, which students can take to cover in more detail the Foundations of Legal Knowledge. Issues of contract formation and variation will be examined in depth, alongside an analysis of the doctrines of estoppel, duress, undue influence, mistake and misrepresentation. The module will also re-evaluate the law relating to the interpretation and construction of the terms of the contract including implied terms, exclusion clauses, the doctrines of frustration and remedies. Students will be expected to critique existing legal solutions and apply complex legal principles to mock scenarios.

20 credits

Advanced Torts Law

This module is one of the optional foundation subjects of the degree, which students can take to cover in more detail the Foundations of Legal Knowledge. In Law of Obligations the students will already have been introduced to the tort of negligence. We will build upon this foundation and further develop depth and breadth of understanding. Students will then enhance their understanding of tort by reference to other substantive torts. Which may include nuisance, trespass to the person and defamation.

20 credits

Competition Law

Businesses selling goods and services often face competition from other sellers of similar products. The effect of this competition will normally be to keep prices down and to enhance choice for customers. Competition law is concerned with protecting and encouraging competition in markets, and seeks to control agreements which restrict competition, the ability of powerful businesses to restrict competition by unilateral conduct, the particular issues raised by concentrated markets and the reduction of competition by mergers and similar transactions. This module looks briefly at the underlying economics and then at EC and UK competition law, at both substantive issues and enforcement. The module has a practical orientation. Previous experience of economics is not required.

20 credits

Criminal Evidence

The Law of Criminal Evidence is that body of rules that determine what material may be used to prove or disprove the criminal offence alleged to have been committed by the accused. Specific topics covered include the rules governing witness testimony, the regulation of questioning, the burden of proof, and the operation of exclusionary rules concerning hearsay evidence, confessions and character evidence.

20 credits

Criminal Process

The course is designed to build on students' understanding of the criminal justice process, and will look at topical issues relating to the operation of the criminal justice system after a prosecution has been initiated. These may include modelling the criminal justice system; values and the criminal justice system; police powers (e.g. stop and search, detention); suspects rights; prosecution and pre-trial decisions; bail/custody decisions; criminal legal aid; mode of trial; magistrates' court personnel and proceedings; judges and jury trial; 'system errors' and the machinery for correcting them.

20 credits

Criminology Research Paper

The Criminology Research Paper requires a student to submit a research paper of 6,000 words on a criminological topic that is approved in advance by the module convenor. The aim of the module is to support a student in independently carrying out research, whether library-based or empirical. It may also enable a student to study a subject that is not otherwise covered in depth on their degree. It is the student's responsibility to select the topic and to approach the module convenor for approval. The student may only proceed with research that a member of the criminology staff is willing to supervise. The student should approach the appropriate staff member and seek agreement for the supervision of their project before opting to undertake the research paper.

20 credits

Criminology Research Project

This module extends research methods abilities developed initially in earlier research methods modules. There, students learned to manipulate and analyse data using SPSS on a computer. Here, students will work in small groups developing research ideas to form a fully developed questionnaire, which will be subsequently administered to a small general public sample via Corporate Information and Computing Systems (CICS). Thereafter, resulting data are coded, computerised and analysed, and results written up as an individual report.

20 credits

Criminology and War

The module enables students to critically analyse the nature of contemporary war from a variety of criminological perspectives. It does so through the following debates: criminology of war; war as policing; war as crime; crime in war; masculinity, violence and war; victimology and war; environmental criminology and war; war and domestic criminal policy; war, veterans and domestic crime; and criminology as peacemaking. These debates are informed by a range of examples, in particular from the post-9/11 battlefields of the Middle East.

20 credits

Drugs, Crime and Control

This module aims to develop a multidisciplinary understanding of drugs, crime and control by engaging with the key academic and policy literature. Students will explore a wide range of drug-related issues and debates, critically analyse the laws, policies and institutions of drug control, and situate them within the wider social context. The topics covered will include: the social construction of the `drug problem'; drugs and crime; historical and contemporary perspectives on drug policy; drugs policing from the global to the local; tackling drugs through criminal justice interventions; drug control across the world; and the legalisation debate and alternatives to criminalisation.

20 credits

Employment Law

Employment law regulates work. Its sources are UK common law and statute and, of increasing importance, European Community law. The course will cover the tension between employment rights and labour flexibility, between regulation and deregulation. Recruitment, rights and obligations at work, pay, discrimination, unfair dismissal and redundancy will be examined, and the links between Employment Law and the law which deals with trade unions and industrial conflict will be identified. The module aims to set employment law in its social, political and European context; to encourage a critical understanding of the law; and to consider future development and reform.

20 credits

Family Law

The aim of the module is to enable students to understand the principles, policy and practice of selected parts of Family Law. The module is structured to encourage students to develop their critical awareness of the law and the social policy which informs it. It covers the law relating to children after marriage or relationship breakdown; the role of agencies and courts in child care and protection; the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 on Child Law; the remedies available to victims of domestic violence; nullity and divorce; and financial provision and property adjustment orders on marriage breakdown.

20 credits

Foundations of International Law

Foundations of International Law provides foundational knowledge of the principles and institutions of the international legal order, and applies it to specific areas of international relations (further developed in Advanced Issues in International Law). The foundational knowledge covers issues of nature and sources, sovereignty, liability and enforcement. Emphasis will be on developing analytical and problem solving skills in relation to a new and different type of legal order to the domestic one with which students are familiar.

20 credits

Foundations of International Law

Foundations of International Law provides foundational knowledge of the principles and institutions of the international legal order, and applies it to specific areas of international relations (further developed in Advanced Issues in International Law). The foundational knowledge covers issues of nature and sources, sovereignty, liability and enforcement. Emphasis will be on developing analytical and problem solving skills in relation to a new and different type of legal order to the domestic one with which students are familiar.

20 credits

Gender, Crime and Criminal Justice

This module examines the experiences and treatment of men and women as victims and criminals. It examines whether and how offending patterns vary according to gender and explores connections between gender, offending and victimisation. The module also explores the treatment of and experiences of men and women within the criminal justice system. It argues that in order best to understand crime and criminal justice, criminologists must understand both as gendered.

20 credits

Intellectual Property Law

This module will look at the various legal mechanisms which are available to protect the results of creative endeavour, namely copyright, patents and trade marks. In particular the module will look at the philosophical justifications for granting legal monopolies over material such as music, genetic information and colours (when used to ‘brand’ merchandise) and ask where the balance should be drawn between protecting the rights of the market entrant against unfair copying as against those of society in having unencumbered access to important new ideas.

20 credits

International Commercial Arbitration

This module introduces the students to the international arbitration legal framework based on the 1958 UN Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York Convention). It offers a systematic study of the international arbitration system, focusing on many important legal issues and processes including, among others, enforcement of arbitration agreements, selecting and challenging arbitrators, choosing the procedure and applicable law in arbitral proceedings, and enforcement of the arbitration awards. In particular, the module will not limit the discussions to any single country's arbitration law and practice, but will instead present arbitration as a transnational phenomenon and thus enable the students to analyse relevant legal issues from a truly international perspective.

20 credits

International Human Rights Law

Protecting human rights is an increasingly important concern of international law in the modern world. Understanding its significance involves knowing what the current guarantees of human rights are and how arrangements for protecting them work. This module provides a broad but selective survey of issues in this field, examining the main human rights treaties and reviewing the procedures for implementing them, in the United Nations, through regional institutions, and elsewhere.

20 credits

International Legal Theory and Practice

International Legal Theory and Practice seeks to raise students' appreciation of the various theoretical perspectives that underpin public international law. Through an analysis of such approaches as Natural law, positivism, the 'New Haven' policy-school, critical legal studies, and feminism, the unit encourages students to consider their own views on the theoretical basis of public international law.

20 credits

International Trade Law

International Trade is the lifeblood of national economies. The law developed special, sometimes separate rules to meet the special needs of international transactions. Since international transactions are the clearest examples of pure commercial transactions, study of international trade law offers the clearest insight into the role of the law in regulating and facilitating commercial activity. The aims of the course are 1. to provide students with understanding of the working of a typical international transaction; 2. to provide students with a knowledge of the legal rules relevant to such transactions; 3. to develop students' skills to analyse and understand complex transactions; 4. to develop students' skills of problem solving; 5. to encourage students critically to evaluate the effectiveness of the law's response to commercial activity. The course builds on work done in Commercial Law I and it can be studied in conjunction with Commercial Law II.

20 credits

Law Research Paper

The Law Research Paper requires a student to submit a research paper of 6,000 words on a legal topic that is approved in advance by the module convenor. The aim of the module is to support a student in independently carrying out research, whether library-based or empirical. It may also enable a student to study a subject that is not otherwise covered in depth on their degree. It is the student's responsibility to select the topic and to approach the module convenor for approval. The student may only proceed with research that a member of the law staff is willing to supervise. The student should approach the appropriate staff member and seek agreement for the supervision of their project before opting to undertake the research paper.

20 credits

Law Research Paper

The Law Research Paper requires a student to submit a research paper of 6,000 words on a legal topic that is approved in advance by the module convenor. The aim of the module is to support a student in independently carrying out research, whether library-based or empirical. It may also enable a student to study a subject that is not otherwise covered in depth on their degree. It is the student's responsibility to select the topic and to approach the module convenor for approval. The student may only proceed with research that a member of the law staff is willing to supervise. The student should approach the appropriate staff member and seek agreement for the supervision of their project before opting to undertake the research paper.

20 credits

Law, Accountability and Government

The unit builds on Constitutional Law, with a more detailed analysis of the accountability arrangements in operation in the UK. It will examine how the modern constitution has evolved a number of interesting and sophisticated techniques of control, which work beyond traditional Parliamentary and court based institutions, and evaluate the theoretical need for such techniques. Specific areas of study will include: modernising Parliament, multi-layered governance, unelected institutions, enforcing constitutional values and constitutional theory. The aim of the unit is to expand the student's comprehension of how government in the UK is controlled in practice and enhance analytical skills.

20 credits

Law, Democracy and Populism

This module will explore the constitutional implications of the populist surge in Europe and America. First, specific features of the different “varieties of populism” are identified, and second, their differential impact on core constitutional structures of liberal democracy is analysed. By comparing different populist approaches, we will examine how the ideals of the new populists have translated into law. Finally, the module focuses on the role of law and constitutional checks and balances as essential bulwarks against democratic backsliding. The current surge of populism seems to indicate that that constitutional democracy can find itself in great danger when democratic support for its core principles begins to ebb.

20 credits

Police and Policing in a Global Context

This module explores policing on a macro-level, taking into account developments on a national and global scale. The topics covered will include: conceptualizing the police and policing; key features of policing, such as police powers, discretion, police culture and accountability; models of policing; the history of policing in the UK and elsewhere; the policing of multi-ethnic communities (who can also be thought of as 'global citizens'); the role of the police in policing, in the light of the growing involvement of non-warranted civilians and others in policing activities; policing in other countries, including post-colonial countries; and policing in a transnational context; policing in global, late modern societies. The module will be partly empirical, but it will also be grounded in theories about the use of power; for example, it will be situated within theories about governance and social control, whilst also exploring whether and from where the police derive legitimacy in exerting power/authority over citizens.

20 credits

Principles of Healthcare Law and Ethics

This module will introduce students to the nature and scope of healthcare law and ethics in the UK as it is affected by statute, the common law and international instruments. It will address fundamental aspects of healthcare law and ethics as they arise in practice including resource allocation, regulation, elements of clinical negligence as well the important concepts of consent and confidentiality.

20 credits

Private Law Aspects of Company Law

This module aims to develop knowledge and understanding of the application of contract law, tort law and equity in the corporate context.

20 credits

Punishment and Penal Policy

This module is concerned with the sentencing and punishment of offenders. It considers, in historical context: the philosophical underpinnings of punishment; sentencing policy and practice; and the forms that punishment takes (including custodial and non-custodial options). It also considers what we know about public attitudes toward punishment. A key issue addressed by this module is the rapid growth of the prison population since the mid-1990s: how can we explain this state of affairs, and can/should this trend be reversed?

20 credits

Responding to Crime and Victimisation

This module examines the legal response to international and transnational crimes, from atrocities such as genocide to crimes with a trans- or international element, such as drug and people trafficking. In particular, the module will cover issues of jurisdiction, criminalisation (including contentious international crimes, such as terrorism and organised crime), justifications of international criminal prosecution and its alternatives, and concepts surrounding the implementation of the punishment of international crimes. Special attention is paid to how domestic public laws influence the applicability and `reach' of contemporary international criminal mechanisms.

20 credits

Restorative Justice

The module is designed to enable students to research and apply advanced land law in a practical setting. Students will review property title documents, identify and research topics/question flowing from them, conduct a site visit and write a report on the title. The nature of the project will encourage students to consider how legal issues can impact upon the development and ultimate end user of the site. This module is part of a suite of optional final year modules based on special projects undertaken by students in the Law School.

20 credits

Sale of Goods

Commercial Law is the law that governs contracts for the supply of goods and services, particularly those concerned with large scale transactions. This module concentrates on the legal machinery by which goods and services are marketed, including the law of sale, agency and payment mechanisms. Its aims are to provide students with a knowledge of the core areas of commercial law; critically to evaluate the relevant legal rules and, in particular, their suitability for application to commercial and consumer contracts in modern economic conditions; and, by concentrating on legal problem questions, to develop students' skills of legal reasoning and problem solving.

20 credits

Sexual Offending and Sex Offenders

This module will explore various aspects associated with sexual offending and sex offenders by engaging with key academic literature and policy documents. The module encourages students to review and reflect on the representations of sexual offending and sex offenders across a variety of media formats, to examine current sexual offences legislations in England and Wales and responses to the ‘sex offender problem’. The module will also critique the supervision and management efforts implemented specifically for sex offenders in England and Wales as well as in other jurisdictions.

20 credits

The Law Relating to Public Companies

This module introduces students to the law and governance of public companies through an interdisciplinary lens. Students learn about the different theories about the purpose of corporations in society and the different conceptions of corporate governance. This theoretical framework is then used as the basis for a critical exploration of a number of topical aspects of company law and corporate governance, including soft law, corporate social responsibility, information disclosure, insider dealing and market abuse, corporate finance, takeovers and executive remuneration.

20 credits

The Rehabilitation of Offenders

Attempts to rehabilitate offenders have a long history and have taken a variety of forms. This module considers the legitimacy and effectiveness of approaches toward offenders which come under the umbrella of `rehabilitation¿. The module focuses in particular on contemporary rehabilitative approaches used in prisons and in the context of community penalties, including the current popularity of cognitive-behavioural treatment programmes. It also examines in detail the relevance and effectiveness of rehabilitation in respect of specific groups of offenders, such as those who commit sexual offences and drug misusing offenders.

20 credits

Theoretical Foundations of Criminal Law

This module explores the theoretical foundations of criminal law in England and Wales, attempting to situate criminal law in its political, philosophical, historical, and social contexts. Specific issues of criminal law theory, such as criminalisation, harm, responsibility, the rule of law, and minimum intervention are discussed, along with an introduction to the principles of criminal justice and the developing trends affecting these issues. Students will be encouraged to critically deconstruct these issues, and evaluate the distance between these theoretical principles and practice by applying these principles to current debates and tensions in the law, gaining a richer and more critical understanding of the law they have previously studied.

20 credits

Understanding Criminology: Advanced Level Introduction

This module introduces students who have not taken criminology core modules to key areas of criminological definition, empirical study, theory and the development of criminal justice systems. It equips non-criminology students with a broad understanding and so enables them to take further criminology modules if they choose. The module looks at case studies of crime and deviance from contemporary life to help students understand how some of the history and theory of criminology can be brought to bear on social and legal issues.

20 credits

Youth Crime and Justice

This module examines youth crime and `antisocial behaviour, as well as formal responses to young people who offend. During the first half of the module, contemporary and historical views of youth crime are critically examined, attending particularly to class, ethnicity and gender, and to the historical construction of youth as problematic. The second half of the module focuses on youth justice, including the role of the police, the courts, Youth Offending Teams, custodial institutions and other bodies in regulating unruly youth and preventing and responding to youth crime.

20 credits