Postgraduate Module Descriptor


LAWM114: Post-Conflict Governance, Rule of Law and Justice

This module descriptor refers to the 2017/8 academic year.

Module Aims

You will gain a deeper understanding of post-conflict governance, security and justice, including an increased awareness of current developments and areas of disagreement. The course offers a highly practical insight into how international law is applied in post-conflict/crisis and transitional environments, which is aimed at stimulation of a vibrant discussion of key contemporary challenges in the context of international development.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here - you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.

On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills1. Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of the rules of international law governing the post-conflict/crisis rule of law, security and governance, including detailed knowledge of the core legal concepts applicable in this area and their contextual/social/political implications.
2. Demonstrate critical understanding of the contemporary challenges facing the stabilization and peacebuilding in young democracies.
Discipline-Specific Skills3. Develop, apply and critically assess international legal arguments, using a wide range of appropriate primary materials and advanced scholarship.
4. Demonstrate critical understanding of the relationship between the different branches and sources of rules of law, including potential norm conflicts, and between legal and non-legal considerations impacting on legal argument and advice.
Personal and Key Skills5. Identify, retrieve and use efficiently and autonomously a range of library-based and electronic resources.
6. Identify, retrieve and use efficiently and autonomously a range of library-based and electronic resources.
7. Communicate and engage in debate effectively and accurately, orally and in writing, in a manner appropriate to the discipline.

How this Module is Assessed

In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.

Formative Assessment

A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.

Form of assessmentSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Seminar essay forming the basis of a presentation to the group, which is formatively assessed and does not count towards the end-of-module summative assessment1,000 words1-7Individual written and collective oral feedback from the module convenor and the seminar group.
Individual oral seminar presentation to the seminar group on the basis of the seminar paper as prepared and submitted to the class15-30 minutes1-7Individual and collective oral feedback from the module convenor and the seminar group.
Individual and group work forming part of a simulated command post exercise1,000 words1-7Individual and collective oral feedback from the module convenor and the exercise participants.

Summative Assessment

A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.

CourseworkWritten examsPractical exams
10000

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment% of creditSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Written essay1007,500 words1-7Written with percentage grade

Re-assessment

Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.

Original form of assessmentForm of re-assessmentILOs re-assessedTimescale for re-assessment
Written essayEssay (7,500 words)1-7August/September re-assessment period

Re-assessment notes

Students resubmitting their essay will have to choose a different topic and/or title from the essay(s) that they submitted originally.