Undergraduate Module Descriptor

LAW1003C: Criminal Law

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Please note:  

(i) This module syllabus (LAW1003C) is exclusively available to students on the Cornwall Campuses and differs materially from the criminal law syllabus of the Streatham Campus (LAW1003).

Part 1: What is crime? The construction and application of criminal offences exploring individualand corporate criminal liability.

  • The role of criminal law within society: Using criminal justice theories, current news stories from across the world, as well as our own views and existing knowledge to create working definitions of what crime ‘is’.
  • How crimes are defined: (i)  the Actus Reus – criminal conduct (ii) Mens Rea – the requisite criminal mental state for liability, strict liability, regulatory offences and corporate criminal responsibility.
  • The application of criminal offences.  (ii) how non-fatal offences are constructed and questions of consent  i (ii) homicide offences and the development of corporate homicide offences.  
  • Denial of Mans Rea and General Defences.
  • Parties to crime
  • The application of criminal offences (iii) Property offences, including theft , fraud, bribery & money laundering
  • Research project on corporate criminal liability

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
612390

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities2828 x 1 hr lectures
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities2114 x 1.5 hr seminars
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities84 x 2 hr research group seminars
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities4Business and Law Hack Participation
Guided Independent Study1414 x 1 hr peer-led firm meetings
Guided Independent Study4Peer-led firm meetings for Business and Law Hack
Guided Independent Study88Independent acquisition and widening of learning on topics
Guided Independent Study55Preparation for Virtual Scrapbook Formative and Summative submissions
Guided Independent Study78Research for and preparation of Research Project Submission

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/

Other Learning Resources

You are expected to keep up to date with topical events. This is best done by reading newspapers such as The Times, The Guardian or The Independent. You may also find recent and current editions of specialist journals, in particular the Criminal Law Review and the Journal of Criminal Law are particularly useful.