Module LAW2035B for 2018/9
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
LAW2035B: Constitutional and Administrative Law
This module descriptor refers to the 2018/9 academic year.
Module Aims
- An understanding of the concepts, traditions and principles underpinning the constitution of the United Kingdom.
- An understanding of the main recent constitutional developments, especially in relation to the European Union, devolution, and the Human Rights Act 1998.
- An understanding of the application of the ECHR within the United Kingdom via the HRA and common law.
- An understanding of the Westminster constitutional paradigm and its variants.
- An understanding of the nature, basis and continuing development of judicial review in the United Kingdom.
- An ability to see the links between public law and the exercise of political and judicial power.
- An ability to begin to use, analyse and critique materials and texts.
- An ability to articulate and discuss issues relating to public law.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. Demonstrate knowledge of the law relating to the nature and practices of the concepts of constitutional democracy, the rule of law, the protection of individual liberties and judicial review within the UK and a range of major concepts, values and principles relevant to its application; 2. Explain/evaluate the main legal institutions and procedures relevant to constitutional and administrative law; 3. Identify, explain and discuss key issues in both constitutional and administrative law and to apply relevant rules and theories. |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 4. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of a range of legal concepts, values, principles, institutions and procedures, and the capacity to explain the relationships among them; 5. Demonstrate knowledge of legal concepts and their contextual/social/political implications; 6. Select and explain relevant information from primary and secondary legal sources using appropriate interpretative techniques. |
| Personal and Key Skills | 7. Demonstrate effective and accurate written communication skills in a manner appropriate to the discipline / different contexts; 8. Demonstrate effective and accurate oral communication skills in a manner appropriate to the discipline / different contexts; 9. Identify, retrieve and use efficiently a range of library-based and electronic resources with guidance; 10. Interact effectively within a team / learning group and to share information and ideas; |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
- The nature of constitutions and the purposes of constitutionalism;
- The constitution of the United Kingdom: institutions; legal and non-legal rules underlying
- principles: parliamentary sovereignty, the rule of law and separation of powers;
- The impact of European law on parliamentary sovereignty and the constitution of the United Kingdom;
- The impact of devolution on the constitution of the United Kingdom;
- The Human Rights Act 1998, ECHR and the protection of rights and freedoms within the United Kingdom;
- Judicial review of administrative action; and
- Where appropriate comparisons with similar legal systems law based on the Westminster constitutional paradigm (e.g. Canada, New Zealand and Australia).
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 58 | 242 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching activities | 22 | 22 x 1 hour Lectures |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching activities | 13.5 | 9 x 1.5 hour seminars |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching activities | 13.5 | 9 x 1.5 hour syndicate workshops |
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities | 9 | 9 x 1 hour Q & A sessions |
| Guided Independent study | 17 | ELE materials |
| Guided Independent study | 40 | Syndicate workshop preparation |
| Guided Independent study | 40 | Seminar preparation |
| Guided Independent study | 25 | Consolidation of learning |
| Guided Independent study | 30 | Formative assessment preparation |
| Guided Independent study | 60 | Summative assessment preparation |
| Guided Independent study | 30 | Individual reading and study |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=1261
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 or The Independent. Tabloid newspapers are not suitable.
You may also find recent and current editions of specialist journals, such as Public Lawand Modern Law Review, which are available in the Law Library (physical and electronic), useful for this purpose.
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 assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seminar questions to be researched and answered both individually and in groups of the syndicates | 9 x 1.5 hours | 1-10 | Immediate feedback from tutors and peers |
| Timed essay | 48-hour turnaround, 2500 words | 1-7, 9 | Written and oral feedback |
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.
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Timed essay | 100 | 48 hour turnaround, 5000 words | 1-7, 9 | Written and oral feedback |
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 assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timed essay | Timed essay (48-hour turnaround, 5,000 words) | 1-7, 9 | August / September reassessment period |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
M Loughlin, The British Constitution: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) (OUP, 2013) https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/9780199697694.001.0001
C. Turpin & A. Tomkins, British Government and the Constitution ,7th ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2016) https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139060738
Andrew Le Sueur, Maurice Sunkin, and Jo Eric Khushal Murkens, Public Law - Text, Cases, & Materials, 3rd ed (OUP, 2016). ISBN: 9780198735380.
