Undergraduate Module Descriptor

LAW3032: Law of Obligations (German Law)

This module descriptor refers to the 2018/9 academic year.

Module Aims

The Law of Obligations II course constitutes the third part of the LLB European (German) / Magister module. The course is intended to give students a deeper insight into the law of obligations and to provide them with a sound knowledge of the second book of the German Civil Code (BGB) It deals both with contractual (e.g. contracts on the sale of goods) and non-contractual obligations (e.g. torts). Students are expected to acquire a confident grasp of the subject, developing an integrated understanding of German Civil Law. Since this is the last year before the students go abroad in order to obtain the German degree of Magister it is vital that they become confident with the German methodology and case solving technique. Of equal importance, it is the general purpose of the course to develop power of legal reasoning for advanced law study in German.

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 extensive and accurate knowledge of German Civil Law, especially of how to apply the German Civil Code systematically,
2. display sophisticated interpretation German Civil Law provisions and to express themselves confidently in German on the issues named above.
3. clearly present the ability to identify and analyse sophisticated legal problems, to solve these problems by applying the law with competence, and to do research effectively.
4. demonstrate a clear understanding of German legal methodology thus enabling you to handle writing of extensive essays in German law with competence confidence
Discipline-Specific Skills5. demonstrate how to solve sophisticated Germen Civil Law cases in a logically structured way by applying, interpreting and critically analysing the law.
6. present sophisticated ability to use of different sources of information independently, i.e. textbooks, articles, commentaries, when dealing with German legal issues in general and Civil Law in particular.
7. Make evident comparisons with English law and, by doing so, to demonstrate a sophisticated understanding both of the German and the English system of private law.
Personal and Key Skills8. demonstrate a sophisticated ability to develop clear arguments in German
9. demonstrate a sophisticated ability to select and analyse material competently and independently in order to do research in German Civil Law on a wide scale and to manage your time to prepare written exercises applying German methodology with proficiency.

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
Essay1,500 words1-9Written 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.

CourseworkWritten examsPractical exams
40600

...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
Examination603 hours1,2 3 (excluding research), 4, 5, 6, 7, 8Oral in feedback lecture
Essay405,000 words1-9Written, oral in feedback lecture and online on ELE
0
0
0
0

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.

Re-assessment notes

i) If the exam was failed: resit the exam and be capped at the pass mark (40%)

ii) If the essay was failed: resubmit an essay by the end of the August / September exam period. The mark will be capped at the pass mark (40%)

iii) If both the exam and the essay were failed, the student will retake a 3 hour exam which will be capped at the pass mark of 40%