Undergraduate Module Descriptor

LAW1035: Constitutional and Administrative Law

This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.

Module Aims

This module aims to enable you to develop:

An understanding of the concepts, traditions and principles underpinning the constitution of the UK.
An understanding of the main recent constitutional reforms of the United Kingdom constitution, especially in relation to Europe, devolution, the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.
An understanding of the nature, basis and continuing development of judicial review in the United Kingdom.
An ability to analyse 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.

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 Skills	1. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the law, institutions and procedures covered on the module, using appropriate concepts, interpretative techniques and terminology; 2. identify and analyse (with guidance) the general concepts and principles relating to constitutional and administrative law, together with related theories and academic commentary; 3. research a legal question and demonstrate competence in applying constitutional and administrative law in order to formulate and evaluate a response to it; 4. demonstrate competent understanding of some of the relevant legal practice, social, economic, political, historical, philosophical, ethical and cultural contexts within which constitutional and administrative law operate;
Discipline-Specific Skills	5. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of a range of legal rules, concepts, values and principles, and the ability to explain and discuss the relationships among them; 6. make an informed judgement about the merits and relevance of particular information and make reasoned choices between alternative solutions or arguments; 7. communicate technical legal information and argument effectively and concisely, orally and in writing, in a manner appropriate to the discipline;
Personal and Key Skills	8. take responsibility for own learning (with support), and to work effectively with others within a group, meeting obligations to the other members of the group; 9. identify, retrieve and use efficiently a range of library-based and electronic resources with some guidance; 10. manage time efficiently in preparing for learning activities, and to work independently within a limited time frame, to complete a specified task.

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 parliamentary sovereignty and the constitution of the United Kingdom.
The protection of individual liberties within the constitutional framework of the UK. The Human Rights Act 1998.
Introduction to the theory, origins and nature of administrative law
Functions and characteristics of administrative powers and controls

The essence and practice of judicial review:

- ambit

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 & 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	18	Lecture preparation
Guided Independent Study	18	Syndicate meeting preparation
Guided Independent Study	18	9 x 2 hour interactive syndicate meetings
Guided Independent Study	51	Seminar Preparation
Guided Independent Study	86	Exam Preparation
Guided Independent Study	10	Formative Exam Preparation
Guided Independent Study	11	ELE study materials
Guided Independent Study	12	Formative exercises
Guided Independent Study	18	Consolidation of learning

Online Resources

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

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 topics to be researched and reported upon both individually and in groups	9 x 2 hours	1-10	oral feedback from tutors and peers.
Essay	750 words	1-10	written

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
20	80	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
Examination	80	3 hours	1-10	written feedback
Essay	20	2,000 words	1-10	written 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
Examination	Examination (3 hours)	1-10	August / September referred / deferred period
Essay	Essay (2,000 words)	1-10	August / September referred / deferred 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.

The module adopts a textbook as its basic reading, which is supplemented with cases and academic materials which are available through the library or e-library. You are also encouraged to conduct a limited amount of your own research under guidance from the teaching staff.

Le Sueur, Sunkin and Murkens, Public Law 4^th edn. (OUP, 2019).