Undergraduate Module Descriptor

LAW2035B: Constitutional and Administrative Law

This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 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.

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 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 Skills4. 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 Skills7. demonstrate effective and accurate written communication skills in a manner appropriate to the discipline / different contexts;
8. identify, retrieve and use efficiently a range of library-based and electronic resources with guidance;

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 ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
552450

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

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activities5522 x 2.5 hour Leminars
Guided independent study88Seminars preparation
Guided independent study32Formative assessment preparation
Guided independent study62Summative assessment preparation
Guided Independent study63Individual reading preparation

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.

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, 4th ed (OUP, 2019).