Undergraduate Module Descriptor

LAW1036: Legal Foundations

This module descriptor refers to the 2020/1 academic year.

Module Aims

The module aims to provide you with a foundational understanding of the nature and sources of law and legal principles to enable you to undertake other undergraduate law modules. In particular, the module aims to give you the necessary academic, legal, theoretical, legal practice and ethical knowledge and awareness to study other law modules on the programme, as well as to enable you to start to develop the necessary academic, study and legal practice skills and competencies necessary to study on an undergraduate law degree.

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. identify and analyse (with guidance) the basic organisation and structure of the English legal system and the main general concepts and principles underlying it;
2. identify, select relevant information from, and analyse a variety of legal sources using appropriate interpretative techniques and demonstrate an understanding of legal reasoning and its application;
3. demonstrate an understanding of the place of advocacy and negotiation within the practice of law, and a basic understanding of the skills and competencies required to be able to engage successfully in advocacy and negotiation respectively;
4. demonstrate competent understanding of some of the relevant legal practice, social, economic, political, historical, philosophical, ethical and cultural contexts within which the law operates;
Discipline-Specific Skills5. demonstrate understanding of a range of legal concepts, values, principles, institutions and procedures, and the ability to explain 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, in a manner appropriate to the discipline;
Personal and Key Skills8. take responsibility for your own learning (with support), meeting obligations to others;
9. work effectively with others within a group;
10. reflect upon your own skills development;
11. identify, retrieve and use efficiently a range of resources with some guidance;
12. manage time efficiently in preparing for learning activities and work independently within a limited time frame, to complete a specified task.