Undergraduate Module Descriptor

LAW3168E: Criminal Justice and Evidence

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

The aims of this module are:

To provide you with a structure to enable you to critically examine criminal justice processes in England and Wales.
To enable you to understand a variety of theoretical approaches to the study of criminal justice processes and to make judgements about the ethical issues and values involved.
To instil an appreciation of the variety of issues raised by the study of criminal justice processes, and the complexity of those issues particularly in respect of the extent to which they may interrelate.
To develop your ability to understand both the variety of principles applicable to criminal justice issues, and to be able to critically assess both existing processes and proposals for change, having regard to existing knowledge and research findings.
To provide you with a variety of opportunities to fulfil the above aims, and to demonstrate knowledge of relevant theoretical approaches, principles and laws and the ability to apply them to particular aspects of criminal justice.

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 a sound knowledge of relevant theoretical approaches, principles and laws as they relate to criminal justice 2. Critically evaluate a variety of criminal justice processes effectively and independently, both as they exist and in relation to proposals for reform
Discipline-Specific Skills	3. Understand the relationship between legal rules and their implementation in practice as revealed by relevant research, and the limitations of law in regulating social action 4. Demonstrate an appreciation of the complex interrelationship between different justice processes and phenomena
Personal and Key Skills	5. Conduct appropriate research in relation to specific criminal justice issues 6. Produce a structured, coherent and concise argument, using communication methods appropriate to the discipline

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
Essay plan	750 words	1-6	Comments and individual 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
Essay	100	3,000 words	1-6	Written feedback and discussion on individual request
	0
	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.

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Essay	Essay (3,000 words)	1-6	August/September reassessment period