Law

Constitutional Law

Are you curious about how the UK is governed and the key legal principles which form the heart of our democratic system? You will be introduced to the important Public Law principle called the separation of powers. You will explore the key developments of recent decades which have shaped the 21st century UK constitution. This means that you will examine practical scenarios regarding the role of the Supreme Court, the future of the devolution settlement in three nations of the UK, and the growing significance of human rights.

Module code: LAWS41504

Law And Society

This module will introduce you to ways of thinking about law in relation to society. This means discussing the various approaches to thinking about society; social theory and sociology, and thinking about law in a socio-legal, sociological and critical way. The theme throughout will be does law shape society or society shape law.Once introduced to this way of thinking, you will consider the key social identities, such as class, gender, race, sexual orientation, thinking about how these identities produce communities and differences which society then must negotiate. You will debate the role of law in these processes.

Module code: LAWS41503

English Legal System And Legal Skills

Have you ever wondered where laws come from? How they are made? How the court system works? Well, in English Legal System and Legal Skills you can learn just that, the English legal system and how it works. However, that is not enough, a good lawyer needs to know more than which court to go to and which form to fill, they also need to learn how to negotiate, how to present information, how to debate, how to conduct research, all essential skills for anyone who wishes to pursue a successful career.

Module code: LAWS41500

Tort Law And Civil Remedies

You will find that Tort is a fast-moving area of civil law, one influenced by the Human Rights Act. You will explore many ethical dilemmas about the way in which society deals with accident compensation and loss distribution. The module is designed to provide you with an understanding of the main torts in English law, including negligence, trespass and defamation. Tort Law is also a module which embeds various important skills such as legal research, problem-solving, interviewing and the ability to apply the law to a range of scenarios.

Module code: LAWS41501

Contract And Problem Solving

Have you ever bought a phone? Bought a car? Ticked a box accepting the terms and conditions? We have all entered into contracts in our life but few of us know or understand the legal implications. Does ticking that box bind you legally to those terms that you didn’t read? Well in this module not only are you taught the principles of contract law you are also taught how to apply them to everyday life.

Module code: LAWS41502

Work Experience

This module provides you with an opportunity to increase and improve your employability skills. You will be asked to reflect upon your work experience placement which will help you to identify and explore your transferrable skills. This process will enable you to enhance your CV and improve your job interview techniques and performance.

Module code: LAWS51938

Introduction To The Law Of Evidence

You will explore the laws which govern the admissibility of evidence in Criminal and Civil cases. The focus is on key aspects of evidence in criminal cases, including confessions, adverse inferences from silence, the defendant’s previous convictions, hearsay, and the evidential consequences of breaches of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. Learning activities and the final assessment concentrate on problem solving, by applying laws of evidence to scenarios that may arise in legal practice.

Module code: LAWS51933

Criminal Law

This module teaches about the way the state and society protect the public and apportion blame for wrongdoing in society. Criminal law is a combination of rules, traditional practices and statutes developed over centuries to regulate behaviour and punish those who commit offences, hurt other people and steal or damage their property. The law in this area can be exciting and thought provoking, ranging from the most serious offences such as murder to regulatory offences such as shouting abuse at someone.

Module code: LAWS51700

Research Project

You will develop your research skills by choosing a legal or socio-legal topic and researching that area. You will learn through individual tutorials with the module tutor, or with a subject expert. The key to research project success is keeping in touch with your supportive supervisor and reading around your area. You will undertake specific, focused research, as well as some wider reading on the subject to establish the landscape and context of your topic. You will learn how to write a literature review and you will also reflect on some practical scenarios illustrating how legal research can sometimes raise ethical issues.

Module code: LAWS51227

Business Law And Commercial Awareness

You will gain a detailed insight into the role of law in modern business practices. This module will introduce you to various areas of law essential for business operation. You will explore important business-related areas such as Employment Rights, Employers Liabilities, Company Law, Business Structures, Intellectual Properties, Health and Safety and Professional Negligence. The key objective is to enable you to correlate between business and law in a way that enhances your commercial awareness in general.

Module code: LAWS51934

Property Law And Application

You will explore the legal principles and legislation applicable to Property Law (Land) and be introduced to the importance and relevance of these in practice. You will gain an insight into property law from the academic, practitioner and judicial perspective in order to gain an understanding of how this area has evolved and why it is still applicable to the modern buyers and sellers of residential or commercial property.

Module code: LAWS51701

Community Safety

The module name derives from legislation that regarded the term ‘crime prevention’ purely as a police mandate. Community safety therefore became an inclusive strategy that involved all authorities including councils, police, housing, and importantly communities in tackling local crime issues. You will examine theoretical strategy and practical examples of developing environmental crime and anti-social behaviour reduction. Every crime has a place, therefore how can you develop that ‘place’ in order to reduce future opportunity for crime?

Module code: LAWS51932

Administrative Law And Human Rights

You are introduced to the legal system that regulates and controls the actions of the executive and public bodies in the UK. The body of Administrative Law forms an integral part of the wider UK constitution and includes key principles such as the Rule of Law and the legal process of Judicial Review. In order to contextualise knowledge and understanding in this module, you will engage with examples of administrative law in action, including the regulation of the police as a public body, as well as examples of judicial review case law connected to the Brexit process.

Module code: LAWS51702

European Union Law

Could you one day be working for a time in another European state? Could you perhaps be employed by a business which is exporting and importing goods to and from other EU Member States? You will explore the law on free movement of goods, an important aspect of the substantive law of the EU. You will examine the institutional framework of the EU. You will reflect on the power of the European Commission to take a case in the Court of Justice, in Luxembourg, against any state that has infringed EU law. You will develop your problem-solving skills by analysing a range of scenarios concerning the exercise by a variety of family units of their core EU citizenship rights

Module code: LAWS51703

Human Rights

Can you see yourself championing important freedoms and liberties in challenging and controversial circumstances? You will explore important human rights such as the right to life and the absolute prohibition on torture. You will examine the scope of the right to liberty and the right to a fair trial. You will debate the boundaries of two human rights that sometimes conflict with each other, freedom of expression and the right to respect for private and family life. You will apply principles of human rights law to practical scenarios in the areas of medical ethics, employment rights and state measures designed to combat terrorism.

Module code: LAWS61611

Criminology

Each week your will examine a different subject, using criminological theory but also legislative development and strategies engaged by Government to reduce threat, harm and risk. You will explore institutions such as police and prisons, reflecting also on how they act via surveillance and state crime and how media can have influence. You will analyse serious harms focusing on violence, sexual offending and serial killer theories. You will engage with subjects as varied as serious organised crime, street gangs’ theory, cyber-crime, human trafficking, child abuse, the growth of exploitation on-line and terrorism

Module code: LAWS61600

Law Of Trusts And Equitable Remedies

Commerce and charities, taxation and family finance, wills and wealth management, the law of trusts and equitable remedies is a module that spans lots of different areas of law and human experience. In this module, you will learn about how equity developed to add fairness and flexibility to the common law and will discover the trust and how it can be used to own property. The module will include practical work on drafting and discussion of the duties and powers of the trustee.

Module code: LAWS61618

Dissertation

You will work with your assigned supervisor as well as studying independently and preparing for meetings with them. Over the course of the module you should have six meetings to ensure you are making progress and these will be arranged at mutually convenient times by yourselves. You will learn by independent, supported study.You may have interesting ethical issues to consider and you will learn how to complete an appropriate literature review.

Module code: LAWS61617

Mooting

Mooting is an opportunity to use and develop all the knowledge and skills already gained through your study of law in a real courtroom setting. This is your chance to test your ability to stand up in a higher court and put your legal arguments to a bench of judges and pit your wits against an opposing counsel. Mooting helps you to develop valuable skills, such as teamwork, research, organisation, the development of arguments and the articulation of those arguments. You will argue a point of law which was significant in the decision made at first instance in order to persuade the higher court to overturn that decision.

Module code: LAWS61613

Employment And Equality Law

You will explore the individual contract of employment and participate in a mock employment tribunal case. You will examine the employee/self-employed distinction and debate the legal position of workers in the ‘gig’ economy. You will assess the impact on working life of a range of statutory minimum rights. You also learn about termination of employment, specifically wrongful and unfair dismissal, redundancy and transfers of undertakings. You will engage in problem-solving exercises to resolve legal issues arising in given scenarios concerning unlawful discrimination because of a protected characteristic, such as sex, race, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation.

Module code: LAWS61609

Legal Advice Clinic

The Staffordshire University Legal Advice Clinic (“SULAC”) is a module in which you will be trained to put the law into practice. You will be providing free legal advice to members of the public and certain sectors of the local community, supervised by a qualified solicitor. SULAC is designed to give you a real-life experience from which you can compare, contrast and critically examine the role of law, lawyers and the legal process, as well as the wider context of human dynamics in practice and legal ethics. SULAC operates in various locations including the court, various hospitals, a local prison as well as at various community hubs across Staffordshire

Module code: LAWS62022

Family Law

You will explore how the law responds to the family and the individual within it. The module looks at happy times: marriage, birth, and at sadder times: divorce and infertility. You will discuss the desperate and dangerous situation: domestic violence and child protection as well as ‘safe and content’. This is an area where the law has changed significantly in recent years and where more change is inevitable. You will find this a fascinating subject where your own experiences and views will be treated sensitively.

Module code: LAWS61607

Company And Commercial Law

You will have the opportunity to form a detailed understanding of company law and commercial transactions. In the Commercial Law aspect, you will engage with both business to business and business to consumers transactions. You will examine disputes related to merchant shipping, manufacture and sale of goods to consumers/businesses. In the Company Law aspect, you will explore company structure, corporate governance, incorporation, constitution and practical interrelations between key actors, such as shareholders, directors and other stakeholders.

Module code: LAWS62023

Criminal Justice And Punishment

For students who thoroughly enjoy the criminal law module and enjoy learning about crime and punishment. This module is packed with thought provoking sessions about how the state investigates crimes, prosecutes defendants and punishes offenders. You will learn about all the different agencies that make up the criminal justice system and reflect on how the system has got it wrong in the past. You will analyse how victims and vulnerable witnesses are treated by the criminal justice system. This module is a ‘must’ for anyone seeking employment in agencies such as the Crown Prosecution Service, HMCTS, Prisons or the Probation Service

Module code: LAWS61601

Human Rights: International And National Perspectives

Module code: LAWS62024

Principles Of English Law

Designed to give you an introduction to the function of the law, the legal principles that underpin the development of the law and the legal system as we see it today. You explore the court hierarchy, role of the judiciary and jury, and the history of common law. In semester two the module examines the legal profession and routes into the profession. Each week a different area of Law is studied to provide an insight into various areas including: Family, Social Welfare, Medical, Employment and Human Rights.

Module code: LAWS31300

Law Of Obligations

You will study two elements of civil law: Tort and Contract. In Tort you will consider torts such as negligence which imposes an obligation on us to take care not to injure or cause losses to other people and what the consequences are if we breach that obligation. In Contract you explore the obligations which arise when legally binding agreements are made between two or more parties. You will reflect on important terms in the contracts we make when we buy and sell goods.

Module code: LAWS31302

Crime In Context

This module is designed to provide students with an introduction to Criminal Law, Criminology and the Criminal Justice System. The module requires the demonstration of the necessary skills to apply the law to a range of case studies, regularly using the principles of practice and problem based learning. Students learn about the rules and statutes that define conduct prohibited by the government because it threatens and harms public safety. The students reflect on the potential causes for deviant behaviour.

Module code: LAWS31301

The Language Of Law

An excellent starting point for users of legal English for whom this will be essential for getting a graduate job in the legal sector. You develop your practical skills with writing English and acquire the specific vocabulary for legal English. The module also introduces you to legal citations and the OSCOLA referencing system. Your learning will include practical engagement with letter writing, chairing a meeting, internal communications, correct telephone use, and making presentations.

Module code: LAWS31304

International Law

Module code: LAWS51939