Code : LAW 320
Course Title : FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS AND THE LAW
Weekly Teaching Hour: 3-hours lecture per week, 1 (1-hour) tutorial every week
Who may enrol : Optional for Year 3 (Junior) LLB. Students
Prerequisites : N/A
Lecturer : To be announced on August 2020
Description : Indicative syllabus content: • The Legal Profession: its structure; work of Barristers, Solicitors, Legal Executives, Licensed Conveyances and Para-Legals; complaints machinery. Major Inquiries into the Profession. • The Judiciary: role and profile; criticism; work of Judicial Appointments Commission. • Civil Process: structure of the Courts exercising Civil Jurisdiction; allocation of cases; impact of Woolf Reforms 1996. • Criminal Process: the suspect and the police, classification of offences; division of work between Magistrates Court and Crown Court; Trial by Jury; role of the Crown Prosecution Service; Miscarriages of Justice and the work of the Criminal Cases Review Commission. • Arbitration, Tribunals and Alternative Dispute Resolution: how cases reach Arbitration; form and composition of Tribunals; Tribunals post-Leggatt; nature and types of ADR; national and local providers of ADR services
COURSE AIMS • Explain how the English judicial system is organised and how it functions Describe how the legal profession, judiciary, civil and criminal process, ADR, lay persons involvement operate within the English Legal System • Evaluate and discuss a range of reforms proposed to make the English Legal System more effective
INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES On successful completion of this course a student will be able to: 1. Describe the branches of the Legal Profession and give examples of the work that they do assessing the quality of that work from the point of view of the general public. 2. Describe the current profile of the senior Judiciary explaining any implications that that profile may have for the Administration of Justice. 3. Explain and define the role of Lay Magistrates in the administration of Justice and be able to identify the characteristics that Lay Magistrates should possess. 4. Describe the structure of the Civil Courts and explain how this impacts on an individual’s access to Civil Justice. 5. Discuss the major reforms introduced in Civil Process as a consequence of the Woolf Report and comment upon their effectiveness in eradicating delay; cost; complexity and poor access to Justice. 6. Describe the structure of the Criminal process, from arrest to sentence including explaining the classification of criminal offences and the criminal court structure 7. Evaluate the use of Trial by Jury as a means of deciding the innocence or guilt of the accused. 8. Describe the work of the Criminal Cases Review Commission giving examples of so-called Miscarriages of Justice. 9. Summarise the reasons for the creation of both Arbitration and Tribunals and evaluate their contribution to the Administration of Justice and Describe the various forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution used in conflict resolution
TEACHING METHODS The course is delivered by means of weekly lectures and seminars. Lectures highlight the key issues to be covered in the seminars. The primary object of lectures is to impart the information and elicit the understanding, which students can use as a base for their independent study directed to the requirements of the workshops. Seminars are interactive sessions for groups of smaller groups of students, which take place every week. The students build upon their understanding, gained from the lectures by reading specified cases, Treaty provisions, journal articles and textbooks. The aims and learning outcomes of each individual workshop set out clearly for students the workshop tasks and activities.
Recommended Textbook (s) and Supplementary Books :
- Reading lists and other materials will be provided for students registered on the course via online by lecturer.
Course Assessment:
This course is assessed through a written assignment and a reflective log book.
- Class Participation 10%,
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Mid-term Examination 30%,
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Assignments 10%,
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Final Examination 50%,
Attendance 95 % compulsory.