Law LLB (Hons)

A total of 18 law modules are studied over the course of three years. These modules include the core law modules needed for Qualifying Law Degree status.

You will undertake six modules, 3 in each semester.

Year One

Semester One

Exploring Law - This module introduces you to basic legal principles and concepts and enables you to understand and appreciate the structure and organisation of the legal system of the United Kingdom (with particular reference to Northern Ireland). It also enables you to acquire certain skills, such as those of instant recall, analysis, argumentation and articulation, which will prove useful in your further studies.

Public Law - A thorough knowledge of the constitutional basis is necessary in order to appreciate the powers and responsibilities of both central and devolved government and the limit to the competences of each tier of government. An understanding of the history and evolution of the constitutional norms that shape UK legal constitutional discourse is necessary to appreciate the role of the legal system in regulating disputes between the various branches of government and between the government and the public. A deeper appreciation of UK constitutionalism can also be gleaned from a comparison with the fundamental elements of other states’ constitutions.

Law, Politics and Governance - Legal professionals and graduates now typically work in a range of settings from private practice to the civil service, third sector (non-governmental) organisations and/or the corporate world. In all of these environments the ability to think beyond and across borders; research and critically engage with new technologies, and understand the challenges of governance and social regulation – norm formation and norm enforcement – in pluricultural and fast-changing social contexts – are highly prized. This module will complement the solid academic and professional formation offered across the rest of the law degree by focusing attention on the interface between law and the real-world socio-political environment(s) within which it operates. It will allow you to explore and critically engage with the foundations and limits of your own discipline, and think about how law is or is not rising to current social, political and economic challenges.

Semester Two

Criminal Law - The recognition of the importance of the criminal law requires that those who study law have a detailed understanding of its basic principles. This module explores the basic principles underlying criminal law and procedure and the relationship between the role of criminal law and that of civil law. It enables you to extend your understanding of the development of the common law and legislation as sources of law.

Law of Tort - Modern societies require certain interests to be protected not just by the criminal law but by the civil law, so that persons who are injured or whose property is damaged can claim compensation or some other remedy in the courts. No person who studies our law should be ignorant of the principles which govern this part of the civil law which has been developed around the notion of a tort.

Administrative Law - This module seeks to explore the fundamental legal principles that underpin administrative law in the UK. This module enables you to understand how government operates and how public power is exercised. It aims to equip you with an understanding of the principles and ideas with which administrative law is concerned and to think critically about these issues.

Year Two

Semester One

Contract Law - The recognition of the importance of the contractual relationship by the civil law requires that those who study law have a detailed understanding of the basic principles of contract law. This module explores the development of the principles of contract law through parliament, the courts, Europe, the business world and the professional literature.

Introduction to Property Law - This module provides students with an introduction to the key concepts of property law in both Northern Ireland and England and Wales. It will prepare students for further detailed study of property law at Level 5 (Land Law – LAW311) and at Level 6 (Equity and Trusts) as well as complementing the study of aspects of Tort, Contract and Criminal Law. Completion of this module and Land Law (LAW311) will allow students to meet the requirements of the professional bodies in respect of property law in Northern Ireland, England and Wales.

Jurisprudence (optional) - The aim of this module is to examine the key philosophical theories pertaining to the nature and application of law. The module provides an introduction to the work of key philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Marx and legal theorists such as Bentham, Austin, Hart, Dworkin, Kelsen and Fuller with a view to providing a solid theoretical background that will enable you to place legal issues in a wider socio-political context. In addition, the module seeks to explore theoretical principles within the context of specific contemporary debates, including the nature of political obligation, capital punishment, sexual morality, animal welfare, social justice and the legitimacy of ‘rogue’ political regimes.

Public Interest Litigation (optional) - Strategic litigation of matters of significant public interest forms part of the arsenal of many campaigning organisations and a vital component of the democratic and constitutional process and considerable interest has developed in this phenomenon in a wide range of jurisdictions. Such litigation usually takes the form of court-based challenges to legislation, public policies, procedures or decisions of interest to the campaigning stakeholder organisations, with the intention of leveraging change in the administration of the impugned legislation or policy. Yet, other actors play a role in litigating in the public interest as well, and occasionally landmark public law or public interest challenges arise by chance, it seems. Public interest litigation cases often serve as a vehicle for instigating political discussion and can often play a considerable role in exploring political fissures in a society, such as attitudes to abortion or minority language rights, for example, or the limits and extent of more common rights, such as the relationship of freedom of expression and abusive speech or perhaps to the full extent of the positive obligations on states to protect rights. This module examines the process of mounting public interest litigation challenges and considers the role played by public interest litigation in the wider democratic process.

Semester Two

Land Law - This module provides students with the opportunity to study the key elements of land law in respect to both Northern Ireland and England and Wales. It will prepare students for further detailed study of property law at Level 6 (Equity and Trusts) and completion of this module and Introduction to Property Law (LAW319) will allow students to meet the requirements of the professional bodies in respect of property law in Northern Ireland, England and Wales.

European Law - This module provides an overview of the constitutional principles and legal institutions of the European Union. It also introduces students to the central areas within the market integration process, namely free movement of goods and persons. After the Treaties of Amsterdam and Nice, the impact of EU law has expanded even further than before. This module examines the development of European law, the institutional structure and processes as well as the relationship between European law and national law.

Public International Law (optional) - It is no longer possible for the law student to confine his or her studies to the laws made and enacted within the domestic sphere. In an increasingly globalised world, international law impinges on every sphere of legal relation from economic policy, to treatment of citizens and protection of the environment. For this reason it is important for the law student to be familiar with the basics of international law and to be confident working not only with domestic statutes and case law, but also to be able to locate, interpret and apply international legal materials. The aim of this module is to introduce you to international law and to the various different international organisations that you will come across in the course of your studies. The module encourages you to think about how international law relates to domestic law and why the United Kingdom is bound by laws made by international organisations.

Business and Commercial Law (optional) - Commercial law is an important subject for anyone studying law. It encompasses a number of discrete areas of business and commercial life, such as the relationship between employers and employees and particular contracts such as those for the sale of goods. Over time, a substantial body of judicial decisions and legislation has developed in these areas, a good understanding of which is necessary for anyone aiming to work in, or with, the world of business. Effective study of this subject will assist in the continuing development of your general legal skills, including problem-solving skills and analysis of common law and legislation.

Year Three

Work Placement/Study Abroad

European Legal Studies

Diploma in International Academic Studies (DIAS)

Diploma in Professional Practice (DPP)

OR

Optional Modules. Not all electives may run in all academic years. (Please note numbers may be capped on some final year electives).

Semester One

Transitional Justice - This module will provide you with an introduction to contemporary human rights issues as they impact on societies coming out of conflict. The module provides a legal and historical perspective on classic transitional justice dilemmas and looks at theoretical and concrete accommodations between notions of peace and justice in transitional societies. Critically, the module will examine transitional legal issues in a number of jurisdictions and look at the applicability of a number of central themes to the Northern Ireland transition.

Surveillance and the Law - This module considers the rationale for conducting surveillance by agencies within the criminal justice system and the competing claims of individuals to be free from surveillance by virtue of rights such as privacy. You will explore the manner in which the law reflects the tension between these competing concerns.

Company Law - Government departments are themselves Bodies Corporate and this fact has for them far reaching legal implications. Government is also responsible for the substance of company law and its institutions, including the companies registry. This module deals with the main forms of business organisations both in the UK and EU, their management and contracting powers and procedures.

Land: Rights, Resources and Environment - This module explores the tension between the conception of land as a bundle of rights and land as a resource for the common good, with a particular focus on environmental concerns. Throughout history there has been an inherent tension between the rights of land “owners” and the broader interest of the community in how land is to be used. In the name of the community, the state has exercised some degree of control over how individuals can use land. In some extreme instances, such as under communist regimes, private property has been seized wholesale and regarded purely as a resource for the common good as opposed to being something over which a specific individual has any right. In recent times this longstanding tension between the individual and the state has been augmented by obligations agreed/imposed upon states by international law. In respect of land use the most significant developments of this nature have occurred in the fields of human rights and environmental law. The module will consider: the relationship(s) between land owners/users and the state; human rights and property law; fundamentals of environmental law; housing as a resource; planning; energy – fossil fuels and renewable sources; infrastructure; agriculture and food production; pollution and contamination; heritage and conservation; and countryside as a leisure space.

Social Justice - An understanding of the relationship between the state and citizen, and the contractual and moral obligations of each, is the key to understanding the changing nature of the law as it relates to social justice issues. This module explores the way in which the law deals with social justice issues by providing insight into the effects of Government policies, legislation and case law on these issues. The module is centered around the theme of poverty and its relationship with other social justice themes like crime control, social control, conflict, health, and social exclusion, its impact on vulnerable groups and the treatment of these vulnerable groups, and its implications for citizenship and society.

Human Rights Law - The module builds on other law modules in terms of examining fundamental principles underlying the legislative process as a whole. Through an in-depth analysis of human rights and equality protection at a range of levels, (internationally, regionally and domestically) you will have the opportunity to explore key areas of concern on both a theoretical level and through case studies on a more practical basis.

Equity and Trusts - This module will explore the history of equity and its maxims, the development of the trust and its various forms, uses and practical implications today. It will consider how trusts can be varied and set aside, the powers and duties of trustees and the remedies for breach of trust. It will also examine equitable doctrines such as conversion and election and survey the law relating to equitable remedies such as injunctions.

Legal Technology: Innovation and Information - Traditional law and technology courses have looked to the regulation of new technologies, and therefore the restrictive power of law on the use and development of new technologies (in terms of privacy, intellectual property, security). This module looks at the other side of the picture; the ways in which new technological developments will influence the future development of law, legal service provision and access to justice. For example: what are the possibilities for online dispute resolution to take on part of the burden that has traditionally devolved to either the courts or more recently tribunals? What are the implications of new informatic developments for particular levels of mundane legal work to be done by intelligent computer systems, and what will remain for human actors? What are the likely knock-on effects for the future of legal education, and for the legal professions? To what degree will future lawyers be required to be legal technologists, and what level of training will they need for this to be realised? How do new forms of technology address issues of access to justice? What does technology have to do with design thinking, and what is meant by the term ‘visual law’? In short, the module will elaborate the changing face of legal practice, give a grounding in basic concepts and technologies, investigate the opportunities and risks of the changing dynamics of law due to increasingly sophisticated informatic systems and look to the changing face of law as a result of these changes.

Semester Two

Dissertation - The dissertation allows you to integrate skills and knowledge and to relate these to a specific issue or issues in law through a systematic investigation and presentation of findings in a report.

Law of Evidence - The module situates discussion of the law of evidence in the context of the UK’s incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights. It gives you the opportunity to explore a number of important and controversial issues in the modern law. The module seeks to provide an understanding of the civil and criminal justice systems and to encourage you to analyse, critique and challenge current rules and practice. This module will complement other substantive law modules, particularly criminal law.

Medical Law - The practical importance and the complexity of medical issues requires that those who have an interest in medicine and health care and practice have a detailed understanding of the basic principles of medical law. Legal, professional and technological developments, and the increasing role of the law in health care issues, have expanded the subject matter of this area and medical law is now regarded as a subject worthy of study in its own right. The module explores the substantive legal rules relating to all aspects of medicine and health care including resource allocation, capacity, medical negligence, confidentiality, organ donation, abortion, reproductive medicine and assisted dying.

Employment Law - The importance of the employment relationship between employers, employees, unions and other statutory bodies and agencies is such that a thorough knowledge of both the context and the substantive law is necessary for those involved in this area in any capacity. The module attempts to provide the basis for this knowledge and to put you in the position where you may not only have an understanding of the law both conceptually and substantively, but also be in a position to use that knowledge in the solution of problems.

Media Law - This module is designed to give you an understanding of the legal issues relevant to the practice of journalism and to the mass media in general. There has, in recent years, been a perceptible increase in demand for vocationally-orientated modules among undergraduates in Northern Ireland, and there is evidence that many law students wish to acquire specialist knowledge and skills in media-related disciplines. The module seeks to meet that demand.

Law of Armed Conflict - Armed conflict is a major feature of modern international relations that engages the armed forces of most States, including the United Kingdom and Ireland. The legitimacy of military interventions and the conduct of armed forces are topical issues that are much debated in government; and also in the courts. This module examines the role of law in armed conflict in mitigating the effects of the use of armed force, for example in regulating the conduct of hostilities and in the protection of civilians. The aim of this module is to introduce you to international law and to the various different international organisations that you will come across in the course of your studies. The focus is on enabling you to acquire an understanding of the basic principles and core rules of the relevant laws applicable in armed conflict such that you will be able to consider and explore the potential and limit of law as a protective force in armed conflict.

Law and the Family - This module explores the ways in which the law deals with the family and with issues that arise with respect to families, including marital breakdown, domestic violence, and child abuse, as well as providing insights into the forces which share family law, thus making it less of a private area of activity than is sometimes thought.

Legal Practice (UG Law Clinic) - Clinical legal education has been established for many years in countries such as Canada and the United States as an excellent way of both training practitioners and achieving wider educational aims. This module is designed to allow LLB students the opportunity to experience law in practice. Due to the exceptionally close supervisory nature of the clinical legal education experience, only a small number of students will be able to choose this module. Those who take the module will be given a unique opportunity to experience real life clients and to practice law in a fully operational legal office. They will gain the skills required to take a legal enquiry, interview a client, identify and research the legal issues, and advise the client on the potential outcomes available.

The School aims to provide a broadly ‘socio-legal’ education, with specialist teaching from academics in a variety of fields and those from previous professional practice who can provide the invaluable ‘taste’ of law-in-action. The School includes the award-winning Ulster Law Clinic, the Legal Innovation Centre and the globally recognised Transitional Justice Institute.