LLB Law second year modules

Land Law

The Land Law module is designed to deliver a thoughtful and critical account of the legal issues generated by English Property Law as it relates to Real Property. This may include an examination of the following aspects: fundamental concepts of Real Property such as Property and Land; the relationship between Law and Equity; tenure; estates and interests in land, and the importance of the property legislation of 1925; priority of title; the defects of the unregistered title to land system; registration of title to land, and the importance of the Land Registration Act 2002; freeholds; leaseholds; licences to use land; the trust of land and co-ownership; mortgages; freehold and leasehold covenants; adverse possession; proprietary estoppel; and easements. 

Law of Torts

This module is an introduction to the law of tort, including its historical origins, its theoretical underpinnings and its aims and functions; negligence, including public authority liability and liability in respect of omissions, psychiatric harm and pure economic loss; and nuisance.

In addition, at least one of the following topics will be covered: alternative compensation systems; intentional torts; defamation.

Legal Foundations of the European Union 

This module covers core issues arising in the field of European Union Law. The topics set out below may be covered:

The historical origins of the European Union and its economic and political objectives; the principal substantive provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (in outline); the institutional framework of the European Union and its decision-making processes; the legal status of the law deriving from the Treaties on which the European Union is based and its relationship with the national laws of the Member States. The composition, organisation and general approach of the European Court of Justice; the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice and the General Court. 

The following heads of jurisdiction are examined in detail: the action against Member States for infringement of their Treaty obligations; the action for annulment and the preliminary rulings procedure; general principle of EU law and human rights in the EU; the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.

Legal Theory 

The module will provide students with a critical understanding of what different people mean by ‘law’, ‘justice’ and ‘rights’. Topics covered on the module may include: the relationship between law and morality; the nature of judicial decision-making; the social construction of race, gender and equality and its impact upon legal structures; and the relationship between law and justice.

Legal Communication and Writing 

The module aims to introduce students to, and allow them to develop skills in, writing and communicating about law and legal issues outside and beyond formal academic contexts – whether that be to non-legal audiences through the medium of blogs, reviews, ‘legal design’, reports, and journalism; or to legal audiences in the form of professional legal writing, briefing papers, consultation responses and case notes.

Legal Solutions

Students will be presented with a selection of legal problems that legal service providers and associated services face in the real world and will be required to work in groups to research the associated issues and devise a ‘solution’ to one of those problems. Problems will be posed by a range of partners from commercial and service industries along with British and International NGOs and potentially academic colleagues on issues arising from or linked to their research. 

Students will be introduced to examples of legal solutions and approaches to addressing them through the taught component of the module.  They will be required to present their solution in a summative presentation and to reflect on the process.