LL109      Half Unit
Introduction to the Legal System

This information is for the 2016/17 session.

Teacher responsible

Dr Meredith Rossner and Ms Insa Koch

Availability

This course is compulsory on the BA in Anthropology and Law and LLB in Laws. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit and to General Course students.

Course content

Outline:

The course is designed as a foundation course to familiarize law students with the basic characteristics and functioning of legal systems.

The course will include:

1. What is law?

2. Legal pluralism

3. The trial and adjudication

4. The Legal profession

5. Lay participation in justice

6. Reading Law: Statutory interpretation

7. Reading Law: Common law and judicial precedent

8. Reading Law: Persuasive Authority

9. Reading Law: The Civil Law tradition

10. Alternative dispute resolution

11. Access to justice

Teaching

20 hours of lectures and 9 hours of classes in the MT.

Formative coursework

Students will be expected to produce 1 essay in the MT.

Indicative reading

This is a Moodle course, with the course materials, lecture outlines, class reading and suggestions for further reading set out through links to relevant sites. The main background book for the course is Carl F Stychin and Linda Mulcahy (eds), Legal Methods and Systems: Text and Materials, 4th ed (2010) Thomson (Sweet and Maxwell).

Assessment

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours, reading time: 15 minutes) in the main exam period.

Key facts

Department: Law

Total students 2015/16: 192

Average class size 2015/16: 13

Capped 2015/16: Yes (225)

Lecture capture used 2015/16: Yes (MT)

Value: Half Unit

Guidelines for interpreting course guide information

PDAM skills

  • Communication
  • Specialist skills

Course survey results

(2013/14 - 2015/16 combined)

1 = "best" score, 5 = "worst" score

The scores below are average responses.

Response rate: 85%

Question

Average
response

Reading list (Q2.1)

2.3

Materials (Q2.3)

2

Course satisfied (Q2.4)

2.4

Lectures (Q2.5)

2.8

Integration (Q2.6)

2.1

Contact (Q2.7)

2.2

Feedback (Q2.8)

2.3

Recommend (Q2.9)

Yes

41%

Maybe

44%

No

15%