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Constitutional and Administrative Law

Module description

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to enable you to develop:

• An understanding of the concepts, traditions and principles underpinning the constitution of the UK.
• An understanding of the main recent constitutional reforms of the United Kingdom constitution.
• An understanding of the nature, basis and continuing development of judicial review in the United Kingdom.
• An ability to analyse the links between public law and the exercise of political and judicial power.
• An ability to begin to use, analyse and critique materials and texts.
• An ability to articulate and discuss issues relating to public law.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the law, institutions and procedures covered on the module, using appropriate concepts, interpretative techniques and terminology;
• 2. identify and analyse (with guidance) the general concepts and principles relating to constitutional and administrative law, together with related theories and academic commentary;
• 3. research a legal question and demonstrate competence in applying constitutional and administrative law in order to formulate and evaluate a response to it;
• 4. demonstrate competent understanding of some of the relevant legal practice, social, economic, political, historical, philosophical, ethical and cultural contexts within which constitutional and administrative law operate;

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of a range of legal rules, concepts, values and principles, and the ability to explain and discuss the relationships among them;
• 6. make an informed judgement about the merits and relevance of particular information and make reasoned choices between alternative solutions or arguments;
• 7. communicate technical legal information and argument effectively and concisely, in a manner appropriate to the discipline;

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 8. take responsibility for own learning (with support), and to work effectively with others within a group, meeting obligations to the other members of the group;
• 9. identify, retrieve and use efficiently a range of resources with some guidance;
• 10. manage time efficiently in preparing for learning activities, and to work independently within a limited time frame to complete a specified task.

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

• The nature of constitutions and the purposes of constitutionalism. 

• The constitution of the United Kingdom: institutions; legal and non-legal rules; underlying  
  principles: parliamentary sovereignty, the rule of law and separation of powers.  

• The impact of European law on parliamentary sovereignty and the constitution of the United Kingdom.  

• The impact of devolution on parliamentary sovereignty and the constitution of the United Kingdom.  

• The protection of individual liberties within the constitutional framework of the UK; the Human Rights Act 1998. 

• Introduction to the theory, origins and nature of administrative law – especially judicial review.

• Functions and characteristics of administrative powers and controls.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• David Yuratich, Principles to Practice: Public Law (OUP): most recent edition
• John Stanton and Craig Prescott, Public Law (OUP): most recent edition

Key words search

Judicial review, human rights, constitution, rule of law