LLB English Law and French Law/Master 1 (Maîtrise en Droit)

LAW1004: The Law of Contract

In this module, you will examine the English law of contract. Attention will be paid to the characteristics of contract, the nature, purposes and approaches of contract law, the nature and requirements of contractual agreement, consideration and other requirements for enforceability of contracts, terms and interpretation of contracts, vitiating factors and remedies. Traditionally, contract law alongside tort law is the 'law of obligations' and therefore an important part of everyday life for individuals, businesses and public agencies. Knowledge and understanding of contract law is imperative in a variety of theoretical and practical dispute resolution and problem solving contexts. The module emphasises application of the rules, principles and concepts of contract law to problems, while considering the practical consequences, to contextualise the law.

This module aims to provide you with knowledge and understanding of different aspects and general principles of English contract law. To this end, the module gives you an overview of the requirements for the enforceability of agreements: formation of contract, consideration, terms, interpretation, vitiating factors, damages and other remedies. In particular, the module aims to enable you to develop:

(a) knowledge and understanding of the general principles and traditional approaches of English contract law and compare them with alternative models and techniques;

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LAW1013: French Constitutional Law

In the context of the harmonization of the Member States' legal orders within the European Union (EU), and the UK's complex relationship with the EU, it is increasingly important for lawyers to understand and apply systems of law belonging to the main constitutional legal traditions. In that respect, the academic study of the French constitutional experience is crucial.

The French Constitutional Law module constitutes the first part of French Law of the LLB (Hons) English Law and French Law/Master 1 (Maîtrise en Droit) degree programme. You will be taught entirely in French, in a manner that reflects the way law is taught in France. You will be introduced to French methods of university education and methods of legal thinking and writing.

This introduction to French methods (dissertation juridique, level 1) is essential for this degree programme, in order for you to be prepared to acquire simultaneous English and French legal qualifications. This module is designed to provide you with a sound knowledge of French Constitutional Law and related theory, with a strong emphasis on the Constitution of the Third and the Fifth Republics. An important part of the module is dedicated to French legal methodology and assessment techniques in order to prepare you for your year abroad and the study leading to the French Master 1.

This module is for LLB (Hons) English Law and French Law/Master 1 (Maîtrise en Droit) students only.

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LAW1035: Constitutional and Administrative Law

The constitution of the UK is dynamic and developing incrementally through changes in relationships with the European Union and the Council of Europe, devolution to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland and human rights legislation. This module will help you to analyse and challenge some of the basic tenets of the constitution of the UK. You will also study developments in judicial review which will enable you to understand the relationship between judges and the government and the impact of this relationship on both the law and the state.

This module will develop your analytical skills and your ability to understand the role of public law in generating, controlling, and reforming the powers of Parliament, the executive, the judiciary, and other public authorities within the United Kingdom

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.

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LAW1036: Legal Foundations

Legal Foundations provides you with a broad and critical understanding of the structure and functions of law, and the nature, history and future of the legal system in England and Wales. In Legal Foundations, you will examine core legal principles and concepts and the role of lawyers in society. You will develop core legal skills and explore topical and timely subjects which will include the hierarchy and procedures of the courts and tribunals, law and technology, ethics in the legal profession, and access to justice. Through the module, you will begin to appreciate how the law is applied, implemented and experienced. In short, Legal Foundations is a fascinating and dynamic introduction to law, legal systems and the legal profession.

The module provides you with a foundational, and thus vital, understanding of the nature of law and legal principles. In particular, the module is designed to support you in developing the necessary academic, legal, theoretical, practical and ethical knowledge, awareness and skills that are foundational to both the study and practice of law.

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LAW2015: The Law of Torts

This module introduces you to tort law, which is concerned with non-contractual civil wrongs. In this area, the law imposes duties and standards of conduct, breach of which will permit an action for damages or some other remedy. The module examines negligence, as the most widely pleaded tort, and the torts of trespass to the person, torts against land, defamation and breach of privacy.

The aim of this module is to develop your understanding of the law of torts, including the different types of tort and their responsibility bases, the kinds of damage for which it permits a remedy and those for which it does not offer a remedy. Consideration will be given to the aims of tort law and some assessment made of its efficacy in achieving those aims.

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LAW2017: Land Law

Land Law covers matters of fundamental importance to our society: the ownership of land and property, property rights and related obligations. In this module, you will study in depth the fundamental principles of land law, focussing in particular on key rights that exist in relation to land. You will develop an understanding of the principles underpinning land law and scrutinise how these principles have changed over time and how they have been shaped by society. In addition, you will study the formal and informal methods of acquiring rights over land, and the circumstances in which the burden of such rights will impact third parties.

This module aims to provide you with an in depth understanding of the definition, acquisition and transfer of rights over land. In this module you will be required to study primary legal sources and will be encouraged to think critically about the law with reference to legal commentators. The module aims to encourage you to think differently about land, including how it is valued, exchanged and regulated.

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LAW2033: French Administrative Law

This course is designed for LLB in Eng. Law and French Law/Master 1 (Maitrise) students only. Anybody outside the programme wishing to attend this module should contact the module convenor, Dr Frédéric Olivier Rolland. The course is taught through a combination of whole cohort and small group sessions. The teaching methods involved are very specific in the sense that French Law is taught in French principally to English native speakers. In year 2, you are made familiar with French methods of university education and to French methods of legal thinking and writing. This induction to French methods ( dissertation juridique level 2 and commentaire d'arrêt level 2) is essential for this degree programme, in order academically for you to be prepared as you are aiming for simultaneous English and French legal qualifications. The nature of the LLB in Eng. Law and French Law/Master 1 (Maitrise) course and the size of the group are very conducive to active learning processes and interaction. You are encouraged to take responsibility for personal preparation, both linguistic and academic, and to take control of your own learning. You are required to reflect critically on your own working methods, and to learn from your interaction with the lecturer and your peers. The objective is to allow you to grow into critically-minded and well-informed independent scholars of French Law.

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LAW2103: European Union Law

The European Union is one of the most successful international organisations ever created. For over almost half a century, the United Kingdom's membership of the EU has had a major impact on the English legal system and on numerous areas of public policy, ranging from trade and agriculture to education and internal security. Brexit transforms this long-standing relationship, but EU law will remain relevant for the foreseeable future. Much of EU law will continue to apply within the UK's domestic legal order in the form of retained law. While the UK will no longer be bound by new rules adopted by the EU, an understanding of these rules and the EU's legal order remains important, for the EU will not cease to be one of the major trading partners of the UK. More generally, studying the EU provides an excellent opportunity to explore a different legal system and the distinct legal and political dynamics it generates.

The aim of this module is to equip you with a detailed understanding of some of the key features of the European Union and its legal system. To this end, the module will introduce you to the institutional framework and decision-making processes of the EU, explore the sources of EU law and the core principles of the European legal order, and provide you with an overview of certain free movement provisions and introduce to you the latest development in such areas as digital markets.

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LAW2109: Competition Law

The aim of the module is to provide you with an advanced level of understanding of UK Competition Law, considering what its objectives are as well as how the current UK enforcement regime is functioning. In doing so, the module focuses on the UK Competition Act 1998. Particular attention will be paid on the work of the UK Competition and Market Authority and the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal. The specific issues concerning collective (opt-in or opt-out) redress proceedings will be taken account of as well. The module is appropriate for students studying law at undergraduate level (year 2 and 3 students).

The teaching and learning on the module will be research-enriched, considering the latest developments in the area. You will develop your ability to analyse primary materials, engaging with relevant secondary sources. This should enable you to construct balanced legal arguments and take an informed view whilst using a wide range of materials. The specific objectives of the course are:

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LAW2155: Jurisprudence

Jurisprudence means the theory or philosophy of law and involves reflecting on questions about what law is, what it is for, how it works and what it achieves in human societies. Building on your legal studies so far, this module will give you the opportunity to think and learn about these sorts of issues from a more abstract perspective, by developing your understanding of some of the most influential and exciting jurisprudential schools of thought, including natural law theory, positivism, Critical Legal Studies, postmodernism, and law and literature. The module will give you the chance to explore how these different schools of thought have sought to explain, for example, the origins and development of legal rules, law's relationship with justice, and the ways in which law reflects some societal or political perspectives while excluding others. In so doing, this module will also allow you to develop your skills of independent thought, critical analysis and theoretical argumentation.

This module aims to encourage you to reflect upon the relevance and significance of abstract, theoretical and philosophical ideas for your doctrinal legal studies. It will introduce you to theories about the nature, purposes and authority of law, enable you to develop your powers of analytical and critical thought and give you the opportunity to develop techniques of independent, abstract and systematic analysis.

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LAW2173: Supreme Court Studies

This module studies the UK Supreme Court as an institutional actor within the UK's legal system and in a global context. It is expected that this module will include some guest materials delivered by employees of the Court and that there may be an opportunity to visit the Court. You will explore legal controversies relating to the Court, examine how the Court reaches its decisions, analyse leading cases in depth, and assess how the Court's work relates to other courts around the world and to the work of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

This module explores the UK Supreme Court's role as an institutional actor within the UK's legal system. Rather than providing an overview of a specific area of law, this module will use the Supreme Court's work as a lens through which you will explore contemporary legal issues (both general controversies such as judicial diversity and matters specific to the Court itself such as the socio-legal impact of specific decisions and the work of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in hearing appeals from certain Commonwealth nations) and to develop legal skills such as case analysis and argument.

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LAW2175: (European) Human Rights and Human Dignity

What is it that makes us who we are as human beings? What can be said to be unique and special about us as beings, and as individuals? How can the law recognize this? What fundamental concept lies at the heart of human rights law? In this module you will have the opportunity to address these questions by exploring the rise of the exciting and challenging legal concept of human dignity, which has been important in constitutional and human rights law across Europe for many years and first appeared in the UK common law some fifteen years ago in the wake of the Human Rights Act 1998. Human dignity now lies at the heart of a heated international discussion on its merits, risks and meanings in the field of law, and on the ways in which people’s interests can and should be respected and protected through human rights and constitutional law. This module will take you through some of the key stages of the construction of this new legal concept and engage you in discussing some of the key methodological and theoretical issues underpinning it. The module gives you the opportunity to learn about the latest international theoretical discussions on this subject, while focusing on some essential and challenging issues, such as the connections between dignity and autonomy, equality, integrity and human time. In addition, while it is not formally linked to the access to justice modules, this module provides a unique basis for them.

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LAW2191: European and UK Consumer Law

All of us are consumers. Most of us do not know our consumer rights. In this course, we will study consumer protection measures, which have been adopted in the UK due to the influence of EU law, e.g. consumer protection: against unfairness (misleading advertising; adhesion contracts); in popular consumer contracts (in the sale and travel sector); through performance standards (product safety and liability); and its enforcement (private, public, ADR, ODR). During seminars we will analyse the effectiveness of the adopted measures, partially through insights from behavioural economics. Therefore, this module is for students interested in interdisciplinary studies, various areas of private law (contract, tort) and EU law.

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LAW2192: Justice Policy and The Welfare State

The module ‘justice policy and the welfare state’ provides you with an opportunity to consider contemporary issues within the justice system in England and Wales and the lasting impact of austerity measures. Since the introduction of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO), criminal and civil legal aid in England and Wales has been provided under the shadow of austerity. The withdrawal of centralised state funding for legal aid has resulted in geographic disparities in access to justice, and the decline of the legal aid profession. This module provides you with the opportunity to engage with these issues of justice policy in England and Wales and encourages independent and critical thinking to evaluate existing evidence and develop recommendations for change. By the end of the module you will be able to evaluate a range of evidence, including government literature, academic research and reports by NGOs and the community sector to identify current policy issues and areas for improvement. You will understand how to conduct policy research and will be able to evaluate the types of evidence that are likely to effective in mobilising policy change.

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LAW2205: Law, Testimony and Trauma

This research-led module is designed to develop your understanding of the crucial connections between structural inequalities (such as racism, classism, sexism and ableism), trauma, and the law. It aims to provide you with the tools to analyse how legal responses to traumatic events can illuminate the ways in which the legal system shapes these structural inequalities. The module will also equip you with knowledge and understanding of trauma-informed legal practice and of how to evaluate the law from an interdisciplinary perspective by examining its relationship with other disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, and art. Assessment for the module consists of a portfolio of two literature reviews informed by research that you will conduct throughout the term.

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LAW2206: Alternative Dispute Resolution

The use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes in the civil justice system has grown rapidly since the introduction of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998. This is because it is recognised that litigation is often expensive, slow and costly and there are advantages to litigants to consider other means by which to resolve disputes. This module will explore alternative methods to the adversarial legal system of resolving disputes within the civil justice system and in other wider contexts, as well as considering the use of ADR in other areas of the different justice systems. You will be introduced to the concepts and theories underpinning ADR, and to practical issues in using and applying dispute resolution methods both within and outside the courts.

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LAW3003: Criminal Law

Crimes are the laws with the most serious consequences: commit a crime, and you could go to prison, even for the rest of your life. So pervasive is the criminal law that most people who have never studied law before are already aware of a range of crimes. In this module, we start by drawing upon your background awareness of criminal law, or at least your sense of right and wrong, and from there build a methodical knowledge and useable understanding of some of the major crimes found in the law of England and Wales. This module is an opportunity for you to explore the legal details and moral underpinnings of crimes such as murder, rape, theft and criminal damage, and the defences which may be available to those who commit them. You will be encouraged to adopt a critical attitude towards the criminal law, reflecting on why the law is written and implemented as it is, and what difficulties are encountered when the legal principles are applied in practice.

In this module you will cover the core elements of some of the major crimes in the law of England and Wales. The emphasis will be on understanding how the criminal law can be applied to real-life 'problem' scenarios. You will also be encouraged to reflect on whether or not the law could be improved, and even propose some creative new approaches. In particular, the module aims to enable you to:

(a) Communicate knowledge and understanding of the major principles and controversies of the criminal law syllabus.

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LAW3041D: Trusts

This module will develop your understanding of the general principles of the law of Trusts, both in their own right and within the wider context of property law, and will do so by concentrating on selected topics which are studied in depth.

The aims of the module are:

• to achieve a critical understanding of the general principles of the law of Trusts, both in their own right and within the wider context of property law, and to do so by concentrating on selected topics which are studied in depth.
• to achieve flexibility in the study of Trusts law, and selectivity within the considerable amount of material, so that problems in Trusts law can be correctly identified and addressed succinctly and accurately with full legal authority.

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LAW3051: French Law of Contract

In this module, you will examine the French law of contract, from the pre-contractual negotiations to the extinction of the effects of the contract and the remedies in case of non-performance. The emphasis is on the analysis of the main concepts, principles and rules in the context of real-life situations and in the light of French historical, social and philosophical evolutions. The size of the group is conducive to interactive learning activities which build on the experience of the French law methods gained throughout the first and second years, thus completing your preparation for your fourth year in Rennes.

The French Contract Law module constitutes the third part of the teaching of the LLB in Eng. Law and French Law/Master 1 (Maîtrise) dedicated to French Law. It is taught entirely in French and reflects the way law is taught in France. This French Private Law module is designed to provide you with a sound knowledge of the French Law of Contract. You are expected to acquire a confident command of the French Law of Contract, develop the ability to express yourselves on sophisticated French legal issues, analyse them critically and apply the law with insight. An important part of the course is dedicated to the French legal methodology in order to equip you for the preparation of a French Master 1 in Law during your year abroad.

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LAW4000: Year Abroad: Maîtrise

This module enables you to study at a University-approved partner institution abroad. This module is only available to students registered on the English Law and French Law/Master 1 (Maîtrise) programme.

By giving you access to modules taught in a different learning culture, this module aims to broaden your knowledge and skills base, to support you in developing your comparative law abilities, and to enhance your overall learning experience.

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