Module Description

Where to find information about this module
This document contains essential information about the module and also the tutorials in the
autumn term (so you will want to print this out to bring to tutorials). Tutorial one is attached to this
document, a further document will be issued with the rest of the tutorials.
Lecture outlines are published separately (usually a day or so before each lecture) on moodle as
PowerPoint presentations (https://moodle.essex.ac.uk/my/). You may find it an efficient method of
note taking to download and print these out ahead of the lecture so you can annotate and elaborate
on the slides during the lecture. Alternatively, you may prefer to take handwritten notes.
Additional material for this module will also be uploaded to Moodle, where there is also an online
news and discussion forum, so you should visit Moodle regularly.
We will not duplicate material that is on Moodle on ORB (Online Resource Bank at
http://orb.essex.ac.uk/lw/), so you do not need to check ORB so regularly. ORB is, however, useful for
past examination papers.

Introducing the module team
The module director is Dr Richard Cornes (rmcornes@essex.ac.uk).
Lectures will be given, in order of appearance, by Professor Andrew Le Sueur
(alesueur@essex.ac.uk), Dr Richard Cornes, Professor Maurice Sunkin (sunkm@essex.ac.uk), and
Dr Hardiman-McCartney (ahard@essex.ac.uk),.
Tutorials are led by Dr Cornes, Dr Hardiman-McCartney, and Dr Charilaos Nikolaidis,
(hnikol@essex.ac.uk).
Details of the module team’s office hours are available on office doors or on their staff profiles on the
School of Law website.

LW110-4-FY Public Law I module description
Most students take LW110-4-FY; if your programme requires you to take LW110-5-FY, see below.
This 30-credit module, taught across the academic year, aims to introduce students to the
fundamentals of the UK Constitution and the foundations of judicial review. The module commences
with examination of the basic features and principles of the United Kingdom constitution: the nature of
the constitution; the structure of governmental power; the sources of constitutional rules; and the
fundamental principles underpinning the constitution of the United Kingdom. The module then moves
on to consider the powers and functions of the three branches of government: executive, legislative
and judicial. This will include discussion of need for accountability in relation to governmental power
and the mechanisms through which this is achieved. Consideration of the judicial branch will include
an introduction to judicial review. Finally the module will examine the framework for protection of
human rights under the Human Rights Act 1998.

Aims and Objectives

The objectives of the module are:
To provide students with the necessary foundations of knowledge so that the Learning Outcomes
listed below are achieved
To provide students with the necessary foundations to study both the compulsory module LW203
Public Law II and the range of optional modules available in public law.
To encourage students to engage with public law beyond the confines of the module, both
academically and in its broader social and political context.
To be able to understand constitutional concepts in comparative perspective.

Learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of the module students will be able to:

• Identify and show an understanding of the nature of the UK constitution
• Identify the sources from which constitutional rules are drawn and the manner in which they
• interrelate
• Identify the fundamental principles of the UK constitution
• Understand the distribution of powers and functions of the three branches of government
• Identify the mechanisms for accountability in the exercise of government power
• Describe the framework for protection of human rights in the UK
• Show awareness of the legal, political and social context in which public law operates
• Draw appropriate comparisons between the constitutional arrangements of the UK and other
• jurisdictions

Syllabus
1. The nature of the UK constitution; written and unwritten constitutions
2. Sources of constitutional rules: statute, cases, the royal prerogative, constitutional conventions,
   treaties
3. Key principles of the UK constitution: parliamentary sovereignty, the rule of law, the separation of
power
4. Executive power
The nature and exercise of executive power
The political accountability of executive power, including ministerial responsibility
The legal accountability of executive power, including judicial review
5. Legislative power
The nature and exercise of legislative power
The legislative process
Parliamentary sovereignty
6. Judicial power
The structure of the courts in England & Wales

The nature and exercise of judicial power
7. Human Rights
The European Convention on Human Rights and its requirements
The protection of human rights under the Human Rights Act 1998

LW110-5-FY Public Law I module description

A variation of LW110 Public Law I module is taken by students on the LLB Senior Status programme.
It is at “level 5”. The content of the module and the teaching is broadly the same as the “level 4”
version above, but there are different learning outcomes. More details are on Moodle.
Lectures and tutorials
This module uses two principal methods of teaching delivery: lectures and tutorials. The schedule for
both is below.

Lectures
There will be one 2-hour lecture each week throughout the module. Lecture sessions are used for two
purposes.
• The first is to introduce topics; to provide a framework for your own reading and research; and on
occasion to introduce material for your tutorial reading. There are several lecturers contributing to
the module and all have different styles: do not expect all lectures to be the same. Lecturers may
use a range of teaching aids (or none at all); may ask you to read material in advance; and may
call upon you to answer questions. All of these are legitimate teaching techniques.
• The second is to provide you with practice with in engaging and analysing the topic of the
lectures. You will be given time to reflect in pairs or small groups on issues and then expected to
contribute to class discussion.

On campus tutorials
You will each be required to attend one tutorial per fortnight, for a total of 8 tutorials. Each tutorial will
focus on a major topic in the module. Tutorial groups will be assigned: please see your timetable for
details of your assigned tutorial. Attendance at tutorials is compulsory. If you have to miss a tutorial
for good reason (e.g. illness) you should notify your tutor in advance and make arrangements to
attend a different group in the same cycle.
For each tutorial you are required to complete set reading: see under the heading “Tutorial outlines for
the autumn term” (below) of what you should read for each tutorial this term. A separate document
with tutorial outlines for the spring term will be published separately. The set reading is accompanied
by a list of questions. The questions represent matters you should think about when reading the
material and you should come to tutorials prepared to answer them (though you should not expect
every tutorial necessarily to examine all of these questions: there is not time and every tutor will
approach matters in their own way).
Your tutor will expect you to have read material in advance. The purpose of the tutorial is to explore
the issues raised by the reading material; it is not the purpose of the tutorial to be a substitute for
reading the material yourself. Independent study is integral to the module and one of the major
differences between school and University. Ultimately, you are responsible for your own learning.
You are of course entitled to expect lecture and tutorial support, but equally your tutors, lecturers, and
class mates are entitled to expect you to complete required work. Failure to complete the required
reading may result in you being asked to leave the tutorial.
As a guide to how much time you should spend preparing for tutorials and completing the set reading,
you should note that we assume that you study for 35-40 hours a week. Of this, you have 10-12
contact hours per week (lectures and tutorials), which leaves you approximately 25 hours, a quarter of
which should be spent on LW110. This gives you 12-14 hours preparation time for each fortnightly
tutorial. Some of you will need more time to prepare than others; and the workload may vary between
tutorials.

Virtual tutorials
We will be piloting the use of google hangouts this year. Up to fifteen people can take part in any one
event. At least two sessions will be offered on a first come first served basis. Participants will be
asked to give feedback on the use of the format.