Unit information: Law and State in 2019/20

Unit name	Law and State
Unit code	LAWD10012
Credit points	20
Level of study	C/4
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Dr. Psygkas
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	University of Bristol Law School
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

The unit aims to introduce students to the main legal and political institutions of the UK and international orders of which it is a part; to consider their respective roles in the law-making process; and to understand their interrelationship.

Topics may include: states and constitutions; international law, EU law, and the constitution; parliamentary sovereignty; the constitutional role of the judiciary; the composition and procedures of Parliament; the executive; the regulatory state; devolution.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this unit a successful student will be able to:

• Describe the structure of the United Kingdom's constitution and its major institutions of government, as well as their functions and the principles which underpin them.
• Describe the role of the constitution in regulating relationships between citizens and the state, between states themselves, and between states and supranational institutions.
• Analyse the multi-layered nature of the United Kingdom’s constitution.
• Discuss complex judicial decisions with multiple opinions.
• Demonstrate independent research skills.

Analyse, synthesise and offer critical evaluation of information, as well as expound systematically in writing the material in its political and historical context.

Teaching Information

The unit will be taught by a combination of ten lectures, eight 2-hour seminars and two 2-hour workshops.

1 formative assessment: 1 x 1,000 word coursework.

Formative assessments do not count towards final mark and can be optional.

Assessment Information

1 x formative assessment (submitted for marking), plus additional informal formative feedback opportunities as indicated by the unit coordinator.

Formative assessments do not count towards final mark and can be optional.

1 x 2,000 word coursework.

Summative assessments do count towards final mark.

The assessments will assess all of the intended learning outcomes for this unit.

Reading and References

The recommended texts for the course are:

- Public Law, Oxford University Press (custom publishing), 2017

[Please note that this is a bespoke text specially created by the publishers for this unit and for Constitutional Rights].

- Jeffrey Jowell, Dawn Oliver, and Colm O'Cinneide (eds.), The Changing Constitution, 8th ed., Oxford University Press, 2015.

For basic background, students who would like a brief introduction to the political issues underpinning this subject may find the following of use:

T. Wright, British Politics: A Very Short Introduction, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 2013.