Legal foundations

1. Legal foundations David Hughes CL 1.75 d.hughes@tees.ac.uk Tel: 01642738160

2. Legal Foundations: Aims • Providing you with an understanding and overview of the English Legal System • Introducing you to the skills of finding and reading legal materials and tackling law questions • Helping you to understand the techniques of legal reasoning • Introducing you to some of the key skills of lawyers and the operation of the legal system

3. Course Structure • 19 lectures and 18 x 1 hour tutorials • Introduction to law • Sources of Law (Domestic) • Sources of Law (European) • Introduction to legal research • Introduction to legal theory

4. Course Structure • Sources of Law (Domestic and European) • Judicial Precedent • Statutory Interpretation • The Trial • The Judiciary • The Jury

5. Try and prepare for tutorials

6. Assessment • Assessment is in two parts: • A portfolio of in course assessments (ICA) which comprises 50% of overall module grade; • An end of course assessment which comprises 50% of overall module grade.

7. reading • Darbyshire, P. (2008) Darbyshire on the English Legal System 9th Edition Sweet & Maxwell • Harris, P (2007) An Introduction to Law 7th Edition Cambridge University Press • Ward R, Ahktar, A. (2008) Walker & Walkers English Legal System 10th Edition Oxford University Press

8. WEEK ONEINTRODUCTION TO LAW Legal Foundations (Law 1003-N) Legal Method (Law 1002-N) Legal Method B (Law 3003-N)

9. Learning outcome • Distinguish between law and other social rules and conventions • Explain the difference between public and private law • Distinguish between civil law and criminal law

10. What is law? • System of rules • Lays down standards to which we ought to conform • Legal rule, moral rule and social convention • Difference is: Failure to adhere to legal rules may result in a penalty • Law is never static it is always changing.

11. Private or public Law? • Public Law • Areas of law that involves matters related to the state: • Constitutional law: e.g. role and power of the institutions within the state • Administrative law: e.g. regulates public authorities, accountability of public authorities • Criminal law: state responsible for prosecution and justice

12. examples • Government ministers decision on the expansion of a motorway. • Local authority planning permission powers • Government ministers powers

13. Private or public law • Private Law: law that affects matters between individuals (whether people, groups of people or companies) • Contract • Family • Tort • Property

14. Private law • Rights and duties of individuals

15. Civil or criminal law • Civil law: focus on compensating/ protecting the victim • Regulates rights, duties and liabilities between individuals. Eg. • Contract • Family • Property

16. Civil and criminal law • Criminal: • Concerns duties which individuals owe to the state. Usually leads to punishment

17. differences Civil Criminal • Remedies: right the wrong • Burden of proof: party asserting the matter • Balance of probability • Parties: Smith v Jones • Penalty: punish the offender • Burden of proof: lies with the prosecution • Beyond reasonable doubt • Parties: R v Smith

18. Next week • LECTURE: • Sources of law (Domestic) • Acts of Parliament • TUTORIAL: • Categories and classification of law • FINALLY • TUTORIAL GROUPS ARE YOU IN ONE?