Law Foundation Year

This module is designed to provide you with the knowledge and understanding of the role law plays in modern society. You will examine the interrelationship between law and the other social, cultural, economic and political elements that make up the society in which we live. You will consider the profound changes that have taken place in society over the last 200 years and understand how the law has evolved to meet the changing needs and values of that society. You will consider the relationship of law to those changes and assess whether the law has been successful in keeping pace. So for example how well has the law coped with the advance of human rights and civil liberties, or how far has law gone in controlling the internet and cyber-crime or cyber bullying.

You will also be introduced to theories of what law is and what distinguishes a legal rule from other forms of rules and why that might be. For many centuries legal philosophers have asked the question such as “what is law?” and “why should we follow the law?” – you will consider some of the key concepts that lie behind these questions.

The assessment will be through a portfolio of work that will be submitted at the end of the semester, this will include personal reflections and a mark for a group presentation.

This module recognises the important role that ethics has to the practice of law and is designed to enable students to begin to develop the knowledge, thinking skills and practical aptitudes in relation to law and ethics necessary to the successful study and practice of law.

You will be encouraged to consider your own moral positions using Case studies, both real and fictional, (e.g. lifeboat cannibalism, autonomy and end of life cases) to present you legal ethical dilemmas. Using Tutor led and group discussion you will begin to investigate both the basis of your ethical views and to deconstruct moral makeup: and consider challenging questions such as where does your moral sense originate? How do you make ethical judgements and to what extent are your actions guided by these judgements? These and other questions you will face include whether your moral sensibilities are a sufficient foundation for evaluating moral problems, making judgements and acting upon them – especially in consideration of your moral responsibilities to others.

Basic moral philosophical distinctions will be made between the nature of moral judgements and argument (e.g. are there any objective moral truths) and ethical principles (e.g. what does it mean to be a ‘good person’ and why?). A range of ethical stances will be examined and account taken of the historical development of ethical thought and its relation to law in particular areas e.g. insanity, marriage, children, homosexuality, animals.

Building on these ideas, the second part of the module will explore case studies using class debates, research tasks and films selected from the Muckle law film collection sessions. Wherever possible, contemporaneous events in the media will be incorporated to make the module content current. Links will be made to Year 1 modules such as Public Law, Crime, Contract, Property and Tort to illustrate the centrality of ethics to the making and practice of law. Themes will include Criminal Justice, Human Rights and Freedom to resist the law, Equality, Medical and Scientific development (eg abortion, right to life and euthanasia )

This module is designed to provide you with the opportunity to develop academic skills, knowledge and understanding to support your future study of law. You will build an awareness of the importance of examining knowledge and beliefs critically; and to develop the ability to recognise, analyse and evaluate your own and others’ beliefs and knowledge claims in a variety of contexts. In doing so you will learn about the different types of sources and resources which are integral to higher education study. You will begin to engage in generating your own views, arguments and develop the skills, which you will need in order to express these views clearly across a range of media. This is an innovative module where you will from the start engage with challenging aspects of the legal world whilst building important academic skills and practices. In particular you will develop the following skills:

• Reading and understanding academic texts and legal source materials
• Time management
• Research skills
• Essay writing
• Discussion & presentation skills
• Examination techniques


You will be assessed through completion of an annotated bibliography. You will be given a broad legal topic in which to analyse, and you will be asked to locate a range of sources. You will need to correctly reference each source, and give your personal summary and evaluation of each source you find. Your bibliography can be a maximum of 2000 words in length. Your bibliography will be assessed by asking whether you have demonstrated sufficient academic practice skills on a pass / fail basis. You will be given a number of opportunities to practice this task, and receive feedback from tutors, before you submit your assignment. You will also receive feedback (from your peers and from your tutors) on other key academic skills, such as your academic writing, research, and giving presentations.

This year-long module is designed to introduce you to the real world of criminal and civil legal practice. Working within the Law School’s vibrant community of academic and legal practitioners, you will focus on two fictitious case scenarios of the kind that criminal and civil lawyers regularly encounter in practice. Working individually and in groups you will begin to identify the legal problems arising in the scenarios and start to generate and present solutions to the problems your clients face. In doing so, you will develop key legal skills of oral and written communication, fact management, case analysis and legal research – skills that are central to the work of the practising lawyer. You will also begin to develop your knowledge of crime and tort law as you begin to resolve the legal issues in your client’s case.
The knowledge and skills you develop in this module will be invaluable to you in your later studies in law, as well as in your future legal careers. You will become more confident when identifying solutions to legal problems and when communicating with the public and your peers. You will also begin to appreciate the challenges and opportunities faced by the legal services sector in England and Wales and the broader context within which the law operates.
Lectures will introduce you to the area of criminal and civil practice, will highlight the role of key professionals and will inform and provide a context for the work you carry out in tutor supervised workshops, and tutor guided workshops (Hub sessions). Lectures, workshops and Hub sessions will help you to deepen knowledge and understanding, giving you an oportunity to practice and develop your analysis and problem-solving skills as you learn how criminal and civil law is applied to resolve legal problems in the real world.

You will benefit from technology-enhanced learning, including webcasts and feedback opportunities to build your skills, knowledge and understanding, equipping you for the module assessments and beyond.
No prior knowledge of law is required to study this module which complements the other modules offered on your Foundation programme, as well as the Approaches to Law and Lawyering Skills module offered in year 1 on the MLaw Degree at Northumbria.

This module is designed to build on your understanding of wider legal issues, gained in previous modules and to provide an opportunity to further enhance your skills and Academic practices. You will use this module to identify and explore key cases and events in the Law which will illuminate the law in its social, historical, and ethical guises. The module will develop the skills which lawyers are expected to demonstrate, such as being able identify, select and evaluate diverse sources of legal information, critically examine and appraise a specific area of Law. Further, in producing a coherent, independent research project you will also demonstrate the ability to apply skills of research, analysis and synthesis and to communicate your findings efficiently and effectively both orally and in writing.