2. Foundation Law
O Natasha Sharma (Law Lecturer)
natasha.sharma@uea.ac.uk
O 1st Floor Staffroom
O Timetable:
O One 2 hours lecture every week (Wednesdays 3.30pm-
5.30pm-4th Floor Lecture Theatre)
O One 2 hours seminar each week (see individual
timetables)
O Moodle Foundation Law page
3. Foundation Law
O Weekly Lectures
O Reading List (from set texts, list of cases, journal articles,
further reading)
O Self Study Questions/Consolidation Exercises
O Seminars (consolidation exercises/ discussions/ group work/
presentations.)
O Quizzes
O Formative Assignments
O Week 7-Formative Tests (all subjects)
4. Course Outline:
Term 1:
O Introduction to the English Legal System:
Common Law System-sources of English law
Doctrine of Judicial Precedent
Parliament and the Legislative process
Parliamentary Supremacy
The court hierarchy-criminal & civil
courts/personnel and Tribunals (Court
visits!)
Small Claims
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
Trial by jury
Restorative v Retributive justice
5. O The legal profession
O Legal Research
Definitions/abbreviations and citations
Using legal databases to retrieve material
for legal research
Reading articles/journals and cases
Referencing academic legal work
Plagiarism /Collusion and how to avoid it!
Submitting work through TurnitIn
6. O Criminal Law:
Elements of crime-actus reus & mens rea
Burden and standard of proof
Offences against the person (1)- fatal offences:
murder and manslaughter
Offences against the person (2)- non fatal
offences: common assault, battery, assault
occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) & grievous
bodily harm (GBH)
Offences against property- Theft
(burglary/robbery), trespass and criminal damage
7. Term 2:
O Law of Torts:
Tort of Negligence and the 4 key elements
(duty of care, breach, causation and
damages)
Burden and standard of proof
Mitigation and contributory negligence
Tort law-branch of the common law,
therefore, a lot of case law analysis! (e.g.
Donoghue v Stevenson (1932)-
“neighbourhood principle”- a case which
students will NEVER forget!!!!)
Types of damages
Defamation
Trespass/ torts against the person and the
overlap with the criminal law
8. O Contract Law:
Definition of a contract
The 7 key elements of a contract (Offer,
Acceptance and Consideration)
Formation of a contract
Contractual terms- implied terms
Sale of Goods Act (1979)
Breach and remedies
Misrepresentations
Negligent Misrepresentation and
Misstatements
The innocent 3rd party and the bona fide
purchaser
Promissory Estoppel-High Trees Case
9. O Introduction to Equity
O Equitable and Common Law Remedies
O Land Law
O Ownership of property-Freehold, Leasehold and
Commonhold tenures
O Joint ownership- Tenancy in Common and Joint
Tenancy
10. Assessments:
O 50% Final End of Year Exam
O 25% Written Summative Assignment
O 25% Oral Assessment
O End of Term Exam * (Week 12-9th December 2013)
O Pass mark 40%
11. 2013-2014 Student Academic Calendar
(Foundation Business & Humanities)
O Student Handbook
O Assessment Deadlines
O Planning and managing workload
O Late submission penalties-always be sure of the date and
time by which work is to be submitted and the mode of
submission. Subject teachers will provide you with
specific instructions for each assignment
O Written Summative Assignments- usually due by 3pm on
Thursday
12. Learning Materials &
Resources:
O Book Pack: Jacqueline Martin, “GCSE Law”, Glanville
Williams-Learning the Law & a copy of the Oxford Law
Dictionary
O LRC Resources (textbooks and journals)
O Foundation Law Moodle page (course materials, Quizzes,
announcements, links to electronic resources etc.)
O City University Library
O Glossary of legal terms/cases
13. Some Basic Rules:
O Switch off mobile phones
O Punctuality & attendance (“The 10 Minutes Rule”)
O No food or drink (except water) is permitted
O Inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated (both
towards the teacher and fellow students!)
15. Learning Outcomes:
O Understand the different classifications of law;
O Show awareness of why the law is needed in society;
O Explain the difference between a law and a rule, and what
makes a law enforceable;
O To be able to explain the difference between the public
law and private (civil) law;
O Outline the differences between the criminal public law
and private (civil) law and particularly the different levels
or “standard of proof”; and
O Understand what is meant by double liability.
16. Reading List:
O Jacqueline Martin, “GCSE Law”, 5th edition, chapter
1- “Introducing Law”, pages 1-8
O Glanville Williams: Learning the Law, pages 2-3
(“Crimes and civil wrongs”), pages 16-18
(“Elementary legal terminology”) and page 20 (“Public
and Private Law”)
18. What is law?
O No agreed definition of “law”
O Sir John Salmond defines law as “ the body of
principles recognised and applied by the state in the
administration of justice”
O Generally refers to a set of rules which governs
society
19. O What are rules? Can you think of a rule which you are
bound by , yet it cannot be defined as being a “law”?
O Rules set out what you can or cannot do, a violation of
which usually results in a penalty (or punishment) being
applied
O Rules therefore, maybe of a contractual or mutual nature,
or maybe prescribed by law
O The rules governing society only become law when they
are created or recognised by the Government (in the UK
through the passing of an Act of Parliament/ statute- we
will be looking at the law making process in week 3) and
only then can they be enforced in the courts
20. Why do we need law in
society?
Lets consider the following scenarios and think about the
reasons why such rules are imposed…………..
O A restriction on the loudness at which music can be
played
O Throwing rubbish in public places is not permitted
O It’s a criminal offence for a parent to slap their child, even
if it’s a form of discipline
O An employer cannot pay an employee a wage which is
less than the amount prescribed by law
O The purposes that imprisonment serves
21. The law serves the following
aims……..
O Protects society (both individuals and their property)
O Maintains public order
O Punishment acts as a deterrence
O Protects the rights and freedoms of individuals
O Promotes justice, fairness and equality
O Avoids people from being exploited
22. Classification of the law
O The laws in the UK can be categorised as either a
branch of the public or private (civil) law
23. Public Law
O Public law involves the state or the government
O This can be an action brought by the state against an
individual (or vice versa), an action brought by a
state against another state (for example, an action
brought by one EU member state against another) or
an action against a public body ( for example, an
action against a local authority.)
24. The Criminal Law
O The criminal law is a prime example of the public law
O Why do you think it is the responsibility of the
state to prosecute the defendant in criminal
cases, even though the crime is often committed
against another individual (known as the
“victim”) or their property?
O Aim of the criminal law is to maintain law and order,
and for the protection of society.
25. Terminology
O Defendant: the person against whom the action is
brought/ the party who is defending the action
brought against him/her
O Victim: the person who has suffered from the crime
O Prosecution: the party (in criminal law) bringing the
action against the defendant
O Charges: the criminal offences which are brought
against the defendant
26. The Crown Prosecution
Service (The CPS)
O The CPS is the government body which will in a majority
of criminal cases, be responsible for bringing the action
against the defendant
O The role of the CPS is to investigate the charges being
brought against the defendant, gather the evidence and
manage the conduct of the case at a hearing in the
criminal court
O The CPS acts as a representative of the state in criminal
proceedings
O More information about the CPS can be found on its
website: www.cps.gov.uk
27. Citation of Criminal Cases
O Most criminal cases are cited as follows:
R v Alhuwalia (1992)
O The “R” stands for Rex (King) or Regina (Queen)-this depends
on who is at the throne
O The defendant/s is identified by their surname (in the above
example, the defendant is “Alhuwalia”)
O The year in brackets (“1992”) is the year in which the case was
brought before the court
O Some times cases will also refer to the DPP (Director of Public
Prosecutions)-head of the CPS- e.g., R (on the application of
Pretty) v DPP (2002)
28. Other branches of public law
O Constitutional law: deals with the workings of the
central government and the laws set down by it
O Administrative law: governs how the local
government and public bodies operate
29. Private Law
O Concerned with disputes between individuals
(including companies and organisations)
O Does not involve an action involving the state
O Also referred to as the “civil law”
30. Private (Civil) Law
O Examples of private (civil) law cases:
Law of Torts
Contract Law
Family Law
Employment Law
Company Law
O The private (civil) law upholds the rights and
freedoms of individuals
31. Citation of Private (Civil)Law cases
O Most private (civil) cases are cited as follows:
Donoghue v Stevenson (1932)
O The parties are identified by their surnames
O The party bringing the action is referred to as “the
claimant” (formerly “the plaintiff”)
O The party defending the claim is referred to as “the
defendant”
32. The Standard of Proof
O This refers to the level or degree (“standard”) of
proof that is required to prove any factual issue
O The standard of proof is the test that needs to be
satisfied to find the defendant guilty of the offence/s
for which s/he stands charged
O The “burden of proof” relates to the party who is
responsible for proving that the defendant is guilty
O Both the standard of proof and the burden of proof is
different in the criminal law and the private (civil) law
33. Criminal Law
O Burden of proof………rests on the prosecution
O Standard of proof……. “beyond reasonable doubt”
O Basically means that in reaching its verdict, the
judge/jury should not have any reasonable doubts as
to whether the defendant is guilty of the offence for
which s/he stands charged
O Case study: Amanda Knox
34. Private (Civil) Law
O Burden of proof…….rests on the claimant
O Standard of proof…. “on the balance of
probabilities”
O This basically means that the judge has to be
satisfied that the defendant is most probably (likely in
light of the evidence) responsible for his actions
35. In which branch of law is the
standard of proof much higher
and why?
36. Other differences between the
Criminal Public Law and Private
(Civil) Law
O The following table sets out the other differences
between the two branches of law
O This table has been taken from “GCSE Law”,
J.Martin, 5th Edition, Page 5.
37. Criminal Public Law Civil Private law
Purpose of the law To maintain law and order
To protect society
To punish offenders
To uphold individual’s rights
To compensate the individual
Purpose of the trial To decide if the defendant if
guilty
To decide if there is a breach of
rights
Legal name for person
starting case
Prosecutor Claimant
Courts used to hear cases Magistrates’ Court OR
Crown Court
County Court OR High Court
Person/persons making the
decision
Magistrates OR Jury Judge
Very rarely a jury
Standard of proof Beyond reasonable doubt On the balance of probabilities
Decision The defendant is found
guilty or not guilty
The claimant wins or loses cases
The defendant may be liable to
pay compensation
Powers of the court Prison, fine, discharge,
community order
Award of damages (money),
injunction
Name of the case R v Smith
DPP V Smith
Jones v Smith
XYZ Company Ltd v Smith
38. Double Liability
O It is possible for a defendant to have committed
both a criminal offence and a civil offence
O This is known as double liability and the defendant
can be prosecuted in the criminal courts and also
be sued in the civil courts
39. Seminar Prep.
O See Hand-out:
O Jacqueline Martin, “GCSE Law”, 5th edition, chapter
1- “Introducing Law”, pages 1-8
O Glanville Williams: Learning the Law, pages 2-3
(“Crimes and civil wrongs”), pages 16-18
(“Elementary legal terminology”) and page 20
(“Public and Private Law”)
O Preparatory Questions
