The module covers the core skills for accessing, reading and interpreting both common law (case law) and statutory law.

The key topics include:

The doctrine of precedent:
Structure of law reports
Reading law reports
Hierarchy of the courts
Precedent and the Human Rights Act 1998
The Supreme Court
The Court of Appeal
Distinguishing, reversing and overruling

Statutory interpretation:

The structure of a statute
The Literal Rule, Golden Rule and Mischief Rule
3 Latin rules:
ejusdem generis;
noscitur a sociis;
expressio unius est exclusio alterius

Purposive Approach
Intrinsic and Extrinsic aids to statutory interpretation

The final assessment will be an unseen examination with pre-released materials which relate to a judgement. Short questions will require students to interpret the judgement by identifying and explaining how rules of statutory interpretation have been applied (LO 1 and 2). The final section of the examination will be an essay style question on an aspect of the doctrine of precedent, requiring students to make an evaluation of its advantages and disadvantages (LO3.) Students will be permitted to take their own marked-up copy of the pre-released material into the examination.

As part of the PDP, in Week 8 of the module students will undertake a short diary to record their strategies in using legal and academic databases to locate relevant primary and secondary resources related to a topic chosen by the module tutor. (LO4). This assessment will embed digital skills in the module as an essential foundational skill for studying Law.

This module provides a firm foundation in understanding the core skills and concepts which are required in order to find and interpret both statutory and case law.

The module will be taught through 39 hours of contact time. Each week students will attend a large group lecture of 1 hour, and a 2 hour workshop. The lecture will focus on tutor-led exposition of the key concepts relating to the doctrine of judicial precedent, and the rules of statutory interpretation. Students will have opportunities for active engagement with this new subject knowledge through strategies including questioning and quizzes to gain instant feedback on developing knowledge and understanding of the core concepts.

The workshops will provide students with extended opportunities to construct their own knowledge through a wide range of tasks and activities aimed at building familiarity and confidence with interpretation of statutory and case law. The focus will be on active learning. Students will search for, read and interpret primary sources in accordance with core legal principles and skills. Paired and group work will be utilised to encourage students to discuss, compare and test strategies in approaching tasks. There will be a strong emphasis on reading and engaging with primary sources of law. The tutor will support students in developing strategies for reading and understanding legal texts, and to support emerging skills in interpreting legal language that may be dense, complex and archaic. Analytical and evaluative skills will be developed through tasks considering the advantages and disadvantages of different aspects of the central legal doctrine of judicial precedent. Students may be required to work in pairs to present one side of the argument for or against a particular position, and to present their views to the rest of the group.

It is advised that students spend 5-8 hours per week on tasks relating to the scheduled classes, including preparation for workshops, reading, and consolidation of lecture and workshop notes. The remaining hours on the module will be focused on assessment. There will be an opportunity for students to sit a mock assessment and receive feedback on their performance.

3 of the workshops on this module will be dedicated to the following PDP topics relating to skills for work and study:

Self-organised learning and time-management
Digital research skills
Taking notes and keeping records

1. Identify and explain rules of statutory interpretation

Knowledge and Understanding

2. Interpret statutes and legal judgements

Analysis

3. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the doctrine of precedent

Learning, Analysis

4. Employ digital legal and academic databases effectively to identify and locate relevant primary and secondary resources.

Enquiry

Library databases

WestLaw and LexisNexis legal databases

Practical Law legal database

Other textbooks on legal skills can also be accessed via the Law Trove OUP online textbook service.

Finch E and Fafinski S, Legal Skills. (7th edn, Oxford Univ Press 2019)
Gillespie A and Weare S, The English Legal System. (7th edn, Oxford University Press 2019)

Both reference texts are available on the Law Trove digital textbooks service.