The topics studied on this module will include both the English and Sri Lankan Legal Systems



Common factors which may affect access to justice



Court and tribunal personnel

Rights of audience



Types of hearings in courts and tribunals in England and Wales and Sri Lanka, and an introduction to their purpose and function for example:

Trials

Plea and Trial Preparation Hearings

Directions Hearings

Plea before Venue and Allocation

Bail applications

Sentencing

Appeals

Determination of costs

Determination of damages



An introduction to professional regulation and ethical codes:

The Supreme Court Rules (Sri Lankan Professional Ethics as set down by the Supreme Court

the Solicitors Regulation Authority

Bar Standards Board

Chartered Institute of Legal Executives

Common professional ethical dilemmas – conflict of interest; confidentiality; duty to court.

Students will visit a court or tribunal and write a report on their observations (LO4) This report will be scaffolded by the tutor/examiner with guidance on the aspects to consider. Students will identify the function of the hearing they attended, the roles of persons involved, and consider the potential impact of access to justice to the observed hearing. (LOs 1 and 3). They will also be required to consider the relevance of ethical codes for legal practitioners by identifying how they might apply to the observed hearing (LO3)

Students are required to draw simple comparisons between parallel court functions and personnel in the legal systems of England and Wales, and Sri Lanka.

The contact hours for the module will be made up of 1-hour large group and 2-hour small group activities each week. The large group lecture will be focused on introducing core knowledge and concepts to students in a holistic way, considering how the different types of hearing in courts and tribunals relate to the litigation process in general, including the ethical frameworks within which legal professionals operate. This will be largely but not wholly expository, with opportunities for students to engage with ideas and concepts through questioning and other interactive learning activities such as polls and quizzes.



Small group activities will take the form of workshops in which students will be actively engaged in the co-construction of knowledge through a range of individual, paired and group tasks. Students will be developing their understanding of the subject knowledge through application to real life scenarios in order to gain insight into factors that might have an impact on justice in particular situations. They may do this through a range of practical tasks including advising a client and identifying appropriate ethical solutions for practitioners to hypothetical dilemmas. Active learning will be at the heart of the strategy, and students will be asked to feed ideas and information back to the group for discussion.



Students will be recommended to spend approximately 6-8 hours per week on independent study tasks including preparation for workshops, carrying out recommended reading, and consolidation of lecture and workshop notes. The balance of the independent study hours will be spent on activities related to the assessment, including carrying out a visit to a court or tribunal, and the preparation, writing and editing of the summative assessment task.



Employability topics will be embedded in this module as follows, each of which will be the subject of dedicated workshop activities:

Pathways to employment: which route is right for me? This will assist students in making choices about their pathway and options at Level 5.

Professional values and behaviours

Reflective skills

1. Identify and explain the key functions of legal hearings and processes, and the personnel involved, in a court or tribunal.

Knowledge and understanding



2. Apply knowledge and understanding of core ethical duties of legal professionals to incidents and processes in practice.

Knowledge and Understanding Application

3. Identify some common issues relating to access to justice and analyse their potential impact on a legal hearing.

Learning; analysis


4.Draw comparisons between practice in the courts and tribunals of England and Wales, and Sri Lanka

Analysis



5. Reflect on the development of your own knowledge relating to legal processes, ethical frameworks or professional behaviours in practice.

Reflection

Core Text

L.J.M. Cooray, An Introduction to the Legal System of Sri Lanka (Stamford Lake Publication 2011)

Gillespie A and Weare S, The English Legal System. (7th edn, Oxford University Press 2019) available on Law Trove

Recommended text

Herring J, Legal Ethics (2nd edn, Oxford University Press 2017) - available via Law Trove

Additional textbooks on English Legal System are available via Law Trove.



Sri Lankan Professional Ethics as set down by the Supreme Court.

BSB Code of Conduct (Barristers)

SRA Code of Conduct (Solicitors)

CILEx Code of Conduct (Chartered Legal Executives)

Practical Law online database.

What happens in a court or tribunal? Who is involved in the hearings? What rules govern the professional behaviours of lawyers? These are the questions that you will be exploring in this module. You will be introduced to the functions of different types of hearings in courts and tribunals, and the people who take part in those hearings. You will also gain an insight into the professional working practices legal professionals in both Sri Lanka and England and Wales, and the types of ethical issues they face. You will then put this knowledge into practice, by carrying out a visit to a court or tribunal and preparing a report on what you observed.