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School of Law

Preliminary law, legal reasoning and legal methods

Course Code:
15PLAC162
Unit value:
0
Taught in:
Term 1

SOAS Law School offers an intensive two-week course in Preliminary Law, legal reasoning and legal methods which runs in September each year.  The purpose of this course is to provide students wishing to study law at a post-graduate level in the University of London with an introduction to law, legal method and associated skills and techniques.  It is designed primarily for those who do not already possess a law degree, but may also be of interest to those who feel they want to get used to studying law in a UK institution, or acclimatise themselves to life in London. 

The course is compulsory for those students taking one of the MA programmes in the School of Law at SOAS unless they gain a specific exemption from the coordinator of that programme.  It is not compulsory for those registering for the LLM programme or other Masters programmes at SOAS. However, those students proposing to enrol on the LLM who do not have a law degree from a common law country should consider registering for this course as it would ease their adaptation to the study of law in a common law country or of many areas of commercial or international law.

The course runs over a two-week period immediately before the week of registration.  Classes are held on a daily basis in the morning and afternoon of each week.  The course is designed to provide:

  • a general introduction to UK, international and comparative law;
  • training in legal methods and legal skills;
  • training in research techniques and study skills;
  • an introduction of the use of on-line, and other electronic, resources;
  • an introduction on how best to use library resources at SOAS and elsewhere in London;
  • visits to the UK Parliament and the courts where appropriate;

A draft timetable for the course will be available soon. Please note that this is subject to change, and the number and content of lectures may change according to staff availability.

There is no formal assessment for this course, but attendance is compulsory for those wishing to register on the MA programmes in the School of Law at SOAS.

Payment:

The pre-sessional fee for 2012/13 is £350 and this will be included in your overall course fee payment. Please go to the fees section of the SOAS website in order to make your payment.

  • You will need to bring a receipt with you on your first day so that the Faculty can provide you with library cards.
For further information or queries on the course content, please contact Dr Gunnar Beck: gb18@soas.ac.uk

Objectives and learning outcomes of the course

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to -

  1. Outline the major points of UK, international and comparative law
  2. Show an understanding of legal methods and related skills
  3. Access and use on-line and other resources to conduct research
  4. Show an understanding of research techniques and study skills for professionals