English Law Sources and Structure: Research Report Portfolio

What's the Assignment about

1 Demonstrate the following knowledge and understanding fundamental knowledge of the sources of English law, the structure of the English legal system and its procedural rules, and understanding of the legal professions.

2 Demonstrate the following skills and abilities ability to research and apply the law in order to produce clear, logical and well-structured arguments supported by appropriately referenced sources.

What am I required to do in this assignment?

Assessment 2 is a research portfolio comprising of a research report of up to 1,500 words and a research diary of up to 1,500 words.

You work as a research assistant for a Barrister who has been instructed in a trial of two men accused of an offence contrary to the Theft Act of 1968.� The two men were accused of stealing �10 in cash and taking numerous other items from a shop.

The Barrister�s client, Brian, intends to plead not guilty to the charge of robbery and it is known that the other man intends to plead guilty to the charge.� You have been informed that you will be attending the plea hearing with the Barrister.�

You have been asked by the Barrister to prepare a report as to the likely interpretation of the Act in relation to the term �robbery�. You are instructed to consider the rules of construction, the aids to interpretation and any relevant presumptions.

In your research diary you are expected to evidence and reflect upon the way in which you have produced your research report. Your research diary should be a first-person narrative that considers the following issues:

• How you understood the task that has been set
• How you carried out research of the relevant sources
• How you identified issues that are relevant to answering the question and applied them
• How you communicated your answer
• How you referenced your sources.

When considering these above stages, you are expected to assess and reflect on the extent to which you have developed your research skills, your knowledge of law and the ability to communicate and use that knowledge in writing.

Note on academic integrity: in all assessments, you are expected to adhere strictly to the principles of academic integrity. All written assignments are submitted electronically and checked for originality through Turnitin. In addition, should any doubt arise as to whether the written work submitted for assessment is your own work, you will be called by the unit coordinator for the purpose of a viva voce examination on the assignment.

In order to pass Assessment 2 you will need to:

• Correctly identify the legal issues which arise from the topics under examination;
• Identify and apply all the relevant rules, skills and knowledge acquired whilst studying on the unit in order to provide sound legal analysis of these issues.
• Reflect upon your own research, writing, legal referencing and citation skills development, identify areas for improvement and the appropriate mechanisms for doing so.

How do I produce high quality work that merits a good grade?

We will be filling this section in together in class make sure you have downloaded/printed out the Assignment Brief and bring it to the session with you.

How does assignment relate to what we are doing in scheduled sessions?

In your scheduled sessions, you will learn how to adopt a critical approach to legal practice. This will be done through lectures with discussion points testing your ability to link legal and professional principles together, and seminars which give you the chance to participate in the learning process by presenting legal arguments in a concise and well-structured manner.

Common law: Common law is a legal system that is based on judicial decisions and precedents. It has been developed over time through judicial decisions, rather than being codified in legislation. Common law applies to all cases that fall within its jurisdiction and is based on the principle of stare decisis, which means that courts should follow precedent in similar cases.

Statute law: Statute law is a system of laws that are passed by the legislature. These laws are written down and codified, and they are generally more specific than common law. Statute law can be used to modify or overrule common law. European Union law: Since the UK was a member of the European Union, European Union law was a source of English law. EU law was superior to English law and could overrule it in certain cases. After Brexit, this source of English law no longer applies.