Law with Philosophy LLB (Hons)

In this module you will be introduced to the fundamental concepts and techniques of legal study and legal reasoning as well as the skills and attributes that you will be expected to develop as a law student. To enable this, the module will support you to actively engage in your personal and professional development and, in keeping with the identity and mission of the School, will set the scene for exploring key legal systems, processes and concepts through an explicit social justice perspective. You will develop your understanding of how the English legal system operates as well as exploring fundamental questions including ‘What is Law?’, ‘Why is Law the way it is?’, and ‘How does Law evolve?’. You will be introduced to a range of theoretical perspectives of law and explore how they help us understand, apply, and critique the application of the law in ways that promote social justice values such as equality, inclusion, fairness and access to justice.

The module is a foundation subject required by the legal professional bodies for professional practice. The aim is that students should acquire a solid knowledge of the legal principles and rules applied by the courts in Contract Law, whilst also developing fundamental legal skills of case analysis, synthesis and problem-solving. Students will undertake the study of Contract Law in its social, political and commercial context.

Public Law concerns the law creating and relating to the UK’s system of government. The module covers key issues in constitutional and administrative law, exploring legal questions and principles in the wider context of the practice of political actors and institutions. The module’s programme of lectures and seminars will support students in developing a range of core legal and transferable skills, and becoming effective independent learners.

This module introduces students to philosophy of mind, metaphysics, and epistemology with an emphasis on a coherent historical narrative that explains the role that early modern philosophers have played in the development of contemporary philosophical problems and debates. Taking this module will give students a grasp of why philosophers ask big questions about the nature of reality, and the scope of our knowledge, and how those questions bear on their everyday lives. The module is taught by lecture (2 x 1 hour per week) and seminar (1 hour per week). Assessment has two components, a set of 5 short pieces of writing (5 x 150 words) worth 25% of the module mark and spread through the teaching term, and a final essay worth the remaining 75%.

This module introduces students to the main arguments and theories in the history of Western political philosophy. Taking this module will enhance students’ abilities to analyse political arguments and claims and to identify the philosophical assumptions that underlie them. The module is taught by lecture (2 x 1 hour per week in person, or pre-recorded mini-lectures available online, depending on the circumstances) and seminar (1 hour per week). Assessment is via a take home exam (2 hour equivalent, weighted at 90% of the module mark) and a 5-10 minute seminar presentation (weighted at 10% of the module mark). Seminar presentations may be recorded by students, if in-person presentation is not possible.

This module introduces students to civil wrongs which are actionable at common law. These actionable wrongs, or ‘torts’, include negligence, trespass to the person, nuisance, and defamation. In addition to learning about the legal principles which govern the application of each tort, the Law of Tort module offers students an insight into the wider policy landscape by examining the law’s role in compensating injury, loss, or damage. The Law of Tort is one of the seven Foundation Subjects of relevance to students who intend to practise law in England and Wales.

This is a 30 credit, FHEQ Level 5 module. It covers the important concepts of trusts, equitable remedies and concepts of property.  It is one of the Foundations of Legal Knowledge, necessary for progression to training for the Bar.
Module delivery concentrates on inculcating legal and transferable skills.

This 15-credit module is one of the seven core foundations of legal knowledge studies on the Bachelor of Laws degree. All LL.B. students are required to take this fascinating and complex module. The land law module examines the estates and interests in land in English and Welsh law. Students will examine both freehold and leasehold estates, as well as interests in land such as easements, restrictive covenants and mortgages. The module places a heavy emphasis on case law and statute use. These sources are used to put the various land rights into context and to demonstrate how estates and interests can be protected using the legislative regime.

In Law and Social Justice in Action, students will enhance a range of core legal and transferable skills, engage in group work, and critically evaluate the impact of the law with reference to a specific case study. After initial introductory lectures, students will select and follow a ‘research pathway’ in the module, in the context of which they will seek to explore the relationship between law and some aspect(s) of social justice.

This module familiarises students with some of the key texts, concepts, and arguments from the most prominent and influential ancient Greek philosophers. The module will focus particularly on concepts raised in the dialogues of Plato and in Aristotle’s Metaphysics and Nicomachean Ethics. The ancient Greek understanding of philosophy as both an intellectual and political practice within the ancient city-state will form the backdrop of the views and arguments discussed. Taking this module will enhance one’s abilities to analyse influential philosophical accounts and theories and to identify what the ‘examined life’ stands for in various contexts, both ancient and contemporary.

This module deals with business ethics and the social responsibility of business organizations. It is designed to inform decision-making about ethical challenges arising in business. It will help students identify and manage difficult ethical dilemmas they are likely to encounter in their future career. It is not intended to convert sinners into saints, to preach ethical truths, or to convey the wisdom of moral philosophers. However, it will develop students’ analytical skills in ethical reasoning and provide them with a substantive framework to deal with ethical challenges. The module is taught by lecture (2 x 1 hour lectures per week) and workshops (2 during the semester, 2 hours each). Assessment is via case study analysis (40%) and an open book examination (60%). There will also be formative tests during the term. This module is identical to PHIL272, except that it runs in Semester 1.

Taking this module will introduce students to some topics in contemporary epistemology. These will include some traditional questions about knowledge, and some of the main views that have been held about them. The module will also cover contemporary topics such as expertise, bias, epistemic justice, scientific knowledge, ignorance and fake news. Because these topics are relatively new, students will have the opportunity to engage with new and cutting-edge research in these areas. They will also have the opportunity to reflect on their own practices, especially on how they access information online.

This module is cognate with politics and economics, as well as with the philosophy of mathematics, and is required for students taking Mathematics and Philosophy. It is taught via 11 one-hour lectures and 11 one-hour seminars. Seminar discussion will be assessed and count towards 10% of the module result. During term-time students write an essay, which counts for 40% of the mark. A seen two-hour examination contributes the remaining 50%.

This module familiarises students with some of the main issues, theories and arguments in contemporary normative and applied ethics. Taking this module will enhance their abilities to analyse ethical arguments and theories and to identify the philosophical assumptions that underly controversial ethical claims. The module is taught by lecture (1 hour per week) and 5 seminar session (2-hour bi-weekly). Assessment is via a 3,500 word essay (75% of the module mark) and a number of class and after class tasks worth 1000 words (10%). Students also give one 10-15 minute seminar presentation that provides the remaining 15% of the module mark.

This module deals with business ethics and the social responsibility of business organizations. It is designed to inform decision-making about ethical challenges arising in business. It will help students identify and manage difficult ethical dilemmas they are likely to encounter in their future career. It is not intended to convert sinners into saints, to preach ethical truths, or to convey the wisdom of moral philosophers. However, it will develop students’ analytical skills in ethical reasoning and provide them with a substantive framework to deal with ethical challenges. The module is taught by lecture (2 x 1 hour lectures per week, or a set of recorded mini-lectures available online if necessary) and workshops (2 during the semester, 2 hours each, which may occur online if necessary). Assessment is via case study analysis (40%) and an open book examination (60%). There will also be formative tests during the term. This module is identical to PHIL271, except that it runs in Semester 2.

This module familiarises students with some of the main issues, theories and arguments in contemporary political philosophy. Taking this module will enhance your abilities to analyse political arguments and theories and to identify the philosophical assumptions that underly political claimsregarding such controversial issues as justice, freedom and equality. Thus the module is highly appropriate to students studying politics, economics and other disciplines where identifying and assessing the assumptions and ideologies underlying claims and policies is important. The module is taught by lecture (1 hour per week) and seminar (1 hour per week). Assessment is via a 2 hour exam (comprising 60% of the module mark) and a 2,000 word essay (30% of the module mark). Students also take it in turns to give one 5-10 minute seminar presentation that provides the remaining 10% of the module mark.

Metaphysics deals with the largest and most fundamental questions concerning the nature of reality. What are the basic ingredients of reality? What is it to persist? Why is there anything at all? What is the nature of matter? What is the nature of space and time? Is space more than nothingness? Are the past and future as real as the present? What, if anything are you? In this module we will introduce you to current thinking on the central issue of metaphysics, as well as the differing views as to the nature of metaphysics itself. The module is taught via one weekly lecture, and one weekly seminar. It is assessed by a two hour examination worth 60% of the overall module mark, an essay 30% and a seminar presentation 10%.

This module’s emphasis is not on a particular philosophical content, but on the problem solving skills that studying philosophy is meant to train. Students will be involved in three mini-projects, each over a three week period, and each devoted to a particular philosophical problem, which in the context of this module means a philosophical proof or argument that appears to be entirely valid, but whose conclusion is widely seen as unacceptable (as for instance John McTaggart’s proof that time does not exist).

In the first week of each section the problem is introduced and contextualized by the tutor and then discussed with the whole cohort. Working groups are allocated who will then have two weeks to work on the problem. The second week is reserved for a scheduled group work session with the tutor on hand to clarify points of information and present their ideas for formative assessment, followed in the third week by group presentations of the final proposed solutions to the problem.

This module considers issues of race and racism from a philosophical perspective. Given the philosophical breadth of the topic, this module will cover a wide range of philosophical approaches. These include aesthetics, phenomenology, critical theory, politics, epistemology, language, metaphysics and science. Students will be introduced to these topics in lectures. These lectures provide background context to understanding the topics. Students then read prescribed readings and do independent research in preparation for seminars. This will help students learn how to engage in constructive debate on controversial social topics At mid-term students will submit an opinion piece in the form of a blogpost. At the end of term students will submit an essay. Students taking this module will improve their skills in reading and writing philosophy. Students will gain skill in explaining complex information in a concise manner to an audience, in practising the intellectual virtues associated with philosophy, in conducting their own independent research and in critically discussing important social ideas.

This module helps students to gain knowledge of the main philosophical debates concerning the concept of God, such as God’s omnipotence, omniscience, and perfect goodness. It considers, for example, the main arguments for and against God’s existence: the ontological argument, the cosmological argument, the design argument, and the problem of evil. There is one lecture per week and one seminar per week. Each student must give a 10-15 minute long seminar presentation. This counts for 10% of the module mark. An assessed seminar reading analysis (1,000 words) counts for 25%. An examination contributes the remaining 65%.

This module will introduce students to key concepts and figures in the project of understanding natural language. Students will examine how philosophers have attempted to understand meaning, reference and communication. Students will be introduced to the distinction between semantics and pragmatics and to speech-act theory. They will learn to apply these conceptual and theoretical tools to contemporary debates around freedom of speech and censorship by the semantics and pragmatics of slurs, hate speech, dog whistles and pornographic speech. They will consider feminist perspectives on language. Students taking this module will understand the central concepts in philosophy of language and how questions in the philosophy of language can intersect with issues in philosophy of mind, ethics, political philosophy and feminist theory, and they will be able to apply this understanding to real world cases. The module is taught by lecture (1h each week for the first 6 weeks) and workshops (2h per week). Assessment is via a 750 word essay (comprising 15% of the module’s mark) and a 2500 word essay (comprising 85% of the module mark).

This module introduces students to the constitutional and institutional law of the European Union before moving to consider some areas of substantive Union law. The module encourages a critical understanding of how the EU came to be and how it has developed, which lays the foundations for analysis of the Union’s institutions including their composition, their accountability and democratic legitimacy, and how they formulate EU legislation. Areas of substantive Union Law addressed are: the development of EU law relating to the free movement of goods, free movement of workers and free movement of economically inactive citizens (such as students and retired persons). Throughout the module, students are encouraged to think critically about the European integration process.

This module introduces students to the criminal law of England and Wales. It considers: the scope of criminal liability (principles of criminalisation and principles of criminal liability); the components of criminal liability (the need for both a ‘guilty’ act and a ‘guilty’ mind in an offence); substantive offences such as homicide and rape; participation (i.e., complicity) in an offence; criminal conduct short of committing a full offence (i.e., ‘inchoate’ liability); and various types of defence.

Clinical Legal Skills is a final year optional module based in the Liverpool Law Clinic, an in house legal practice within the School of Law and Social Justice. Learning on the module is experiential: Students will work in small groups or “firms” of 6 students throughout the term and there is an emphasis on collaborative learning and problem solving throughout the module.   The bulk of the student learning takes place through working in the Liverpool Law Clinic with student firms assisting in-house and external solicitors and barristers to provide an advice service to member of the general public. Casework includes working to strict deadlines. The Law Clinic operates during office hours 8 am to 5.30pm and for reasons of client confidentiality, students are only permitted to work on their client case in the Law Clinic. Remote working on case files is prohibited.   There are weekly practical workshops which will cover skills and legal content. Students will give presentations about the cases that they are working on, so that they whole group can learn from the legal and professional issues encountered and the legal advice provided. Workshops will cover areas including researching legal problems, letter drafting, client interviewing, access to justice, reflective practice and law and procedure relevant to client cases.   In addition to weekly workshops each firm has a weekly 1 hour case supervision meeting to receive feedback on practical case work.  

This module is an opportunity for you to gain an understanding and insight into issues relating to access to justice and public interest law. You will undertake a placement in a public sector or non profit organisation, develop skills and undertake tasks within a practical context, apply academic knowledge from your degree, and develop your personal and employability skills within a working environment. This experience will develop understanding of access to justice policy and public interest law in a practical setting.

The Banking Law module’s overall focus is on risk and threat’s (both traditional and emerging) to the banking system. Specifically we will focus on the role law plays in addressing these challenges. Initially, we will look at how the Bank works with the HM Treasury to safeguard the banking sector from emerging and evolving risks, specific focus will be placed on its role as Lender of Last Resort. We will then go on to examine banking regulation, bank failures and resolution of banks, considering the cyclical nature of crisis and the impact on regulation. This will then followed by an examination of the banker and customer relationship, and the role the legal duties owed between the parties plays in reducing risk and uncertainty in terms of the everyday course of dealings between the bank and its customer. The module will then focus on the bank’s Anti-Money Laundering obligations, we will consider the importance of the framework in reducing a bank’s exposure to risk, but will also note the heavy burden on complying with it. Finally, we conclude the module with a look at crypto-banking, with a focus on the potential benefits and risks it presents to consumers, and how it may challenge the traditional banking system.

Company Law aims to give students an understanding of certain fundamental aspects of Company Law, including the regulation of companies, the effect of separate legal entity, duties of directors and the remedies available to minority shareholders. At the same time the module will introduce students to some of the more essential, topical, and developing areas of Company Law which have a national/international impact, including the reforms under the Companies Act 2006.

This is a third year undergraduate module on competition law. The module will cover the basic rules of competition law in the EU, UK and other legal systems, including rules against anticompetitive agreements, monopolisation/abuse of dominance, anticompetitive mergers and public and private enforcement of competition rules. The module will be taught through lectures and seminars and assessed by MCQ (10%) exam (90%).

This module explores fundamental issues in Commercial Law with a particular focus upon Sale of Goods and the Law of Agency. Students will be introduced to certain key areas of importance, including legal issues stemming from the passing of property and title in sale transactions; implied terms within sale contracts and the role of agents in Commercial Law. Teaching and learning uses a ‘blended learning’ approach – the module utilises lectures, seminars, workshop sessions and e-learning strategies to guide the student through a complex area of law. Lectures focus on the delivery of key information and fundamental principles. Building on this acquired knowledge, seminars will focus upon the application of those fundamental principles to complex factual scenarios and advanced legal problems. Post-seminar podcasts and follow-up exercises will serve to offer feedback on the performance of the cohort as a whole, nurture advanced understanding and also guide further work. Commercial Law is a very lucrative and popular area of legal practice, and this is a useful specialty option for students interesting in corporate and commercial careers.

The Corporate Insolvency Law (CIL) module critically examines the legal rules, policy and theoretical underpinnings that exist to deal with insolvent companies. The corporate insolvency regimes (administration, company voluntary arrangements (CVAs), and schemes of arrangement (SofA)) that facilitate rescue of the juristic person, as well as other avenues (liquidation, receivership, informal arrangements) are critically examined. The use of each procedure and relevant primary and secondary source material is examined to place each procedure in practical context. There is an emphasis on English and Welsh authority and procedures, but some international materials are also used.

This module will provide an introduction one of the main areas of intellectual property law – copyright law. It will cover the various requirements to obtain copyright protection and will deal with the expansion of rights available to copyright holders. The module will study the complexities in relation to the copyright infringement due to the emergence of digital technologies and examine whether the private rights granted through copyright law is adequately balanced with the protection of public interests.

This module provides an introduction to trade mark and patent law. The first half of the module will examine the rationale, requirements and enforcement of patent rights that protect technological innovations. It will also cover the main aspects of exclusions and exceptions that limit the subject matter of patentability. The second half of the module will look into the system for registered marks (including the process of registration, revocation, invalidity and infringement).

This module seeks to provide students with an understanding of the opportunities and challenges posed by emerging technologies. Students will be provided with an overview of the rationale and purpose of regulation within the context of emerging technologies and draws upon theoretical debates and policies implemented by jurisdictions particularly in the United Kingdom. During the course of their studies students will be provided with a learning and teaching environment that will facilitate their acquisition and development of a set of rigorous analytical and problem solving skills which will enable them to critically engage with existing and emerging legal and ethical challenges posed by emerging technologies in diverse settings and contexts. The topics covered will vary but these will include regulatory challenges posed by technologies such as data driven processes and artificial intelligence systems for sectors such as finance, transportation, health and the legal profession. The focus on diverse settings and case examples will enable students to gain a better understanding of the role of legal rules and strategies for promoting responsible innovation and governance.

This is a project-based module that requires students to work in teams using a specific ‘artificial intelligence’ (AI) technology to solve a challenging legal problem. Students will use their experience of working on their project to inform their individual analysis of the appropriate role of AI in the justice system. The module has been designed in collaboration with key partners from the legal and technology sectors and it builds on contemporary debates about the future of law and the future of the legal professions. Using our project as a point of reference we will discover how AI can be developed to tackle problems that involve legal reasoning, and we will debate competing ethical, economic, regulatory and other arguments concerning whether AI should be used in the justice system, and if so, how it should be used. As a project-based module, LAW383 will require sustained commitment by students both to their respective team-mates and to the project itself. This module will be more suitable for students who are not solely interested in the conventional approach to learning and applying the law, but who have a strong desire to expand their technical skill set and project-management skills to meet the growing demand in the legal sector for lawyers who are also capable ‘legal designers’, ‘legal engineers’, and ‘innovation leads’.

This module takes as its starting point the challenges faced by individuals in determining how their personal data is collected and processed in a digital environment comprising global technology corporations and online service providers. Students will be introduced to the rationale, concepts, themes, and body of law associated with data protection law and electronic communication relations. The learning and teaching activities are designed to provide students with an opportunity to explore the rights, duties and remedies associated with the generation of personal information through interaction with digital devices and online services. The module equips students with the knowledge, skills and confidence in reflecting critically on the role and significance of data protection rules for regulating the social media environment, and encouraged to communicate their knowledge to peers in the module. More specifically, the mode of instruction and delivery is designed to foster in students an agile and solution focused mindset through an exploration of the connection between data protection theory and practice of resolving governance disputes in the social medial environment. Students will undertake their study in a learning environment which will enable them to develop their problem-solving, research and communication skills when addressing issues such as what types of processing activities are regulated, the contexts in which rights and duties materialise and measures for managing risks in the evolving social media landscape. The use of case studies and examples will provide students with opportunities to assess their relevance for addressing compliance questions and likely impact on individuals and business processing strategies in the networked social media landscape.

In this module we examine fundamental components of the law’s regulation of the doctor:patient relationship, in particular ‘medical negligence’ claims – a specialist application of the tort of negligence in cases where medical error occurs,’ usually in the course of diagnosis, treatment or advice/information, and causes a recognised ‘harm’. We also explore legal limits to medical treatment decisions, such as the extent to which patients have the right to make their own treatment decisions, and, in cases where a patient may lack the ability to make these decisions for themselves, the application of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Who decides in these cases whether the patient should be given life-saving surgery or when life sustaining ventilation should stop? – doctors, the family or the Court of Protection? And how are the patient’s rights and interests safeguarded when decisions are taken ‘for’ them? The patient, whose treatment must be determined, is recognised as being vulnerable – a vulnerability rooted in the imbalance of power in doctor-patient relationships, but also in the patient being unwell or anxious about their health. As we survey the legal frameworks which regulate treatment decisions we observe shifts in medical law jurisprudence, from forms of paternalism (or ‘doctor knows best’) to increased emphasis of ‘rights based’ and social justice informed models. Medical Law and Ethics is a 15 credit module for Level 6 students only.

This module introduces students to key ethical principles as they relate to the legal regulation of medical practice. This module will look at autonomy in greater detail, examining adolescent autonomy and children’s decision making, autonomy in relation to non-therapeutic and contentious surgeries such as cosmetic surgery, reproductive autonomy (encompassing the right not to reproduce e.g. sterilisation and abortion) as well as the right to reproduce (examining regulation of human reproduction and assisted reproductive technologies). This module will also look at the latest developments in this area and how the fundamental principles of medical law and ethics are developed and re-shaped in light of novel technological and medical developments. At a formal level, the module encourages students to develop reasoned ethical perspectives on autonomy as applied in various contexts .

This module seeks to introduce students to the law governing rules of evidence in criminal cases. The course briefly examines the development of the law on criminal evidence, including an assessment of the judge and jury’s functions, before focus switches to more substantive matters relating to the operation and admissibility of criminal evidence. Such matters comprise consideration of burden and standard of proof, both of fundamental procedural and human rights significance for the parties in a criminal case. Other topics addressed include examination of witnesses, specifically examination-in-chief, cross-examination, competence/compellability and corroboration/identification. Later in the module selected types of evidence are investigated, in particular character evidence, hearsay evidence and confessions. The module is taught by use of two one-hour lectures per week and five seminars in fortnightly cycles.

This module provides students with an introduction to key aspects of family law in England and Wales in the context of both public and private proceedings. Students will begin by critically exploring the legal regulation of various family relationships (notably marriage, civil partnerships and cohabitation) in the light of human rights norms and recent reforms. This will involve consideration of the legal requirements for entering into regulated family relationships as well as the legal consequences when such relationships come to an end, both financially and in terms of the arrangements made for children. The module then moves on to explore the conditions under which the state can legitimately intervene in family life and the various orders at its disposal to protect children from abuse and neglect. All of this will be grounded in a detailed review of the statutory framework, the relevant case law and academic commentary.

This module provides students with a cutting-edge and critical understanding of rights and justice at work. It is ideal for students who want to better understand business practices, labour market norms and relations of power between workers and employers. The module is set in three parts: protection of the worker, protection of wages and protection of work. The module highlights the social and political significance of employment law as developed in parliament and the courts. Students are equipped with knowledge and skills to apply employment law to a range of scenarios and to understand the limits of law. Throughout the module, students also explore the contemporary rise of mental and physical health issues among people of working age as a context within which to assess the merits of employment law and develop their own ideas for legal reform. Teaching and learning is organised through a mix of in-person lectures, case workshops, small group seminars, bespoke video content and academic literature. For assessment students record their own video presentation about an aspect of employment law and their ideas for reform, they also sit an exam in which they are asked to provide written legal advice to clients in imaginary situations.

In recent years, legal systems and the constitutions that structure them seem under increased strain. In the UK alone, we have seen, amongst many other issues, exit from the European Union; scandal surrounding Government handling of the Covid-19 pandemic; increased use of judicial review to challenge (often controversial) Government decision-making; frequent changes of Prime Minister; and the question of Scottish independence both subject to a referendum yet seemingly unresolved.

Advanced Public Law explores some of the key challenges facing constitutional frameworks at the UK, European and/or international levels. Drawing on staff expertise, the three specific topics studied each year will be dynamic, allowing students to focus on the most pressing issues facing public law. However, recent examples include: Courts and Rights in the Age of Austerity; The Break-Up of Britain: Constitutional Responses to a Territorial Crisis; and Extra-Parliamentary Sites of Accountability in the Age of Social Media Age.

Whatever the topic, with its central themes of Power, Rights and Accountability, the module will enable students to approach key public law questions: how does law create and divide public power, and ensure the exercise of power is legitimate? How do rights constrain public authorities, and can courts have a major impact on significant social, economic and political challenges? How effectively is power held to account through constitutional processes, and how could accountability be enhanced in democratic constitutions?

In this way, Advanced Public Law will give students an in-depth understanding of some of the key constitutional challenges facing legal and political systems in the modern world. It will be assessed by a “seen” examination, with the exam paper released to students 24 hours before the start of the assessment, to allow time for focused revision and detailed essay planning.

This course examines the way in which the law regulates the treatment of animals in the UK and internationally. Students will have the opportunity to explore animal law from its historical development to contemporary issues surrounding human-animal interactions.

Students will develop their knowledge in the developing field of animal law from both a policy and practical/doctrinal perspective and from a theoretical perspective. Students will be introduced to the philosophical foundations of animal law which are important in order to examine the gaps and opportunities in the law relating to animals as it is presently constituted. The course will cover the historical development of animal law, the legal status of animals, and the legal and political framework. A series of case studies will aid students in developing a critical understanding of the different approaches to protecting / regulating animals through the law. These include discussions about religious practices relating to slaughter, the granting of rights to primates, factory farming and the development of dangerous dogs legislation (amongst others). Students will engage in debates about how animals should be recognised in the law, and the relative benefits and drawbacks of different approaches i.e. animal welfare vs. animal rights, or approaches grounded in relationality, vulnerability etc.

The course combines case studies and theoretical analysis, and successful students will gain an understanding of the complex legal issues raised by the regulation of animals through law. The course aims to encourage critical thought about how we may remodel legal systems / approaches to the protection of the interests of animals.

The module reflects and supports the growing research expertise in the discipline of animal law within Liverpool. All three members of the proposed teaching team have experience either within Liverpool (on the Law and Social Justice module) or at other institutions with delivering teaching in Animal law. This module addresses the gap in the Law School’s curriculum as compared to the growing number of other Schools across the UK which have dedicated Animal Law offerings.

Sport has moved from an amateur pastime to a highly regulated legal sphere, now constituting its own body of law. This module will introduce you to some key areas of sports law – you will look at questions such as ‘what is a professional sports contract?’, ‘can you be criminally liable for injuring someone whilst playing sport?’, ‘are anti-doping regimes in sport fair?’, ‘what are the rules around the participation of transgender and intersex athletes in elite sport?’. You will also be introduced to some of the key principles which underpin sports law. This module is taught from a critical perspective – so we won’t just learn about what the law says about sport, we will question the impact that this body of law has on individuals involved in sport, and whether law makes sport a fairer environment.

This course will provide students with an in-depth understanding of the complex international legal
questions that make the headlines. Students will learn to demonstrate and critically evaluate how law and politics interrelate and how issues of globalisation are incorporated into the international legal language. The course will also encourage students to take a step back and critically analyse why it is that international law seems to be focussed on crises that make headlines. Through the means of recognising and ranking complex issues, a further site of enquiry will be the question of whether there is also an every-day international law that is not discussed in the news?
The course will provide students with a strong understanding of the complex and specialist concepts, principles, institutions and debates that define international law today. By unravelling these concepts with the help of current affairs and various legal sources students will be able to contextualise succinctly international law as it relates to politics, the media, social phenomena, and historical settings. Focusing on a number of key issue-areas, the course will enable students to understand how international legal norms emerge, the way they shape subjectivities, competences and responsibilities, and their impact with regard to contemporary issues/problems of global scale.
Overall, the aim is to lay the foundations for an informed and critical assessment of the contribution and limits of international law as a force in world affairs.

This module will be of interest to students who wish to learn about the way in which borders operate within the UK and in Europe, as well as how asylum seekers, refugees and migrants living in the UK and the EU are treated under the law. The course will also be of interest to students who wish to study topics related to human rights issues. The course focuses broadly on the area of asylum and immigration, and is also intended to be responsive to current developments in the area. Examples of topics that will be covered include, international refugee law and the UK asylum system, the enforcement of immigration rules through detention and deportation, and rights to family reunification and family life.

This module introduces students to the fundamental principles of international arbitration as reflected in national laws, international law, arbitral rules, and arbitral and national court decisions. It concerns theoretical and practical aspects of international commercial, as well as investment arbitration. It is particularly appropriate for students aiming at obtaining expert knowledge in international arbitration, which they can apply as practicing lawyers, policy makers or in pursuing further, postgraduate studies in the field. Teaching and learning are largely based on case studies and problem questions based on actual case law both from UK courts and international arbitral awards of major arbitration institutions, such as the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce.

The module provides students with in-depth specialist knowledge of the principles and structure of international law, with a special emphasis on law-making processes. It offers a selected introduction to the field by placing the issues covered into the political and historical context of international relations. The module features discussions of some of today’s most debated theoretical and practical international legal issues against the backdrop of multiple international, regional and domestic legal and policy frameworks. They include the evolving role of international law in international affairs, the forms of law making, the ever increasing number of actors involved, the expansion of international adjudication, the creation of states, the various faces of sovereignty, and the impact of international law on domestic systems.

Each lecture addresses selected elements of these debates and the basic principles underpinning them. Examples of basic questions include: What is international law? Is international law really law? How did it develop as a body of rules separate from domestic law? What types of norms define the international legal order? What are the main international decision making processes and who are the actors involved? What are the manifestations of state sovereignty and how do states exercise sovereignty from the perspective of international law and relations? How does international law affect domestic law? What is the status of international law within domestic legal orders? How is international law enforced? Or when can states be held liable for their wrongful conduct?

Jurisprudence aims to give students an understanding of the basic problems of legal theory: what is law? Why do we obey it? How is law related to morality? Is an unjust law really a law? How should judges decide cases? At the same time the module will introduce students to the work of some of the most important modern legal theorists, in particular H.L.A. Hart, Lon Fuller and Ronald Dworkin. Students will also consider some of the crucial concerns of contemporary legal philosophy, such as the relationship between the rule of law, rights and democracy. Jurisprudence is taught in weekly lectures and longer fortnightly seminars. This maximises the time available for discussion and evaluation of each week’s reading assignment, in both smaller sub-groups and the class as whole, which is the most interesting and effective way of gaining an appreciation of legal philosophy. Students will produce a group presentation on a topic of their choice in the second half of the module. The module is assessed through one piece of coursework (3,000 words).
Jurisprudence provides an opportunity for reflection on the philosophical foundations of law, and should appeal to students who are interested in understanding more about the essential nature of legal systems and legal practice.

In today’s globalised world, legal professionals are increasingly in contact with ‘foreign law’ – the law of other legal systems. Practitioners are hired to litigate transnational legal disputes. Judges may also be required to engage with foreign law in legal proceedings. Legislatures too frequently look outside their own legal systems for solutions to regulatory problems.

But is it possible to transplant legal rules and structures from one system to another? How and why might this be done? To what extent should judges engage with foreign law? And is it even possible to engage meaningfully with foreign law without detailed knowledge of the legal system to which that law belongs?

Comparative law provides a framework to approach, analyse and critique the use of foreign law. This module will introduce you to the principal theories and methodologies of comparative law. The focus is on empowering you to understand the application of comparative law to resolve legal problems and regulatory challenges within domestic and international legal systems.

At the end of this module, you will have a clear understanding of the nature, functions and limits of comparative law and be able to relate these to a broad range of contemporary and historical legal developments within particular legal systems. You will also be equipped to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the comparative method in specific contexts; for example, as a mode of constitutional law reform. By introducing you to critical and postmodern approaches to comparative law, the module will further challenge you to think critically about liberal and western-centric trends that remain deeply embedded in legal scholarship and practice.

This module is an opportunity for you to gain an understanding and insight into issues relating to access to justice and public interest law. You will undertake a placement in a public sector or non profit organisation, develop skills and undertake tasks within a practical context, apply academic knowledge from your degree, and develop your personal and employability skills within a working environment. This experience will develop understanding of access to justice policy and public interest law in a practical setting.

Clinical Legal Skills is a final year optional module based in the Liverpool Law Clinic, an in-house legal practice within the School of Law and Social Justice. Learning on the module is experiential:     Students will work in small groups or “firms” of 6 students throughout the term and there is an emphasis on collaborative learning and problem solving throughout the module. The bulk of the student learning takes place through working in the Liverpool Law Clinic with student firms assisting in-house and external solicitors and barristers to provide an advice service to member of the general public.   Casework includes working to strict deadlines.    The Law Clinic operates during office hours 8 am to 5.30pm and for reasons of client confidentiality, students are only permitted to work on their client case in the Law Clinic.   Remote working on case files is prohibited. There are weekly practical workshops which will cover skills and legal content.   Students will give presentations about the cases that they are working on, so that they whole group can learn from the legal and professional issues encountered and the legal advice provided.   Workshops will cover areas including researching legal problems, letter drafting, client interviewing, access to justice, reflective practice and law and procedure relevant to client cases. In addition to weekly workshops each firm has a weekly 1 hour case supervision meeting to receive feedback on practical case work.

The module intends to familiarise students with central themes of aesthetics and art theory, especially questions about aesthetic judgement, aesthetic experience and aesthetic value. They will be able to strengthen their understanding of the history of philosophy, as well as the connection between theory and artistic practice. The module is taught by lecture (1 hour per week) and seminar (1 hour per week). Assessment is via a 3,000 word essay (85% of the module mark) and one 10-15 minute presentation (delivered during seminars, or recorded if on-line only teaching) that provides the remaining 15% of the module mark.

This module will introduce students to ideas formulated during the classical period of Chinese philosophy. The focus will be on the dialectic between the Daoist and Confucian schools. The module will help students to understand the ways in which Chinese philosophers approached topics that are also discussed in the Western traditions. It will also enable students to understand what is distinctive about the Chinese approaches. There will be one lecture and one seminar per week. Assessment is by examination (60%), essay (30%) and assessed seminar presentation (10%).

This module familiarises students with some of the main issues, theories and arguments in the existentialist movement from thinkers such as Nietzsche, Sartre, de Beauvoir and Fanon. Taking this module will enhance your abilities to read challenging philosophical texts in a critical manner. The module is taught by lecture (1 hour per week) and seminar (1 hour per week). Assessment is via an exam (comprising 40% of the module mark) and a 2,000 word essay (45% of the module mark). Students also take it in turns to give one 10-15 minute seminar presentation that provides the remaining 15% of the module mark.

This module familiarises students with some of the main theories and arguments in debates about issues that raise problems for traditional ethics. These include the treatment of disability, the issue of humanitarian intervention and other matters of global concern, such as international justice, and issues raised by what some call the ‘environmental crisis’. The module is taught by lecture (1 hour per week) and seminar (1 hour per week). Assessment is via a 3,500 word essay (comprising 90% of the module mark) due in the January assessment period. Students will have the opportunity to receive formative feedback on a draft essay plan towards the end of the autumn term. Students will also give one 10-15 minute seminar presentation that provides the remaining 10% of the module mark.

Consciousness is sometimes thought of as ‘the final frontier of science’. How does grey, lumpy, brain matter produce the rich inner world of thoughts, feeling and emotions we know from day to day? This module starts with a history of philosophers’ attempts to find a place for consciousness in the universe as it is revealed to us by the physical sciences. It then engages with cutting-edge debates scientists and philosophers are currently having concerning the relationship between mind and brain, and between thought and consciousness. We also look at perception, and at various unconscious influences on our conscious mind. The module is taught by lecture (1 hour per week) and seminar (1 hour per week). Assessment is via a seen exam (comprising 45% of the module mark) and a 2,000 word essay (40% of the module mark). Students also take it in turns to give one 10-15 minute seminar presentation that provides the remaining 15% of the module mark.

This module introduces students to the major philosophical issues associated with play, games (especially digital games) and virtual worlds. It examines both the philosophical literature around play and contemporary concerns expressed in relationship to the growth of the video games industry, including addiction, violence, ‘gamification’ and the use of play and software for education and therapy. Students will learn to challenge common assumptions, including their own, about the triviality of play in relation to modern constructions of labour and value, and develop an understanding of how these assumptions underpin both popular and academic discussions of games.

The module is taught by lecture (1 hour per week) and seminar (1 hour per week). Assessment consists of a 3-part project: a formative pitch meeting with the module leader in the first 5 weeks of the course, a short report on that meeting (500 words, 30%) including a research plan, and a final essay (2,500 words, 70%).

Students will choose a topic of special interest related to their programme of study and conduct an independent research project upon up it in consultation with an allocated supervisor. The module is distinctive because the final project output is to be presented as if to a specified target external audience (such as sixth-form students, policy groups or the general public), and use a digital platform (eg website, vlog, animation, podcast). The module thus offers students opportunities to integrate their philosophical skills, knowledge and understanding with applied skills of digital communication relevant in arenas beyond the academic setting.

Students do not need digital skills beyond those they will have already acquired as final year students of Philosophy to take this module. Training is offered via a suite of learning materials as relevant to an individual’s chosen mode of presentation and through scheduled supervised workshops. Advice and support are provided. Students will have the opportunity to offer peer feedback on each other’s outputs before final submission.

Formal assessment is threefold:
a) Research Report (2000 words; 45%). The student, before embarking on the module, will have identified a question or problem which they wish to research and address. The Research Report offers a summary of this, arguments put forward and conclusions drawn. It also confirms the proposed audience and output format.

b) Digital Inquiry Project (45%). Guidance is supplied on appropriate size/length, which will vary according to platform, but be such that the project communicates the findings of the Report in a manner appropriate to the audience and digital format.

c)Reflective Commentary (500 words, 10%). This gives students the opportunity to reflect critically on the process, identifying challenges, how these were addressed and explaining presentational decisions made.

This module familiarises students with some of the key texts, concepts and arguments from the post classical Greek and Roman periods. The module will focus particularly on prominent philosophical themes in the writings of Hellenistic and Neoplatonic traditions. Taking this module will enhance your abilities to analyse influential philosophical accounts and theories and to identify the philosophical assumptions that underlie them. The module is taught by lecture (1 hour per week) and seminar (1 hour per week). Assessment is via a 2,500 word essay (85% of the module mark). Students also take it in turns to give one 10-15 minute seminar presentation that provides the remaining 15% of the module mark.

This module will introduce you to the various traditions of belief and practice that are obscured by the labels ‘Hinduism’ and ‘Buddhism’. It will help you to understand the ways in which Indian philosophers approached topics that are also discussed in the Western traditions. It will also enable you to understand what is distinctive about the Indian approaches. There will be one lecture per week, and from Week 2, a weekly seminar. Assessment is by examination 60%, essay 30% and seminar presentation 10%.

This module gives students the opportunity to explore selected areas of conflict in social, political and legal domains. When rights or interests clash, or seem to clash, what philosophical issues are at stake? How should the state adjudicate? Key themes include rights, freedoms and responses to oppression. The module seeks to help students develop a philosophical manner of thought that will enable them to refine their views on other similar issues of public importance, often controversial in nature, which they might encounter later in life. Representative areas for inquiry include questions such as ‘Does the state have the right to display religious symbols in classrooms?’ and ‘How far should midwives be allowed to opt out of assisting with abortions?’, and topics such as freedom and the media, the ethics of immigration, forms of oppression within society, and sexual harassment.

There are no lectures for this module; it is based on student-led research and applied learning, facilitated by the tutor in weekly two-hour workshops. Some content is sensitive, and discussions are carefully moderated to respect this. The assessment asks students to integrate their academic skills with analysis of ‘real-world’ scenarios. There are three research-based applied components: a presentation (15% + submitted materials 5%), case study (2000 words, 45%), and an opinion piece (1000 words, 35%). The opinion piece is published electronically as a course wiki for peer comment prior to formal submission.

Samples and in-class support will be provided.

This is an interdisciplinary module which aims to get students to think critically about imaginative literature and philosophical approaches to literature. It familiarises students with some of the main issues, theories and arguments relating to the ontology, value and structure of literature, as well as concept critical theory.
The module discusses key themes at the intersection of philosophy and literature; there is usually a focus on the genre of tragedy. The module is taught by lecture 1 hour per week and seminar 1 hour per week. Assessment is via class presentation (10%) and two coursework essays (40%, 50%).

The course focuses on the philosophical implications of likely (or possible) future technological developments.

The universe is billions of years old, there are billions of stars in our galaxy and billions of galaxies, and thanks to recent discoveries it now seems likely that most stars have planets. Yet so far we have seen no sign of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. What is the significance of this ‘great silence’? Advances in medical technology will soon make possible significant ‘improvements’ to our bodies and minds. How serious are the ethical objections to human enhancement? If teleportation technology were available many of the all too familiar problems associated with ordinary modes of transportation could be avoided.

But is teleportation actually survivable? Computers are advancing all the time, and some say that super-intelligent machines are inevitable. Are they right, and if so, what are the implications? Will it prove possible to upload ourselves into computer-sustained virtual paradises, as some transhumanists hope? Is it likely, as some have argued, that we are in fact living our lives in virtual worlds? If so, how should we conceive of these worlds? Are they as real as the real world? If we could achieve immortality, either through bio-enhancement or uploading, would it be something we could coherently desire? Is time travel really possible? Some quantum physicists maintain that the universe is continually branching. What are the implications for how we think of our lives if they are right about this?

Many of these scenarios and issues have been anticipated in science fiction. While some (‘hard’) sci-fi authors seek scientific plausibility, i.e. they do their best to stick within the known laws of physics, they generally pay far less attention to metaphysical and ethical issues. Yet in working out how we should respond to what the future may bring, metaphysical and ethical considerations are of paramount importance. It is with these that this course will be dealing.

The module is taught by a combination of lectures and seminars. Assessment consists of a seminar presentation (10%), an essay on a relevant topic (2,000 words, 30%) and a take-home exam (60% approx. equivalent to a 2 hour exam).

This module will introduce you to the field of international human rights law. The course will provide you with an overview of the historical and philosophical foundations of human rights, various substantive rights that are protected through universal and regional instruments, as well as providing a general introduction to the international mechanisms for human rights protection and promotion. The course aims to provide the student with both substantive and procedural knowledge of human rights protection, as well as knowledge and understanding of some of the key contemporary challenges in international human rights law.

Students will choose a topic of special interest in philosophy and conduct research into this area of interest via reading and private study under the supervision of the supervisor to whom they have been allocated. Students will attend Research and Professional Skills workshops with the Subject Librarian and the Careers Services. All students will have the opportunity to participate in the Philosophy Dissertation Showcase.

This module is an opportunity for you to undertake a placement in a setting which matches your academic and possible career/industry interests, develop materials and/or undertake tasks within a practical or vocational context, apply academic knowledge from your degree, and develop your personal and employability skills within a working environment. SOTA300 is not open to students who have taken SOTA600.