Where modules run over two terms as a 30 credit module, SIL students will attend and be assessed on the contents of term 1. Please note that some modules reflect this with an additional "A" in their module code, but this is not the case for all of them due to special assessment arrangements for SIL students.
All assessments are graded on a pass/fail basis.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMMON LAW (LAWSG148)
Credit value: 30 credits (12 ECTS) |
Module Convenor:
Dr Ian Williams |
Other Teachers:
Professor Charles Mitchell |
| Intercollegiate teaching: No |
| Teaching Method: 20 x two-hour seminars |
| Who may enrol: LLM students, SIL students |
| Prerequisites: None |
| Barred module combinations: None |
| Core module for specialism: Legal History |
| Assessment |
| Practice Assessment: 2 essays (1 per term) |
| Assessment method for LLM students: 2 x 3,000 word coursework essays |
| Assessment method for SIL students: 3,000 word coursework essay |
| Module Overview |
Module summary
The underlying theme of the module is legal change: why and how law changes. This theme is explored by investigation of selected topics in the history of the common law, many of which are the subject of debate amongst legal historians.
By the end of the module, students will be able to consider possible causes of legal change and different ways in which legal change is effected. These will be based on a good understanding of selected topics in English legal history, and will show engagement with debates in the field. |
Module syllabus
The module covers topics in this history of the common law from around 1150 to around 1960, but most topics will not cover the entire chronological span.
Proportionately more of the module will be spent on the early-modern period. The module will cover topics in private law (principally obligations, but also some property), some public law and legal institutions.
The module will also feature seminars on the role of legal education and legal literature in developing law, and we intend to incorporate material from UCL Special Collections into these seminars. |
Recommended materials
J.H. Baker, An Introduction to English Legal History (4th edition, London, 2002) will be the primary reference text.
Frequent reference will also be made to:
S.F.C. Milsom, The Historical Foundations of the Common Law (2nd edition, London, 1981).
Both are available in paperback. |
Preliminary reading
No prior knowledge of English law or history is assumed for the module, but the introductory session will consider some issues about how the mode of trial in a legal system may affect legal development. We shall consider trial by ordeal, trial by battle, wager of law, jury trial and trial by a judge (or judges) alone. Students unfamiliar with those concepts may wish to consult the relevant pages on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_by_ordeal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_by_combat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compurgation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jury
These pages provide basic information about the different types of trial. Detail will not be important in the first session, and further reading will be provided later in the course.
Students wishing to prepare for later sessions might wish to read pages 12-27, 37-39 and 72-76 in Baker (above), which outline the emergence of the principal institutions of English law in the medieval period. This reading will be on a reading list early in the first term. |
Other information
This module is intended to be discursive. For every seminar there is a list of core reading which students are expected to have completed. Discussion in the seminars will be used to clarify points in the reading, consider issues in more detail and relate the individual topics to the broader theme of the module.
Both of the assessed essays will be set at the end of the module and students will be expected to bring together material from several seminars to address questions related to legal change. |
| Prizes for this module: There are currently no prizes available for this module. |
