Criminal Law and Justice LLB (Hons)

In your second year, you will continue to build your understanding of core legal subjects, whilst exploring criminal law and justice in detail. You will also begin to develop your practical legal skills to provide you with an insight into life in legal practice. 

Modules

• Practical Legal Skills – 20 credits

  This module provides you with a working understanding of practical legal skills and professional ethical awareness in the areas of advocacy, drafting, interviewing and negotiation. The module is designed to introduce you to the type of work you would do in legal practice and inform your career aspirations. The skills you learn in this module can be highly attractive and transferable to a variety of professional spheres both inside and outside of the legal profession.    

  Compulsory

• Tort Law – 20 credits

  Tort law is the name given to the branch of law that imposes civil liability for breach of obligations owed by both individuals and organisations to one another. In this module, you will explore the foundational tort of negligence which has led to the growth of this discipline area. You will examine the kinds of damage the law permits recovery for and explore other torts such as nuisance, occupiers’ liability, trespass to the person and privacy/defamation, among others. Throughout the module, you will explore how tort law has developed in a changing social, economic and political climate, as well as how it relates to other legal areas such as contract, criminal law and human rights.

  Compulsory

• Land Law – 20 credits

  With a particular focus on land law, this module aims to acquaint you with the terminology, concepts, policy objectives and statutory schemes necessary to understand modern property law in England and Wales. It aims to provide you with the intellectual framework with which to identify, understand and resolve practical problems in property law and examine the underlying rationales which explain the current design and shape of the law of property. It will also introduce you to conveyancing practice.  

  Compulsory

• European Union Law – 20 credits

  European Union law remains hugely important to individuals and businesses both within the EU and beyond. Notwithstanding the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the Union, EU law continues to pervade many aspects of English law. Additionally, as one of the world’s largest single markets, knowledge and understanding of the European Union are crucial to any business, wherever located. Through this module, you will develop an understanding of the operation of European Union Law within the English legal system and the legal frameworks that operate within the EU. You will gain an understanding of both the public law of the European Union and the substantive rules of the internal market.  

  Compulsory

• Equity and Trusts – 20 credits

  This module introduces you to the equitable principles governing the creation, operation and administration of public and private trusts and examines the reasons for creating trusts in the contemporary social, economic and international context. Contemporary issues in this area may include the legal problems raised by crowd-funding and surplus funds, the potential problems of joint ownership of property outside of the family relationship and how philanthropy through the creation of charitable trusts provides funding that supports and advances UN Sustainable Development Goals. You will gain an understanding of the trust concept, the requirements for the creation of a valid trust, the different types of trust that may come into operation, the nature of trusteeship and liability for breach of trust. You will explore the flexibility of the trust concept, its traditional function in relation to family property and its contemporary role in commercial contexts.  

  Compulsory

• Criminal Justice – 20 credits

  Criminal justice is the system of rules and institutions that regulates potential, alleged and actual criminal activities within the limits necessary to protect individual rights and innocent individuals from wrongful treatment and conviction. In this module, you will follow a hypothetical defendant through the criminal justice process, from initial police detention through to an eventual appeal. You will examine the various stages of the process and the roles and responsibilities of different people, institutions and agencies forming the criminal justice system.  

  Compulsory

There’s no better way to find out what you love doing than trying it out for yourself, which is why a work placement² can often be beneficial. Work placements usually occur between your second and final year of study. They’re a great way to help you explore your potential career path and gain valuable work experience, whilst developing transferable skills for the future.

If you choose to do a work placement year or study abroad year, you will pay a reduced tuition fee³ of £1,250. For more information, please go to the fees and funding section. During this time you will receive guidance from your employer or partner institution, along with your assigned academic mentor who will ensure you have the support you need to complete your placement².

Whilst we would like to give you all the information about our placement/study abroad offering here, it is often tailored for each course every year and depends on the length of placement or study abroad opportunities that are secured. Therefore, the placement and study abroad arrangements vary per course and per student.  Request further information about going on a placement or study abroad year. 

Modules

• UK Work Placement– 0 credits

  This module² provides you with an opportunity to reflect upon and gain experience for an approved placement undertaken during your programme. A placement should usually be at least 26 weeks or equivalent; however, each placement will be considered on its own merits, having regard to the ability to achieve the learning outcomes.

  Optional

• International Study/Work Placement – 0 credits

  This module² provides you with an opportunity to reflect upon and gain experience for an approved international study/work placement undertaken during your programme. A work/study placement should usually be at least 26 weeks or equivalent; however, each placement will be considered on its own merits, having regard to the ability to achieve the learning outcomes.

  Optional

Year three aims to bring you to the level to enter the world of work by immersing you in the criminal trial process to develop your professional legal skills. You can choose from a variety of optional modules to tailor your degree to your interests and/or future ambitions, as well as work on a large final project in a criminal law area of your interest or participate in one of the law school’s pro- bono clinics (subject to securing a place at the Coventry Law Centre).

Modules

• Project – 40 credits

  During the project module, you will have the opportunity to apply and develop your research skills and extend your knowledge, understanding and ability to critically analyse a topic in a specialist area of interest.

  There are three routes for study in this module, which are: 

  • Route 1: An individual research-based dissertation on a topic of your choosing, supported by a project supervisor
  • Route 2: An individual work-based project report
  • Route 3: An individual work-based project report on their engagement in the Coventry Law School’s Law Clinics² (this option is subject to securing a placement at Coventry Law Centre) 

  Compulsory

• Criminal Advocacy – 20 credits

  In this module, you will follow a hypothetical defendant through the process of criminal proceedings from the moment the defendant is charged with a criminal offence. You will look at the movements of a case through the Magistrates’ Court and the Crown Court, focusing on the different types of hearing that may take place. You will get a realistic and practical insight into how a criminal advocate prepares for and fulfils their role either as an advocate at the Crown Prosecution Service or representing a person charged with a criminal offence. 

  Compulsory

• Law of Evidence – 20 credits

  The law of evidence is a wide and diverse discipline that covers how information received in a court is to be weighed and assessed in a criminal trial. This module aims to provide you with a practical and engaging insight into how the rules of evidence work in practice. The module investigates the practical impact of rules of evidence in criminal trials, including how the rules and regulations are used to decide what facts will be used in a case as proof. The module examines who in the system will investigate criminal cases and the methods of investigating cases including the means and methods of gathering and retaining evidence, the rules of admissibility and how evidence can be challenged. 

  Compulsory

• Optional Modules

  Choose any 2 optional modules from the following:

  International Criminal Law – 20 credits

  This module will explore those crimes which are considered ‘international crimes’ i.e. the most heinous crimes which operate across national borders or those within states which warrant international scrutiny. This module examines the development of International Criminal Law (ICL), beginning with the aftermath of the Second World War, before focusing on the establishment of the more contemporary international criminal courts and tribunals. You will explore the basic principles of public international law which are relevant to ICL, before looking at the four ‘core crimes’ (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression), as well as various other aspects of international criminal prosecution, including the modes of criminal responsibility, defences and the international criminal trial process. 

  Family Law - 20 credits

  This module will aim to develop your knowledge and understanding of family law, and the ways in which these areas of law operate in practice in their socio-legal context. You will primarily explore the ways in which English law regulates relationships between adult partners (in marriage, civil partnership, and co-habitation), and relationships between parents/carers and children. You will also develop your understanding of the operation of human rights law principles in family law, with a particular focus on the ways in which both private and public law operate to safeguard children and adults from violence and abuse in a family context. 

  Environmental Law - 20 credits

  This module will introduce you to the legal and policy issues surrounding the protection of the natural environment. The module will focus on the UK and its relationship to international, regional, and bi-national law as the global community seeks to adapt and mitigate the effects of a variety of environmental issues. You will study the historical development of environmental law and focus on key contemporary issues such as the responsibility of businesses towards the environment, climate change and environmental crime. 

  Law, Innovation and Intellectual Property Law - 20 credits

  Innovation is a major driver of added value and economic growth. This module considers the legal frameworks for the protection, harnessing, and exploitation of the economy of ideas. You will learn about the terminology, concepts, policy objects and statutory schemes necessary to understand Intellectual Property Law in the UK and the international protection measures which provide protection for intellectual property assets across national boundaries. You will further consider the ways in which innovation and new technologies can impact both the substance and practice of the law.  

  Company Law - 20 credits

  Registered companies conduct most of the economic activity in the United Kingdom. Therefore, lawyers and other professional persons require an understanding of the concepts that shape company law, as well as the rules that govern corporate activities. Consequently, this module aims to develop your critical understanding of the laws that govern registered companies, as well as other business models such as Partnerships and LLPs. In this module, you will examine the legal regulation of the formation, administration, financing, and governance of companies. 

  Employment Law - 20 credits

  Employment law is a dynamic subject as it responds to changing, and sometimes conflicting, economic, political and social demands, within the UK, in addition to the impact of the European Union and the wider global context. The module aims to provide you with a critical understanding of the regulation of employment by law and to place the legal rules in their broader economic and socio-political context. You will examine the legal regulation of the employment relationship from recruitment through to termination, the nature of employment and the rights and duties of both employers and employees.  

  Optional