LLB (Hons) Law with Politics & Human Rights

This module introduces the theoretical principles, institutional structures and legal practices that underpin Constitutional and Administrative Law in the UK, and their intricate relationship with human rights law.

You will develop a contextual understanding of this area, with significant emphasis on the constitutional crisis generated by Brexit. Through this you will explore fundamental constitutional law concepts from the angle of the current ‘political crisis’: parliamentary sovereignty; the Royal Prerogative; the relationship between the House of Commons and House of Lords; the separation of powers; the role of the UK Supreme Court in constitutional matters and challenges to judicial independence; devolution; the absence of a written Constitution. 

Significant emphasis is placed on the effect of the Human Rights Act on common law doctrines in public law. You will investigate the links between Brexit and the debate on the repeal of the Human Rights Act from a historic and socio-legal perspective, with direct reference to Eurosceptic and isolationist trends in the UK. The module also examines the range of public law processes that regulate the relationship between the individual and the state, with a focus on judicial review.

To bridge the gap between theory and practice, the module integrates research and public engagement activities undertaken as part of the ‘Britain in Europe’ think tank and ‘Knowing Our Rights’ (KOR) research project. This may involve meeting MPs, select committee and ‘Britain in Europe’ experts; attending research events; taking part in human rights workshops delivered at local schools as part of KOR (selected groups of students); visiting Parliament, when in session, or attending select committee hearings.

As part of the assessment strategy for this module you will have the opportunity to take part in a simulated parliamentary debate.

This module critically explores the definition, scope and application of criminal offences and the theories that underpin them. You will gain a systematic understanding of the practical, cultural, ethical, institutional and socio-political context within which these apply, with reference to feminist and human rights perspectives. Analysis will be continually informed by reference to criminalisation theories, with a view to identifying, and critically reflecting upon, liberal or more conservative interpretations. The need for reform will be critically assessed from a normative and practical, evidence-based, perspective.

We will explore themes such as general principles of criminal liability, homicide offences and non-fatal violent offences against the person, sexual offences, property offences and secondary participation in crime. Key discussions will include engagement with police station procedure and suspects’ rights, prosecutorial discretion, pleas, pre-trial hearings, and trial procedure including the exclusion of improperly obtained evidence.

The key aspects of criminal law theory that you will cover in the module are in line with relevant qualifying exam guidance, particularly the SQE1. The module also incorporates activities such as guest lectures and workshops delivered by criminal justice professionals, study visit(s) to the Old Bailey and/or local Magistrates and Crown Court, participation in relevant VR experiences and observation of/participation in mock Crown Court trial and mooting.

This module will explain the principles of English Contract Law, covering everything from the formation of a contract to the remedies available for breach. It will identify key questions and issues underlying the philosophy of Contract Law, drawing on the latest research in the field. 

Case studies will extend to niche and contemporary developments such as smart contracts (for example a computer code capable of monitoring, executing and enforcing an agreement), negotiating complex, highly lucrative, contracts (such as in multi-million television rights deals in sport or ‘on demand’ television) or studying the formation of contractual duties in the context of specialised art market transactions.

Where relevant, you will also be introduced to examples from the Contract Law of foreign jurisdictions, inviting you to reflect on cross-cultural differences and similarities in practice and in relation to wider theoretical principles.

21st-century lawyers need to be equipped with a dynamic mix of critical thinking and practical legal skills, as well as a sound understanding of how new technologies are beginning to impact on professional settings, legal research and legal analysis. 

This module will introduce you to the use of legal databases, academic referencing and other key writing and research conventions in the discipline. It covers:

• concepts of big data and AI (artificial intelligence), and how these can be deployed to construct legal cases
• the development and use of digital communications, social media, electronic videos and blogs appropriate for legal professionals
• writing conventions from across the curriculum, notably creative writing techniques which will allow you to use the English language with care and accuracy
• the art of public speaking and principles of negotiation and mediation
• law firms as businesses and relevant etiquette
• key principles of comparative law
• practical legal skills including client interviewing, advocacy/persuasive oral communication, case analysis and legal drafting 

You will have opportunities to learn from leading personalities in Law and high-impact professionals and the module will draw on Goldsmiths' unique tradition of excellence in the arts and humanities, and the dynamic network of academics and legal experts collaborating with Law at Goldsmiths.

The module is assessed through a written portfolio which may include advocacy exercises or simulated negotiations and mediation; provision of written advice to a fictional client; producing a case comment or bibliographical list; researching and writing blog posts; researching and drafting skeleton argument; preparing legal bundles in the context of mooting exercises.

Delivered in very close proximity to the heart of legal London, this module introduces students to domestic sources of law and key institutions of the English Legal System, including fundamental principles and rules of the civil justice system, in line with the new qualifying examinations for solicitors and barristers (e.g. regarding permitted rights of audience) (the corresponding principles of the criminal justice system are covered in the ‘Criminal Law Theory and Practice’ module).

The module adopts a highly contextual and cosmopolitan approach. Systematic visits to legal courts and other venues of legal significance in London give students a deeper understanding of how these institutions work in reality, and how professional parties operate in practice. Principles, rules and institutional aspects of the English Legal System are also compared and contrasted with selected examples from foreign and international jurisdictions; Canada, the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, France, Greece, the European Court of Human Rights, the Court of Justice of the European Union and International Court of Justice can be indicatively mentioned.

Students are enabled to conceptualise the English Legal System in the institutional and professional context within which it applies, from a domestic, comparative and international law perspective.

As part of formative assessment, students are also given the opportunity to put theory into action. They take part in comparative ‘mock trial’ exercises that offer a representation of trials in common law and Continental European law. These mock trials lead students to draw conclusions about the differences and similarities between common law and civil law institutions.

On this module, you will be introduced to several major thinkers in the modern history of political thought. It will begin with those individuals usually taken to be the founders of the modern discipline such as Machiavelli, Hobbes and Locke, moving on to explore the eminent critics and defenders of the Enlightenment and European capitalist modernity such as Rousseau, J.S. Mill, Hegel, Marx, and Arendt, and culminate in an examination of two leading figures from the Global South, namely, Gandhi and Fanon. In the process of reading these thinkers’ seminal texts, we will tackle key themes and concepts addressed in their writings such as republicanism, sovereignty, justice, human nature, natural rights, liberty, property, democracy, equality, citizenship, revolution, alienation and violence.

In addition to providing students with an introduction to a series of thinkers who have decisively impacted the way we understand politics today; the module will lay out a more critical vantage point on what is conventionally taken to comprise the “canon” of Western political thought. Assessing thinkers such as Locke, Mill, Hegel, Marx and Arendt through a “decolonial” lens, it takes seriously those issues which have often been neglected and overlooked in the study of the history of modern political thought, such as slavery, settler colonialism, patriarchy and gender, race and racism, as well as imperialism and domination. This “decolonial” approach to modern political theory aims to recast the classic thinkers of Western political thought in a new light, as well as place them in conversation with thinkers from the Global South who for the most part have been either ignored or intentionally excluded from the discipline.

One of the paradoxes of the EU referendum in the UK, and the decision to leave the European Union, was that EU law has become overnight a hotly debated and controversial area of law, and one that future lawyers practising in the UK will need to continue to master, arguably for years, if not decades, to come (whereas in the past, EU law was often devoid of attention, at the socio-political landscape at least). The Law programme at Goldsmiths takes a novel and dynamic approach to teaching this area of Law, fully equipping future lawyers with the knowledge and skills that you will be required to possess, at a time when the UK has disentangled itself from thousands of pieces of EU legislation and designed domestic legislation to substitute for them.

The ‘EU Law and the UK’ module will introduce you to the key EU institutions and EU law fundamental principles, for example with regards to the legislative mechanisms by which EU law is produced and incorporated in Member States, and the relationship between EU law and domestic law. But it will take you further than that. It will place the operation of EU law in the UK in its, critical, historical and current socio-political context, asking whether the often-obscure institutional mechanisms and characteristics central to EU law played a part in, or actually facilitated, the negative representations to which it was subjected in British media.

The EU referendum will be examined as a case study for the analysis of Eurosceptic challenges facing the application of EU law today in several EU member states, with a view to suggesting avenues for enhancing transparency and accessibility of EU law and its institutions. It will take a forward-looking approach, exposing you to challenges and opportunities concerning the UK’s future relationship with the EU, e.g. in relation to future trade agreements, citizens’ rights, free movement etc.

To achieve the above, the module will take you outside and beyond the classroom, bringing you in contact with key players in current debates on EU law e.g. MPs, Members of European Parliament (MEPs), Human Rights NGO experts, policymakers and members of EU institutions. This will be in the context of: (a) guest lectures by visiting fellows in the Goldsmiths law programme and EU officials; Law at Goldsmiths is privileged to count MEPs and key European policy experts amongst its fellows; (b) participation in research and public engagement events organized at Goldsmiths and in legal London; (c) participation in simulation-based activity, e.g. regarding EU-UK negotiations, or EU trilogies between the key institutional parties.

This module equips students with a sound understanding of, and the ability to critically analyse and apply, the theories underpinning the law of Tort. It introduces students to the concepts of civil wrongs and injuries, compensation, the protecting of interests in property, reputation and personal freedom.

Key themes will include: the law of negligence (where students will explore key concepts such as omissions and acts of third parties, duty of care, standard of care, breach of duty of care), special liability regimes (occupiers’ liability, product liability, employers’ liability, breach of statutory duty), personal torts (invasion of privacy and defamation), land torts (trespass), vicarious liability and damages for death and personal injuries.

The module will offer students opportunities to engage with the intellectually challenging philosophical questions which define how far liability under Tort should extend, for example the extent to which a person should be vicariously held accountable for the mistakes of others or whether liability should be negligence-based or stricter. It will also expose students to international and foreign law perspectives, placing English law in a global context. European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence will provide a key point of reference, concerning human rights violations by states and businesses.

This module provides an introduction to a complex area of law, which forms part of the foundations of legal knowledge in UK law. It will take areas of certainty, based in statutory law, as its starting point, and will expose you to modern developments underpinned by case law.

Key themes include:

• registration of title
• the transfer of freehold land
• adverse possession
• consecutive and concurrent interests in land
• co-ownership
• leasehold estates
• mortgages
• easements
• protection of interests in land
• registered land and unregistered land

Special workshops led by legal professionals will address aspects of functioning legal knowledge relevant to Land Law, in line with the requirements of the new solicitors qualifying examination (SQE).

This module introduces the idiosyncratic concept of Trusts in English law. You will be exposed to the philosophies that underpin the institution of Trusts, and invited to think critically about the application of Trusts in practice, some of which raise significant ethical concerns, such as their application in the context of tax havens. 

Key themes include the creation and recognition of trusts, the regulation of trusts, trusts and third parties, and equity.

Special workshops led by legal professionals will address aspects of functioning legal knowledge relevant to Equity and Trusts, with a focus on Wills and the Administration of Estates and Trusts, in line with the requirements of the new solicitors qualifying examination (SQE).

In this module, you'll learn to place international law within its political context. You will consider how international relations and politics impact on the contours of international law, and how international law can be used as a tool for conducting international relations.

It asks the following questions: is international law really law or is it a mere continuation of politics? How does international law affect how we live in the UK? Is Palestine a State? Can Catalonia or Scotland lawfully breakaway from, respectively, Spain and the UK? Is the ICJ an independent Court or is it controlled by States? Is international law patriarchal? Is it inclusive of the global South? Or does it merely represent the views of the ‘West’, of the rich and powerful? To explore these questions, the module provides a brief introduction to the theory and nature of international law. The nature of some political ideologies is explored with reference to their consequences for international law and in particular on international institutions, security and today’s global issues.

You will:

• Investigate how political ideologies shape various conceptions of international law and its sources
• Explore which entities can pretend to the status of State, the politics involved in the recognition of new states, as well as the implications of the principle of self-determination for groups seeking independence
• Explore the role of international organisations and non-State actors and entities such as individuals, corporations or military factions in international law
• Look at the politics of dispute settlement, the legitimacy of the use of private justice and examine the political dimension of the ICJ’s jurisdiction
• Look at the relationship between domestic and international law

To achieve the above, you'll be taken outside and beyond the classroom, getting contact with key players such as NGO experts, policymakers and members of international institutions. This will be in the context of e.g. (a) guest lectures by visiting fellows in the Goldsmiths law programme and other officials; (b) study visits or other involvement with London based UN agencies such as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees UK, the UN Global Compact Network UK or the IMO; (c) participation in simulation-based activity (model UN activities, participation in international law moots such as the Jessup).

This module will be beneficial because of the ever-widening reach of international law, there is a growing demand for practitioners and in-house lawyers with knowledge of the field. In addition, this module will be of appeal to those interested in a career in foreign affairs and the public service, the UN and other inter-governmental organisations as well as the NGO sector.

The Law with Politics and Human Rights dissertation is a structured piece of writing, supported by the sustained investigation of topics relating to Law, Politics and human rights, and/or their interactions. Writing an extended piece of work in this area will be an intellectually rewarding process, which will impart essential law-related and transferable skills.

At the same time, the dissertation requires careful planning, the investment of a significant number of hours dedicated to research, the ability to work independently, but also the ability to create a productive partnership with your tutor, listening and responding to advice, and generating original work in the process.

An important aspect of the dissertation is undertaking the research that will enable you to define a sufficiently narrow topic within the wider area of Law, Politics and human rights, which will be prone for detailed analysis and will lead you to engage critically with, and add value to scholarship in the area.

The dissertation also offers a unique opportunity to put into action the writing, legal reasoning and research skills acquired over the course of your degree.

A range of methods can be adopted, including undertaking socio-legal research which may be empirical or normative and may focus on national law or extend to comparative and international legal perspectives.

The dissertation module will include lectures and seminars, where students will be provided with guidance on how to research and structure their dissertation, and where they will be exposed to developments and contemporary debates within Law, Politics and human rights.
These seminars will provide students with a unique opportunity to work with Law academics, Goldsmiths academics from other departments, Law Visiting Professors, and other external partners, who will have leading expertise within Law, Politics and human rights.
These seminars will also provide a platform for students and academics teaching in the programme to engage in relevant interactive exercises, study visits and public engagement work. Activities will include attendance in research seminars, public debates, film screenings, exhibitions, and other events of interest to Law, Politics and human rights, at Goldsmiths and in the city.

Students will be required to attend a specified number of lectures/seminars and events, and produce a learning log in which they will articulate their learning experience and its relevance to their dissertation.

Producing a learning log and orally presenting an outline of the dissertation will be formatively assessed in this module.

This module will offer students the opportunity to take part in Goldsmiths’ Human Rights Clinic.

This involves a range of activities, such as:

• Advising clients: Some students will work alongside barristers or solicitors specialising in human rights adjudication. They will research relevant topics such as immigration, housing, data protection, and will advise clients, under supervision, on the human rights dimensions of their cases. Students will be introduced to general principles of clinical legal education and ethics, and related skills, such as client interviewing and legal drafting.
• Participation in Knowing Our Rights project: This will involve participation in a number of research activities such as school human rights workshops, researching human rights jurisprudence, blogging, participation in research events and the production of short human rights videos.
• Participation in Human Rights mooting competitions: Students will be entered into ELSA’s annual European Court of Human Rights Mooting Competition and/or the ‘Knowing Our Rights’ annual inter-University mooting competition.

Students may be able to take part in only one or all of the above. Specific details about clinical supervision, and the ECtHR and Knowing Our Rights moots, will be made available by the department on an annual basis.

In addition to the clinical elements, this module will provide students with a solid foundation in European human rights law as it applies in the United Kingdom. It will focus on the application of specific rights in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), as case studies that will shed light on the general philosophies that underpin its operation in practice.

The ECHR’s application in the UK and the debate on UK withdrawal from the Convention and the potential repeal of the Human Rights Act, will be used as a case study of the political, cultural and institutional factors that can affect the implementation of international human rights in domestic jurisdictions.

The law of the ECHR will also be examined in parallel with rights protected under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, with reference to the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union. This will allow you to obtain a holistic view of, and critically reflect upon, the state of human rights in the UK, particularly after withdrawal from the European Union.

The module will incorporate guest lectures by leading European Human Rights experts, attendance in research seminars and study visits to areas of interest, including an annual visit to the European Court of Human Rights for selected students.

The module adopts an innovative ‘assessment by student participation’ method, where students are given marks for the level of contribution they make to learning in the classroom and the quality of their performance in relevant clinical and experiential learning activities.

Fascism was the twentieth century’s most destructive political force. Yet its aggressive, antidemocratic nationalism found mass appeal in many countries around the world, notoriously Italy and Germany. Still today, fascist movements and ideologies retain considerable allure. Yet the defining features, causes, and effects of fascism remain in dispute. This module explores the character of fascism as both a historical and contemporary phenomenon. It asks what features make it distinctive, what conditions make it possible, and how it manages to attract supporters. We consider fascist ideas, strategies and techniques, as well as ‘transnational’ variations, and ask what makes its promise of national ‘rebirth’ appealing today.

This module focuses on the political and cultural economy of finance through the empirical lens of the global economy. It seeks to foster a deeper understanding of finance as a technical practice but also as a powerful transformative process that shapes politics and public policy.

*In order to study this module you must have taken Economics modules at levels 4 and 5.

This research-led module explores the entanglements between migration, humanitarianism and technology in Europe and at its external frontiers. The module focuses on how migrants are controlled through technologies and managed by humanitarian actors and measures; simultaneously, it analyses how migrants and refugees use technology and how human rights organizations and activists strategically appropriate technological tools to support migrants. The module engages with debates and literature in Politics & International Relations which deal with humanitarianism, security and technologies as well as their mutual articulations as strategic terrains of governance, activism and resistance. It explores how to rethink both collective and individual subjects in light of digital technologies and their contestations.

The course is divided into three main sections. The first section will illustrate how migrants are governed by humanitarian measures, and how these latter are entangled with processes of securitization of migration. It will explore the recent transformation of the European asylum politics, drawing attention to humanitarian-security mechanisms and to the centrality of border cooperation with African countries in the European migration agenda. The second section will focus on how technologies are used for purposes of surveillance and control, with a specific focus on forced migration. The module will look at how digital technologies function to identify migrants (biometrics) and to govern them at a distance (monitoring tools, data exchange activities) in the Mediterranean Sea as well as along land borders. It will analyse the crucial role played by digital frontiers in border cooperation between the EU and third-countries. In the third part, the module will centre on the different political uses and appropriations of digital technologies by migrants, activists and as part of citizen mobilisations. It will take into account critical migration scholarship on border controls and migrant subjectivities (autonomy of migration theory).

The module will touch upon the following topics:

• Humanitarian and security policies to manage migration
• The asylum system in Europe
• Techno-humanitarianism and refugees
• The digital frontiers of Europe
• Governing migration at a distance
• The EU politics of border exernalisation in Africa
• Migrants, technology and resistance
• Digital activism and criminalization of solidarity

This course explores the intersection between popular music and politics. It starts from the premise that ‘the political’ is a site of contestation whose parameters are constantly being rearticulated by multiple cultural practices, including music.

Three limitations provide the course with a coherent focus. First, while the historical relationship of music and politics extends back to (at least) ancient Greek tragedy, the subject matter is limited to contemporary, i.e. post-World War Two music. Second, while many late 20th century classical, avant-garde and jazz artists have engaged with politics, the course focuses on ‘popular’ music, broadly defined. Third, while music has often been deployed in the service of state power, the onus is on music associated with political movements that have sought to challenge established orders.

The course, then, explores popular music as a conduit for, expression by which, and manifestation of political struggle, protest and contestation.

Whereas it is standard to focus on the popular music/politics nexus exclusively with respect to US and UK experiences this course has a broader purview, exploring this dynamic within and between societies and cultures across the world.

The course also explores the music/politics relationship beyond the obvious messaging of political lyrics. It assumes that the politics of music are communicated through (and limited by) a complex of cultural systems – song structures, album artwork, music videos, fanzines, fashion, concert rituals, the music press, the recording industry, social media etc. which can reinforce, rearticulate and importantly distort or undermine intended political gestures or meanings.

In terms of material to be studied, while academic literature is important, students will be encouraged to listen to and think critically about songs, albums and videos as texts which either implicitly or explicitly engage or challenge the political.

Some of the substantive themes the course will address include: the contribution of folk and soul music to the US Civil Rights Movement; the struggles of Tropicália and Afrobeat with military dictatorships in Brazil and Nigeria; black consciousness in US Hip-Hop and Rap; class and race in Punk and post-punk in the UK and Europe; the feminist politics of the Riot Grrrl movement; transnational anti-globalisation music activism in Latin America and the US; the spatial politics of Electronic Dance Music; the postcolonial iterations of European Rap and Heavy Metal in the Middle East; xi K-Pop and the political economy of hybridity.

This module examines the impact of European integration on British politics, policymaking and political culture since the middle of the twentieth century.

It will examine the effect of the legacies of British Great Power and imperial status upon its relationship to European integration. Whilst this module will examine the interaction of successive British governments and the dynamics of party politics in the shaping of European policy, it will also employ a broader sociological and historical perspective to determine whether or not Britain was a ‘reluctant European’ before joining the EEC in 1973 and an ‘awkward partner’ ever since it joined. 

Colonialism and imperialism were among the most important and defining processes of the last few centuries. Western imperialism remade both ‘East’ and ‘West’, and it served to create the ‘modernity’ which we now all inhabit.

This module begins by looking at the colonising process before going on to introduce students to some of the ways in which the non-Western world confronted the violence and inequality of colonialism.

Focusing on specific thinkers and themes, it engages with the political thought of significant intellectuals and political leaders (including MK Gandhi, Nehru, and Fanon), and examines different forms of anti-colonial politics, including nationalism, socialism and ‘third-worldism’.

The module considers the development of feminism as a political ideology and a social movement through history and explores how feminist theory, policy and activism have developed in relation to each other to address pressing contemporary issues around the world. The module analyses empirical and theoretical aspects of feminist politics, drawing upon a range of feminist theorists and using examples from various world regions and time periods.

By examining the conceptual and empirical impact of feminism upon the study of politics this module introduces students to the complex ways in which gender relations permeate both formal institutions and societal relations. Feminist theory has provided a radical and challenging critique of mainstream political ideology and the module will consider the various contributions of thinkers such as bell hooks, Judith Butler and Andrea Dworkin, alongside the recent turn towards intersectionality.

The module considers specific substantive topics, such as reproductive justice, violence against women and pornography, as a means of exploring the application of feminist theory, the development of legislation, and the mobilisation of activism and campaigns. Underpinning this analysis, we will be reflecting upon the wide range of protest repertoires activists use to further the goals of the feminist movement. 

This module offers an alternative take on the politics of liberalism, through emphasizing the concept of government, as it has developed since the late 18th century. While optimistic and normative theories of liberalism stress its commitment to individual rights and legal freedoms, the approach taken by this module is to view it more sociologically and empirically, in terms of the instruments of control and intervention which make it possible to influence and know how seemingly autonomous individuals will behave.

This is a theoretical and empirical approach commonly associated with the work of Michel Foucault, which will be covered in the module, in addition to other similar critical perspectives. By focusing on government (and, later in the module, governance), students will be invited to view liberalism partly as a problem of expertise, scientific knowledge, identification of socio-economic problems, measurement and management. It will suggest to students that the history of liberal politics is inextricably entangled with efforts to achieve scientific knowledge of those who make up a liberal society. 

This forward-looking module draws on Goldsmith’s strengths in the areas of technology and creativity, and its rich heritage of fostering original thinking and innovation. The module asks novel questions about rapidly changing, highly sophisticated technologies, their impact on society and how they risk (or promise) to transform the legal profession.

Law is always playing catch-up with modern technology and this module will provide you with the technological, systemic, ethical and cultural understanding to keep abreast of new technologies, and to provide critical responses to them, including in relation to the risks for fundamental human rights.

Teaching on the module will be interdisciplinary. You will engage with tech experts and firms leading in the development, proliferation and use of such technologies, who will provide an essential understanding of how these technologies work in practice, what they aim to do and how they affect us. Legal experts will then raise critical questions about how law can (and whether it should) regulate such technologies, and the logistical and ethical challenges that arise when attempting to do so.

Specific areas of discussion will range from year to year. Key debates will include:

• data protection, and how the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is changing the existing landscape
• the challenges and opportunities in the use of Big Data; the ‘Cambridge Analytica’ scandal will provide an important case study. The class will reflect on the implications of global corporations and governmental authorities obtaining access to such data
• cybercrime and the regulation of internet communications, particularly in the social media environment; these will be analysed through the lens of the conflict between privacy and freedom of speech
• the impact of disruptive technologies on existing markets, and how far can regulation go: ‘Uber’, ‘Netflix’, the ‘Blockchain’ technology and regulation of crypto-currencies like ‘bitcoin’ will provide interesting case studies
• cloud computing and the risks for data protection and the right to privacy
• AI’s implications on the workplace: the first stages in the recruitment process may soon have little human interaction or AI may be used to defeat latent bias in recruitment and reduce the gender pay gap; how should Law respond to these developments?
• Ethics and AI: can artificial intelligence make a value judgment in a ‘lesser evil’ scenario, for example would a self-driving car be programmed to protect its passengers at all costs and what should be the implications where it decides to do so at the cost of an innocent bystander? Or how should we conceptualise criminal liability where it is a robot that has committed a mistake, for example in conducting a medical operation?

This module offers students an outstanding opportunity to put legal theory into practice, hone legal skills, obtain a solid understanding of potential career destinations and develop a professional ethos and other transferable skills.

The module involves spending 14 days in total on a work placement.

Students complete the 14 days of work placement (112 hours) over the summer between year 2 and year 3 of their programme (exceptions may be possible if significant placement opportunities arise over the course of Year 2 of the programme and a student’s timetable allows them sufficient time to undertake such an opportunity).

During the spring term, students participate in relevant workshops, delivered by the Careers Service, that prepare them for placement.

Also during the spring term, students complete 10 hours of trial observations, which must take place in at least two different courts; the choice of courts is entirely of the student taking the placement module.

The module offers students placement opportunities in relevant legal firms and organisations such as solicitor firms, barrister chambers, legal advice centres, Citizens’ Advice Bureaus, social justice organisations, human rights NGOs, Law Clinics.

The department may also offer placements with an academic research emphasis, for example as part of work undertaken in the Britain in Europe thinktank and Knowing Our Rights research project that it hosts.

Commercial Law is continuously evolving, with new legal concepts and frameworks being designed to offer businesses sufficient flexibility in an increasingly competitive globalised environment. This module will introduce you to the key philosophies and practices that underpin this process.

Key themes will include: the law of agency (creation of the agency relationship, the authority of an agent, relations between principal and agent), the law relating to the domestic sale of goods (transfer of title, perishing of goods, delivery and payment, implied terms and statutory rights) and methods of payment, finance, and security.

Significant emphasis will be placed on international trade agreements, particularly in the context of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union. First, the module will analytically inquire about the possibilities, challenges and opportunities in relation to trade with the EU after Brexit. It will look at the Customs Union and solutions that may lie outside the latter when pursuing a strong trade agreement with the EU. EFTA, GATT and WTO Law will be examined in that respect.

Analysis will then move on to non-EU trade, investigating how UK businesses could be offered certainty while the UK will be transitioning the dozens of trade agreements that the EU has in place with third countries, and considering the legal and logistical obstacles to agreeing new trade deals. Plans for bilateral agreement with the United States, India, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Switzerland will provide the focus of much discussion in this part. From a wider philosophical angle, the above will create scope for critical reflection on the idea of this ‘new age of bilateralism’ as a populist device.

The pioneering Art Law module at Goldsmiths is strongly grounded in the university’s rich heritage in the creative arts. The Department of Art, which has a leading reputation internationally and whose academics, students and graduates form part of London’s dynamic art world, provides a unique backdrop against which students in the LLB (Hons) Law will critically explore the interactions between their discipline and the world of art.

The module will start by introducing students to essential knowledge and understanding of contemporary art. It will then focus on providing you with a sound understanding of the legal principles that concern the operation of the commercial art world, and the ability to engage in critical analysis and evaluation of contemporary issues in art and law. You may explore the formation of contracts in art market transactions, corporate practice in the art world, the application of intellectual property law (for example copyright and moral rights) to artistic work, artists’ rights in relation to their work, and cultural heritage restrictions to the international trade of art, among other topics. 

Graduates from the LLB (Hons) Law programme who take Art Law as an option will be well placed to pursue a career in commercial art galleries, auction houses, fine art insurance, museums and similar. This is a competitive but lucrative and continually growing area of law, with the UK performing for many years as the second largest art market in the world.

Companies play a critical role in modern society, as the key mechanism for the conduct of business. How companies are regulated and operate has major ramifications for the economy of a country and the wellbeing of its citizens, particularly from the viewpoint of the protection of their fundamental rights as consumers and individual human beings.

This module will provide you with a thorough grounding in the key principles and jurisprudence underpinning UK company law. It will introduce you to European dimensions of company law and generate discussion on regulation post-Brexit, considering that UK company law has been influenced and shaped for over 40 years by legislation inspired and developed by the EU.

Ethical issues deriving from analysis of failures in corporate governance will also attract attention, particularly with reference to the relationship between directors and shareholders, and companies’ responsibility to society more generally.

Other topics discussed will include corporate personality and limited liability; raising capital; the constitution of the capital; corporate management; corporate governance; corporate rescue and liquidations.

Finally, in line with the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), the module will provide you with elements of functioning legal knowledge relevant to business law and practice, and will give you the opportunity to hone relevant skills in experiential learning activities. This could include advising a business start-up to meet a business’s objectives or applying the understanding of principles of contract law to advise a business client entering into a contractual arrangement.

Studying the law of Criminal Evidence will be a primary focus for all students wishing to enter the Bar or practice in criminal law more generally. This module will equip you with a sophisticated understanding of, and the ability to apply, the rules relating to the admissibility, use and appreciation of evidence in criminal trials.

Throughout the module, you will explore topics such as confessions; the right to silence and the privilege against self-incrimination; identification evidence; undercover police operations; exclusionary rules for evidence obtained in violation of human rights; character evidence; and the course of evidence, with a focus on examination in chief and cross-examination.

The module adopts a legal cosmopolitanism approach. It will examine domestic legislation, case law and practice through the lens of international human rights and comparative law. The right against torture, the right to fair trial and the right to privacy will provide the required focus with regards to the former; the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights will be a key point of reference in that respect. Examples from Commonwealth countries, the United States, France, Ireland, the Netherlands and Greece will ensure that sufficient comparative law coverage is provided, and that strengths and weaknesses of English common law come to the surface.

As well as learning about the theory of the law of Criminal Evidence, you will gain crucial advocacy skills through guest lectures by leading practitioners. These skills are then put into action, and assessed, in the context of participation in mooting competitions. 

The module adopts an innovative ‘assessment by student participation’ method, where students are given marks for the quality of their participation in mooting.

This module will provide you with a solid foundation for the second stage of the new solicitors qualifying examinations (SQE2), and the Bar qualifying equivalent.

It will introduce you to the five practical legal skills assessments that form part of SQE2:

• Client Interviewing
• Advocacy/Persuasive Oral Communication
• Case and Matter Analysis
• Legal Research and Written Advice
• Legal Drafting

The teaching and assessment of these skills will be set in the following contexts:

• Business Practice
• Wills and the Administration of Justice 

The module adopts an innovative ‘assessment by student participation’ method, where students are given marks for the quality of their participation in relevant legal practice activities.

This module is designed in line with the ‘SQE – Draft Assessment Specification’ document published in June 2017. Appropriate adjustments will be made to the content of this module to accommodate any changes in related SRA guidance and forthcoming guidance by the Bar Standards Board.