Law Moderations are preliminary examinations in Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, and Roman Law, taken at the end of the second term in the first year of the BA. Students must pass them in order to continue in the BA; the degree is awarded on the basis of the FHS Examinations.

The course deals with the following: (i) General principles of criminal liability: actus reus and mens rea, omissions, causation, negligence, strict liability, complicity and inchoate offences. (ii) General defences. (iii) The law relating to offences against the person (including sexual offences) and offences against property and other economic interests.The subject requires attention to cases and statutes, and is an important bridge to subjects studied for the Final Honour School. It is hoped that students will find it interesting for its intellectual challenge, as well as for the colourful material. Criminal Law covers material in the “foundations of legal knowledge” and so must be taken by those seeking a professional qualification in England and Wales. There are lectures on most of the major topics in the course, and tutorials will be arranged by your college tutor.

Students taking the BA in Jurisprudence with Senior Status may choose to take Criminal Law as an option in the Final Honour School and these students will in general cover seven topics in tutorials. (In topic 8, only the first part – relating to the Criminal Damage Act 1971 – is examinable; the remainder of topic 8 listed in the teaching convention below will be the subject of lectures but is not examinable in the FHS version of the course.)

The degree is awarded on the basis of nine final examinations at the end of the three-year course (or four years in the case of Law with Law Studies in Europe) and (for students who began the course in October 2011 or later) an essay in Jurisprudence written over the summer vacation at the end of the second year. Note: the Jurisprudence exam at the end of the third year is correspondingly shorter. This phase of the Final Honour School includes the first and second term of the final year; the Final Examinations are taken in the third term of the final year.

The course is not available for those who have taken the subject in Law Moderations and is intended for those who have transferred to Law after Mods, and for senior status students. The syllabus is the same as for the Law Moderations course, but only covers topics 1 - 7 (it does not include topic 8). The paper in the Final Honour School is examined separately, and is intended to be more challenging.Criminal Law covers material in the “foundations of legal knowledge” and so must be taken (if not taken in Law Moderations) by those seeking a professional qualification in England and Wales. The subject is taught in tutorials arranged by your college tutor.

A one-year sample of courses from our BA programmes, aimed only at students visiting from our partner universities.

The course is not available for those who have taken the subject in Law Moderations and is intended for those who have transferred to Law after Mods, and for senior status students. The syllabus is the same as for the Law Moderations course, but only covers topics 1 - 7 (it does not include topic 8). The paper in the Final Honour School is examined separately, and is intended to be more challenging.Criminal Law covers material in the “foundations of legal knowledge” and so must be taken (if not taken in Law Moderations) by those seeking a professional qualification in England and Wales. The subject is taught in tutorials arranged by your college tutor.