Our taught postgraduate programme, designed to serve outstanding law students from common-law backgrounds

The course explores the foundations of the institutions of property and trusts. It combines conceptual and functional analysis of doctrine with more abstract theoretical enquiry. Ideas and perspectives are drawn from moral and political philosophy, history, and economics, as well as more formally legal, comparative and jurisprudential analyses. Some knowledge of the legal details of property in one or other legal system will be essential for students taking the course. A common-law background is not a prerequisite; much use will be made of English law and other common law systems, but we will also draw upon civilian legal systems in our explorations. The course gives students an opportunity to study fundamental institutions of private law with wide ramifications in the social sciences and humanities. Students will be exposed to the widest possible range of research and teaching in property law and trusts drawing on visiting scholars as well as Oxford faculty. The topics discussed are all ripe for exploration as areas of future research.

The course will divide into three areas: A. Boundaries of Property (conceptual and functional analysis of property) B. Justifying Property (mainstream and novel defences and critiques of property) C. The Trust (the distinctive contribution of trust and fiduciary institutions in blurring the lines between proprietary and personal claims; trust systems in common law and civilian jurisdictions)

The course will be taught by means of seminars supplemented by lectures and tutorials, led by Joshua Getzler, Simon Douglas, The Hon J Dyson Heydon, and Alexandra Braun. The core seminars are spread over Michaelmas and Hilary terms. Students will be provided with course materials accessible through the internet and the intranet, together with material in university and college libraries. Students will explore the reading materials and address a set of thematic questions, on which they will be asked to prepare brief notes. In approximately the fourth and eighth weeks of Michaelmas and Hilary terms seminars will not be given; instead tutorials will be provided in those four weeks, for which students will be asked to prepare essays on given topics. Each student will thus have the opportunity to take a set of up to four tutorials in the midst of their seminar learning across the first two terms. In Trinity Term students will be given the opportunity to consolidate their learning in occasional seminars where they will take the lead in discussion and in presenting topics, with extra readings supplied to help with deeper exploration of issues. The tutorials and third-term seminars will assist students in preparing for assessment.

Assessment will take the form of a three hour written examination at the end of the course. Candidates will be required to answer three essay questions from a wide choice of topics, which may cut across themes covered in the course. Candidates will be expected to show a detailed knowledge of relevant theoretical debates and also applicable legal materials, including judgments in cases, and statutory and constitutional provisions. They will also need to display an ability to synthesise complex materials and to present their own analysis of the arguments.

The course is taught mainly by: Joshua Getzler, Professor of Law and Legal History, Fellow of St Hugh’s College; The Hon J Dyson Heydon, Visiting Professor; Simon Douglas, CUF Lecturer in Law, Fellow of Jesus College; Alexandra Braun, CUF Lecturer in Law, Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall.

Our taught postgraduate programme, designed to serve outstanding law students from civil law backgrounds.

The course explores the foundations of the institutions of property and trusts. It combines conceptual and functional analysis of doctrine with more abstract theoretical enquiry. Ideas and perspectives are drawn from moral and political philosophy, history, and economics, as well as more formally legal, comparative and jurisprudential analyses. Some knowledge of the legal details of property in one or other legal system will be essential for students taking the course. A common-law background is not a prerequisite; much use will be made of English law and other common law systems, but we will also draw upon civilian legal systems in our explorations. The course gives students an opportunity to study fundamental institutions of private law with wide ramifications in the social sciences and humanities. Students will be exposed to the widest possible range of research and teaching in property law and trusts drawing on visiting scholars as well as Oxford faculty. The topics discussed are all ripe for exploration as areas of future research.

The course will divide into three areas: A. Boundaries of Property (conceptual and functional analysis of property) B. Justifying Property (mainstream and novel defences and critiques of property) C. The Trust (the distinctive contribution of trust and fiduciary institutions in blurring the lines between proprietary and personal claims; trust systems in common law and civilian jurisdictions)

The course will be taught by means of seminars supplemented by lectures and tutorials, led by Joshua Getzler, Simon Douglas, The Hon J Dyson Heydon, and Alexandra Braun. The core seminars are spread over Michaelmas and Hilary terms. Students will be provided with course materials accessible through the internet and the intranet, together with material in university and college libraries. Students will explore the reading materials and address a set of thematic questions, on which they will be asked to prepare brief notes. In approximately the fourth and eighth weeks of Michaelmas and Hilary terms seminars will not be given; instead tutorials will be provided in those four weeks, for which students will be asked to prepare essays on given topics. Each student will thus have the opportunity to take a set of up to four tutorials in the midst of their seminar learning across the first two terms. In Trinity Term students will be given the opportunity to consolidate their learning in occasional seminars where they will take the lead in discussion and in presenting topics, with extra readings supplied to help with deeper exploration of issues. The tutorials and third-term seminars will assist students in preparing for assessment.

Assessment will take the form of a three hour written examination at the end of the course. Candidates will be required to answer three essay questions from a wide choice of topics, which may cut across themes covered in the course. Candidates will be expected to show a detailed knowledge of relevant theoretical debates and also applicable legal materials, including judgments in cases, and statutory and constitutional provisions. They will also need to display an ability to synthesise complex materials and to present their own analysis of the arguments.

The course is taught mainly by: Joshua Getzler, Professor of Law and Legal History, Fellow of St Hugh’s College; The Hon J Dyson Heydon, Visiting Professor; Simon Douglas, CUF Lecturer in Law, Fellow of Jesus College; Alexandra Braun, CUF Lecturer in Law, Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall.

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 third term of the first year, and all three terms of the second year.

The focus of attention within the course is on interests in land: interests which do not merely operate not merely between the parties to a particular transaction involving the land, but can also affect third parties - other people coming into contact with it, such as later purchasers. Examples of such interests are the fee simple (virtually equivalent to ownership of the land), leases, easements and mortgages. The course concerns itself with questions such as: What interests count as interests in land? How are they created? Exactly when will they affect third parties?

Land Law has a well established set of principles, often regulated by statute, to govern it. In part this is because people dealing with land need to know with certainty what the result of a particular transaction will be. Even so, there are many areas of the subject which are currently being developed by case law.

The course is not about conveyancing, the buying and selling of land. It is true, however, that in Land Law we are conscious of the needs of purchasers. Thus, for example, the circumstances in which purchasers will be bound by interests are inextricably tied in with the way land is bought and sold.Land Law covers material in the “foundations of legal knowledge” and so must be taken by those seeking a professional qualification in England and Wales. Candidates in the FHS examination must offer both Land Law and Trusts.

The subject is taught in tutorials by your college tutor. For an introduction to the subject see Simon Gardner with Emily MacKenzie, An Introduction to Land Law (Hart Publishing, 3rd edn, 2012).

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.

A majority of commercial property (shops, offices, and industrial units) is rented property. Leasehold commercial property is therefore very important to the UK economy and to legal practice. This course will provide an understanding of the legal relationship of landlord and tenant in the context of the letting of commercial property. It will encourage students to think about the lease as a contractual arrangement, a proprietary estate and as a regulated instrument, and what the appropriate way is to regulate the division of interest between landlord and tenant. It should appeal to students who have enjoyed contract law, but also builds on aspects of the land law course.

For tenants, flexibility is important. If the business is successful, and its location important, it will want to stay put, even after the lease ends. If the business grows or shrinks it may need to be able to get out of the lease, by selling it or surrendering it. For many landlords, the lease is an investment and they will focus on the lease as a tool for guaranteed, low risk, but rising income. Both parties will want a property that is well maintained, but who should pay for this? The course will look at how leases balance these interests through the contract, but also at when the government has stepped in to regulate.

There are three main stages in the leasehold relationship: entering into the lease, management issues, and ending the relationship. The major influence upon the legal relationship of landlord and tenant is the lease contract negotiated between the parties. The course will therefore look at how leases are distinguishable from other occupancy relationships, and the main terms that appear in leases. In doing so, it will consider the range of factors that influence the content of the lease, such as the type and location of property, the relative negotiating strength of the parties, and wider economic and social policies. The course will also explore how leases provide for management of the property during the lease: allocating responsibility and liability for repair, how the property can be used, reviewing the rent, and servicing the property. As estates, leases can be ‘sold’ or assigned: the course will look at the ability of landlords to control the disposition of leasehold interests, and the impact that this has upon the enforcement of the leasehold covenants between both the original landlord and tenant, and between the current landlord and tenant. It will also look at rights that the tenant has to renew the lease at the end of the term. Leases usually contain ‘forfeiture’ provisions, enabling the landlord to end the lease early in the event of tenant default and the course will look at how this right has been regulated by common law and statute.

Exploring the legal relationship will, therefore, involve looking at the application of principles of land law and contract law that law students will already have encountered (such as the distinction between leases and licences, and principles of contractual interpretation) as well as the law (both statutory and common law) specific to commercial leases.

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

The focus of attention within the course is on interests in land: interests which do not merely operate not merely between the parties to a particular transaction involving the land, but can also affect third parties - other people coming into contact with it, such as later purchasers. Examples of such interests are the fee simple (virtually equivalent to ownership of the land), leases, easements and mortgages. The course concerns itself with questions such as: What interests count as interests in land? How are they created? Exactly when will they affect third parties?

Land Law has a well established set of principles, often regulated by statute, to govern it. In part this is because people dealing with land need to know with certainty what the result of a particular transaction will be. Even so, there are many areas of the subject which are currently being developed by case law.

The course is not about conveyancing, the buying and selling of land. It is true, however, that in Land Law we are conscious of the needs of purchasers. Thus, for example, the circumstances in which purchasers will be bound by interests are inextricably tied in with the way land is bought and sold.Land Law covers material in the “foundations of legal knowledge” and so must be taken by those seeking a professional qualification in England and Wales. Candidates in the FHS examination must offer both Land Law and Trusts.

The subject is taught in tutorials by your college tutor. For an introduction to the subject see Simon Gardner with Emily MacKenzie, An Introduction to Land Law (Hart Publishing, 3rd edn, 2012).

Our taught postgraduate programme, designed to serve outstanding law students from civil law backgrounds.

The focus of attention within the course is on interests in land: interests which do not merely operate not merely between the parties to a particular transaction involving the land, but can also affect third parties - other people coming into contact with it, such as later purchasers. Examples of such interests are the fee simple (virtually equivalent to ownership of the land), leases, easements and mortgages. The course concerns itself with questions such as: What interests count as interests in land? How are they created? Exactly when will they affect third parties?

Land Law has a well established set of principles, often regulated by statute, to govern it. In part this is because people dealing with land need to know with certainty what the result of a particular transaction will be. Even so, there are many areas of the subject which are currently being developed by case law.

The course is not about conveyancing, the buying and selling of land. It is true, however, that in Land Law we are conscious of the needs of purchasers. Thus, for example, the circumstances in which purchasers will be bound by interests are inextricably tied in with the way land is bought and sold.Land Law covers material in the “foundations of legal knowledge” and so must be taken by those seeking a professional qualification in England and Wales. Candidates in the FHS examination must offer both Land Law and Trusts.

The subject is taught in tutorials by your college tutor. For an introduction to the subject see Simon Gardner with Emily MacKenzie, An Introduction to Land Law (Hart Publishing, 3rd edn, 2012).

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 objective of this course is to provide students with an overview of the law of personal property, focusing in particular on underlying concepts and subjecting those concepts to a detailed, critical examination. The course aims to broaden students’ knowledge by introducing them to fundamental ideas which the FHS compulsory subjects do not cover: such as the role of the tort of conversion in protecting interests in property; and the means by which gifts of interests in property can be made. The course further aims to deepen students’ understanding of important concepts which feature in the core subjects of Land Law and Trusts: students will be re-introduced to and, more importantly, invited to re-examine concepts such as the nature of ownership and the need for security of transactions.This special subject may not be taken by any student who is also taking the standard subject Principles of Commercial Law.

i) Introductory Seminar/Lecture: 1 x 2hr session
ii) Seminars: 7 x 2hr sessions
iii) Tutorials: 4 x 1hr sessions

These sessions will be spread over MT and HT.

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 third term of the first year, and all three terms of the second year.

The institution of the Trust is one of the most important ideas in English law. Its very definition is heavily contested, but most would agree that a trust arises where someone (a trustee) nominally owns property, and may wield many of the powers of ownership, but is generally unable to take advantage of that ownership. Instead the trustee-owner holds the property to the benefit of some other person (known as a beneficiary), a class of persons, or an object such as a charitable purpose bringing benefit to the public. Trusts can arise in two main ways – by intention; or because the law has other reasons to make an owner into a trustee. The purpose of the intentional trust is to transfer wealth in a more complex way than would be easy or possible to achieve by straight-out conveyance, such as to have the property distributed on particular terms and conditions, or to disperse ownership to win tax advantages, or to allow ongoing management of the asset. There are myriad situations in which the law has other reasons to make an owner of property into a trustee; one very important one is where a couple’s home is nominally owned by only one partner, but the other partner deserves a share in it. The course looks at the scenarios in which the different kinds of trusts arise, and at how they behave.

In one respect, the course also looks outside trusts. A trustee is a fiduciary, being someone having a duty to act for another’s benefit through the control of property. But there are other examples of fiduciaries too, such as solicitors, who must act for their clients’ benefit; or agents who can contract on behalf of their principals. The course looks at the law’s control of fiduciaries in general, whether they are trustees or persons otherwise charged with promoting the interests of others.

Trusts is one of the compulsory standard subjects within the Final Honours School syllabus. It also covers material in the “foundations of legal knowledge” and so must be taken by those seeking a professional qualification in England and Wales.

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

The institution of the Trust is one of the most important ideas in English law. Its very definition is heavily contested, but most would agree that a trust arises where someone (a trustee) nominally owns property, and may wield many of the powers of ownership, but is generally unable to take advantage of that ownership. Instead the trustee-owner holds the property to the benefit of some other person (known as a beneficiary), a class of persons, or an object such as a charitable purpose bringing benefit to the public. Trusts can arise in two main ways – by intention; or because the law has other reasons to make an owner into a trustee. The purpose of the intentional trust is to transfer wealth in a more complex way than would be easy or possible to achieve by straight-out conveyance, such as to have the property distributed on particular terms and conditions, or to disperse ownership to win tax advantages, or to allow ongoing management of the asset. There are myriad situations in which the law has other reasons to make an owner of property into a trustee; one very important one is where a couple’s home is nominally owned by only one partner, but the other partner deserves a share in it. The course looks at the scenarios in which the different kinds of trusts arise, and at how they behave.

In one respect, the course also looks outside trusts. A trustee is a fiduciary, being someone having a duty to act for another’s benefit through the control of property. But there are other examples of fiduciaries too, such as solicitors, who must act for their clients’ benefit; or agents who can contract on behalf of their principals. The course looks at the law’s control of fiduciaries in general, whether they are trustees or persons otherwise charged with promoting the interests of others.

Trusts is one of the compulsory standard subjects within the Final Honours School syllabus. It also covers material in the “foundations of legal knowledge” and so must be taken by those seeking a professional qualification in England and Wales.

Our taught postgraduate programme, designed to serve outstanding law students from civil law backgrounds.

The institution of the Trust is one of the most important ideas in English law. Its very definition is heavily contested, but most would agree that a trust arises where someone (a trustee) nominally owns property, and may wield many of the powers of ownership, but is generally unable to take advantage of that ownership. Instead the trustee-owner holds the property to the benefit of some other person (known as a beneficiary), a class of persons, or an object such as a charitable purpose bringing benefit to the public. Trusts can arise in two main ways – by intention; or because the law has other reasons to make an owner into a trustee. The purpose of the intentional trust is to transfer wealth in a more complex way than would be easy or possible to achieve by straight-out conveyance, such as to have the property distributed on particular terms and conditions, or to disperse ownership to win tax advantages, or to allow ongoing management of the asset. There are myriad situations in which the law has other reasons to make an owner of property into a trustee; one very important one is where a couple’s home is nominally owned by only one partner, but the other partner deserves a share in it. The course looks at the scenarios in which the different kinds of trusts arise, and at how they behave.

In one respect, the course also looks outside trusts. A trustee is a fiduciary, being someone having a duty to act for another’s benefit through the control of property. But there are other examples of fiduciaries too, such as solicitors, who must act for their clients’ benefit; or agents who can contract on behalf of their principals. The course looks at the law’s control of fiduciaries in general, whether they are trustees or persons otherwise charged with promoting the interests of others.

Trusts is one of the compulsory standard subjects within the Final Honours School syllabus. It also covers material in the “foundations of legal knowledge” and so must be taken by those seeking a professional qualification in England and Wales.