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.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Roman Law

This subject is an introduction to legal concepts and legal thought, which for centuries have been directly influenced by Roman Law. The course therefore shows where many of the ideas which we take for granted have come from. The course is based on primary materials, the set texts from Gaius (second century AD) and Justinian (sixth century AD). The texts are studied in translation. No Latin is needed, nor is Latin an advantage. Contact with primary materials is one of the great merits of the study of law. It allows the mind to form its own judgments, freed from second-hand opinions.

The course has five sections: I. Sources of Law and the Scheme of the Institutes; II. Property; III. Obligations (A) Contract, (B) Delict (Tort); IV. Influence of Roman Law. There are lecture courses on each section, on the first, third and fifth section in Michaelmas Term and on the second and fourth section in Hilary Term. There are also tutorials arranged by your college tutor. Within this structure it is possible to introduce most of the principal concepts and distinctions which are still of importance in modern law. The two great categories, property and obligations, comprehend most of the private law encountered in ordinary life and legal practice. The first and last sections provide an opportunity to see how enormously influential the Institutes and the Digest have been in the western legal tradition and introduce, from a comparative perspective, the principal kinds of law-making, namely legislation and interpretation.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Constitutional and Administrative Law

This course covers the law of the constitution, including the structure and basic principles of the British constitution, and the impact of European Community law on the constitution. It also provides an introduction to the protection of human rights in English law.

Constitutional Law covers material in the “foundations of legal knowledge” and so must be taken by those seeking a profession qualification in England and Wales.Students taking the BA in Jurisprudence (Course 1 and Course 2) take Constitutional Law as one of the three papers for Law Moderations and will in general cover eight topics in tutorials. Students taking the BA in Jurisprudence with Senior Status may choose to take Constitutional Law as an option in the Final Honour School and these students will in general cover seven topics in tutorials. The examination papers for both Law Moderations and the Final Honour School will consist of ten essay questions.

The precise pattern of tutorial teaching varies from college to college but the faculty expects that tutors will include the items listed in bold type in the Teaching Convention. Lectures are given in Michaelmas and Hilary Terms on most aspects of the course. Please see the core reading list for more detailed guidance as to the depth of knowledge required of the topics listed in the Teaching Convention.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Criminal Law

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). Phase I of the Final Honour School includes the third term of the first year, and all three terms of the second year.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Constitutional and Administrative Law

Administrative Law is concerned primarily with judicial control of the activities of the executive branch of government. The main topics covered are: (1) the grounds on which decisions and rules made by the executive can be challenged in the court - some of these relate to the substance of the decision or rule and others to the procedure by which it was made; (2) the remedies which can be obtained by applicants challenging administrative decisions; (3) the liability of public authorities in contract and tort.Some tutors also deal with tribunals, public local inquiries, next steps agencies, contracting out and public sector ombudsmen. Some of these topics are the subject of lectures, which also occasionally deal with more theoretical aspects of the subject. Administrative Law is now 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. The subject is taught in tutorials arranged by your college tutor.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Law of Obligations

The syllabus comprises the general principles of the law governing enforceable agreements. It is not concerned with special rules governing specific types of contracts, such as sale, carriage or employment. The principal topics normally discussed are: (a) the rules relating to the formation of agreements and to certain further requirements which must be satisfied to make agreements legally enforceable; (b) the contents of a contract and the rules governing the validity of terms which exclude or restrict liability; (c) the nature and effects in a contractual context of mistake, misrepresentation, duress and undue influence; (d) the general principle that right and duties arising under a contract can only be enforced by and against the parties to it; (e) performance and breach, including the right to terminate for failure in performance and the effects of wrongful repudiation; (f) supervening events as a ground of discharge under the doctrine of frustration; (g) remedies for breach of contract by way of damages, action for the agreed sum, specific performance and injunction. (h) the basis of contractual liability.

Contract is one of the compulsory standard subjects within the Final Honour 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.

The subject is taught in tutorials arranged by your college tutor. Particular areas are also explored in lectures.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Jurisprudence

Jurisprudence is one of the compulsory standard subjects within the Final Honour School syllabus. The subject affords an opportunity to reflect in a disciplined and critical way on the structure and functions of law and legal institutions and systems, on the nature of legal reasoning and discourse, and/or on the connections between law and morality and/or between law and other human relationships and characteristics. In some places it would be called theory of law or philosophy of law.

The content of the course is therefore deliberately broad and flexible. College tutors offer widely differing ranges of topics and reading lists, and the examination therefore makes full allowance for the diversity of approaches and materials. (Knowing that the examiners change only incrementally the range of issues from which questions are drawn, and the kinds of questions posed, tutors have an eye to former examination papers in designing their reading lists).

For many years the examination has comprised sixteen questions from which candidates are invited to choose any three. While general, the questions are typically precise and pointed. What is looked for is the ability to bring closely to bear on them the student’s own thought, with appropriate reference both to books or articles within the domain and to other legal subjects studied by the candidate.

A lecture series called ‘Jurisprudence: A Guide through the Subject’ is offered annually in Hilary Term, in which several lecturers work in relay to provide a broad overview of major themes. Details of this and many other aspects of the course can be found on the Jurisprudence website

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Property and Trusts

The focus of attention within the course is on interests in land: interests which have effect not merely between the parties to a transaction but also affect people who later purchase the land. 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 purchasers of the land?

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 Lawson and Rudden, The Law of Property (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition) or Gardner, An Introduction to Land Law (Hart Publishing, 2nd edn, 2009).

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Law of Obligations

Tort is one of the compulsory standard subjects within the Final Honour 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. The law of tort is mainly concerned with providing compensation for personal injury and damage to property, but also protects other interests, such as reputation, personal freedom, title to property, enjoyment of property, commercial interests.The subject is taught in tutorials arranged by your college tutor. Lectures in Michaelmas and Trinity terms cover most, but not all, of the topics on the agreed reading list. Revision lectures on contract and tort take place in Hilary term.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Property and Trusts

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 outside property-holding 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 holding assets 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.

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). Phase II 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.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for European Union Law

The law of the European Union is based largely on the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union, and legislation made under the Treaties by the Council, the Parliament, and the Commission. The case law of the European Courts is of considerable importance and looms large in the study of EU law. EU law takes immediate effect in English Law, and is enforceable by English courts.

EU law raises issues of intrinsic theoretical interest, and considerable practical importance. No linguistic expertise is necessary, since EU legislation and case law are published in all official EU languages, including English.

The Oxford course deals with (i) the institutions of the EU, including the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice and General Court; (ii) the essential features of the EU law, and its incorporation into national law; (iii) the principle of free movement of persons and services within the EU; and (iv) the rules governing the free movement of goods within the EU. Study of the institutions entails consideration of the majority voting rules used by the Council in making EU legislation, and examination of the roles of the Commission and European Parliament in decision making. Emphasis is placed on the scope of the law making competence of the institutions, in particular as regards the internal market, and on the principle of subsidiarity, which is intended to act as a “brake” on the exercise of such competence. Most of the course, however, is concerned with the nature and operation of rules of EC law rather than with institutional matters.

The ‘general part’ of the course covers such matters as the aims and policies of the European Union, the sources and supremacy of EU law, its direct effect before national courts and its impact on domestic legal rules, procedures and remedies, including the principal of State Liability for breach of EU Law. The court of final recourse in matters of Community law is the Court of Justice of the European Union. It has jurisdiction e.g., to give preliminary rulings on references from national courts (references are an increasingly common occurrence in the U.K.), and to review the legality of EU legislation. Such matters receive detailed treatment in the course. The free movement of persons aspect of the course presents a combination of social and commercial law. The rights of EU employed and self-employed persons to free movement and non-discrimination graphically illustrates the significance of the EU legal system for such persons, while at the same time being of considerable significance to commercial undertakings and their advisors. General principles applicable to mutual recognition of qualifications is covered, as are the Directives on establishment and service provision by lawyers/ All nationals of Member States are also “EU Citizens” and this status is of increasing importance as regards rights of free movement, residence and equality.

The syllabus includes study of EU rules on the free movement of goods. These have been given wide ranging effect by the European Court and have given rise to considerable litigation in English courts, which have made many references to the European Court. The subject is taught in tutorials arranged by your college tutor.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Commercial Law

Part of the fascination of commercial law springs from its responsiveness to the changing needs of the business community. Through the ingenuity of those in business and their legal advisers new instruments and procedures are constantly being devised which have to be tested for their legal effect against established principles of the law of property and obligations.

The core of the course involves a rigorous examination of personal property law in the context of commercial transactions, together with contractual issues of central importance to commercial transactions. The first part of the course looks at issues related to the sale of goods, such as implied terms, transfer of property and title disputes with third parties. Basic principles of commercial transactions, such as assignment, agency and possession are then examined. The last part of the course looks at real security in personal property, including priorities (between secured interests) and the characterisation of, and justification for, real security. There are also lectures covering negotiable instruments and documents of title to goods.

A feature of the whole course is that the student learns how a desired legal result can be achieved, or a legal hazard avoided, by selection of an appropriate contract structure.

Though students will be expected to analyse statutory materials as well as case law, a distinguishing feature of the course is its concentration on fundamental concepts and their application in a commercial setting. The course thus offers an intellectual challenge and provides a good foundation for those contemplating practice in the field of commercial law.

The course is taught by Dr. Thomas Krebs, Mrs L Gullifer and Professor Hugh Beale. Teaching is by a combination of tutorials (arranged by your college tutor), and seminars given in Michaelmas and Hilary Terms. Lectures are also given in Michaelmas and Hilary Terms.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Corporate Law

The company is one of the most important institutions in our society. There are over two million registered companies which, of course, vary radically in size and commercial significance ranging from the "one person" company to the large public companies. By virtually any measurement the company is the dominant vehicle through which business is conducted. There are a number of reasons for this but principally it is because it is a very flexible commercial institution and it is made conveniently and cheaply available.

The purpose of the course is to introduce students to the basic conceptual apparatus of company law and to analyse some of the policy issues raised in regulating this pervasive commercial form. It is important to note that the course is of relevance not only to those who wish to pursue a career as commercial or company lawyers, but also to those who have no such aspirations, as a knowledge of the company and how it works is relevant to many aspects of legal practice. The course involves an analysis of not only cases but also statute law and, although the Companies Act 2006 is among the largest statutes on the statute book, the course is not overly dominated by the study of statutory materials.

The teaching group comprises Professor John Armour, Professor Paul Davies, Ms J Payne, Dr Wolf-Georg Ringe, Mr Roger Smith, and Dr John Vella . The teaching consists of lectures and seven tutorials in Michaelmas and Hilary terms. The tutorials will be arranged by the teaching group.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Comparative Law

This course centres on a comparison of the general principles governing the law of contract in French and in English law, choosing this topic both because of its substantive interest and because it is a good place from which to embark on comparative legal studies. For this reason, the course is arranged in two parts. The first introductory part (representing one tutorial week) looks at very general features of the French legal system, especially as regards the sources of the law, and it invites comparisons with the apparently very different approaches of English law. The second part of the course (representing six tutorial weeks) looks at the French and English general laws of contract both from the point of view of their own substantive principles and as the context for the illustration and elucidation of the more general questions addressed in the first part. While the material itself is necessarily restricted, the provisions of the Code civil and examples of the case-law and juristic writing (la doctrine) are studied. Comparisons may include those drawn at the level of principle, underlying values, legal technique or practical result.

Students taking this course may come from either a common law or a civil law background, but the reading set for the course focuses on (though is not limited to) the French materials, it being assumed that the students taking the course have already undertaken studies in English general contract law. The French sources are studied in French, though there are a number of introductory works on French law and French contract law in English (including Bell, Boyron and Whittaker, Principles of French Law and Nicholas, The French Law of Contract) and articles comparing aspects of French and English contract law. A good deal of the French material for the course is contained in Kahn-Freund, Lévy and Rudden, A Source Book of French Law. Overall, therefore, the course requires a good reading knowledge of French.

The pattern of teaching will be as follows. Lectures on French contract law will be given in Michaelmas and Hilary terms by Professor John Cartwright and Professor Simon Whittaker respectively.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Competition Law

The aim of the course is to enable students to critically reflect upon the basic principles and policies at the heart of competition law. In particular, to understand how the law governs business practices that may restrict competition in economic markets through private and public enforcement and to analyse how competition law can curb anticompetitive activities and facilitate free competition.

At the end of the course, students should be able to: (i) understand how the law controls: a. cartel agreements and concerted practices b. the abuse of monopoly power c. mergers and acquisitions d. enforcement of competition law through private enforcement and via the investigations of the Commission (ii) critically reflect upon the economic principles underpinning the definition and control of anti-competitive practices (iii) apply the law to solve practical problems concerning the control of anti-competitive practices (iv) critically analyse how far the law facilities the promotion of free competition. (v) develop their own critical perspective concerning how law should and could control anti-competitive practices and the role of the European Community in developing this law. The teaching in this course is done by way of lectures, seminars and tutorial sessions. The lecture series is devoted to examination of the relevant statutory and case law framework and to the discussion of basic economic concepts (no prior knowledge of economics is required). Lectures are held on weeks 1-7 in MT. Each lecture lasts two hours. Two seminar sessions, each lasting two hours, will also be held in MT.

The tutorial series provides practical experience in the application of competition law through problem solving. Tutorials will be arranged centrally by the competition law group. There will be two tutorials in MT and two in HT.

For more information on the course see the Centre for Competition Law and Policy website at: www.competition-law.ox.ac.uk

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Constitutional and Administrative Law

This course covers the law of the constitution, including the structure and basic principles of the British constitution, and the impact of European Community law on the constitution. It also provides an introduction to the protection of human rights in English law.

Constitutional Law covers material in the “foundations of legal knowledge” and so must be taken by those seeking a profession qualification in England and Wales.Students taking the BA in Jurisprudence (Course 1 and Course 2) take Constitutional Law as one of the three papers for Law Moderations and will in general cover eight topics in tutorials. Students taking the BA in Jurisprudence with Senior Status may choose to take Constitutional Law as an option in the Final Honour School and these students will in general cover seven topics in tutorials. The examination papers for both Law Moderations and the Final Honour School will consist of ten essay questions.

The precise pattern of tutorial teaching varies from college to college but the faculty expects that tutors will include the items listed in bold type in the Teaching Convention. Lectures are given in Michaelmas and Hilary Terms on most aspects of the course. Please see the core reading list for more detailed guidance as to the depth of knowledge required of the topics listed in the Teaching Convention.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Intellectual Property Law

It is commonly said that we live in an information and technological age, and that rights in expressive and technological subject matter - from music to computer programs and recombinant genes - are becoming increasingly important. In this course we introduce the main regimes for recognising and protecting those rights: Copyright and Patents. We ask why we have these regimes and how they operate at a national and European level. The course will appeal to those interested in the arts & entertainment, science & technology, publishing, literary theory, and intellectual property practice. It is taught by Lord Hoffmann, Dr Pila and Ms Slade. A background in science is not required.This course is taught in 8 seminars and 6 tutorials spread over Michaelmas and Hilary Terms by Lord Hoffmann (Patents seminars), Dr Pila (Copyright seminars and tutorials), and Ms Slade (Patents tutorials).

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Intellectual Property Law

This course will not be offered in 2011/2012. This course will not be offered in 2011/2012.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Criminal Law

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.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Criminology

Why are criminal laws made? Why are they broken? How do we, and how should we, react to the breaking of criminal laws? These three questions are the stuff of criminology. They also occupy a central and controversial place in public and political debates about the condition and future of contemporary liberal democratic societies. This course provides students with the chance to study them in depth.
Criminology and Criminal Justice offers students an opportunity to study crime and the ways in which it is dealt with by the criminal justice and penal systems. It enables students to explore the nature of crime and its control by examining the issues at stake using the resources of legal, penal and social theory. It also offers students the chance to think about crime as a social phenomenon and to explore using criminological research and analysis how criminal justice and penal systems operate in practice.

The course is structured as follows: 22 lectures – 10 each in Michaelmas and Hilary terms, and two revision lectures on current controversies in criminal justice in Trinity Term; four classes and four tutorials (two of each in Michaelmas and Hilary Term).

Lectures, classes and tutorials are provided by several academics from the Law Faculty who are also members of the Centre for Criminology.

More information about the Centre for Criminology, including the All Souls Criminology Seminar Series, can be found on the Centre's website.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Environmental Law

This course is an introduction to the subject of environmental law and covers the main areas of substantive UK (with the focus on England) and EC environmental law. Environmental law is concerned with the law relating to the protection of the environment and includes areas such as pollution control law, nature conservation, environmental impact assessment, and trade law. Much of the substance of UK environmental law is derived from EC law and as a subject environmental law builds on the core subjects of EC Law and Administrative Law as well as applying concepts from other areas such as criminal law and tort law.

The course will take into consideration the socio-political context that environmental law operates in and the course will explore the complex and ever expanding case law and legislation on the subject. A major theme of the course is the type of challenges that environmental problems provide for the law. In the last decade environmental law has given rise to difficult legal questions including: what should be the rights of citizens to legally challenge ‘public’ decision-making; what should be the limits of discretion placed on administrative decision-makers in their pursuit of environmental protection; how should environmental protection be weighed up against other social goals; what are the best means of achieving environmental protection; and how much regulatory autonomy should Member States have under EC law to protect the environment in the way they so wish.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Human Rights Law

The objective of the course is to provide a thorough grounding in the application of the European Convention on Human Rights. The primary aim is to introduce students to the substance of Convention rights and to their interpretation and enforcement, including the relevant jurisprudence of the European Court on Human Rights. This will include an analysis of general principles as well as broad themes arising from the interpretation and limits of several specific Convention rights (such as fair trial, protection of private life, and non-discrimination). Other European conventions and institutions will be referred to when relevant. By the end of the course, students will: have a sound understanding of the significance of human rights and civil liberties, and their theoretical dimensions, in Europe; be familiar with and able to apply the relevant provisions of the ECHR to practical problems concerning a range of the rights and liberties; have a knowledge and understanding of the European Human Rights system as a whole and the place of the Convention in that system; and have an understanding of the institutional procedural requirements for bringing human rights claims under the ECHR. Teaching will take place over Michaelmas and Hilary Terms, and will consist of a combination of lectures, seminars, classes and tutorials.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Family Law

The emphasis of this course is on current law as it relates to family matters, but this is placed within the historical, social and economic context in which it operates and the policy issues under debate.

Since marriage is an important institution affecting the legal provisions relating to the family, the law relevant to entering marriage is covered, and, by implication, the law of nullity, which illustrates many of the policy concerns of marriage law itself. The law of divorce remains a central part of the course, although it should be pointed out that legal complexity has now shifted away from issues pertaining to the dissolution of the marriage to those surrounding the financial and property consequences of this. However, attention now has to be paid to the basic institutional structure of the system by which divorces are granted, which requires some consideration of matters which are not usually considered ‘technical law”, but which are of great importance to the legal process, such as the place which mediation or conciliation has within the system. The social effects of the divorce system are also considered.The examination of the way in which financial and property consequences of divorce are legally handled involves a relatively extensive examination of recent case law. Property law is also relevant outside the divorce context when the special position of husband and wife who have interests in items of property is considered. However, the legal consequences of relationships outside marriage are also dealt with, a part of the course which brings particular focus to areas of law covered elsewhere, especially trusts, property and contract.

The legal position of parents and children has been significantly re-structured by the Children Act 1989 which is now the major controlling statute covering arrangements regarding children after parental divorce and the powers and duties of local authorities concerning children. But the law relating to children also covers assisted reproductive techniques.

Although the syllabus does not extend to the law of succession generally, the protection of family members on the death of one of their number is within its scope.

Apart from the usual legal textbooks, students are expected to read or use some materials from the social sciences and a range of governmental publications, especially Law Commission reports. Much of the law is statutory in origin, but these are mostly post 1969 statutes.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Legal History

This option studies the history of the principal features of the branches of law that are today known as tort, contract, land law, and trusts. The course is taught using a selection of primary sources (in translation where necessary) and of academic literature. Students are expected in the course of study to acquire knowledge of the sources of law and of the judicial system. The timespan covered is roughly between the fifteenth and the nineteenth century. This period, of course, contains a large number of separable issues, and the course is designed so that individuals can follow to some extent their own preferences, both amongst and within the major heads of study.

The examination paper contains an above average number of questions, (currently 12), which reflects this flexibility. The treatment of the subject is primarily legal, though the political, social and economic constituents in the story are referred to whenever this assists our perception of specifically legal ideas.

The teaching presumes a familiarity with the notions of property, tort and contract law and is virtually exclusively taught as a final year option. The legal history does not serve as an introduction to the modern law; if anything, the converse is the case. It is in this sense an advanced course; the feedback to the modern law is conceptual or theoretical, though a study of the history may occasionally illuminate a modern problem. There is, however, absolutely no need to have studied any other kind of English history, nor is familiarity with foreign languages necessary since the course is designed around translated materials.The course delivery will be on a ‘long thin’ model, entailing five two-hour seminars in each of Michaelmas and Hilary terms, generally co-taught by Dr Macnair and Dr Getzler, which will be focussed on primary texts. Each term will also contain three sets of tutorials, interspersed between the seminars and enabling students to research and write about controversies in connection with the main seminar topics. By close of Hilary students will have received ten seminars and six tutorials; in Trinity term there may be further revision seminars and classes in Weeks 1-3.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Commercial Law

This course takes as its subject matter a sale of goods by a seller in one country to a buyer in another, and examines the contractual relations between various parties that may be involved in the making and performance of such a sale. Accordingly, it is concerned first with the relations between buyer and seller, emphasising the special features of the sale which are due to its international character. Secondly, it is concerned with the carriage of goods from the seller to the buyer, once again emphasising the special rules which govern international carriage. So as to keep the course within reasonable bounds, it deals only with carriage by sea; it does not cover the special rules governing international carriage by air, road and rail. Thirdly, the course deals with an aspect of banking law. Payment in international sales is often made, not directly by buyer to seller, but through the mechanism of a banker’s commercial credit; the law relating to such credits forms the third part of the course.

Looked at from another angle, the course is concerned with the special problems that arise in overseas sales because the parties are often comparative strangers to one another, and because there is often a long interval of time between the despatch of goods and their receipt. During that time, the parties are exposed to certain financial and physical risks. The financial risk to which each party is exposed is that of the other’s insolvency: to protect himself against this risk the seller will want to be paid as early as possible while the buyer will want to pay as late as possible. One major topic for discussion is the way in which the law and commercial practice seek to reconcile these conflicting desires. So far as the physical risks are concerned, there is the possibility that the goods may be lost or damaged or delayed in transit. Sometimes that risk has to be borne by one of the parties to the contract of sale; sometimes it has to be borne (at least in part) by the carrier; and exactly how it is to be borne has obvious repercussions on the decisions to be made by each party with regard to insurance.

Although its name might suggest something different, the course is about a branch of English domestic law. Our concern is with the English rules governing international transactions (though these rules are often applied to contracts which have no physical connection with this country). It follows that the materials and methods of this course are almost entirely those of the traditional law course, i.e. that it consists largely of a study of decided cases and legislation, though the latter is to a considerable extent influenced by international conventions. Internationally accepted customs and practices figure prominently in the banking section of the course; but the course contains nothing that anyone with the standard equipment of a common lawyer cannot handle.

The course has three principal attractions. Firstly, it raises not only complex and fascinating analytical issues but also fundamental issues of legal policy. Secondly, a study of International Trade will help candidates very considerably with their understanding of the law of contract, particularly in the areas of privity, breach, frustration and remedies. Thirdly, the course forms a useful background to one of the most intellectually satisfying types of legal practice.Lecturing and other guidance is important in this subject because there are no suitable student books for students to study it for themselves at the right level. The books available are either too simple, or are large practitioners’ works in the use of which students need guidance.

Lectures are given in Michaelmas Term on carriage by sea and on letters of credit. There are handouts for each set of lectures. In the Hilary Term (second of the year) there is a weekly class where the three contracts are treated together and their interaction studied. For this there are separate lists of cases and questions. Tutorials (which include practice in analysing problems) are also available in that term, and that is the term in which the bulk of the student’s own personal work on the subject (other than attending lectures) should be done.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Labour Law

Issues in labour law affect most people during their working lives. What rights does a worker have if he or she is dismissed? Is there a right to strike? What can the law do about discrimination? This is a rapidly changing field, particularly in the past decade, which has witnessed a transformation in labour law. Most major industrial disputes are now fought out in the courts rather than on the shop-floor, in stark contrast with the traditional view that strikes are best resolved by the parties themselves. Of growing importance is the impact of EU law on British labour law, particularly in the field of discrimination. Labour law will be of considerable interest to anyone who is concerned with the interaction between law, politics and society. All British governments in recent decades have regarded policies on labour law as central to their political programmes.

Labour Law is also useful in practice. Many young barristers acquire invaluable experience by appearing before employment tribunals; and most solicitors’ firms, whether in the City or elsewhere, require specialists in employment law. It remains truer than ever that “the law governing labour relations is one of the centrally important branches of the law - the legal basis on which the very large majority of people earn their living. No-one should be qualified as a lawyer - professionally or academically - who has not mastered its principles.” (Kahn-Freund).

The course covers the law concerning individual employment law (including discrimination law), as well as trade unions, industrial action and collective bargaining. The student is not expected to acquire a detailed knowledge of the whole of this relatively large and complex field, but to pick out the central themes, and integrate them into a wider social and theoretical context.The main relevant statutes are supplied to examination candidates. It has normally been the case that candidates are not expected to have detailed knowledge of any legislation which has not received the Royal Assent by the beginning of the calendar year in which the examination takes place. Candidates will be required to answer four questions from a choice of twelve.

The subject is taught by means of a programme of lectures/seminars in Michaelmas and Hilary Terms, and by college tutorials which are co-ordinated with them.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Medical Law and Ethics

This course covers selected legal, ethical and medical issues arising in medical practice and research. It focuses on issues of consent, autonomy and best interests of the patient and other interested parties, and how these create intersections with other areas of law, such as tort, criminal and personal property law.

Four core areas of medical law are covered: intentional torts and clinical negligence; reproductive medicine and rights; organ donation and transplantation; and end of life issues. Lectures cover both the legal and ethical issues arising in those areas of medicine, and assume knowledge of the relevant law already covered in the Law Moderations Criminal Law course, and the FHS Tort Law course. Students will be encouraged to take a critical approach and consider where the law may require reform, drawing on the legal and ethical literature to support their views. The course also includes lectures on reasoning in ethics, which will cover various methodologies in ethics for determining about how to act, to give students a grounding in how conclusions about ethical issues are reached (and critiqued), and on a range of issues in medical ethics not covered elsewhere in the course.

The subject is taught largely through tutorials, but includes two classes - one each at the beginning and end of the course - which are led by the course convenor and include some of the lecturers. These provide fora for discussion and debate amongst all participants, and a chance to discuss the topics with academics from a range of disciplines. There will also a series of 19 lectures covering a wide range of sub-topics such as refusal of and forced medical treatment, the ethics of rationing health care, IVF, embryo selection and saviour siblings, human tissue use in research, and ethical issues in death and dying.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Jurisprudence

The aim of this course is to provide an introduction to the fundamental questions of moral philosophy and some central issues in political philosophy. The course is divided into two parts: Part A covering the nature of moral philosophy, and Part B dealing with the topics in political philosophy.

Part A takes a philosophical perspective on fundamental questions about the nature of morality. It asks whether moral values are (or can be) ‘objective’, or whether they are simply ‘subjective’ or ‘relative’, and what reason(s) we have (if any) to be moral. Part A also examines three of the most prominent approaches to the nature of morality—-consequentialism, deontology and virtue ethics. Finally, it raises questions about our relationship to morality: Do we really have the freedom to choose whether or not to act in the morally right way? Does morality always provide us with a permissible course of action?

Part B examines some central topics in political philosophy, namely, democracy, liberty, equality and justice.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Property and Trusts

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.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Public International Law

There has never been a more exciting time to study Public International Law (PIL). Issues of PIL and international justice are at the forefront of public debates to a greater degree than ever before. International law provides the technical and intellectual underpinnings to large areas of international co-operation, including the prosecution of war crimes (both internationally and nationally), the legality of the use of force against States (e.g. Iraq), environmental protection, the scope of human rights protection (e.g. the ‘war on terrorism’), the economic effects of globalisation promoted through the work of institutions such as the World Trade Organization, the settlement of land and maritime boundary disputes, and the resolution of jurisdictional conflicts arising in the context of anti-trust and other forms of economic regulation by States.

PIL today not only impacts and shapes decisions by States to a greater degree than ever before, but it also penetrates into the national legal order – often through national court decisions – to give rights to individuals and corporations to an extent that is unrivalled in the history of the subject. These developments have in turn led to the growth of lawyers and law firms who specialise in the practice of PIL. This is in addition to the demand for PIL lawyers in governments, inter-governmental organizations (such as the United Nations and the large number of UN Specialized Agencies), and non-governmental organizations.. For those who do not intend to follow a career in international law, the subject provides a broad sweep of issues which illuminate not merely questions of international law but the problems and processes of the world of diplomacy.

The PIL course at Oxford covers the major areas of general international law and is not over-specialized. The lectures cover the core tutorial topics on the nature and sources of international law, the law of treaties, international legal personality, jurisdiction and immunities, the law of foreign investment, State responsibility, the use of force and the procedures for peaceful settlement of disputes. In addition, the lectures introduce students to special areas such the law of the sea, international criminal law, international environmental law, international economic law and investment arbitration. The consideration of these subject areas takes place within their broader policy context and having regard to recent experience.

Although in principle the syllabus is extensive, both the teaching practice and the mode of setting the FHS paper avoid any drawbacks which might result from this wide scope. Thus, different teachers will focus on different selected topics, and the student will find that it is not necessary to know the whole syllabus from A to Z. In the same context, the Schools paper provides a wide selection of questions.

Although in principle the syllabus is extensive, both the teaching practice and the mode of setting the FHS paper avoid any drawbacks which might result from this wide scope. Thus, different teachers will focus on different selected topics, and the student will find that it is not necessary to know the whole syllabus from A to Z. In the same context, the Schools paper provides a wide selection of questions.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Roman Law

The Roman Law option focuses on set texts from the Institutes and Digest. Its primary aim is to understand those texts and the ideas and methods of the great Roman jurists who wrote them. The secondary aim is, by comparison, to throw light on the law of our own time. It caters for the interests of those who are interested in making use of their classical background or of developing the knowledge of Roman law they have acquired by taking the ‘A Roman Introduction to Private Law’ course in Law Moderations, although it is not essential to have done the Roman Law course for Mods. It allows students to study in some detail the outlook and methods of reasoning of the classical jurists who provide the models on which professional legal argument has ever since been based. In practice this will lead to discuss fundamentals of the law of delicts/torts, aided by the comparison with English cases.

The lectures are based, so far as the Roman law is concerned, on the set texts, in English translation. Indeed, one of the advantages of this course from the point of view of students is that the body of relevant texts and other authoritative material is more limited than it is in most, perhaps all, the other options. It is possible to concentrate on detail. In the examination candidates are required to comment on selections from the set translated texts and on questions regarding the literature given for the texts. Knowledge of Latin is not required or necessary, sensitivity for the philological aspects of the originals, when relevant, is. Much literature will quote Latin phrases but it practice this should not cause problems; for fully cited texts either the translation is present in the set texts or it is separately provided.

By its nature this course attracts and is suitable for only small numbers. This fact tends to dissolve the distinction between tutorials and lectures. However, it remains true that the backbone of the course is an exposition of the set texts, supported by further lectures on associated topics.

In 2009/2010 there will be seven seminars in Michaelmas Term, on quasi-delict, furtum and the lex Aquilia, and eight in Hilary Term on the lex Aquila, noxal liability and iniuria. Students will be offered four tutorials, to be arranged by their college tutors.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Tax

Taxation pervades every area of life, including property, family, employment and business affairs. Tax law is well suited to interdisciplinary study, intersecting as it does with economics and politics. It also offers rich opportunities for the study of many areas of law, given that tax factors have frequently influenced development of legal concepts and principles. In turn, tax laws are shaped by concepts of property, commercial, corporate and employment law and approaches to drafting and interpretation of legislation. This course introduces students to selected issues in the law of taxation, chosen to illuminate fundamental concepts and to link to other parts of the undergraduate law course. The focus is on tax law, but the technical issues are examined by focusing on themes and principles and placing the law within its political and economic context, in order to create an understanding of the requirements of a tax system and the difficulties encountered in designing, legislating for and administering such a system.

Students taking this course are required to use a variety of sources, ranging from statute and case law to easily accessible literature from other disciplines, such as economics and accounting of which no prior knowledge is required. All the material is non-mathematical and no computation is required in any part of the course. The approach taken and topics chosen ensure that the course is of interest to a wide range of students.

Those entering the legal profession will find that knowledge of taxation is of value whether they intend to specialise in taxation, for which there are many opportunities, both in the City and in private client work, or as background to practice in other areas. The course will provide a valuable intellectual framework for the tax element in the professional legal training courses. Students interested in careers outside the legal profession will also find that the tax course provides a thorough grounding in a topic of central importance to business, politics and government.

The course examines the objectives and functions of a "good" tax system and how these affect what society chooses to tax. The focus of the course is on direct taxes - income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax in relation to individuals and businesses and the application of these taxes to private trusts The issue of tax avoidance is of central concern in most tax systems. The course examines the way in which our tax system has lent itself to ingenious tax avoidance (or tax planning?) schemes and the attempts of the judges and the legislature to combat these activities.

The course is taught by lectures and co-ordinated classes commencing in Michaelmas and continuing to 4th week in Hilary. These lectures and classes are key elements of the teaching. The five tutorials are also spread through Michaelmas and Hilary.

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

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Constitutional and Administrative Law

Administrative Law is concerned primarily with judicial control of the activities of the executive branch of government. The main topics covered are: (1) the grounds on which decisions and rules made by the executive can be challenged in the court - some of these relate to the substance of the decision or rule and others to the procedure by which it was made; (2) the remedies which can be obtained by applicants challenging administrative decisions; (3) the liability of public authorities in contract and tort.Some tutors also deal with tribunals, public local inquiries, next steps agencies, contracting out and public sector ombudsmen. Some of these topics are the subject of lectures, which also occasionally deal with more theoretical aspects of the subject. Administrative Law is now 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. The subject is taught in tutorials arranged by your college tutor.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Law of Obligations

The syllabus comprises the general principles of the law governing enforceable agreements. It is not concerned with special rules governing specific types of contracts, such as sale, carriage or employment. The principal topics normally discussed are: (a) the rules relating to the formation of agreements and to certain further requirements which must be satisfied to make agreements legally enforceable; (b) the contents of a contract and the rules governing the validity of terms which exclude or restrict liability; (c) the nature and effects in a contractual context of mistake, misrepresentation, duress and undue influence; (d) the general principle that right and duties arising under a contract can only be enforced by and against the parties to it; (e) performance and breach, including the right to terminate for failure in performance and the effects of wrongful repudiation; (f) supervening events as a ground of discharge under the doctrine of frustration; (g) remedies for breach of contract by way of damages, action for the agreed sum, specific performance and injunction. (h) the basis of contractual liability.

Contract is one of the compulsory standard subjects within the Final Honour 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.

The subject is taught in tutorials arranged by your college tutor. Particular areas are also explored in lectures.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Jurisprudence

Jurisprudence is one of the compulsory standard subjects within the Final Honour School syllabus. The subject affords an opportunity to reflect in a disciplined and critical way on the structure and functions of law and legal institutions and systems, on the nature of legal reasoning and discourse, and/or on the connections between law and morality and/or between law and other human relationships and characteristics. In some places it would be called theory of law or philosophy of law.

The content of the course is therefore deliberately broad and flexible. College tutors offer widely differing ranges of topics and reading lists, and the examination therefore makes full allowance for the diversity of approaches and materials. (Knowing that the examiners change only incrementally the range of issues from which questions are drawn, and the kinds of questions posed, tutors have an eye to former examination papers in designing their reading lists).

For many years the examination has comprised sixteen questions from which candidates are invited to choose any three. While general, the questions are typically precise and pointed. What is looked for is the ability to bring closely to bear on them the student’s own thought, with appropriate reference both to books or articles within the domain and to other legal subjects studied by the candidate.

A lecture series called ‘Jurisprudence: A Guide through the Subject’ is offered annually in Hilary Term, in which several lecturers work in relay to provide a broad overview of major themes. Details of this and many other aspects of the course can be found on the Jurisprudence website

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Property and Trusts

The focus of attention within the course is on interests in land: interests which have effect not merely between the parties to a transaction but also affect people who later purchase the land. 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 purchasers of the land?

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 Lawson and Rudden, The Law of Property (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition) or Gardner, An Introduction to Land Law (Hart Publishing, 2nd edn, 2009).

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Law of Obligations

Tort is one of the compulsory standard subjects within the Final Honour 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. The law of tort is mainly concerned with providing compensation for personal injury and damage to property, but also protects other interests, such as reputation, personal freedom, title to property, enjoyment of property, commercial interests.The subject is taught in tutorials arranged by your college tutor. Lectures in Michaelmas and Trinity terms cover most, but not all, of the topics on the agreed reading list. Revision lectures on contract and tort take place in Hilary term.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Property and Trusts

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 outside property-holding 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 holding assets 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.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for European Union Law

The law of the European Union is based largely on the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union, and legislation made under the Treaties by the Council, the Parliament, and the Commission. The case law of the European Courts is of considerable importance and looms large in the study of EU law. EU law takes immediate effect in English Law, and is enforceable by English courts.

EU law raises issues of intrinsic theoretical interest, and considerable practical importance. No linguistic expertise is necessary, since EU legislation and case law are published in all official EU languages, including English.

The Oxford course deals with (i) the institutions of the EU, including the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice and General Court; (ii) the essential features of the EU law, and its incorporation into national law; (iii) the principle of free movement of persons and services within the EU; and (iv) the rules governing the free movement of goods within the EU. Study of the institutions entails consideration of the majority voting rules used by the Council in making EU legislation, and examination of the roles of the Commission and European Parliament in decision making. Emphasis is placed on the scope of the law making competence of the institutions, in particular as regards the internal market, and on the principle of subsidiarity, which is intended to act as a “brake” on the exercise of such competence. Most of the course, however, is concerned with the nature and operation of rules of EC law rather than with institutional matters.

The ‘general part’ of the course covers such matters as the aims and policies of the European Union, the sources and supremacy of EU law, its direct effect before national courts and its impact on domestic legal rules, procedures and remedies, including the principal of State Liability for breach of EU Law. The court of final recourse in matters of Community law is the Court of Justice of the European Union. It has jurisdiction e.g., to give preliminary rulings on references from national courts (references are an increasingly common occurrence in the U.K.), and to review the legality of EU legislation. Such matters receive detailed treatment in the course. The free movement of persons aspect of the course presents a combination of social and commercial law. The rights of EU employed and self-employed persons to free movement and non-discrimination graphically illustrates the significance of the EU legal system for such persons, while at the same time being of considerable significance to commercial undertakings and their advisors. General principles applicable to mutual recognition of qualifications is covered, as are the Directives on establishment and service provision by lawyers/ All nationals of Member States are also “EU Citizens” and this status is of increasing importance as regards rights of free movement, residence and equality.

The syllabus includes study of EU rules on the free movement of goods. These have been given wide ranging effect by the European Court and have given rise to considerable litigation in English courts, which have made many references to the European Court. The subject is taught in tutorials arranged by your college tutor.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Commercial Law

Part of the fascination of commercial law springs from its responsiveness to the changing needs of the business community. Through the ingenuity of those in business and their legal advisers new instruments and procedures are constantly being devised which have to be tested for their legal effect against established principles of the law of property and obligations.

The core of the course involves a rigorous examination of personal property law in the context of commercial transactions, together with contractual issues of central importance to commercial transactions. The first part of the course looks at issues related to the sale of goods, such as implied terms, transfer of property and title disputes with third parties. Basic principles of commercial transactions, such as assignment, agency and possession are then examined. The last part of the course looks at real security in personal property, including priorities (between secured interests) and the characterisation of, and justification for, real security. There are also lectures covering negotiable instruments and documents of title to goods.

A feature of the whole course is that the student learns how a desired legal result can be achieved, or a legal hazard avoided, by selection of an appropriate contract structure.

Though students will be expected to analyse statutory materials as well as case law, a distinguishing feature of the course is its concentration on fundamental concepts and their application in a commercial setting. The course thus offers an intellectual challenge and provides a good foundation for those contemplating practice in the field of commercial law.

The course is taught by Dr. Thomas Krebs, Mrs L Gullifer and Professor Hugh Beale. Teaching is by a combination of tutorials (arranged by your college tutor), and seminars given in Michaelmas and Hilary Terms. Lectures are also given in Michaelmas and Hilary Terms.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Corporate Law

The company is one of the most important institutions in our society. There are over two million registered companies which, of course, vary radically in size and commercial significance ranging from the "one person" company to the large public companies. By virtually any measurement the company is the dominant vehicle through which business is conducted. There are a number of reasons for this but principally it is because it is a very flexible commercial institution and it is made conveniently and cheaply available.

The purpose of the course is to introduce students to the basic conceptual apparatus of company law and to analyse some of the policy issues raised in regulating this pervasive commercial form. It is important to note that the course is of relevance not only to those who wish to pursue a career as commercial or company lawyers, but also to those who have no such aspirations, as a knowledge of the company and how it works is relevant to many aspects of legal practice. The course involves an analysis of not only cases but also statute law and, although the Companies Act 2006 is among the largest statutes on the statute book, the course is not overly dominated by the study of statutory materials.

The teaching group comprises Professor John Armour, Professor Paul Davies, Ms J Payne, Dr Wolf-Georg Ringe, Mr Roger Smith, and Dr John Vella . The teaching consists of lectures and seven tutorials in Michaelmas and Hilary terms. The tutorials will be arranged by the teaching group.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Comparative Law

This course centres on a comparison of the general principles governing the law of contract in French and in English law, choosing this topic both because of its substantive interest and because it is a good place from which to embark on comparative legal studies. For this reason, the course is arranged in two parts. The first introductory part (representing one tutorial week) looks at very general features of the French legal system, especially as regards the sources of the law, and it invites comparisons with the apparently very different approaches of English law. The second part of the course (representing six tutorial weeks) looks at the French and English general laws of contract both from the point of view of their own substantive principles and as the context for the illustration and elucidation of the more general questions addressed in the first part. While the material itself is necessarily restricted, the provisions of the Code civil and examples of the case-law and juristic writing (la doctrine) are studied. Comparisons may include those drawn at the level of principle, underlying values, legal technique or practical result.

Students taking this course may come from either a common law or a civil law background, but the reading set for the course focuses on (though is not limited to) the French materials, it being assumed that the students taking the course have already undertaken studies in English general contract law. The French sources are studied in French, though there are a number of introductory works on French law and French contract law in English (including Bell, Boyron and Whittaker, Principles of French Law and Nicholas, The French Law of Contract) and articles comparing aspects of French and English contract law. A good deal of the French material for the course is contained in Kahn-Freund, Lévy and Rudden, A Source Book of French Law. Overall, therefore, the course requires a good reading knowledge of French.

The pattern of teaching will be as follows. Lectures on French contract law will be given in Michaelmas and Hilary terms by Professor John Cartwright and Professor Simon Whittaker respectively.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Competition Law

The aim of the course is to enable students to critically reflect upon the basic principles and policies at the heart of competition law. In particular, to understand how the law governs business practices that may restrict competition in economic markets through private and public enforcement and to analyse how competition law can curb anticompetitive activities and facilitate free competition.

At the end of the course, students should be able to: (i) understand how the law controls: a. cartel agreements and concerted practices b. the abuse of monopoly power c. mergers and acquisitions d. enforcement of competition law through private enforcement and via the investigations of the Commission (ii) critically reflect upon the economic principles underpinning the definition and control of anti-competitive practices (iii) apply the law to solve practical problems concerning the control of anti-competitive practices (iv) critically analyse how far the law facilities the promotion of free competition. (v) develop their own critical perspective concerning how law should and could control anti-competitive practices and the role of the European Community in developing this law. The teaching in this course is done by way of lectures, seminars and tutorial sessions. The lecture series is devoted to examination of the relevant statutory and case law framework and to the discussion of basic economic concepts (no prior knowledge of economics is required). Lectures are held on weeks 1-7 in MT. Each lecture lasts two hours. Two seminar sessions, each lasting two hours, will also be held in MT.

The tutorial series provides practical experience in the application of competition law through problem solving. Tutorials will be arranged centrally by the competition law group. There will be two tutorials in MT and two in HT.

For more information on the course see the Centre for Competition Law and Policy website at: www.competition-law.ox.ac.uk

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Constitutional and Administrative Law

This course covers the law of the constitution, including the structure and basic principles of the British constitution, and the impact of European Community law on the constitution. It also provides an introduction to the protection of human rights in English law.

Constitutional Law covers material in the “foundations of legal knowledge” and so must be taken by those seeking a profession qualification in England and Wales.Students taking the BA in Jurisprudence (Course 1 and Course 2) take Constitutional Law as one of the three papers for Law Moderations and will in general cover eight topics in tutorials. Students taking the BA in Jurisprudence with Senior Status may choose to take Constitutional Law as an option in the Final Honour School and these students will in general cover seven topics in tutorials. The examination papers for both Law Moderations and the Final Honour School will consist of ten essay questions.

The precise pattern of tutorial teaching varies from college to college but the faculty expects that tutors will include the items listed in bold type in the Teaching Convention. Lectures are given in Michaelmas and Hilary Terms on most aspects of the course. Please see the core reading list for more detailed guidance as to the depth of knowledge required of the topics listed in the Teaching Convention.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Criminal Law

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.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Human Rights Law

The objective of the course is to provide a thorough grounding in the application of the European Convention on Human Rights. The primary aim is to introduce students to the substance of Convention rights and to their interpretation and enforcement, including the relevant jurisprudence of the European Court on Human Rights. This will include an analysis of general principles as well as broad themes arising from the interpretation and limits of several specific Convention rights (such as fair trial, protection of private life, and non-discrimination). Other European conventions and institutions will be referred to when relevant. By the end of the course, students will: have a sound understanding of the significance of human rights and civil liberties, and their theoretical dimensions, in Europe; be familiar with and able to apply the relevant provisions of the ECHR to practical problems concerning a range of the rights and liberties; have a knowledge and understanding of the European Human Rights system as a whole and the place of the Convention in that system; and have an understanding of the institutional procedural requirements for bringing human rights claims under the ECHR. Teaching will take place over Michaelmas and Hilary Terms, and will consist of a combination of lectures, seminars, classes and tutorials.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Family Law

The emphasis of this course is on current law as it relates to family matters, but this is placed within the historical, social and economic context in which it operates and the policy issues under debate.

Since marriage is an important institution affecting the legal provisions relating to the family, the law relevant to entering marriage is covered, and, by implication, the law of nullity, which illustrates many of the policy concerns of marriage law itself. The law of divorce remains a central part of the course, although it should be pointed out that legal complexity has now shifted away from issues pertaining to the dissolution of the marriage to those surrounding the financial and property consequences of this. However, attention now has to be paid to the basic institutional structure of the system by which divorces are granted, which requires some consideration of matters which are not usually considered ‘technical law”, but which are of great importance to the legal process, such as the place which mediation or conciliation has within the system. The social effects of the divorce system are also considered.The examination of the way in which financial and property consequences of divorce are legally handled involves a relatively extensive examination of recent case law. Property law is also relevant outside the divorce context when the special position of husband and wife who have interests in items of property is considered. However, the legal consequences of relationships outside marriage are also dealt with, a part of the course which brings particular focus to areas of law covered elsewhere, especially trusts, property and contract.

The legal position of parents and children has been significantly re-structured by the Children Act 1989 which is now the major controlling statute covering arrangements regarding children after parental divorce and the powers and duties of local authorities concerning children. But the law relating to children also covers assisted reproductive techniques.

Although the syllabus does not extend to the law of succession generally, the protection of family members on the death of one of their number is within its scope.

Apart from the usual legal textbooks, students are expected to read or use some materials from the social sciences and a range of governmental publications, especially Law Commission reports. Much of the law is statutory in origin, but these are mostly post 1969 statutes.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Legal History

This option studies the history of the principal features of the branches of law that are today known as tort, contract, land law, and trusts. The course is taught using a selection of primary sources (in translation where necessary) and of academic literature. Students are expected in the course of study to acquire knowledge of the sources of law and of the judicial system. The timespan covered is roughly between the fifteenth and the nineteenth century. This period, of course, contains a large number of separable issues, and the course is designed so that individuals can follow to some extent their own preferences, both amongst and within the major heads of study.

The examination paper contains an above average number of questions, (currently 12), which reflects this flexibility. The treatment of the subject is primarily legal, though the political, social and economic constituents in the story are referred to whenever this assists our perception of specifically legal ideas.

The teaching presumes a familiarity with the notions of property, tort and contract law and is virtually exclusively taught as a final year option. The legal history does not serve as an introduction to the modern law; if anything, the converse is the case. It is in this sense an advanced course; the feedback to the modern law is conceptual or theoretical, though a study of the history may occasionally illuminate a modern problem. There is, however, absolutely no need to have studied any other kind of English history, nor is familiarity with foreign languages necessary since the course is designed around translated materials.The course delivery will be on a ‘long thin’ model, entailing five two-hour seminars in each of Michaelmas and Hilary terms, generally co-taught by Dr Macnair and Dr Getzler, which will be focussed on primary texts. Each term will also contain three sets of tutorials, interspersed between the seminars and enabling students to research and write about controversies in connection with the main seminar topics. By close of Hilary students will have received ten seminars and six tutorials; in Trinity term there may be further revision seminars and classes in Weeks 1-3.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Labour Law

Issues in labour law affect most people during their working lives. What rights does a worker have if he or she is dismissed? Is there a right to strike? What can the law do about discrimination? This is a rapidly changing field, particularly in the past decade, which has witnessed a transformation in labour law. Most major industrial disputes are now fought out in the courts rather than on the shop-floor, in stark contrast with the traditional view that strikes are best resolved by the parties themselves. Of growing importance is the impact of EU law on British labour law, particularly in the field of discrimination. Labour law will be of considerable interest to anyone who is concerned with the interaction between law, politics and society. All British governments in recent decades have regarded policies on labour law as central to their political programmes.

Labour Law is also useful in practice. Many young barristers acquire invaluable experience by appearing before employment tribunals; and most solicitors’ firms, whether in the City or elsewhere, require specialists in employment law. It remains truer than ever that “the law governing labour relations is one of the centrally important branches of the law - the legal basis on which the very large majority of people earn their living. No-one should be qualified as a lawyer - professionally or academically - who has not mastered its principles.” (Kahn-Freund).

The course covers the law concerning individual employment law (including discrimination law), as well as trade unions, industrial action and collective bargaining. The student is not expected to acquire a detailed knowledge of the whole of this relatively large and complex field, but to pick out the central themes, and integrate them into a wider social and theoretical context.The main relevant statutes are supplied to examination candidates. It has normally been the case that candidates are not expected to have detailed knowledge of any legislation which has not received the Royal Assent by the beginning of the calendar year in which the examination takes place. Candidates will be required to answer four questions from a choice of twelve.

The subject is taught by means of a programme of lectures/seminars in Michaelmas and Hilary Terms, and by college tutorials which are co-ordinated with them.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Medical Law and Ethics

This course covers selected legal, ethical and medical issues arising in medical practice and research. It focuses on issues of consent, autonomy and best interests of the patient and other interested parties, and how these create intersections with other areas of law, such as tort, criminal and personal property law.

Four core areas of medical law are covered: intentional torts and clinical negligence; reproductive medicine and rights; organ donation and transplantation; and end of life issues. Lectures cover both the legal and ethical issues arising in those areas of medicine, and assume knowledge of the relevant law already covered in the Law Moderations Criminal Law course, and the FHS Tort Law course. Students will be encouraged to take a critical approach and consider where the law may require reform, drawing on the legal and ethical literature to support their views. The course also includes lectures on reasoning in ethics, which will cover various methodologies in ethics for determining about how to act, to give students a grounding in how conclusions about ethical issues are reached (and critiqued), and on a range of issues in medical ethics not covered elsewhere in the course.

The subject is taught largely through tutorials, but includes two classes - one each at the beginning and end of the course - which are led by the course convenor and include some of the lecturers. These provide fora for discussion and debate amongst all participants, and a chance to discuss the topics with academics from a range of disciplines. There will also a series of 19 lectures covering a wide range of sub-topics such as refusal of and forced medical treatment, the ethics of rationing health care, IVF, embryo selection and saviour siblings, human tissue use in research, and ethical issues in death and dying.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Public International Law

There has never been a more exciting time to study Public International Law (PIL). Issues of PIL and international justice are at the forefront of public debates to a greater degree than ever before. International law provides the technical and intellectual underpinnings to large areas of international co-operation, including the prosecution of war crimes (both internationally and nationally), the legality of the use of force against States (e.g. Iraq), environmental protection, the scope of human rights protection (e.g. the ‘war on terrorism’), the economic effects of globalisation promoted through the work of institutions such as the World Trade Organization, the settlement of land and maritime boundary disputes, and the resolution of jurisdictional conflicts arising in the context of anti-trust and other forms of economic regulation by States.

PIL today not only impacts and shapes decisions by States to a greater degree than ever before, but it also penetrates into the national legal order – often through national court decisions – to give rights to individuals and corporations to an extent that is unrivalled in the history of the subject. These developments have in turn led to the growth of lawyers and law firms who specialise in the practice of PIL. This is in addition to the demand for PIL lawyers in governments, inter-governmental organizations (such as the United Nations and the large number of UN Specialized Agencies), and non-governmental organizations.. For those who do not intend to follow a career in international law, the subject provides a broad sweep of issues which illuminate not merely questions of international law but the problems and processes of the world of diplomacy.

The PIL course at Oxford covers the major areas of general international law and is not over-specialized. The lectures cover the core tutorial topics on the nature and sources of international law, the law of treaties, international legal personality, jurisdiction and immunities, the law of foreign investment, State responsibility, the use of force and the procedures for peaceful settlement of disputes. In addition, the lectures introduce students to special areas such the law of the sea, international criminal law, international environmental law, international economic law and investment arbitration. The consideration of these subject areas takes place within their broader policy context and having regard to recent experience.

Although in principle the syllabus is extensive, both the teaching practice and the mode of setting the FHS paper avoid any drawbacks which might result from this wide scope. Thus, different teachers will focus on different selected topics, and the student will find that it is not necessary to know the whole syllabus from A to Z. In the same context, the Schools paper provides a wide selection of questions.

Although in principle the syllabus is extensive, both the teaching practice and the mode of setting the FHS paper avoid any drawbacks which might result from this wide scope. Thus, different teachers will focus on different selected topics, and the student will find that it is not necessary to know the whole syllabus from A to Z. In the same context, the Schools paper provides a wide selection of questions.

Please see also the 'what we do' page for Roman Law

The Roman Law option focuses on set texts from the Institutes and Digest. Its primary aim is to understand those texts and the ideas and methods of the great Roman jurists who wrote them. The secondary aim is, by comparison, to throw light on the law of our own time. It caters for the interests of those who are interested in making use of their classical background or of developing the knowledge of Roman law they have acquired by taking the ‘A Roman Introduction to Private Law’ course in Law Moderations, although it is not essential to have done the Roman Law course for Mods. It allows students to study in some detail the outlook and methods of reasoning of the classical jurists who provide the models on which professional legal argument has ever since been based. In practice this will lead to discuss fundamentals of the law of delicts/torts, aided by the comparison with English cases.

The lectures are based, so far as the Roman law is concerned, on the set texts, in English translation. Indeed, one of the advantages of this course from the point of view of students is that the body of relevant texts and other authoritative material is more limited than it is in most, perhaps all, the other options. It is possible to concentrate on detail. In the examination candidates are required to comment on selections from the set translated texts and on questions regarding the literature given for the texts. Knowledge of Latin is not required or necessary, sensitivity for the philological aspects of the originals, when relevant, is. Much literature will quote Latin phrases but it practice this should not cause problems; for fully cited texts either the translation is present in the set texts or it is separately provided.

By its nature this course attracts and is suitable for only small numbers. This fact tends to dissolve the distinction between tutorials and lectures. However, it remains true that the backbone of the course is an exposition of the set texts, supported by further lectures on associated topics.

In 2009/2010 there will be seven seminars in Michaelmas Term, on quasi-delict, furtum and the lex Aquilia, and eight in Hilary Term on the lex Aquila, noxal liability and iniuria. Students will be offered four tutorials, to be arranged by their college tutors.