Chapter IX legal education Unit 30 Legal Education in the uk

Before you read

Discuss these questions.

1 Do you know the names of higher educational institutions where law is studied?

2 What law subjects are you studying now?

3 What area of law interests you most?

4 What are your plans for the future?

Text a Studying Law at Cambridge University (England)

At an English university Law is divided into different subjects or ‘branches’ for study. Below is a list of subjects students study in the Law Faculty at Cambridge University. Can you work out the names of some of these subjects in Russian language from their English names?

Now study the subjects in Groups II, III and IV of the list.

Where possible, decide:

• the name of the subject in Russian language

• if law students study that subject at Academy

How many of the 25 subjects studied at Cambridge University (see the list below) do you think you understand?

UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE FACULTY OF LAW CHOICE OF SUBJECTS THE PAPERS for the Law Tripos, which are divided into Groups I- IV, are as follows:
Group I Paper 1 Roman Law I Paper 2 Constitutional Law Paper 3 Criminal Law Paper 4 Law of Tort	GroupII Paper 10 Law of Contract Paper 11 Land Law Paper 12 International Law Paper 13 Roman Law II
Group III Paper 20 Administrative Law Paper 21 Family Law Paper 22 Legal History Paper 23 Criminology	Group IV Paper 40 Commercial Law Paper 41 Labour Law Paper 42 Principles of Conveyancing Law Paper 43 Company Law
Paper 24 Criminal Procedure and Criminal Evidence Paper 25 Equity	Paper 44 Contract and Tort II Paper 45 Conflict of Laws Paper 46 E.E.C. Law Paper 47 French Law Paper 48 Jurisprudence Paper 49 Prescribed subjects (Half- papers)

The Law Course at Cambridge

Reading tasks

Understanding the General Content of the Text

1 Below is a description of the Law course at Cambridge University, published by the University for people interested in following the course. Before you look at the description, decide what kind of information you think it might contain.

2 The first time you read the description, you only want to know what information it gives in general. Check that you understand the following instructions. The text has four paragraphs marked A, B, C and D. Read the text quickly and decide which paragraph:

(1) gives information about the subjects students can study on a first degree course

(2) explains the general purpose and method of the course

(3) gives information about Master’s degree courses

(4) says what most law students do before and after they go to university.

For this activity do not try to understand the text in detail. Do not stop when you come to words or sections of the text you don’t understand, if you can complete this activity.

A Among all the courses read at Cambridge Legal Studies are very popular. The Law course at Cambridge is intended to give a thorough grounding in the principles of law viewed from an academic rather than a vocational perspective. There are opportunities to study the history of law and to consider the subject in its wider social context. The emphasis is on principle and technique. Skills of interpretation and logical reasoning are developed, and students are encouraged to consider broader questions such as ethical judgement, political liberty and social control.

B Although many undergraduates who read law do so with the intention of practising, many do not, preferring instead to go into administration, industrial management or accountancy. Candidates intending to read law need not have studied any particular subject at school. It is as common for undergraduates to have a scientific or mathematical background at A-level as it is for them to have studied history or languages.

C Undergraduates reading law for three years should take the so- called Tripos, an exam which consists of three parts. Part IA of the Tripos is usually taken at the end of the first year. This comprises four papers: Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, the Law of Tort and Roman Law. In the second year five subjects are studied for Part IB of the Law Tripos which is taken at the end of the year. The range of subjects on offer is wide - from Family Law to International Law – though in practice most undergraduates take Contract and Land Law as two of their papers. In the third year, five subjects are studied for Part II of the Tripos. The range of options is even wider than in Part IB. According to preference an undergraduate may develop his or her interest in Property Law (including trusts and Conveyancing Law), Commercial Law, Public Law (including Administrative Law and EEC Law), or in more academic and sociological aspects of law, such as Jurisprudence, Legal History, Labour Law and Criminology. Candidates may also participate in the seminar course, submitting a dissertation in place of one paper.

D Candidates for the postgraduate LL.M. take any four papers selected from a wide range of options in English Law, Legal History, Civil Law, Public Law, International and Comparative Law and Legal Philosophy.