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| School |
School of Law |
| Final Award |
LLB (Hons)
LLB(Hons) (European Legal Studies)
LLB (Hons) (International Legal Studies)
LLB (Hons) (Accelerated) |
| Programme(s) |
LLB (Hons)
LLB (Hons) (European Legal Studies)
LLB (Hons) (International Legal Studies)
LLB (Hons) (Accelerated) |
| Last modified |
April 2009 |
Reference should be made to the University's General Regulations found in Section IV and Section V (Higher Degree Regulations) of the University Calendar.
Except where the School has been granted an opt-out by the University (see below) the following academic regulations apply in addition to the General Regulations.
| 1. |
Admissions |
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The School of Law follows the University's commitment to a comprehensive policy of equal opportunities and individuals are selected and treated on their relative merits and abilities in line with the University’s Equal Opportunities Policy. Disabled applicants will be treated according to the same procedure as any other applicant with the added involvement of the Disability Office to assess their needs.
The Programme follows the University regulations specified in Section IV : Regulations for Admission to Degree Programmes.
Where in accordance with Ordinance 7.2 modules completed at other places of learning by a candidate are counted as equivalent to examinations in the programme for the Bachelor of Laws, the School Board may permit such a candidate to qualify for the degree by following such a programme of study and completing such examinations as it shall specify. |
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| 2. |
Structure of Programme(s) |
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Mode of attendance shall be by full time study only.
Duration of ‘normal’ study shall be LLB (Hons) 3 years LLB (Hons) (European Legal Studies) and (International Legal Studies) 4 years, and LLB (Accelerated) 2 years.
A candidate for the degree of LLB (Hons) (European Legal Studies) or for the degree of LLB (Hons) (International Legal Studies) shall be required to follow a programme of study abroad for such period and under such conditions as may be approved by School Board. Normally the programme of study abroad will last for one academic year following the second year of study.
The LLB (Hons) comprises four compulsory modules in year 1, and a further 4 compulsory modules in year 2. The final year includes one compulsory module (leading to submission of a 10,000 word dissertation) and four optional modules. The availability of optional modules is dependent on staffing and timetabling constraints, and it cannot be guaranteed that every option will be available in any particular year. Additional optional modules may be made available from time to time with the approval of the School Board. It may be necessary to limit the number of candidates taking a particular module.
All modules are taught throughout the academic year and those in years 1 and 2 are required by the Law Society and the Bar Council to enable the degree to have ‘Qualifying Law Degree’ status, carrying exemption from the academic stage of qualification for admission to the Law Society or the Bar.
Please refer to the Programme Specifications at http:\\www.lawnet.soton.ac.uk for further details of available modules, their credit values and other general programme content. |
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| 3. |
Progression |
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In order to satisfy the requirements of the Law Society and Bar Council, the School of Law has an agreed opt -out from the University’s general progression rules as set out in Section IV : General Regulations: Progression, Determination and Classification of Results.
Candidates shall not normally be entitled to present themselves for any examination unless they have regularly attended (see 7, below) and performed the prescribed work of the programme to the satisfaction of the Head of the School. For the purpose of this Regulation, examination shall include all methods of assessment. Candidates' attention is also drawn to the University's General Regulations concerning non-attendance.
At the first year examination, which shall ordinarily be held in May/June, candidates shall be examined in all modules studied during the first year of the programme. No candidate shall be allowed to proceed to the second year of the programme unless the candidate has satisfied the Board of Examiners at the first year examination.
At the second year examination, which shall ordinarily be held in May/June, candidates shall be examined in all modules studied during the second year of the programme. No candidate shall be allowed to proceed to the final year of the programme unless the candidate has satisfied the Board of Examiners in the second year examination.
At the final year examination, ordinarily held in May/June, candidates shall be examined in all the modules studied in the final year of the programme. In accordance with Regulation 2, candidates studying for the LLB (Hons) (European Legal Studies) or for the LLB (Hons) (International Legal Studies) degree will be required to have completed successfully the programme of study abroad. |
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| 4. |
Assessment |
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The performance of candidates shall be assessed by the Board of Examiners in accordance with the School’s regulations governing examinations, and are subject to confirmation by School Board.
The School of Law has an agreed opt-out from the University’s general regulations on progression and classification: the following is a summary of the resit regulations for the programme.
Every candidate shall have an automatic right to resit all of the papers taken in a particular year once during his/her undergraduate programme. No candidate who is permitted to resit an examination in the following year shall be allowed to repeat that year as an internal student save with the permission of the School Board. When a candidate resits an examination in the following year the candidate shall normally be required to take the papers set for that occasion regardless of any change of syllabus.
A candidate who resits the first or second year examination, by exercising his/her automatic right, shall do so in the supplementary examination ordinarily to be held in August/September of the same year. If a candidate satisfies the Board of Examiners at such supplementary examination the candidate shall proceed to the next year of the programme. Subject to special considerations, failure to satisfy the Board of Examiners in that examination shall lead to termination of the candidate's degree programme.
A candidate who fails to reach the required standard in the final year examination and who resits the examination by exercising his/her automatic right shall do so at the next available examination which will normally take place in the following May/June. A candidate who resits such examination shall also be required to present a fresh dissertation topic.
Every candidate shall be entitled to retake a single paper in the first or second year examination. The maximum mark that may be awarded on the retake of a single module shall be 40%. This shall not affect a candidate's automatic right to resit.
Where a fail mark has been recorded by the Board of Examiners and where medical or other exceptional and substantial circumstances have affected a candidate's performance, the candidate may be granted another attempt at the examination or part thereof without recording the previous attempt, provided this is considered appropriate by the Board of Examiners. In the absence of such circumstances, where a candidate fails the examination under the automatic right of resit, an exceptional discretionary resit of the entire examination may be granted. In reaching its decision, the Board of Examiners will take into account the overall quality of that resit performance, whether the candidate has had the benefit of an internal rather than external resit and, if internal, the attendance record of the candidate. This Regulation will also apply mutatis mutandis to a candidate who has exhausted the automatic right of resit by passing an examination in a previous year, who later is deemed to have failed more than one paper in the examination for a subsequent year of the programme.
For further details of all examination conventions please see the Examination Handbook provided at induction; also available at http://www.lawnet.soton.ac.uk/. |
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| 5. |
Award of Qualification(s) |
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The School of Law has an agreed opt-out from the University’s general regulations concerning undergraduate degree classification. The classification for the LLB is generally based on the preponderance of classes obtained in year 2 and in the final year of the programme.
A list of final year candidates who have satisfied the Board of Examiners will be issued with the names arranged in alphabetical order within the following classes: first class honours, second class honours (in two divisions), third class honours.
The final award is made by Senate on the recommendation of the School Board to candidates who have satisfactorily completed an approved course of study and have satisfied the assessment requirements.
For further details of the processes and procedures that ensure the successful completion of the degree please see the Examinations Handbook provided at induction; also from http://www.lawnet.soton.ac.uk/. |
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| 6. |
Placements/Study Abroad/Exchange/Fieldwork |
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Students, who apply to study the LLB (Hons) (European Legal Studies) with good language skills and would like to study law in another European jurisdiction, at the end of year two, will spend a full academic year overseas at one of several designated universities within the EU. They must successfully complete the academic requirements of that year as set down by the Institution of study and will then return to the UK to complete their final year, which is the same as the core LLB.
Similarly students who apply to study the LLB (Hons) (International Legal Studies) will follow the same structure as above but will chose to study at a designated University for example in Hong Kong, Singapore, Ottawa - Canada, or Chile. |
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| 7. |
Other |
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These regulations may be revised during the student's period of registration in accordance with the procedures approved by Senate.
The School requires students to attend regularly. A student will be deemed not to have regularly performed the prescribed work of a particular module where unauthorised absence exceeds 30% in classes where attendance is recorded. Where this occurs, the candidate will not be permitted to sit the examination for that module and a fail mark will be recorded. This will result in a retake or resit, although assessed work marks may be carried forward to the Supplementary Examination in September. Any recorded absence will be deemed to be unauthorised unless written evidence of medical or other exceptional or substantial circumstances is submitted for consideration by the Director of Student Affairs, showing how this might have affected the candidate’s ability to attend the course.
For further information please see the Examination Handbook provided at induction, or go to http://www.lawnet.soton.ac.uk/. |
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