PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMMES KEY FACTS Programme name Criminal Litigation Award LLM School The City Law School Department or equivalent Professional Courses Programme code PSCRML Type of study Full Time Part Time Total UK credits 180 Total ECTS 90 PROGRAMME SUMMARY You are already a graduate or have extensive experience in a criminal justice system, either in the UK or elsewhere. This course is designed to assist you to develop a thorough and critical understanding of the processes and practice of criminal litigation and also of the legal rules through which substantive criminal law is applied in the criminal justice system. The course will provide you with expert knowledge and an understanding of the principles which are fundamental to practice within a criminal justice system (our major focus is the common law system used in England and Wales). The course aims to enhance your ability to critically analyse, interpret and evaluate the laws, rules, policies and practices which underpin the criminal justice system. It is suitable for anyone with a sufficient background of academic study or professional experience. It should enhance the quality of practice as a criminal lawyer. It is not integrally linked to professional vocational training but shares a similar philosophy and outlook to such training. The policies, law, practice and procedure that underpin the criminal justice system are constantly in public view and the subject of debate. This, in turn, generates copious legislation, leaving practitioners and legal academics to deal with the consequences of frequent, rapid and radical changes. There is a danger that current practitioners, and those adjacent to the profession or about to enter it, will concentrate on the simple acquisition of knowledge. Correspondingly, they may neglect any consideration of the principles which underpin the criminal justice system and fail to subject those principles to a critical and comparative examination. The criminal justice system should be enriched by rigorous academic analysis, the conduct of independent research and contributions to on-going debates on policy issues. The pursuit of these activities on this course should help to guarantee the good health of our criminal justice system in the future. LLM in Criminal Litigation To be awarded the LLM, you must obtain 180 credits; this will include the dissertation. Postgraduate Diploma in Criminal Litigation 1
To be awarded the PG Diploma, you must obtain 120 credits, excluding the dissertation. Postgraduate Certificate in Criminal Litigation To be awarded the PG Certificate, you must obtain 60 credits, excluding the dissertation. Part Time mode We welcome professionals who work in the criminal justice system and offer the course in flexible part-time modes. You can take the course over two, three or four years, as suits you, your interests and the demands of your work. Aims The course aims to Enable you to resolve issues and form conclusions, drawing upon your knowledge of relevant law and practice, and applying that knowledge consistently with sound professional practice Enhance your understanding of policy issues in the criminal justice system and enable you to undertake critical analysis of those issues, showing an awareness of their context Develop your research skills to a high standard so that you are capable of finding and using a wide variety of legal sources Develop your ability to analyse, critique and evaluate the arguments of others, whether these are presented by advocates in court or in published academic works Provide you with an opportunity to undertake continuing professional development in fulfilment of your professional obligations (where appropriate) Give you the knowledge and skills necessary to move on to a professional qualification or to pursue a PhD, where appropriate. WHAT WILL I BE EXPECTED TO ACHIEVE? On successful completion of this programme, you will be expected to be able to: Knowledge and understanding: Demonstrate an advanced knowledge of the provisions of criminal procedure, evidence and sentencing as they apply in the courts of England and Wales and the way in which those provisions operate in practice. Explore the principles which determine how key decisions are made in the criminal justice system; and the arguments which lawyers can use to influence those decisions. Analyse the policy issues which are inherent in the criminal justice system, with an awareness of their context. Evaluate the role of advocates in criminal practice, in particular the skills and techniques which they use and the ways in which they can influence the decisions which are made in a criminal case. Explain the implications of the ethical principles which govern criminal litigation. 2
Skills: Conduct legal research (both self-directed and guided). Identify and address the material issues in a specific situation. Express yourself clearly in writing and orally, including the presentation of complex arguments. Develop arguments which analyse and evaluate the situation, taking account of the issues and the views or research of others. Analyse and critique the arguments, submissions and speeches delivered by advocates in court in terms of their legal relevance, use of evidence and persuasive effect. Construct arguments on specific issues, involving the identification and application of relevant legal principles to a specific set of facts. Resolve issues and form conclusions, drawing upon the knowledge of relevant law and practice and applying that knowledge consistently with sound professional practice. Apply an insight into how judicial decisions are made and the techniques that advocates use to influence those decisions. Analyse, criticise and evaluate the arguments of others, in particular those present in published academic works and those used by professional lawyers in court. The analysis may therefore cover both hypothetical or theoretical arguments and those which are grounded in the facts or evidence available in a specific criminal case. Values and attitudes: Act with respect towards other students and staff involved with the course. Examine the professional codes of conduct and understand how they impact on the work of advocates within the criminal justice system. This programme has been developed in accordance with the QAA Subject Benchmark for generic Masters level programmes. HOW WILL I LEARN? The usual method of teaching and learning is through seminars. Each seminar may make use of case studies, presentations, role plays and discussions. Visiting experts may be invited to participate in the programme occasionally. For the Criminal Evidence, Criminal Procedure and Sentencing modules, the central teaching strategy is a series of seminars. A topic is dealt with each week by means of a reading list and set of questions, in the form of case studies and/or hypotheticals. All students are expected to be fully prepared, using the key texts, works referred to in supplementary reading lists and further (frequently self-directed) library research. For some seminars, you will have been asked in advance to lead the seminar discussion on particular questions, perhaps via a presentation. Following group discussion, there is feedback from the tutor. The tutor plays an active role in organising and facilitating each seminar. Active student participation is important in enabling you to increase your 3
confidence in oral presentational skills; you should aim to make several presentations during the course. For the Criminal Advocacy module, you may be asked to prepare and/or perform an advocacy task or to observe others performing, including practitioners. These performances are followed by feedback and discussion on the results, in order to have a better understanding of the skills and techniques required for effective advocacy. Other seminars focus on case analysis and preparation, and the decision-making process. You will prepare and deliver analyses in a similar fashion to that described above. Ethical points are a particular focus. There is a significant amount of independent study within each module and this time is for you to read the literature related to that module, to attend court and observe the practice of others, to plan and develop your assessments as well as reflect on your own work and development. Each module gives you the opportunity to undertake a formative assessment and receive feedback, prior to your summative assessment. The course is currently taught over two 10-week terms (Oct-Dec and Jan-Mar/Apr), preceded by a short induction course in late September. Part time students would normally complete the course over two years; however the course is flexible and may be completed over three or even four years to suit you. Module assessments will usually fall outside of teaching periods. The Dissertation is completed over the summer after the taught part of the course has been completed and will be submitted at the end of September. WHAT TYPES OF ASSESSMENT AND FEEDBACK CAN I EXPECT? Assessment and Assessment Criteria Assessment will draw on a range of approaches which include verbal presentations, essays, a court-based critical project and a dissertation. The purpose of this is to assess a range of different skills and knowledge, as well as exposing you to different approaches. Most modules have a single summative assessment with 100% weighting but there are some where there is more than one assessment and the weighting for each will be 50%. Formative coursework will give you an opportunity to establish the academic level expected. At different stages of the course, it provides you with the opportunity to develop and demonstrate legal research, quantitative, cognitive and other skills in addition to your knowledge and understanding of the subjects. The dissertation provides you with an opportunity to display competence in legal research. It allows some autonomy and enables you to show that you can manage 4
information as well as developing complex arguments and innovative ways to solve problems. Each assessment tests whether you: have grasped the relevant principles; are able to analyse and interpret those principles critically; are able to apply them to complex factual problems; and can present the relevant points in concise, clear and grammatical terms. Assessment Criteria are provided for each module and are descriptions, based on the intended learning outcomes, of the skills, knowledge or attitudes that you need to demonstrate in order to complete an assessment successfully, providing a mechanism by which the quality of an assessment can be measured. Grade-Related Criteria are descriptions of the level of skills, knowledge or attributes that you need to demonstrate in order achieve a certain grade or mark in an assessment, providing a mechanism by which the quality of an assessment can be measured and placed within the overall set of marks. Assessment Criteria and Grade-Related Criteria will be made available to you to support you in completing assessments. These will be provided in the programme handbook, module specifications, on the virtual learning environment or attached to a specific assessment task. Module leaders will tell you at the start of each module where these will be provided. Feedback on assessment Generic feedback for each assessment will be posted on the virtual learning environment (Moodle). In addition, you will receive individual feedback in written and/or oral format for each assessment. Feedback will normally be provided in line with our Assessment and Feedback Policy. In particular, you will be provided with written feedback within three weeks of the submission deadline or assessment date. This would normally include a provisional grade or mark. For end of module examinations or an equivalent significant task (e.g. an end of module project), feedback will normally be provided within four weeks. The timescale for feedback on final year projects or dissertations may be longer. The full policy can be found at: https://www.city.ac.uk/ data/assets/pdf_file/0008/68921/assessment_and_feedback_p olicy.pdf Assessment Regulations For the award of the LLM, the following general requirements must be met: Achievement of a module mark of 50% or more in each of the modules, and, in addition, the satisfactory completion of a dissertation. Where an elective module is made up of a combination of subjects, both subjects will be assessed separately. In this situation, the module aggregate result will be calculated giving 50% weight to each assessment. In such cases, students will be required to pass each individual assessment component, although compensation may be available between the individual components in order to achieve the module aggregate requirement. An overall degree aggregate will be calculated as the aggregate of each individual 5
module result, with modules weighted in accordance with their credit volume. If you fail a module, the following will apply, subject to compensation between modules as provided for in the University assessment regulations (for further details, see the Programme Handbook). You will normally be offered one resit attempt at either the whole module or an individual assessment (if you have only failed one component). If you are successful in the resit, you shall be awarded the credit for that module. The mark used for the purpose of calculation towards your Award shall be calculated from the original marks for the component(s) that you passed at first attempt and the minimum pass mark (50%) for the component(s) for which you took a resit. If you do not satisfy your resit by the date specified, the Assessment Board shall require that you withdraw from the Programme. If you fail to meet the requirements for the award of the LLM, but satisfy the requirements for a lower-level Award, then that qualification may be awarded as per the table below. If you fail to meet the requirements for the Programme and are not eligible for the award of a lower level qualification, the Assessment Board shall require that you withdraw from the Programme. If you would like to know more about the way in which assessment works at City, please see the full version of the Assessment Regulations at: http://www.city.ac.uk/ data/assets/word_doc/0003/69249/s19.doc WHAT AWARD CAN I GET? Master s Degree: Part HE Credits Weighting Class % required (%) Dissertation 7 60 33% With Distinction 70 Taught 7 120 67% With Merit 60 With Pass 50 Postgraduate Diploma: Part HE Credits Weighting Class % required (%) Taught 7 120 100% With Distinction 70 With Merit 60 With Pass 50 Postgraduate Certificate: Part HE Credits Weighting Class % required (%) Taught 7 60 100% With Distinction 70 With Merit 60 With Pass 50 6
WHAT WILL I STUDY? Taught component The course is delivered in three stages. In Stage 1, you will study four core modules, each bearing 15 credits. These are Criminal Procedure 1 Criminal Evidence 1 Sentencing 1 Criminal Advocacy 1 Each of these core modules will be made up of ten seminars. These will be studied first, in order to form a solid foundation for you to progress onto the rest of the course. For a full-time student, you will take Stage 1 in a single semester, running from October to December. We recognise that, in Stage 2, you may wish simply to continue to learn more about these four areas and develop your understanding of them. You can do this, of course, but Stage 2 also allows you to choose from a range of other modules tailored to best suit your own interests and specialisms. So, the elective modules which will usually be offered, subject to availability and demand, are Criminal Procedure 2 Criminal Evidence 2 Sentencing 2 Criminal Advocacy 2 Combine any two of the following o International Criminal Law Practice * o Evidence and Psychology * o Practice and Procedure in the Court of Appeal * o Giving Evidence Children and Other Vulnerable Witnesses * Our elective modules (15 credits) run for ten seminars. Those topics which are starred in the above list will each run for five seminars and must be taken in pairs, so that you will need to select either two (to produce a 15 credit module) or four of them. For a fulltime student, you will take Stage 2 in a single semester, running from January to March. For Stage 3, you will research and write a dissertation (60 credits) on a topic of your choice. You will need to select a question or issue falling within the syllabus of one or more of the modules. A tutor will be allocated as your dissertation supervisor; you will have several meetings with your supervisor, to discuss how to get started and then to get guidance and feedback as your dissertation progresses through to its final submission. Module Title SITS Code 7 Module Credits Core/ Elective Can be Compensated? Criminal Procedure 1 LMM143 15 C Yes 7 Criminal Evidence 1 LMM144 15 C Yes 7
Sentencing 1 LMM141 15 C Yes 7 Criminal Advocacy 1 LMM142 15 C Yes 7 Criminal Procedure 2 LMM107 15 E Yes 7 Criminal Evidence 2 LMM108 15 E Yes 7 Sentencing 2 LMM109 15 E Yes 7 Criminal Advocacy 2 LMM110 15 E Yes 7 Children & Vulnerable LMM111 7.5 E Yes 7 Witnesses Psychology and Evidence LMM112 7.5 E Yes 7 Court of Appeal LMM113 7.5 E Yes 7 International Criminal Law LMM114 7.5 E Yes 7 Dissertation component Module Title SITS Code Module Credits Core/ Elective Can be Compensated? Dissertation LMM145 60 C No 7 TO WHAT KIND OF CAREER MIGHT I GO ON? The LLM is aimed at two different types of student those who wish to work within the criminal justice system and those who do so already. Our graduates sometimes go onto legal professional training programmes such as the Bar Professional Training Course. Those who are already qualified as lawyers often find that they are enabled to go on to pupillage. Those who are already employed within the criminal justice system often find that they are enabled to change careers, for example from a police officer to a university lecturer, or develop their practice, for example acquiring higher rights of audience. Those graduates from outside the UK typically return home to make a significant contribution to developments within their home legal system. If you would like more information on the Careers support available at City, please go to: http://www.city.ac.uk/careers/for-students-and-recent-graduates. WILL I GET ANY PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION? Your participation in the course can count towards meeting any continuing professional development requirements, imposed by your professional body. Accrediting Body: Bar Standards Board or Solicitors Regulatory Authority - Attendance on the LLM can be put towards your annual number of hours CPD. HOW DO I ENTER THE PROGRAMME? Applications open in September each year for enrolment in the following September. You can apply online at www.city.ac.uk/law. You should have very strong academic potential. The entrance requirement is normally 8
a degree in law or an appropriate professional qualification and experience. Evidence of at least upper second class honours ability will be looked for but full credit will be given for professional experience (for example, substantial experience as a police officer). All applicants will be considered in respect of their understanding of the English legal system and of the workings of the criminal courts. You must be fluent or near-fluent in written and spoken English. Students whose first language is not English must show that they have met the University's English language requirements; in particular, you must obtain an IELTS (or equivalent) score of 7 or its equivalent with a minimum of 6 in each area. If you have a first degree in a subject other than law or you are unfamiliar with the English legal system or any other common law system, you are still very welcome to apply for a place. We have had many graduates from other countries and non-law graduates. You should however note that you may need to undertake a considerable amount of preliminary reading before the start of the course. In summary, we seek evidence of your academic ability, aptitude, motivation and commitment. Scholarships 1 scholarship of 2000 is awarded annually to the student obtaining the highest aggregate marks across the 'taught' modules, as determined at the July Interim Assessment Board. Version 6 Version date: 06/01/2014 9