Syllabus
Legal System, Method and Skills (for non-law degree students)
You will learn about the sources, personnel and structure of the English legal system; civil and criminal processes; access to justice; the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 on the English legal system.
International Human Rights and Social Justice
You will examine key documents on national, regional and international human rights with strong links to social justice such as refugee law; social and economic rights; access to justice and wrongful convictions.
Law and Policy of International Trade, Enterprise and the Environment
Providing you with an in-depth knowledge of international trade, enterprise and environmental law through the lens of social justice and corporate social justice. Topics will focus on those with strong links to social justice and responsible enterprise, such as trade and the environment, business and human rights, ethical investing, international labour rights and sustainable development.
Human Rights and Healthcare
This module examines the national regulation of the medical practice and theoretical arguments on rights. Including the use of conceptual rights within the profession and how these rights might be qualified and defined.
Corporate Crime and Justice
Examining crimes committed by transnational corporations and how the governments of the world can hold them to account. The topic list will prioritise areas that have strong links to social justice and corporate social responsibility such as pollution; corporate manslaughter; the power of civil society; corruption and land grabbing.
International Animal Welfare, Ethics and the Law
This module analyses the major areas of the law relating to animal welfare. You'll compare and debate animal welfare legislation and practices, both domestically and internationally. There will be opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge as well as contemporary debate on, for example, welfarism and abolitionism. The philosophical foundations will be discussed as will legal theory and significant animal cases will be discussed.
The module is intended to provide critical analysis of animal welfare and the concept of animal rights and will empower students to interact with and evaluate developments in this contemporary topic.
International Refugee Law
This module provides a comprehensive overview of the legal frameworks and practices relating to the international protection of refugees. In addition to the Refugee Convention, the module examines regional and international human rights treaties, existing gaps in legal protection, practical challenges faced when implementing the law and the conceptual and theoretical debates surrounding legal responses to forced migration.
Dissertation
The final project involves researching for and writing a 15,000-word dissertation on an area of law that you are particularly interested in.
Topics may include:
- assisted suicide
- breach of duty in medical negligence
- commercial surrogacy
- legal issues in biomedicine - human embryo research and gene therapy
- duty of care owed to mentally ill prisoners.
Street Law
You will work with community groups on a particular issue and present your conclusions to a charity or group working in that area in an effort to promote public legal awareness.
For example, students could be tasked with presenting the law relating to homelessness; housing; wrongful convictions; climate justice or gender-based discrimination.
Practical legal experience
Essentially learning by doing, our clinical legal education programme will provide you with many opportunities to apply the law in practical situations through projects and working within our pro bono University of Brighton Legal Clinic.
Many of our initiatives also fulfil SQE qualifying work experience requirements.
Negotiating
Negotiation is a key lawyer skill – many legal disputes do not end up in the courts, but instead are resolved by some form of negotiated agreement. Our negotiation programme is an opportunity to prepare for a negotiation, and to apply and practise your negotiation skills.
The programme is sponsored by solicitors’ firms who judge the final competition and the top teams go on to represent the University of Brighton at the national negotiation competition sponsored by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution.
Client interviewing
Our client interviewing skills programme enables students to develop the essential skill of interviewing clients, a key component of legal work. The programme culminates in an internal competition, sponsored by a local law firm, and the winning students proceed to represent the university in the national Law Society competition.
In 2016, two of our Law with Business students, Fionnuala Richardson and Chloe Chatton, won the national competition and went on to represent England and Wales in the international competition in Canada, finishing third in the world.
University of Brighton Legal Clinic
Participate in the client-facing commercial and employment law pro bono law clinic offering free legal advice to small businesses and employees and assisting charities and not-for-profit organisations with their legal matters.
Learning support
Our supportive learning environment includes an induction programme and specialist diagnostic tools to assess your learning strengths and needs. You will also be assigned a personal academic tutor to support you through your studies.
We also provide free language and support services throughout for international students.
Online learning tools and libraries also ensure academic journals, e-books, business articles and other resources are available to you 24/7, both for use at the university and at home.
Facilities
You will have access to online legal research services, such as Westlaw, Lexis Library and HeinOnline. These online resources can be accessed both on and off campus.
We also have an outstanding library which houses the tools of the lawyers’ trade: primary sources of law such as statutes and cases, and secondary sources such as books, periodicals and journals.
Other student support services include the university’s careers centre, the welfare service and chaplaincy.
Law societies
Student Law Society
The Student Law Society is a thriving community of over 150 law students. With support from the Students’ Union, it organises an exciting schedule of social and educational events and offers excellent opportunities for personal development and for networking with other students interested in a career in law.
Members have recently enjoyed visits to Lewes Crown Court, Brighton Magistrates Court and the Houses of Parliament. Social events have included paintballing, go-karting, surfing, a Christmas Ball at the Brighton Hilton Metropole, and a trip with law students from other universities to Amsterdam.
Student Mooting Society
The Mooting Society has a thriving membership of over 120 students. The society provides workshops, guest speakers, socials, trips and competitions to help build members' confidence and adversarial skills that are increasingly essential in any career path in the legal sector.
The objective of the mooting competitions is to develop the research and advocacy skills of future practitioners. Students argue both sides of a fictitious legal case in a courtroom setting in front of a panel of judges.
Course leader
Dr Adaeze Okoye
Adaeze holds a PhD in Law from the University of Hull, and is a qualified barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. She is an honorary member of the honourable society of the Inner Temple, one of the four inns of court in London. She has been an academic fellow (2015–2018) and associate academic fellow (2018–2023) at the same inn. A fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), Adaeze promotes student centred learning and research informed teaching approaches to higher education.
Adaeze is a member of the Society of Legal Scholars (SLS) and has been appointed to join the SLS equality, diversity, and inclusion committee from 1 October 2023 until 30 September 2026. She has authored the influential monograph, Legal approaches, and corporate social responsibility; and has also written many journal articles and book chapters.
She is on the editorial advisory board of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS) open access book series, Reimagining Law and Justice. She also leads the university research excellence group: Law, Society and Justice (LawSoJust).
