BA Joint Hons Law & Spanish

The aims of this class are to:

• provide you with a basic knowledge of the history, structure and institutions of the Scottish legal system
• provide you with the skills required to find, interpret and analyse the law applicable in Scotland, from all their various sources
• introduce you to competing conceptions of law
• introduce you to legal reasoning

The aims of this class are to develop knowledge and critical analysis of:

• the nature of the United Kingdom constitution, including the ways in which the constitution has changed in recent decades, and key proposals for further reform
• the sources of constitutional rules, both legal and non-legal
• the central principles of the constitution, including democracy, the rule of law, the separation of powers, the sovereignty of Parliament, responsible government, and fundamental human rights
• the structure, composition, functions and powers of legislative, executive and judicial institutions in Scotland and the United Kingdom
• the impact of European Union membership on the location of power within the United Kingdom constitution, and of the relevance of European human rights law

This course will further your knowledge of the Spanish language and develop the skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking in the Spanish language through intensive practical and communicative language work. This course aims to bring you up to level A2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. You'll extend your knowledge of the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world and focus on the development of contemporary Latin America and on how issues relating to it are reflected in its cultural production (for example, films, journalism, songs).

Following on from Spanish 1A, this course will broaden your knowledge of the Spanish language, and enhance basic skills already acquired in reading, writing, listening and speaking. This course aims to bring you up to level A2+ of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. It'll also introduce you to new aspects of the culture of Spain through the materials used. Practical language activities, such as pair and small group work and intensive exposure to Spanish through audio, video and written texts, will enable you to progress from the levels achieved in Spanish 1A. Successful completion of this class will enable students to take Spanish 2A in semester 1 of second year.

This course aims to give an introduction to the Spanish language, assuming limited or no previous knowledge of Spanish. It introduces everyday Spanish language, as well as certain aspects of the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world. The class is intended to help students to develop the skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking in basic Spanish.

This course builds on and develops the knowledge acquired in Introduction to Spanish 1A. The class will broaden your knowledge of Spanish language and enhance skills already acquired of reading, writing, listening and speaking in basic Spanish. This class also introduces students to new aspects of the culture of the Spanish-speaking world.

Following on from Public Law 1, Public Law 2 aims to consolidate knowledge and understanding of constitutional and administrative law. Students taking this class will be required to have taken Public Law 1 in the first year. It'll build upon knowledge of the key concepts and institutions of the UK constitution.

As a second year class, its rationale is to give you the opportunity to progress from an understanding of the constitution to an understanding of the role of the law in the constitutional control of public power. This course encourages you to adopt an evaluative and critical stance towards ongoing constitutional developments. The course will focus on control of administrative action, both by the judiciary and by ombudsmen. The protection of individual rights will be a key feature, focusing on judicial protection but also encompassing the role of human rights institutions in the UK and Scotland. The future control of public power will be discussed, including topical debates concerning constitutional reform in this area.

Family law concerns the control which the law exerts over domestic relationships and families; it affects everyone to a greater or lesser degree.

Topics include:

• the legal status of children, parental responsibilities and rights and the upbringing of children - including issues in adoption and fostering, local authority care and the Children's Hearing system
• legal consequences of marriage/civil partnership
• divorce - including what happens to the family and its financial consequences
• unmarried domestic relations, opposite-sex and same-sex

Commercial law is a second year compulsory subject on the LLB (and LML) degree. The class provides you with an understanding of commercial law in a Scottish context. It partially meets the commercial law subject requirements and related skills outcomes of the Law Society of Scotland and the Faculty of Advocates (albeit that some of the commercial professional topics, eg sale of goods and insurance law, are dealt with by other courses).

Building on the knowledge you acquire in first year, the general academic objective of the course is to examine the basic principles and rules concerning core aspects of commercial law, including the main principles of agency, partnership and company law, the law relating to various methods of payment (including consumer credit and bills of exchange) the rules governing the ways in which creditors can ‘secure’ repayment of a debt (eg through taking personal guarantees from third parties for repayment of the debt, or by establishing rights in security over debtor property); the basic principles of diligence; the consequences of both corporate and individual debtor inability to repay debts (corporate insolvency and personal bankruptcy respectively).

While the focus of the class is on ‘a black letter’ analysis of relevant statutory and common law in the broad commercial area, in order to aid understanding of relevant principles, the class also examines the policy rationales underlying the current law and recent and projected reforms in this area

The design of this class is primarily aimed at enhancing your ability to read cases, deal with case law and apply the techniques of case-analysis and common law development.

You'll acquire an in-depth and up-to-date knowledge and understanding, from both a legal and a social perspective, of the rules of law governing involuntary obligations, that is to say the law of delict and the law of unjustified enrichment.

You'll acquire the ability to apply the rules of law to particular fact situations in order to provide definitive answers to the problems exposed in these situations.

You'll develop critical and reasoning skills, giving you the ability to make and present personal and informed judgments on the rules of law and their application within the domestic legal system.

The general rationale of this class is to provide you with a contemporary understanding of the law of property, trusts and succession in Scotland, and to meet Law Society of Scotland requirements in this subject-area.

The EU law class focuses on the constitutional and institutional order of the EU as well as one the internal market. To this end, the class looks at the European integration process, the EU institutions, EU competences, the decision-making process within the EU, the principles underpinning the EU legal order and the principles governing the internal market.

This course will introduce you to more complex and formal areas of language, and enable you to develop further the skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking in the Spanish language. It'll also introduce you to certain aspects of the different cultures of Spain and Latin America through the materials used. Practical language activities such as pair and small group work and intensive exposure to the Spanish language through audio, video and written texts will build on what you already know, and give you a feel for the Spanish language as it is used in professional contexts. This course aims to bring you up to level A2+/B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

This course builds on and develops the knowledge acquired in Spanish 2A and will introduce you to yet more complex and formal areas of language, improving and developing further the skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking in the Spanish language. It'll also introduce you to certain aspects of the culture of Spain and Latin America through the materials used. Practical language activities such as pair and small group work and intensive exposure to the Spanish language through audio, video and written texts will build on what you already know, and give you a feel for the Spanish language as it is used in professional contexts. Successful completion of this class will enable students to take Spanish at third-year level. This course aims to bring you up to level B1+ of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

This course will explore the interlinked themes of independence and isolation in Spain and Latin America. The class is intended to give students a broad overview of Spanish and Latin American social, political and cultural history through the examination of specific texts and films, as well as to develop their critical and research skills.

The main aim of this class is to introduce you to the major theoretical ideas and values of law, and to debates about those ideas and values, thereby enhancing their understanding of law in general.

The class explores relationships between law and morality, law and society and between law and power. In doing so, the course also explores what we mean by law, morality and power. The course requires you to work on your own and make an oral presentation and trains you in concise thinking.

The aim of the class is to introduce you to the law of landlord and tenant, and to concepts of housing need and market allocation of housing resources and the different ways in which such concepts are interpreted and operated in modern Britain.  The method of teaching and assessing the class is designed to enhance learning, academic and transferable skills.

This class aims to provide you with an understanding of the problems inherent in situations involving a foreign element and the basic concepts and principles of Scots international private law. More particularly, attention will be given to the rules which establish when the Scottish court has jurisdiction in any case involving a foreign element. The class will also determine the applicable law in cases involving international elements heard before a Scottish court and the rules on recognition and enforcement of judgments in certain contexts.

The International private law rules in relation to:

• contract
• delict
• marriage
• divorce & nullity
• parent & child
• property
• insolvency & succession

Tutorials for this class take place on Saturday mornings.

This class is not recommended for Erasmus exchange students.

Most industrialised countries, and the European Union now have elaborate laws, rules and procedures for ensuring the maintenance of a competitive economy. This course looks at how the competition laws of the United Kingdom and the European Union affect how business operates in Britain.

If you're contemplating a career in business, or are simply a consumer, some knowledge of competition is useful. If you're a student of industrial economics, or of marketing, some knowledge of competition law is a wise precaution. Moreover there are considerably more job opportunities in this area, whether as an economic adviser, legal practitioner or in-house lawyer advising on effective compliance.

Although we are all equal in the law, some are treated more equally than others. This module examines the nature of discrimination and some of the reasons for it, and the history of the law which tries to prohibit it and promote equality. The class looks in depth at the Equality Act 2010 and relevant case law. It covers the protected characteristics, direct and indirect discrimination, harassment, victimisation and disability discrimination, including the duty to make reasonable adjustments. As well as individual anti-discrimination law in employment and goods and services, the class examines preventive and pro-active measures, including positive action and the public equality duty and the arguments around their nature.

Assessment consists of a group presentation on an approved topic of your choice and a piece of coursework requiring problem solving skills and analysis of law and policy.

The Ethics and Justice class aims to introduce you to the world of work by bridging the gap between theory and practice, and by providing you with the intellectual and practical tools to deal with the personal and practical dimensions of law in a competent, ethical and socially responsible manner.

The class will help to develop your legal, intellectual and practical skills, and provide you with an opportunity to reflect on the effectiveness and ethics of what you do and how this fits in with problems of access to justice. It will also enhance your understanding of the social and economic context in which legal rules operate.

This class is only open to Law Clinic students with case experience.

The extensive uptake of new digital information technologies and particularly, the internet, has resulted in expanding our legal universe, with new laws being created, the application of older laws being challenged and reconfigured and, unavoidably, new legal challenges arising due to conflicts of regulatory decisions with technological advances.

The aim of the class is to address the basic issues arising from the advent of the internet and related digital technologies and familiarise you with important legal developments that have taken place in the last 20 years.

This class encourages you to think constructively and critically about contemporary issues in the field of criminology. It also focuses on contemporary responses to crime in the fields of punishment, imprisonment and penal policy, with reference to developments in Scotland and beyond.

This class deals with the questions, what are those 'basic' or 'fundamental' rights and freedoms to which every individual is entitled in a democratic society, and how to protect them against possible violations.

The class focuses on a selection of the most prominent human rights which have resulted in considerable amounts of litigation.  You'll consider the right to life, right not to be tortured, freedom of expression, children’s rights and issues regarding terrorism.

This class aims to provide you with an understanding of employment law in a UK and EU-wide context and to introduce you to the sources, principles and main features of employment law.

You'll learn about key employment protection provisions and the major collective provisions of employment law in the UK, including the legal position of the contract of employment, the status of employee, the law and practice of unfair dismissal, discrimination law and working time regulations.

The class will focus on practical employment law involving practitioners, an Employment Judge and an Employment Tribunal visit.

This course is concerned with the legal relationship of banker and customer and the services offered by bankers in the community. It examines the financial instruments employed in financing trading and other transactions and is especially concerned with the law and practice of lending, both secured and unsecured.

Intellectual property is integral to all our daily lives, whether it is the music we listen to, the news we read, or chair we sit on, as well as providing the resources necessary to produce new medicines, and the superabundance of brand marketing to which we are routinely subjected.

The class will study the law of patents, trademarks (registered and unregistered), copyright, and moral rights, and the law of confidence (which includes trade secrets). Both the substantive law, and the underlying policy behind providing exclusive rights for this type of property will be examined.

Interested in what is going on in Syria? Concerned about what may or may not be going on in North Korea? Pondering why troops are still in Afghanistan? Then public international law might be the class for you.

The class explores the relationships between states as among themselves and with international institutions. As well as giving an overall view of the area, we'll also look at specific incidents which have arisen and which have been dominated by international law, and which in turn have made huge contributions to the area.

The syllabus looks at sources including treaties and customary law, statehood, the collective use of force, state responsibility and terrorism, the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.

This class is evening teaching only.

In Scotland, local government employs around 250,000 people. Every council has its own legal department and nearly 10% of practising solicitors in Scotland are employed by local authorities. It is essential that lawyers in private practice have knowledge of how local government works.

The course will cover a selection of the following topics:

• what local government is and what does it do
• the constitutional position of local government
• the structure of Scottish local government and its statutory framework
• elections to and membership of a local authority
• rights, duties, liabilities and restrictions of councillors
• the councillors’ Code of Conduct and registration of interests
• the powers of local government; the ultra vires rule; community planning; the power of wellbeing; publicity powers
• byelaws, management rules and private Acts of Parliament
• how councils work; the political dimension
• external controls on local government; the courts; the ombudsman, the Standards Commission, the Accounts Commission
• a brief guide to local government finance

This course builds on and develops the knowledge acquired in Spanish 2B and will consolidate the students’ knowledge and use of the Spanish language within an appropriate cultural context in order to enable the student to live, study and work in a Spanish-speaking country. This course aims to bring you up to level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

This course aims to build on and develop the knowledge acquired in Spanish 3A and will focus on two relevant topics which includes the preparation for the year abroad. This course aims to bring you up to level B2+ of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. In addition to the final exam, a comprehensive project will comprise the other 50% of your final mark for this course. This project will enable you to put into practice and further develop the linguistic skills and cultural knowledge you have developed since you started studying Spanish at Strathclyde.

This course builds on and develops the knowledge acquired in Independence and isolation in Spain and Latin America - Hispanic Studies 2 (R4200), and adds a dimension of critical and theoretical awareness, as well as developing critical skills through a study of individual texts and films from Spain and different countries of Latin America, to build an understanding of the history and cultures in which they were produced.

This is the year abroad, spent either studying in a foreign university or working as a language assistant or on a work placement. This year is compulsory to gain entry into Honours.

There are three strands in the Spanish 4 Language programme, which are closely integrated with each other: Language A (writing in Spanish), Language B (analysis and translation into English of Spanish texts), and Language C (oral presentation and interpreting). The programme will enable students to function in the target language at a sufficiently high level of ability, both spoken and written, to be accepted as a fully competent member of the target language community, and effectively to discharge a professional role within and/or in relation to that community.

This class aims to provide an alternative vision of Latin America from Indigenous perspectives, through the medium of film and stories. Students will first be introduced to the broad cultural and linguistic diversity of Latin America, before focusing on the Inca, Maya and Aztec cultural spheres.

The class will discuss both historical and contemporary material, identifying changes and continuities between the ancient civilizations and their contemporary descendants.

Students will learn about Indigenous worldviews, conceptions of nature and the wider cosmos, and how Indigenous societies have adapted to profound social and political changes since the Conquest.

This one-semester class aims to provide a nuanced, diverse, representative and updated perspective on a range of the core issues that are vital for an understanding of Spain and its recent past in order to unlock a window into its present.

The class offers a unique combination of media and genres across a heterogeneous set of perspectives often excluded from the more Eurocentric/hegemonic and heteronormative portrayals of Spain that are standard in UK programmes.

All material is available in Spanish (with much also in English); nevertheless, students will also enjoy exposure to several other languages and identities present in Spain, which will broaden their awareness of cultural and linguistic diversity and the complexities involved in intercultural communication.

This one-semester class is designed to further develop students’ linguistic skills and cultural awareness in the context of translation, introducing students to the key debates in the study of translation.

It will also equip students to critically engage with a variety of texts in order to address questions such as:

• what constitutes a 'good' translation?
• what is the role of the translator?
• what is the interrelationship between source-text, target-text, author and readership? And how does the interrelationship between these elements affect translation decisions?
• how do you account for cultural differences? And gender?
• what is an annotated translation?

Class content will cover the translation of texts from advertising, business, and corporate texts, machine translation, to feminism, audio-visual translation, and political texts.