Undergraduate LLB (Hons)
Law and Criminology
Better understand crime in both a societal and legal context to effect change and improve lives.
Better understand crime in both a societal and legal context to effect change and improve lives.
Think you've found the right course? We still have spots available through Clearing. Apply now to secure your space and join our dynamic and welcoming community at Kent this September.
Apply nowKent Law School brings the study of law to life and prepares you for a successful career in law. Our law and criminology LLB develops your critical and analytical skills by studying law through both a societal and legal lens.
You will have the opportunity to get real, hands-on experience, with our students getting to work on real cases in our Law clinic. Our law and criminology degree prepares you for a career in law and opens the door to countless other opportunities, so you can make your career your own.
At Kent, you’ll be taught by world-leading academics and experienced criminal justice professionals – including those drawn from Kent Police, the London Metropolitan Police, HMP Prisons Service, the Ministry of Justice, the Probation Service, the legal profession and charities supporting victims and communities.
Ultimately our diverse, international community of staff and students provides a dynamic and engaging environment to gain the professional legal skills and knowledge you need to effect change in the places you want to see it.
Helping students to make career choices, understand the legal working world or to navigate the application process for both work and study.
for student satisfaction in The Complete University Guide 2023.
A partnership between students, academics, solicitors and barristers providing free legal advice and representation to those unable to afford it.
A physical and online space for law students designed to offer support with anything related to your academic study.
Take part in co-curricular activities including lawyering skills modules in Mooting, Mock Trial Advocacy, and Negotiation.
The University will consider applications from students offering a wide range of qualifications. All applications are assessed on an individual basis but some of our typical requirements are listed below. Students offering qualifications not listed are welcome to contact our Admissions Team for further advice. Please also see our general entry requirements.
Law with a Foundation Year is an excellent conversion course for applicants who don't meet the academic requirements for direct entry but have shown academic ability in non-science subjects.
At Kent, you’re more than your grades. We look at each student’s circumstances as a whole before deciding whether to make an offer to study here. We also take this flexible approach when we receive your exam results.
Check our Clearing vacancy list or call us now +44 (0)1227 768896 to find out if we have a course that’s right for you. See our Clearing website for more details on how Clearing works at Kent.
The following modules are offered to our current students. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.
All modules are compulsory.
The module will introduce students to critical legal techniques grounded in critical legal and social theory. Throughout the course, concepts are introduced through socio-legal and critical investigation of selected case studies - such as new pieces of legislation, emerging political campaigns and prominent litigation - ensuring that the course maintains a focus on 'law in action'. Particular attention will be paid to developments in foreign jurisdictions and in the international arena. Accordingly, case studies will alter from year to year, and draw heavily on research projects on-going in the Law School. The course has a heavy focus on primary legal materials and core critical texts, but will also draw on film, museum artefacts, art and literature as appropriate.
Section 1 Introduction to Obligations
a) The nature of the common law and its development.
b) The idea of precedent and legal reasoning.
c) The distinction between public law and private law.
d) The main divisions of obligations.
e) Drafting case notes
Section 2 Introduction to the law of contract
a) The historical development of contract law and its functions in the modern world.
b) A special area of study in contract e.g. formation and modification of contracts.
Section 3 Introduction to tort
a) The historical development of tort. An overview of different types of tort. The centrality of the tort of negligence and its role in the modern world.
b) A special study in tort – e.g. trespass to the person.
Section 4 Conclusion
A summary; critical approaches to the study of contract and tort; guidance to legal problem solving.
Following on from 'Introduction to Contract and Tort', 'Introduction to Property Law' continues the study of private law by introducing students to property law. 'Property' is something we tend to presume we know about, and rarely examine as an idea or practice closely. Most often we use it to connote an object or 'thing', and presume that it has something to do with ‘ownership’ of that object; we use expressions such as, 'This is mine,' and often do not examine the detail of what that really means.
This module begins to unpack and examine the ideas and practices of property more closely, looking in particular at land to ask questions such as: what do we mean by ‘ownership’? What happens when a number of competing ‘ownership claims’ in one object exist? What are the limits of 'ownership'? Does 'ownership' entail social obligation?
When preparing for the module it will be useful to think about (and collect material on) current debates over contested ownership (or use) of property and resources, especially in relation to land.
Part A: English Legal System
This module provides an overview of the English Legal System, including the following indicative topics:
1. An introduction to Parliament and the legislative process
2. The court structure and the doctrine of precedent
3. An introduction to case law, including how to identify and the importance of ratio decidendi and obiter dicta
Part B: Introduction to Legal Skills
The module also gives students an introduction to the basic legal skills that they will develop further in their other modules throughout the degree. The focus here is on specific exercises to support exploration and use of the library resources that are available, both in paper copy and electronically through the legal databases, and on understanding practices of legal citation.
As one of the Foundations of Legal Knowledge, these modules have a direct contribution to qualification as a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales). The content of these modules is informed, therefore, by the requirements of the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Bar Standards Board and each serves to provide students with substantive knowledge of English criminal law. The module therefore covers the following:
• Introduction to the concept of crime, the structure of criminal justice and the general principles of liability
• Harm and the boundaries of criminal law
• Considering cases – how to effectively summarise cases and write a case note
• Murder
• Defences to murder
• General defences
• Manslaughter
• Non-fatal offences against the person
• Sexual offences
• Inchoate offences
• Complicity
• Property-related offences
Crime is a major social and political issue and the source of much academic and popular debate. Key criminological issues will be examined during the course of the module within their wider sociological and social policy context. There will be a particular focus on understanding the nature and extent of crime and victimisation, analysing public and media perceptions of crime, and exploring the relationship between key social divisions (age, gender and ethnicity) and patterns of offending and victimisation.
Societies expend huge amounts of intellectual and financial capital attempting to understand and explain the problem of crime. The module will provide a general introduction to the different types of crime that occur throughout the social structure in Western democracies, from the mundane, quotidian crimes of everyday life, to crimes perpetuated by the most powerful members of society. To that end, the module will contain lectures on subjects such as the nature and extent of violent crime, the process and effects of victimisation, and the relationship between key social divisions (age, gender and ethnicity) and patterns of offending. The module will also include a focus on how the media and popular culture intertwine with the practices of crime and crime control.
TERM 1
• Constitutionalism: history, theories, principles and contemporary significance
• Models of Government at national, local and supra-national levels
TERM 2
• Human Rights – history and contemporary significance and deployment
• The scope of governmental authority and its limits
• Judicial review and other forms of citizen redress
This module will offer a one-week overview of Contract law doctrine by reviewing the essentials of contract law gained by students in Introduction to Contract and Tort and provide an overview of the lectures to follow.
Thereafter, students will spend the majority of the time on contract doctrine and problem-solving in contract law, comprised of doctrinal topics not covered in LAWS3150 Introduction to Contract and Tort e.g. breach of contract and remedies, contractual terms, misrepresentation, termination and frustration of contracts and policing bargaining behaviour.
The remainder of the module will focus on contract theory (e.g. freedom of contract, relational contract theory, contract and the vulnerable, contract and consumption). This section of the module will overlay the doctrine covered in the previous section with a basic theoretical framework, and ground students' understanding of critical essay writing in contract law. It will also build on discussion of the purposes of contract law in Introduction to Contract and Tort.
This module builds on students' learning from other private law modules such as Introduction to Contract and Tort, Introduction to Property Law and the Law of Contract. A specific aim of this module is to develop students' interest and proficiency in the use of case law based legal arguments as a way of solving legal problems and/or determining liability. The module therefore continues the practice of using case classes to discuss a limited number of modern cases in depth. This in-depth focus on modern decided cases will enable students to
• become increasingly familiar with the idea that cases can be read in different ways;
• observe and analyse the idiosyncrasies of legal language and argument within judgments;
• improve crafting legal arguments in this module and beyond;
• identify some of the contested boundaries of modern tort law.
Whilst case law continues to be central to tortious liability, the module will also consider the role played by statutes in tortious liability. Examples may include the liability of
• occupiers of land towards persons harmed on their land,
• manufacturers towards consumers; and
• publishers towards the potentially defamed.
The module considers these and other topics after having explored tort law's most important tort in detail. Tort law's most important tort is the tort of negligence. Much of the module is devoted to a detailed exploration of the elements of and legal concepts related to that tort. The assessed coursework will be an extended problem question relating to the tort of negligence where students will be required to use their learning to formulate a variety of legal arguments and to predict the likely outcome.
Towards the end of the module, the law of tort(s) is placed in its contemporary context of the so-called "Compensation Culture". It considers whether the relationship between tort law and its context can explain its shape or contemporary debates about it. By reflecting on the doctrine studied earlier in the module and observing where the lines of liability are currently drawn, students will be asked to think about what this reveals about private rights and obligations, the balance between responsibility for harm and freedom of action, access to justice and different conceptions thereof. These broader topics, with consequences for law reform, will be explored in seminars and in exam essay questions.
The aim of this module is to provide students with a critical understanding of the nature and extent of crime and deviance in contemporary society, and the main ways in which they can be explained and controlled. Focusing upon contemporary sociological theories of crime against a background of the classical ideas within the field, this module will provide undergraduates with an opportunity to engage with the most up-to-date debates in an area of great interest in contemporary society.
The module will be organised around the following themes:
• The history, development and structure of the institutions of the CJS
• Current issues facing the CJS
• Crime, crime control and social exclusion
• Crime prevention and community safety
Within the organisation of the module students will be encouraged to cooperate on issues based around the above themes and to participate verbally within the context of class discussions, group presentation and class debate.
Over the course of the late twentieth century the modern state was transformed in far-reaching ways. The deregulation and privatisation of national economies, the rise of risk governance, the proliferation of administrative agencies and the increasing the involvement of experts in public policy have all profoundly affected the practice of government. At the same time, states responded to global problems cutting across national boundaries (eg, in finance, security and the environment) by governing through transnational networks and global institutions far removed from conventional mechanisms of democratic and legal accountability. These changes have dramatically transformed the landscape of public law - broadly defined as 'the practices that sustain and regulate the activity of governing'.
This module helps students to navigate this shifting constitutional terrain and grapple with the key legal and political challenges it poses. In Public Law 1 students learned about the core principles of constitutional and administrative law, exploring issues like parliamentary sovereignty, the separation of powers, judicial review, human rights and devolution. In the Law of the European Union students were introduced to the principle of multi-level governance through which the modern state operates. Public Law 2 builds on these insights by analysing the complexity of contemporary governance in detail. The aim is to have students think critically about (i) the changing nature of the state, global governance and regulation; (ii) how globalisation is changing the ways public law problems are governed; (iii) the key challenges these shifts pose for the protection of rights and (iv) the different techniques and processes for holding states and powerful actors to account.
This module will build on the knowledge that students will have acquired during Stage 1 (such as in LAWS5880 Public Law 1). This module will develop student learning by focusing on foundational legal aspects of EU law as well as rules governing selected substantive areas of EU law, also taking into account the relevance of these rules to the UK. The module convenor will set out specific areas of study in the relevant module guide.
This module introduces the student to the jurisprudence of equity and trusts. Building on knowledge and understanding developed in LAWS3160/LAWS5316 Introduction to Property Law and LAWS5990 Land Law, but also LAWS6500 Law of Contract and private law more generally, the module examines equity's contributions to private law and jurisprudence. The module is designed to challenge the somewhat dull image of this area of law and to encourage a critical and imaginative understanding of the subject. Departing from conventional approaches, this module does not study equity merely in regards to its role as originator of the trust. Equity is instead acknowledged to be what it really is a vital component of the English legal system, a distinct legal tradition possessing its own principles and method of legal reasoning, and an original and continuing source of legal development in the sphere of remedies. The law of equity and trusts is contextualised within a historical and jurisprudential inquiry, providing a wider range of possible interpretations of its development and application. What then becomes central to the module's approach is the complex interrelation of law with ethical, political, economic and jurisprudential considerations, and of that between legal outcomes, pragmatic concerns and policy objectives.
The focus of the module is private property in English land: title by registration; squatting; owner-occupation; leases; covenants and land development. It builds on the Foundations of Property module to develop an in-depth understanding of English land law, its conception of property and its politics and effects. And it gives experience in how to advise clients on land law problems – and on how to avoid problems for clients.
This module will focus on the way in which the law defines and constructs the family, and the way in which it regulates family breakdown. Autumn term deals broadly with the institution of marriage and adult relationships. Spring term deals with the relationships between parents, children and the state.
This module seeks to provide a sound knowledge and understanding of the concepts and principles underlying the law relating to human rights, including a grounding in the historical development and political philosophy of human rights law; to provide a detailed grasp of the current protection of human rights in English law, with particular reference to the Human Rights Act 1998 and European Convention on Human Rights; and to promote a critical discussion about the nature, function and effects of human rights as they have been, are, ought to and/or might be expressed in English law.
The module aims to provide students with: an understanding of the adversarial trial structure and its impact on the content of the law of evidence, particularly in the context of the criminal trial; an understanding of forensic reasoning skills; a familiarisation with the content of some of the key evidential rules; encouragement to identify and debate current issues within the law of evidence with confidence, including the importance of due process and how it relates to notions of truth and fact finding; and the ability to apply the legal rules and principles within a critical framework.
This module considers the legal regulation of medical practice in its ethical, socio-economic and historical context, drawing on a range of critical, contextual and interdisciplinary perspectives. Students will be introduced to fundamental principles of medical ethics and the law, before moving on to discuss the wider aspects of ethical theory within selected topics. We concentrate on issues at the beginning of life (including abortion, surrogacy, assisted conception, genetics and embryo research) and at its end (euthanasia, futility and withdrawal of treatment), as well as body ownership, transplantation and organ donation.
This module seeks not only to familiarise students with the basic concepts and structure of modern company law, but also to provide them with a critical understanding of the nature and dynamics of modern capitalism and of the historical development of industrial organisation and the emergence of company law within it. In addition to a selection on modern company law, therefore, the module also traces the rise of the joint stock company in the nineteenth century and the emergence of company law in its wake. It moves on to trace the twentieth century rise of the modern multidivisional, multinational company and its impact on company law. In this context, it also considers the nature of the share and of shareholding, and the role of the Stock Market, and explores contemporary debates about corporate governance. Key aspects will include exploring the contractual relations between, on the one hand, the company and its agents and on the other hand, third parties who deal with the company, tracing the evolutionary changes from the Common Law to the modern predominantly statutory framework. It will also deal with aspects of corporate management and control, including directors' duties, shareholders’ rights and the increasingly important issues pertaining to market abuse and how the law seeks to deal with such practices. Students are encouraged to familiarise themselves with current issues in the commercial world by reading the financial pages of the newspapers, as reference will frequently be made to current events to facilitate the learning process. The module will address a range of inter-related questions: How well suited is modern company law to the regulation of the large modern corporation? What do shareholders do? What does the Stock Market do? In whose interests are modern corporations run? In whose interest should they be run? How do companies contract and, what are the relationships between the organs of the company?
In the current context of globalization, postcolonialism and transnationalism, not to mention the Europeanization of laws, every law student in the UK will almost inevitably encounter foreign law in the course of his or her professional life. For one thing, the legislator shows itself more and more open to the influence of foreign legal ideas in the legislative process. Also, appellate judges increasingly refer to foreign law in the course of their opinions. Further, private parties often enter into legal arrangements, such as contracts or wills, presenting an international dimension. In sum, nowadays, foreign law is everywhere and cannot be circumvented.
This module intends to provide law students with the necessary intellectual equipment allowing them to approach any foreign law (not only European laws) in a meaningful way. In particular, the module will heighten students' sensitization to the specificity of foreign legal cultures and encourage them to reflect in depth upon the possibilities and limits of cross-border interaction in the law. Another feature of this module will be a critical introduction to hermeneutics, deconstruction and translation studies with specific reference being made to law as these lines of thought are most relevant for comparatists. Throughout the course, concrete examples will be developed from a range of different national laws.
The module seeks to provide an historical, legal and social understanding of the police, one of the key social and legal institutions of the modern state. The police are an integral part of the criminal justice system and as such, this module is a core element in a criminal justice programme.
Students on this module must become members of the Kent Law Clinic, and work on 'live' cases for clients of the Clinic under the supervision of solicitors, or other experienced legal practitioners working alongside them. (All Supervisors are members of the academic staff at Kent Law School.) Students will develop their knowledge and understanding of specific areas of English law and procedure, and some specific skills. Clinical work provides an excellent opportunity for active learning, and for studying the interface between theory and practice.
Students are encouraged to view their clinical work not just as a means of acquiring important legal skills but primarily as a means of developing a better understanding of law and legal practice and enhancing their critical analysis of law and of legal practice.
Students are expected to undertake, under supervision, legal work in one or more areas of law of relevance to the objects of the Clinic. Students will normally work on cases rather than projects. A Supervisor will decide whether a student has undertaken sufficient substantial work for the purposes of this module. Students are required to carry out this work to the professional standards expected of paralegal staff employed by solicitors.
In addition, students must carry out, also under supervision, the usual tasks associated with the conduct of legal casework as appropriate to the needs of the case such as case management, statement and précis drafting, legal research, interviewing, legal drafting, corresponding, negotiating, advocating; and orally (or in briefing notes) presenting, explaining and discussing cases and projects (especially with supervisors and in Clinic seminars and meetings).
Students will read and where relevant apply the Law Clinic's Case Management Guidelines. The purpose of these Guidelines is to facilitate the proper conduct of clients’ cases and of projects. Students will maintain a Student Folder, which will contain all drafts and research used by the student in respect of all casework or projects undertaken by that student. They will help to evidence the preparatory and research work undertaken by students.
Students on this module must become members of the Kent Law Clinic, and work on 'live' cases for clients of the Clinic under the supervision of solicitors, or other experienced legal practitioners working alongside them. (All Supervisors are members of the academic staff at Kent Law School.) Students will develop their knowledge and understanding of specific areas of English law and procedure, and some specific skills. Clinical work provides an excellent opportunity for active learning, and for studying the interface between theory and practice.
Students are encouraged to view their clinical work not just as a means of acquiring important legal skills but primarily as a means of developing a better understanding of law and legal practice and enhancing their critical analysis of law and of legal practice.
Students are expected to undertake, under supervision, legal work in one or more areas of law of relevance to the objects of the Clinic. Students will normally work on cases rather than projects. A Supervisor will decide whether a student has undertaken sufficient substantial work for the purposes of this module. Students are required to carry out this work to the professional standards expected of paralegal staff employed by solicitors.
In addition, students must carry out, also under supervision, the usual tasks associated with the conduct of legal casework as appropriate to the needs of the case such as case management, statement and précis drafting, legal research, interviewing, legal drafting, corresponding, negotiating, advocating; and orally (or in briefing notes) presenting, explaining and discussing cases and projects (especially with supervisors and in Clinic seminars and meetings).
Students will read and where relevant apply the Law Clinic's Case Management Guidelines. The purpose of these Guidelines is to facilitate the proper conduct of clients' cases and of projects. Students will maintain a Student Folder, which will contain all drafts and research used by the student in respect of all casework or projects undertaken by that student. They will help to evidence the preparatory and research work undertaken by students.
The course aims to provide students with abilities to develop an understanding of the following issues: (a) Foundational principles, justificatory arguments and theoretical frameworks of intellectual property law; (b) Key legislation and case law and the relationship of levels of law making in intellectual property law; (c) A basic understanding of UK intellectual property law (copyright, breach of confidence, trade marks and patents)
This module will focus on the leading topic areas of intellectual property law (including practical aspects), namely:
• Copyright
• Patents
• Trade marks
• Passing off
• Breach of confidence
The module is taken over two terms. It begins with lectures introducing the trajectory of a research project, the use of library resources, primary and secondary material, use of citations and constructing a bibliography etc. This introduces students to a route map through the research process from an initial "problem" to formulating a suitable "research question", to choosing a method and research design, to conducting the research; from taking notes to drafting chapters; from deciding on the chapter breakdown to the writing of the dissertation; from developing an argument to presenting it in written form. However, the main experience of the module is found in the supervision process between supervisor and student, who between themselves decide on the specific plan for the research programme.
The module is taken over one term. Students will attend a small number of lectures introducing the trajectory of a research project, the use of library resources, primary and secondary material, use of citations and constructing a bibliography etc. The main experience of the module is found in the supervision process between supervisor and student, who between themselves decide on the specific plan for the research programme.
This module investigates the relationship between law and social change, and explores the political, economic and social dynamics that affect this relationship over time. The module will consider questions such as:
• Why is the law a terrain of social struggle?
• How does the law respond and/or contribute to social change?
• How do the values or worldviews that the law incorporates affect the legal advancement of social change?
• How does the character of the law change in relation to different political, economic and social contexts?
• What are the obstacles and limitations to the law contributing to and creating social change? How is the context in which the law operates
important in this analysis?
• How can we engage with the law to pursue change towards social justice?
The first part of the module examines the relationship between law and social change as addressed by key classical and contemporary social theorists. This exploration is then extended with an analysis of how and to what extent social movements can affect legal reform and eventually contribute to social change. The second part of the module investigates a number of concepts and areas in relation to which the approaches and ideas explored in the previous part can be applied, questioned, reframed or expanded. These concepts and areas are morality, democracy, globalisation, rights and citizenship, and the role of legal professions in social change.
So much of law is about text and the manipulation of language: Becoming sensitive to the construction of narratives in judgements, learning to read argument in its many forms, recognising the ways in which words, and patterns of words, can be used to create effect, playing with ambiguities or seeking to express an idea with clarity, all these are fundamental skills for a lawyer. Law is also about performance, the roles which are assigned to us and the drama of the court room. And law, as text and performance, carries fundamental cultural messages about the society we live in and the values we aspire to. During this module, we will examine some of the many ways in which reading, viewing and listening to, 'the arts' helps us to think more concisely as well as more imaginatively about law. We welcome on to the module anyone who shares, with us, an enjoyment of reading, viewing and listening – this is a chance for students to be introduced to material they may not be familiar with as well as a chance to pursue an interest they may already have. Although the module is designed primarily for law students, it is also open to undergraduates from other degree programmes.
The module focuses on a small number of key texts through which to explore the themes and develop student skills. These vary from year to year.
The module will be divided into three main sections. The first section will involve an examination of the banker-customer relationship, including the rights and obligations of the parties in that relationship, the use of different methods of payments and remedies. The second section will focus on the provision of credit by banks to customers. This section will look at the types of credit facilities provided by banks, the taking of security by banks and the enforcement of such security. The final section will focus on money laundering regulation within the banking industry.
This module considers how criminal law makes use of science. Forensic evidence is a rapidly developing area in criminal trials – new techniques are continually being developed and forensic evidence such as DNA profiling is increasingly presented as evidence. This rapid expansion has resulted in forensic evidence becoming increasingly debated in the media and by the criminal justice process – from articles hailing DNA profiling as preventing or undoing miscarriages of justice to those questioning a lay jury's ability to make a judgement in cases involving highly complex scientific or medical evidence.
The module will be broken down into 4 parts:
1. Initially, analysis of the historical development of the use of forensic evidence will be made along with explanation of both what constitutes
forensic evidence and the basic scientific techniques involved.
2. Consideration of the way in which forensic science has developed as a useful tool within the criminal justice process
3. Analysis of the difficulties of placing emphasis on forensic science within the trial system – cases in which forensic science has resulted in
subsequently questioned decisions.
4. Current issues surrounding the use of forensic science: This section of the course will be devoted to considering the questions which arise
out of the use of forensic evidence such as:
• Who should decide whether a new scientific technique should be admissible evidence,
• Who are the experts who present the evidence to juries
• To what extent does the admission of forensic evidence assists juries.
The overall objective of the module is to provide an exposition of Environmental Law which seeks to assess the functioning of the law alongside the environmental problems that it seeks to address. Many of these problems admit scientific, economic and administrative responses as readily as legal ones. However, the underlying premise is that, alongside other disciplines, law has an essential part to play in the protection of the environment. Within law, various strategies that may be applied to environmental problems have different strengths and weaknesses. In each case the options must be reviewed and it must be asked, which is the most appropriate legal approach to a particular kind of environmental problem?
To some extent this eclectic perspective spans traditional legal boundaries emphasising features which may be overlooked in customary treatments of subjects such as criminal law, tort, administrative law and European Union law, but it is a subject which has a distinctive identity determined by the specific problems that the law seeks to address. Environmental Law seeks to examine and assess laws, of widely different kinds, from a uniquely environmental perspective. Taking the broadest possible view, it must be asked what legal mechanism is best used to restrict emissions causing deterioration in the quality of the three environmental media of water, air and land and how the law can provide appropriate redress for environmental harm.
Environmental Law Theory and Practice I is broadly concerned with environmental quality law, particularly the different ways in which environmentally damaging activities are addressed through legal mechanisms. The interest in environmental quality and pollution control is not merely limited to contemporary issues but includes an interest in understanding how legal responses to these problems have developed over time since the Industrial Revolution, and consideration as to whether they are currently and will continue to be fit for purpose in rising to current challenges. The module opens with a discussion of how we might define and understand the character of environmental law, following this question through the historical development of contemporary environmental law across the public / private divide and across jurisdictions from the UK through the EU towards the influences of international agreements. This is undertaken through examination of how protection the three environmental media: water, land and air has developed since industrialisation. The module finishes with consideration of cross-cutting issues such as enforcement, and through revisiting the initial question as to how we might define and understand the character of environmental law with reference to current challenges such as climate change, and radically alternative proposals for visions of the future of environmental law.
90% of English legal cases involve a statute. For obvious reasons, it is crucial that students should know how to interpret and apply a statute. Through a series of fascinating examples drawn from the UK and elsewhere, this module teaches students these skills, which all employers highly value. Indeed, skills in the interpretation and application of law-texts are also very useful in a wide range of contexts, for example when students have to deal with judicial precedents or multilingual legislation.
The Law, Science and Technology module explores different ways of thinking about the connections between law, science, and technology. The Law, Science and Technology module is an interdisciplinary module that introduces students to several interrelated fields including law, socio-legal studies, Science and Technology Studies (STS), anthropology and sociology. The module will critically engage recent examples, using the literature to not only frame debates but to find ways of challenging the dominant paradigms through which the relationship between law and scientific knowledge tends to be understood. The module engages with key texts from differing traditions and specific examples (including public health regulations ; climate change, law and scientific expertise; the regulation of reproductive technologies; science in the courtroom; the use of technologies in legal decision-making; the role of law in shaping global health inequalities) to explore other possible ways of thinking about the relationship between law, science, and technology. Cross-cutting themes for the module will include: legal decision-making and scientific uncertainty; the role of expertise in legal decision-making; the interface between law, power and technoscience; notions of objectivity and truth both in law and science; global science, postcolonialism and global inequalities.
Block 1. Critical introduction to major theories of morality: virtue theory (incl. feminist ethics of care), deontological theory (incl. natural law theory and Kantian theory) and consequentialism (utilitarianism).
Block 2. A historical/contextual examination of the development of a particular moral concept; that of individual rights
Block 3. Oral presentations by students in pairs
Block 4. An analytical examination and critique of modern theories of rights and their relationship to law
The module is taken over one term. Students will attend a small number of lectures, introducing the trajectory of a research project, the use of library resources, primary and secondary material, use of citations and constructing a bibliography etc. The main experience of the module is found in the supervision process between supervisor and student, who between themselves decide on the specific plan for the research programme.
The first half of the module will provide students with detailed knowledge and understanding of the idea of development, the international development project, the main international development institutions and the international context in which they developed; the national effects of the development project; and the movement of Law and Development. The second half of the module will examine contemporary topics in law and international development, including (but not limited to) human rights and development; decentralization and local development; sustainability and development; law and the informal sector; rule of law promotion; and the intersection between security and developmental concerns and discourses.
This course will afford students the opportunity to explore the moral and ethical questions surrounding legal practice in both a theoretical and a practical way. Starting with some philosophical arguments about whether and how lawyers might have specifically moral responsibilities, they will then be equipped to test such arguments in the context of case studies from real legal practice. This course will provide an intellectually demanding introduction to the academic study of legal ethics, which will push students to hone their skills of argumentation, analysis and critique.
Block 1. Why Legal Ethics? The course will start with an exploration of the moral reasoning and arguments that justify the notion of 'legal ethics'. This first block of seminars will introduce students to the theoretical questions which precede any acceptance of the practice of law as having a moral dimension.
Block 2. Case Studies and the Ethical Issues they raise. Starting with the case of the so-called 'torture lawyers' from the 'war on terror' of the American Bush administration, students will be asked to reflect on and discuss several case studies as starting points for discussion of issues in ‘legal ethics’ broadly conceived, including: responsibility for ‘doing wrong’, complicity, upholding human rights, conflicts of interest, integrity, the adversarial system as an excuse for moral neutrality or worse and confidentiality.
This module is concerned with contemporary labour law. It combines legal analysis and the transmission of practical legal skills with a highly contextual and interdisciplinary understanding of the labour law and regulatory debates around labour regulation. To that end, workshops will feature extended discussion on key aspects of contemporary labour legislation using scholarly texts. Students will also study key legal aspects of the modern employment relationship including the contract of employment, statutory employment protection provisions (for example unfair dismissal and redundancy protection), anti-discrimination legislation and provisions for reconciling work and family life (e.g. pregnancy protection and parental leave). The module will also explore selected aspects of collective labour law including the role and status of trade unions, the legal regulation of collective bargaining and/or the regulation of industrial conflict. The module seeks to combine a detailed knowledge of fundamental key aspects of labour law with the development of broader conceptual, critical and evaluative perspectives on workplace regulation. workplace regulation.
In recent times, 'alternative' forms of dispute resolution (ADR) have been widely recognised as possessing the potential to limit some of the damage caused by civil disputes. Therefore, a lawyer's skill-set ideally should include a well-developed ability to analyse, manage and resolve disputes both within and outside the usual setting of the courtroom. Thus, the module's primary aim is to introduce students to the legal and regulatory issues surrounding methods of dispute resolution aside from litigation. Specifically, the module focuses on the practical factors relevant to selecting appropriate dispute resolution in distinct circumstances, including, for example, the employment and family law arenas.
Students will be provided with the resources to acquire a detailed theoretical and practical understanding of the contextual constraints associated with the use of different forms of dispute resolution and will be encouraged to develop their ability to evaluate the effectiveness of particular interventions, especially when used as an adjunct to court proceedings. The module tracks historic and current developments in relation to the use of ADR, highlighting how government policy and courts appear, increasingly, to sanction failure to use ADR. This may well enhance students' opportunities to hone career-advancing expertise in the field.
Consumer law is a significant area of contemporary market regulation. This area of law raises practical questions about the everyday consumption of goods and services, theoretical issues about the role of government regulation and contrasting visions of markets. Furthermore, consumer law provides an opportunity to analyse different forms of regulation in contemporary societies such as legal rules, codes of practice, administrative regulation and attempts to harness market incentives. This module addresses the regulation of consumer markets. This module is aimed at students who wish to have an understanding of substantive law, policies and institutional framework concerning the regulation of consumer markets.
This module introduces the origins, evolution and impact of international economic law—that is, the regulation by (primarily) states and international organisations of international economic activity, such as the movement of goods, services, capital and people.
It takes a critical socio-legal approach to the field in the sense that it considers economic, social, political and cultural dimensions; and emphasises the existence of multiples perspectives, in particular of individuals and organisations; in the public, private, and third sectors; in relatively poor and relatively rich economic contexts; in times of calm and of crisis; and on local, national, regional and global levels.
This module examines the intersections between forms of legal regulation, conceptions of power and spatial configurations and plans. It traces elements of such intersections accessibly with the aid of insights from a variety of the most relevant fields (including legal geography, architectural history and theory, critical planning studies, urban design, spatial studies, anthropology, legal theory and philosophy). It interrogates the intersections in question both through a thorough introduction to all the contemporary relevant theories and practices of spatial power configuration and with a focused 5 week seminar preparation of a unit theme, each year, on a particular city or relevant event which informs the assessment set.
This module will focus on the way in which the law defines and constructs privacy, breach of confidence, cybersecurity threats, and e-surveillance in the UK, EU and elsewhere as appropriate (e.g. North America, Australia) and how the law regulates data protection, freedom of information, consent for digital and personal information collection, use and sharing, and e-surveillance. Students will be asked to critically examine whether privacy protection laws, consent, and confidentiality measures are fit for purpose and proportionate given demands of the market, the state, and public administrations to collect, use, and share personal information for reasons of commerce, service provision, and security protection. Students will be challenged to critically examine how personal, financial, health, and economic transactional data are managed, who has access to this information, and for what purposes. The module will require students to assess emerging legal, regulatory, data protection and personal privacy issues raised by widespread access to personal information, including data generated by social media, electronic commerce, state security agencies, and health administrations. The curriculum will explore rapidly changing privacy and data protection issues including the 'right to be forgotten', the Internet of Things (IoT), cybersecurity law in a post-Snowden world including Safe Harbours, data retention and reuse implications of the UK National DNA database, biobanks, and digital interconnectivity of social media.
The module will examine the role and function of international law in regulating relations between States and resolving international disputes. It will introduce students to a number of theoretical frameworks through which to understand and critically evaluate international law historically and in context. It will provide students with knowledge and understanding of the origins and development of international law and of its key concepts, principles and rules. The module will enable students to consider the relevance, or otherwise, of international law to contemporary international problems and to critically assess its limitations and effects. This will be achieved through a range of topics and case studies.
The module will examine the evolution, principles, institutions and functions of international human rights law in their political, social and economic contexts. It will provide students with detailed knowledge and understanding of the origins and development of human rights law through critical study and analysis of key theoretical perspectives and debates. The module will enable students to consider the relevance, or otherwise, of international human rights law to historical and/or contemporary challenges and to critically assess its limitations and effects.
This module will provide students with a strong grounding in the technical law relating to homelessness, as well as an understanding of some of the key policy debates which underlie this legal framework. The module opens with discussion of social understandings of home and homelessness, before moving to a detailed assessment of the current framework of England's homelessness law. It will examine statute and case law relating to the duties on local authorities to respond to homelessness, including the definition of homelessness; who is "eligible" for housing; the key concepts of priority need and the meaning of vulnerability; what happens when someone is considered to be “intentionally homeless”; and the impact of a connection to another local authority. The review of the contemporary legal structure closes with discussion of the procedure which homeless applicants will undergo and a review of the law and policy relating to allocation policies. The second part of the module places this legal structure in context by examining the history of homelessness provision and regulation; considering responses to homelessness in other jurisdictions and examining the regulation and perceptions of street homelessness.
This module engages with the matter of asylum and refugeehood in both a national and international context. The module offers a thorough introduction to the sources of asylum and refugee law (UK and international) and a critical consideration of the relevant jurisprudence. The module employs at times interdisciplinary material to aid understanding and reflection and engages with the historical and socio-cultural evolution of the government and regulation of asylum and refugee subjects. In addition, the module devotes time to key contemporary problems in asylum and refugee law and current developments and debates in the field.
The module will provide an introduction to immigration law in the United Kingdom. It covers key concepts; the development of the field of law viewed in historical and political context; questions of nationality and the system of immigration control and enforcement. It also considers the relationship between human rights and UK immigration controls. In particular, the course covers: The Immigration Debate in the UK: Are Immigration restrictions justified?; The Evolution of Immigration Law and Policy in Britain; the multiple sources of Immigration Law; The Immigration Acts and the Framework of Immigration Control including an appreciation of the Appeals Process and Judicial Review; The Immigration Rules; relevant aspects of EU Free Movement and Residence Rights including the consequences of Brexit; an outline of Labour Migration; Family Migration and Article 8 ECHR; Deportation Law and Foreign National Offenders; Long-term Residence Rights and "Illegal" Migration. Drawing on a range of contextual accounts, policy documents, case law and critical analysis of developments at the national, regional and to a more limited extent the international level, the module enables students to acquire both sound knowledge of the law and critical awareness of the biases, gaps and challenges in the current immigration system.
The module will assume prior knowledge and understanding of the foundational levels of tort law taught in LAWS3150 and LAWS6510. In the module, students will focus on contentious areas of tort law from a critical perspective. They will look at areas such as those in the following (not exhaustive or all-inclusive) list: reproductive harms, wrongful birth/life, 'toxic torts' and developments in the law on causation, invasion of privacy and/or autonomy, feminist perspectives/critiques on torts, negligent policing (and of other public bodies), tort law and human rights, access to justice, conceptions of justice in/philosophy of tort. Teaching of these areas may be undertaken by ‘experts’ in a particular topic, so the availability of each topic may vary on an annual basis to account for e.g. periods of study leave.
This module will provide students with the underlying theoretical framework for exploring a range of perspectives on the concepts of race, religion, gender and sexuality, and their intersections, including with other social relations. In doing so, the module will serve as a forum for discussion, debate, asking questions, and considering diverse perspectives on the concepts being studied, including relating them to specific case studies. The module will encourage students to choose an essay question or research project, and will help prepare them for it by; introducing and guiding students through key legal and interdisciplinary texts, stimulating debate on and engagement with these texts; developing students' skills in the areas of analysis and argumentation, and considering a range of sometimes conflicting perspectives on issues. Students will formulate a plan for their independent research project. The plan will provide an opportunity for students to critically engage with, and reflect upon, substantive feedback. This will be further supported by an oral assessment, in the form of an in-class presentation on a contemporary case study.
The overall objective of the module is to provide an exposition and appreciation of Sports Law, considering key elements of the legal and institutional framework. Sport in the UK (as elsewhere) is now subject to a very wide range set of systems of supervision involving the application of principles and institutional governance subject to a wide spectrum of legal sources, including public and private law, national and international law as well as sui generis dispute resolution systems such as the Court of Arbitration for Sport based in Switzerland. The module will develop student learning by focusing on a range of legal topics and issues, which constitute integral key components of Sports Law.
The law of succession (also known as inheritance) is a core area of legal and socio-economic practice enabling, and sometimes mandating, the transfer of wealth from one generation to another. Common law jurisdictions, such as England, Australia and America, are often described as upholding the principle of 'freedom of testation'. This course provides a critical introduction to the law of succession, in particular the nature of wills, will formation, and the administration of estates; it will assess the problem of intestacy (dying without a will); it will critically evaluate the principle of ‘freedom of testation’ with regard the limitations placed on freedom of testation and through comparative analysis with other jurisdictions.
This module will provide students with an in-depth examination of the theoretical and applied aspects of Forensic Psychology. It will include the development of laws and the principles on which the judicial system is founded, offending by specific sections of the community including street gangs and career criminals, Criminal Justice responses to offending by the police and forensic profilers, the role and credibility of eyewitnesses and the interview processes employed with suspects, the role of juries, how sentences are compiled for convicted offenders, the aims of punishment and how prisoners respond to imprisonment, theoretical perspectives of rehabilitation and an examination of the implementation of the sex offender treatment programme. The module will focus on the in-depth application of forensic psychology to the justice system, its role in identifying and ameliorating offending behaviour. In particular it will evaluate the role of psychology in criminal justice: systems, policies and practices by presenting and critically evaluating research and research methods within forensic psychology. Students will be encouraged to develop skills to critique the literature and methodologies to further their understanding of the core forensic issues the course presents.
This module will examine the ways in which violence is receiving increasing attention within the social sciences, and will introduce the major theoretical and research themes involved in the analysis of violence. It will examine data on the prevalence, nature and effects of violent crime, and will consider issues of violence, aggression and masculinity. This will be done with particular reference to examples, such as racist crime, homophobic crime and domestic violence. The module will approach violence from interpersonal and societal perspectives and will include consideration of collective violence and genocide. It will further examine solutions to solutions to violence and conflict resolution, the effects of intervention strategies and non-juridical responses to violence.
The module provides students with an understanding of the contested cultural meanings underpinning crime. Too often criminology is satisfied taking definitions of criminality at face value, when really it means very different things to different people and in different contexts. The module examines how media representations propagate particular perceptions of crime, criminality and justice. It goes on to consider the manner in which those who 'offend' experience and interpret their own behaviour, which may be focused on the attainment of excitement or indeed on attaining their own conception of justice. The module explores these contradictions in a world where crime, control and the media saturate everyday life. In doing so it considers a diverse range of concepts; youth culture, hedonism, hate crime, risk taking, moral panics, the image, emotionality and consumerism. We examine the nature of a late-modern society where criminality inspires great fear and resentment, whilst at the same time it provides imagery which is harnessed to produce entertainment and sell a range of consumer goods. Students will become familiar with cutting edge research and theory in the fields of Cultural Criminology, Visual Criminology, and Media and Crime, placing issues such as music, photography, street gangs, extreme sports, newspapers and nights on the town in new and exciting contexts.
This module will provide an overview of drug-related offending and the rehabilitation of offenders in the context of wider society. There will be a critical exploration of the relationship between drugs and crime and the effectiveness of treatment in the context of reducing criminality. It will review the laws relating to drug offences and look in detail at the development of government policy linking the criminal justice agenda with treatment. The module will also consider international approaches to the drug-crime link, and address the importance of gender and ethnicity in relation to drug offences.
This module aims to enable students to design and conduct their own piece of research. This can be primary research where students collect and analyse their own data, or it can be library based, where students research existing literature or re-analyse data collected by others. The research can be about a particular policy or policy area, social problem, social development, or matter of sociological interest. The dissertation will usually be set out as a series of chapters. In order to assist students with designing and writing a dissertation a supervisor – a member of staff in SSPSSR - will have an initial meeting with students (during the summer term of Year 2 where possible) and then during the Autumn and Spring terms students will have at least six formal dissertation sessions with their supervisor. These may be held individually or with other students. In addition there will be two lectures by the module convenor which will also support students' progress, workshops on bibliography development (Autumn term) and data analysis (Spring term).
Restorative justice has emerged in recent years as a new way of thinking about how we should view and respond to crime. Restorative approaches are making significant inroads into criminal justice policy and practice and this module provides students with an opportunity to engage in an increasingly dynamic and interesting field in contemporary criminal justice. The main aim of this module is to provide students with a critical understanding of restorative justice. It explores key values, issues and debates in restorative justice set in the context of theoretical arguments and criminal justice policy and practice.
The module will open with the concepts and theoretical underpinnings of restorative justice and go on to explore restorative justice and offenders, restorative justice and victims, emotions in restorative justice, the role of the community and the role of the state. It will close with critical issues and debates in restorative justice and future directions.
This course will introduce students to the sociological analysis of prisons and penal policy. The module is organised around the general theme of a discussion of current debates in the criminology and sociology drawing on both theoretical and empirical research. More specific themes covered will include:
- The historical development of imprisonment
- An investigation of the growing 'crisis' of imprisonment
- An examination of the reasons for the growth of imprisonment in both the UK and America
- The imprisonment of women and ethnic minority groups.
- An exploration of issues impacting on the experience of imprisonment
- A discussion on the future of imprisonment
This module provides students with an understanding of contemporary cybercrime, its implications and its sociological meanings. It examines how cybercrime functions, how it relates to wider criminological debates and theories, and how it raises challenges in our understanding of the nature of crime, criminality, crime control and policing. Students will become familiar with cutting edge research and theories in the field of cybercrime, and debates that are developing both within the UK and across the world. By focusing on the differing levels of both action and actors, this unit will provide a holistic and nuanced understanding of these vital contemporary challenges facing society. This module equips students with the necessary theoretical and practical tools and modes of social enquiry to make sense of an increasingly digital and networked world.
How you'll study
As well as scheduled teaching hours, students in Kent Law School are expected to do an amount of independent study. For a student studying full time, each academic year of the programme includes approximately 1200 learning hours. Our popular mooting programme develops your advocacy skills in a simulated courtroom setting before a bench comprising local judges, practising barristers, solicitors and lecturers.
Teaching and assessment
Kent Law School emphasises research-led teaching, which means that the modules taught are at the leading edge of new legal and policy developments.
Most modules are assessed by end-of-year examinations and continuous assessment, the ratio varying from module to module, with Kent encouraging and supporting the development of research and written skills. Some modules include an optional research-based dissertation that counts for 45% or, in some cases, 100% of the final mark.
Assessment can also incorporate assessment through oral presentation and argument, often in the style of legal practice (such as mooting), and client-based work and reflection through our Law Clinic.
For a student studying full time, each academic year of the programme will comprise approximately 1200 learning hours which include both direct contact hours and private study hours. The precise breakdown of hours will be subject dependent and will vary according to modules. Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure
Methods of assessment will vary according to subject specialism and individual modules.
For programme aims and learning outcomes, including for Joint Honours programmes and for Law with a Foundation Year, please see the programme specification.
As a law and criminology student at Kent, you will benefit from being taught by academics and researchers who are leaders in the field, both for teaching and research. So not only will you be taught by people who are at the forefront of development and debate around issues relating to crime and law, you can be assured that they are also excellent teachers. Meaning they can keep you in touch with the leading debates around issues that matter most to you.
This means that when you graduate, you are well informed on the areas you want to effect change in and well placed to kickstart your career. You’ll be ready to enter a dynamic and diverse labour market. Our degree especially puts you at an advantage when pursing a legal career, with our graduates well placed to step into the courtroom and make a difference.
The skills and confidence you graduate from Kent with put you in the perfect position to realise your ambition. This could be in law, or any area you want to explore and change. The adaptability of the skills you develop, and the degree programme itself gives you the autonomy to make your degree and your career your own. Wherever you want to go, law and criminology at Kent is a great first step to get there.
All the academics and support staff want you to do well and give you the tools to do so.
The 2024/25 annual tuition fees for this course are:
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
For students continuing on this programme, fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.*
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
Find out more about accommodation and living costs, plus general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
Kent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. See our funding page for more details.
We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.
Student Life
In the QS World University Rankings 2024, Kent has been ranked 39th within the UK and is in the top 25% of Higher Education Institutions worldwide.
Kent Sport
Kent has risen 11 places in THE’s REF 2021 ranking, confirming us as a leading research university.
An unmissable part of your student experience.
