LW108-4-AU-CO:
Foundations of the Law of Obligations
2015/16
Essex Law School
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Undergraduate: Level 4
Current
15
16 March 2012
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
LW101, LW201, LW241, LW242
LLB M122 English and French Law (Maitrise),
LLB M100 Law,
LLB M101 Law (Including Foundation Year),
LLB M107 Law (Including Placement Year),
LLB M120 Law (Including Year Abroad)
This 15 credit module will act as an introduction to the study of contract and tort and set them in the wider framework of the common law of obligations. The main aim will be to introduce students to key concepts in the separate disciplines of contract and tort. However the module will also highlight the interplay between contract, tort and restitution in order to demonstrate the significance in practice of these distinct branches of the law of obligations.
No information available.
No information available.
SYLLABUS
The first five weeks of teaching will provide an overview of fundamental aspects of contract law and explain the relationship of contract law to other branches of the law of obligations. This part of the foundation module will serve as the introduction to a ten week contract module which will be taught in the following spring term. The second five weeks of teaching will provide an overview of the law of negligence and serve as an introduction to the ten week module Tort Law. Contract
1. The common law of obligation, the role of contract, tort and restitution
2. Establishing Agreement: offer and acceptance, consideration, intention to create legal relations, certainty and privity
3. Failure of Contracts and Remedies: conditions, warranties and innominate terms; the nature of breach , damages based both on restitution and expectation, specific performance
Negligence
4. The Duty of Care: Donoghue through to Caparo and beyond
- The Foreseeability of Harm
- Proximity
- Fairness, Justice and Reasonableness
5. Breach of Duty
- The Standard of Care: The Man on the Clapham Omnibus/Skilled, Professional, Juvenile or Infirm Defendants
- Factors Influencing a Finding of Breach
6. Causation and Remoteness
- Successive/Overtaken Torts and Joint Liability
- Cumulative Torts
- Causal Indeterminacy
- Novus Actus
- The Egg-Shell Skull Rule
- The Remoteness Rule
7. Limitations and Defences
- Contributory Negligence
- Volenti Non Fit Injuria
TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT
Two one-hour lectures per week
Four fortnightly seminars
Upon successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
- Understand the limits and scope of each of the three branches of the law of obligations
- Demonstrate an understanding of the principles of contract formation and the remedial consequences of breach of contract
- Demonstrate an understanding of the elements of negligence liability and recognise the wider sociological and political context of the problems of blame culture
- Apply this knowledge to resolve legal problems in simulated cases and to critically evaluate the current state of the law
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Coursework Assignment |
|
100% |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Andrea Fejos, Dr Renginee Pillay
Laurence Wells, Administrator, telephone: 01206 872852 email: ljwells@essex.ac.uk
Yes
No
No
No external examiner information available for this module.
Available via Moodle
No lecture recording information available for this module.
Essex Law School
Disclaimer: The University makes every effort to ensure that this information on its Module Directory is accurate and up-to-date. Exceptionally it can
be necessary to make changes, for example to programmes, modules, facilities or fees. Examples of such reasons might include a change of law or regulatory requirements,
industrial action, lack of demand, departure of key personnel, change in government policy, or withdrawal/reduction of funding. Changes to modules may for example consist
of variations to the content and method of delivery or assessment of modules and other services, to discontinue modules and other services and to merge or combine modules.
The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will also keep students informed appropriately by updating our programme specifications and module directory.
The full Procedures, Rules and Regulations of the University governing how it operates are set out in the Charter, Statutes and Ordinances and in the University Regulations, Policy and Procedures.