Assessment Brief (OSCOLA REFERENCING)
Please pick TWO (2)
questions from the following list and answer them. All questions carry equal
marks, and as such, you must allocate words evenly to your answers. You should
be aiming for 1000 words for each response.
1. “The characterisation of Constitutions into ‘written’
and ‘unwritten’ is, however, too
limited, for such classification tells neither the whole
constitutional story nor
necessarily makes the constitution accessible to those
seeking to understand it…”
[Hilaire Barnett, Constitutional and Administrative Law,
(15th Edition, Routledge,
2011)]
Critically discuss, with reference to the above, the
characteristics of the United Kingdom
Constitution.
2. “Our constitution is dominated by the sovereignty of
Parliament. But Parliamentary sovereignty is no longer, if it ever was,
absolute. It is no longer right to say that its freedom to legislate admits of
no qualification whatever. Step by step, gradually but surely, the English
principle of the absolute legislative sovereignty of Parliament which Dicey
derived from Coke and Blackstone is being qualified.” (Lord Hope in R (Jackson)
v Attorney General is [2005] UKHL 56; [2006] 1 AC 262(Jackson Decision)).
Critically discuss, with
reference to the above, ways in which parliamentary sovereignty may be limited
in the UK.
3. “There will be an end of everything, were the same man
of the same body, whether of the nobles or of the people, to exercise those
three powers, that of enacting laws, that of executing the public resolutions,
and trying the causes of individuals.” (Montesquieu, ‘The Spirit of Laws’,
Cambridge University Press 1978)
With reference to the
above, explain what is meant by the separation of powers. To what extent is it
an important element in the constitutional arrangements of the UK?
4. ‘Conventions are always emerging, crystallizing and
dissolving, and it is sometimes
questionable whether a convention has been broken or has
simply changed.’
[Colin Turpin, British Government and the Constitution
(2nd Edition, Northwestern
University Press, 1990, P.99)]
Critically discuss, with
particular reference to the convention of individual ministerial
responsibility.
5. Jessica is a student who
is just about to complete her law degree at Riverside
University. She lives in
university accommodation and holds a party in her room, that
lasts until 4 a.m. The
University rules state that students should not hold parties in
their rooms after midnight
and that students can be expelled from the University for “gross misconduct”.
The warden of the student
accommodation is kept awake by the party and decides to
expel Jessica. The University
rules allow her to appeal to a three-person committee.
Jessica wants to be
accompanied by a representative of the Student Union, who could
speak for her, but the
University will not allow this. The warden is one of the three
and the committee confirms
her expulsion. Jessica has never been in any trouble
before and is only a month
away from her final examinations.
Advise Jessica upon
whether she would be able to seek judicial review of the University’s decision.
6. What effect has the
Human Rights Act 1998 had on English Law?
Critically discuss, with
reference to relevant case law and academic commentary.
END OF QUESTIONS
Specific
Assessment Criteria:
(Please note that the General
Assessment Criteria will also apply. Please see section 15)
First class (70% and above):
Virtually all of the relevant information/skills accurately deployed.
Excellent and exceptional grasp of contract law, in addition to the
theoretical, conceptual, analytical and practical elements. Very effective
integration of theory and application of case law in relation to the objectives
of the assessment. There will be evidence of originality, flair, and creativity
as appropriate to the subject.