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LAW-10053 - Module Specification
School of Law
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

For academic year: 2025/26 Last Updated: 04 December 2025

LAW-10053 - Public Law
Coordinator: Yossi Nehushtan Tel: +44 1782 7 33862
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 4
Credits: 30
Study Hours: 300
School Office: 01782 733218

Programme/Approved Electives for 2025/26

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2025/26

Public Law is the study of power. It is the study of the apportionment of power and of its control. It considers the relationship between the citizen and the state, and between different parts of the State. It asks Constitutional questions; who exercises what power, in what circumstances and to what ends. It asks legal questions around review of the use of state power and the role of human rights in policing those relationships.

Aims
This module introduces key principles of UK public law: constitutional, administrative, and human rights law. It explores foundational concepts of the UK’s constitution such as parliamentary sovereignty, the separation of powers, and the rule of law. It analyses the relationship between the state and the individual, human rights, and the role of administrative law in controlling governmental power. This module enables you to assess the UK’s constitution in its comparative, historical, and social context, and to use legal research and writing in approaching issues of public law to solve public law problems.

Talis Aspire Reading List
Any reading lists will be provided by the start of the course.
http://lists.lib.keele.ac.uk/modules/law-10053/lists

Intended Learning Outcomes

Understand the principles underpinning the constitutional, administrative, and human rights law of the United Kingdom.: 1,2
Explain the constitutional, administrative, and human rights law of the United Kingdom in their comparative, historical, and social contexts.: 2
Use legal research and writing in approaching issues of public law.: 2,3
Solve public law problems.: 3

Study hours

Active learning hours (total 64):
44 hours of lectures (1 hour sessions)
20 hours of seminars
Independent study hours (total 236):
150 hours of preparation and consolidation for lectures and seminars.
86 hours assessment preparation: 16 for MCQ and 70 for assessments 2 & 3.

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Flexible Class Test weighted 10%
10 Question Multiple Choice Test
Short MCQ test assessing the students' ability to describe basic constitutional principles early in the course. Students will have 1 hour to complete the test which will be live over a 48 hour window. The questions will be drawn at random from a bank of questions.

2: Essay weighted 40%
1800 word Constitutional Law Essay
This assessment will give the students a choice of 3 essay titles inviting them to explore important aspects of the UK's constitutional arrangements. It will assess content delivered in Semester 1 of the module.

3: Assignment weighted 50%
2000 word Administrative Law Problem
In this assignment students will be set a problem which focuses on United Kingdom Administrative Law. They will be expected to demonstrate their ability to apply the rules they have learnt to provide advice to one or more clients as to their likely success if they were to seek legal redress.

The University undertakes a continuous review of its teaching and research provision to ensure programmes are of a high quality and changes may be made to modules where it is necessary and reasonable to do so. Please be aware that minor changes to modules, such as a change to an individual assessment, can occur up until enrolment, although we endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes. Details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/legalgovernancecompliance/governance/actcharterstatutesordinancesandregulations/studenttermsconditions/

Last Updated: 04 December 2025