Law

Law is concerned with the legal rules by which society is regulated and the legal system(s) in which these rules operate. All legal systems are a product of historical, social, political and economic forces and the study of law therefore gives an insight into the nature of society itself.

Why Aberdeen?

Law involves not only the study of legal rules, but the development of intellectual qualities such as clear, careful and independent thought; precise use of language; the capacity to analyse and solve complex problems; the ability to present arguments in a clear, reasoned and logical manner; the power to distinguish the relevant from the irrelevant; and, generally, thoroughness of inquiry.

• Excellent academic reputation
• Law School ranked 11th in the UK out of 95 Law Schools The Times Good University Guide 2012
• High student satisfaction - 95% in National Student Survey 2011
• Choice of 14 degree programmes
• Over  40 Honours options
• Student-led Law Clinic
• Student Law Review
• Opportunities to study in continental Europe
• Ranked highest UK Law School of graduate prospects (93%), The Times Good University Guide 2012

Programmes

Study Abroad

Opportunities exist to study in continental Europe.

The opportunity to take Enhanced Study options as part of your degree and participate in co-curricular activities. See www.abdn.ac.uk/thedifference for more information.

The LLB degree is based on three years of study and requires a student to gain at least 360 credits; the LLB (Honours) degree is based on four years of study and requires a student to gain at least 480 credits.  LLB courses usually have 15 credits; Honours courses, 25.

Every student must gain at least 240 credits from the law courses in List A, of which several noted below are compulsory.

Every student must also pass Enhanced Study options amounting to 90 credits (i.e. six courses) drawn from one of the following three categories:-

(a)   Discipline Breadth courses, which can include options from other degree programmes (eg. the MA) or a number of law options, covering e.g. Public International Law, Alternative Dispute Resolution, , Scottish Legal, HistoryResolution,  etc.  These law courses can contribute to the 240 law credits required to graduate with the LLB.

(b)   Sustained Study courses by which students are exposed to a linked series of courses e.g. a language, alongside their law courses.

(c)   Sixth Century courses, which are cross disciplinary.

Law  Courses

Compulsory Courses: Foundations of Private Law, Legal System, Criminal Law, Contract, Delicit and Unjustified Enrichment, Property Law, Introduction to Jurisprudence, Legal Method, Foundations of Public Law and Human Rights.

Optional Courses: Family Law, Commercial Organisations and Insolvency, Consumer and Commercial and Commercial Contracts, Succession and Trusts, Evidence and Advocacy, Revenue Law, European Union Institutions and Law, Private International Law, Forensic Medicine, Public International Law, Introduction to French Law, Introduction to German Law, Alternative Methods of Dispute Settlement, Competitive Mooting, Introduction to European Legal Systems, Introduction to Spanish Law , Scottish Legal History, Pro Bono Legal Studies.

Provided students satisfy the subject requirements above, in order to reach the 360 or 480 requirement, the student may additionally take any course offered in the University for any degree, law or non-law. 

Honours Courses

These include: Administrative Law, American Constitutional Law, Animal Welfare Law, Civil Liberties, Comparative Law, Comparative Constitutional Law, Company Law, Contract Law, Conveyancing, Copyright and Allied Rights, Criminal Justice, Criminal Law, Criminology, Delict, Employment Law, Environmental Law, European Economic Law, European Competition Law, European Institutions and Law, European Legal History, Evidence, Family Law, Government and Law, Industrial Property Law, Individual Rights in European Union Law, International Economic Law: The World Trade Organisation, International Law in a World of Crises, International Criminal Law, Law and Modernity, Law and Medical Ethics, Legal Issues Involving Art and Antiquities, Legal Issues in Corporate Management, Maritime Law, Media Law, Moveable Property, Oil and Gas Law, Peoples & Indigenous Peoples and Minorities in International Law, Planning Law, Private International Law, Renewable Energy Law, Roman Law, Rural Law, Scottish Legal History, Succession, Taxation Law, Use of Force in International Law,  and Unjustified Enrichment. 

Curriculum for the Degree of LLB & LLB (Honours)

Both the LLB and LLB (Honours) degrees offer a wide choice of courses and a flexibility which enables students to construct a curriculum in keeping with personal interests and career intentions. Some students are unsure about their career intentions when they commence their degree. In order to keep their options open, these students, together with those firmly intending to practise law, will be advised to include in their curricula all the courses necessary to allow them to enter the legal profession. Students who have firmly decided not to enter the legal profession have a greater choice in constructing their curricula because they will not have to take certain professional subjects.

A Typical Curriculum for the LLB Degree

The curriculum below contains all the courses currently necessary to enable a student to keep open the option of becoming a solicitor.

First Year

First Half-Session Courses

Legal System shows the new student how to handle legal materials like legislation and case reports, and explains the organisation of Scottish courts, tribunals and the legal profession.

Criminal Law studies Human Rights, criminal evidence, what constitutes crimes such as murder and assault, and the scope of defences like provocation and self-defence.

Foundations of Private Law gives an overview of the main institutions of private law, with an emphasis on the law of property and obligations, and a survey of the development of private law in Europe and Scotland's position within that tradition.

An Enhanced Study option from one of the categories mentioned in one of (a), (b) or (c) above.

Second Half-Session Courses

Contract looks at how legal agreements are constituted and enforced, and how they may be set aside, e.g. on the basis of fraud.

Public Law and Human Rights gives an overview of the basic structures of the state in terms of its constitution and regulation, including parliamentary sovereignty, rule of law, separation of powers and parliament, and Human Rights issues.

Legal Method.  This course is much concerned with developing skills in legal research and writing, problem solving, critical judgement and handling legal materials.

A second Enhanced Study Option from the appropriate category, as previously described.

Second Year

First Half-Session Courses

Property Law studies the nature of the legal rights, duties and powers which individuals may have in respect of different types of property and examines how one acquires a legal title to property, the restrictions on how an owner can use his or her property, and how one disposes of property.

Delicit and Unjustified Enrichment involves consideration of the circumstances in which a person who suffers loss, injury or damage as a result of wrongful conduct on the part of another is entitled to claim compensation.

European Union Institutions and Law considers the institutions that make law for the European Union e.g. the Commission, Council, Parliament and the European Court of Justice, and the legal effects for the United Kingdom; Principles of EU Law; and Human Rights.

A third Enhanced Study Option from the appropriate category, as previously described.

Second Half-Session Courses

Family Law looks at parental rights and responsibilities, creation of marriage and civil partnerships, and cohabitation.

Commercial Organisations and Insolvency deals with agency and partnership, company law and the law of insolvency and intellectual property.

Succession and Trusts looks at how trusts, including charitable ones, are constituted and administered. The law of succession deals with the rules which regulate inheritance.

Introduction to Jurisprudence introduces students to ways of thinking about law and legal notions. It looks at the nature and philosophy of law and analyses concepts like rule, right and justice.

A fourth Enhanced Study option from the appropriate category, as previously described.

Third Year

First Half-Session Courses

Evidence and Advocacy is of special importance to the court practitioner. It considers such matters as types of evidence which a party is permitted to bring forward in a court case, and advocacy skills.

Consumer and Commercial Contracts considers how specific business contracts are regulated eg contracts for the sale of goods, insurance contracts and consumer contracts.

A fifth Enhanced Study option from the appropriate category, as previously described.

Second Half-Session Courses

A sixth Enhanced Study option from the appropriate category, as previously described.

In addition to the above, students pursuing a non-Honours curriculum will require to pass an additional five optional courses, at least three of which must ordinarily come from law options.  Those pursuing an Honours curriculum (discussed in greater detail below) will usually take one Honours option in each half-session of third year, and will in addition require to take two ordinary law options.

Fourth Year

Honours

To be eligible to enter Honours, students must have gained 240 credits by the end of the second year. The Honours degree allows students the opportunity to explore selected subjects more deeply through personal research and extended essay work; a particularly strong feature is the independently researched dissertation of around 10,000 words written on an approved topic chosen by the student. It offers an ideal training for students wishing to proceed to postgraduate legal research: in the recent past Aberdeen graduates have gone on to research studies in such Universities as Harvard, Amsterdam, Cambridge, Virginia, Tulane (New Orleans), McGill (Montreal), British Columbia (Vancouver), Toronto, Brussels, Lyon, Berlin, Regensburg, Utrecht, the College of Europe in Bruges and the European University Institute in Florence. It also has a wider value, however, and the range of Honours subjects and the opportunity to study them in depth allows those wishing to carry forward specialist interests before entering the profession to do so.

An Honours student will generally take one Honours course in each half-session in third year in addition to taking some the third year non-Honours courses. In fourth year, he or she will generally take two Honours courses in each half-session, and complete the compulsory dissertation.

LLB or LLB (Honours) with options in Accountancy, Economics or Management Studies.

These Sustained Study degrees are particularly attractive to students wishing to embark on legal or non-legal careers in business and commerce. In each case, six courses in Accountancy etc are studied along with the normal law programme in the first three years.

LLB or LLB (Honours) with options in French, German, Spanish or Gaelic.

These Sustained Study degrees are designed for students who wish to develop their interests in French, German, Spanish or Gaelic language while obtaining their law degree.

Students study six relevant language courses with the normal law courses over first, second and third year, and aim to develop oral, written and reading skills in the relevant language and extend their knowledge of France, Germany or Spain. These degrees allow students to study their selected language and all the 'professional' LLB courses necessary for entry into the legal profession without extending the normal length of time for an LLB or LLB (Honours) degree, and help in the study of law subjects such as International Law and European Law. In terms of careers, the combination of law and French, German and Spanish language is particularly useful to those seeking employment in Europe, in international agencies such as the United Nations, and in companies and legal firms with international connections. Note: these degrees do not involve any study abroad.

LLB or LLB (Honours) with Belgian, French, German or Spanish Law

These Sustained Study degrees extend over four and five years respectively. In both cases, students study the relevant language courses along with their normal law courses, and spend their third year studying abroad: for the degree with French Law, at Grenoble University, Lyon University 2, Reims, Strasbourg or Clermont Ferrand 1 University; for the degree with German Law, at Regensburg, Freiburg or Marburg University; for the degree with Belgian Law, at Brussels University and for the degree with Spanish Law, at Deusto University in Bilbao or Seville University. Students must have passed all their compulsory first and second year Law courses and the relevant language courses to undertake the year abroad.

LLB or LLB (Honours) and European Studies

These degrees extend over four and five years respectively. In both cases, students spend their third year studying abroad at the University of Maastricht in Holland, the University of Aarhus in Denmark, the University of Helsinki in Finland, the University of Leuven in Belgium, the University of Bergen in Oslo, Vienna University of Economics and Business in Austria,  or the University of Deusto in Spain, where law classes are taught in English. Students must have passed all their compulsory first and second year Law courses  and the the course in European Union Institutions and Law to undertake the year abroad. 

LLB or LLB (Honours) with Options in Music

This Sustained Study degree provides law students with an opportunity to pursue law as their major University subject and to maintain and develop their interest in Music Performance. Students take six courses in Performance Studies in the first three years of this degree. Entry to the music components of the programme is by successful audition. As a guide to the expected standard, applicants should normally:

• have achieved at least ABRSM Grade IV or equivalent on piano
• be working at no lower than ABRSM Grade V standard or equivalent on additional study instrument or voice
• have achieved at least ABRSM Grade VIII or equivalent on main study instrument or voice

Teaching and Assessment

Most non-Honours subjects are taught by a combination of hour-long lectures and tutorials. Lectures are designed to give students a basic grounding in the subject matter of the particular course; the size of lecture classes depends on the number of students taking the particular course, but will generally be large. In contrast, tutorial groups are small (normally no more than 10 students per group) and student-centred. Tutorials are designed to allow selected aspects of a course covered in lectures to be examined in more depth, or subjects not covered in lectures to be explored; they also encourage the development of transferable skills. Depending on the exact programme chosen, a new law student will normally attend a total of 12 lectures and two tutorials each week. Honours subjects are generally taught by seminar only, in small groups (normally a maximum of 16 students per seminar group). Seminars, like tutorials, are student-centred and allow selected aspects of a subject to be studied in greater depth than is possible at non-Honours level. In addition to formal classes, students will also spend time in private study, preparing for lectures, tutorials, seminars, coursework and exams. At both non-Honours and Honours level, the emphasis is on students taking responsibility for their own learning within the framework provided by the formal classes.

Assessment in non-Honours courses is generally by way of essays and exams which take place at the end of the course. Assessment in Honours courses is by way of a combination of continuous assessment during the course and exams which take place at the end of the course.

Part-time Study

It is possible to study for the LLB degree on a part-time basis over a minimum of five and a maximum of six years. Students will study a maximum of five courses per year. Further information is available on the Law School web pages or from the Student Recruitment and Admissions Service office. It is also possible to study a maximum of four law courses on an individual subject study basis either for interest or as a prelude to undertaking the full-time LLB or LLB Honours degrees. For the structure of the degree visit www.abdn.ac.uk/law.

Careers

Aberdeen graduates continue to enjoy high employability and a law degree may be used as a springboard for entry into a wide range of careers. Although many students still study law with a view to entering the legal profession, more than a third of Aberdeen law graduates now choose to use their law degree as a passport for entry into a wide range of alternative careers including chartered accountancy, the media, merchant banking, stockbroking, human resources and financial management, the Civil Service, social work, teaching, the inspectorate of taxes and the police force. Both graduates and employers recognise that the valuable skills gained in the course of a law degree can be put to many uses other than the practice of law itself. For those who do choose to practise law, there is a wide variety of career options within the law itself.

The legal profession in Scotland is divided into two main branches, solicitors and advocates.  The normal route to become a solicitor, involves a student completing an LLB or LLB (Honours) degree which includes the necessary professional subjects, then complete the postgraduate Diploma in Professional Legal Practice (DPLP) and then enter a two-year training contract with a firm of solicitors. 

Solicitors may be employed in private practice, local authorities, commercial organisations, the Procurator Fiscal Service or the Civil Service, and may undertake a wide variety of work, including private client, commercial and litigation work.

An intending advocate must also complete an LLB or LLB (Honours) degree to the standard required by the Faculty of Advocates, the DPLP and a period of training in a solicitor's office, followed by further practical training as a pupil to an experienced advocate and sitting the Faculty of Advocates' written examination in Evidence, Pleading, Practice and Professional Conduct. The DPLP need not be undertaken at the same University as the student's law degree. It should be noted, however, that possession of an LLB or LLB (Honours) degree does not guarantee a place on any DPLP course, nor does admission to the Diploma necessarily entitle student to receive SAAS funding (if any). Decisions relating to entry to the DPLP and funding (if any) are based on academic criteria. It should also be noted that possession of an LLB or LLB (Honours) degree and a DPLP does not guarantee the holder a training contract with a solicitor.

Converting to English Law

Instruction at the University of Aberdeen is based on Scots Law not English Law. However it is possible after graduating from the University to take a conversion course in order to qualify as a solicitor in England. This may be done in two ways. The first is to qualify as a solicitor in Scotland as described above and then take the Qualified Lawyer's Transfer Test, which involves a three hour examination in English property law; the alternative route is to take the Postgraduate Diploma in Law (GDL) at an English law school after graduating with a Scottish law degree, then complete the year long postgraduate Legal Practice Course (LPC) and a two-year training contract with an English solicitor. An Aberdeen graduate could gain exemption from most of the GDL examinations on the basis of equivalent courses studied and passed in their Scottish law degree, leaving only two or three courses, which can be studied on a part-time basis.

Careers Talks

Under the auspices of its Employer Liaison Committee, the Law School runs each year a series of career talks for its students given by those working  in the various fields c, and which aim at providing information about a variety of law careers as well as alternatives to law careers.

Finding your direction

There are many opportunities at the University of Aberdeen to develop your knowledge, gain experience and build a competitive set of skills to enhance your employability. This is essential for your future career success.  The Careers Service can help you to plan your career and support your choices throughout your time with us – from first to final year – and beyond.

• More information on employability at the University of Aberdeen.
• More information on the Careers Service.
• More information on careers prospects and employability with a degree in Law.

Entrance Requirements

SQA Highers

4H at AABB or 5H at ABBBB obtained at a single sitting of Hs or 3AH at BBB. Those seeking to qualify over two sittings of Highers must normally get H at BBBB at first sitting and over the two sittings must normally aggregate not less than AABBB or ABBBBB.

Higher English is highly desirable. Hgher ESOL is also recognised in lieu of Higher English where the mother tongue is not English. Where a combination of H and AH is offered, individual subjects are counted at one level only.

Standard Grade in English.

General Certificate Of Education (GCE)

3 A Levels at ABB obtained at a single sitting of A Levels; English is highly desirable. More will be required of those qualifying over two sittings.

GCSE in English or English Language

Irish Leaving Certificate/Ardteistimeireacht (ILC)

5H at BBBBB obtained at a single sitting of Hs. English is highly desirable. More will be required of those qualifying over two sittings.

O in English.

International Baccalaureate (IB)

34 points including an average of 5 at HL. English is highly desirable.

For more details on entrance requirements please click here

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