Last modified: 09 Dec 2025 14:16
This course introduces the fundamentals of Scottish legal system and Scottish legal method. Lectures, tutorials and a workshop will cover topics such as the Scottish legal tradition, formal sources of Scots law, the legislative process, organisation of the courts, judicial precedent, civil procedure, alternative dispute resolution and legal services. Students will be introduced to reading statute, precedent and the Institutional Writers in light of the fundamentals of Scottish legal method.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | First Term | Credit Points | 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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This course introduces the fundamental components and characteristics of the Scottish legal system, including the Scottish legal tradition, the formal sources of Scots law, the legislative process, statutory interpretation, the organisation of the courts, judicial precedent, civil procedure, alternative dispute resolution and legal services. The course will include distinctive features of legal literature; key primary, secondary and tertiary UK legal information sources; search strategies for efficient and effective searching and updating of information; use of authority; legal citation and referencing. In addition, the course provides students with an introduction to Scottish legal method. In this regard, it focuses on statutory interpretation, the judicial development of precedent and the identification of the principle or ratio of a case, and on reading the distinctively Scottish source of law known as the Institutional Writers.
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 40 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback | Word Count | 1000 | ||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Remember | To explain how legislation functions as source of law in Scotland, and to interpret statute through reliance on Scottish legal method |
| Factual | Understand | To demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the legislative competences of the UK and Scottish Parliaments in domestic and international contexts |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 60 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
1-hour on-campus exam. Students will use their own laptops and lockdown browsers.
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Factual | Understand | To demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the civil and criminal court hierarchies of Scotland |
| Procedural | Apply | To explain how precedent and the Institutional Writings function as sources of law in Scotland and to interpret them using Scottish legal method |
| Assessment Type | Formative | Weighting | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback | ||||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Procedural | Apply | To explain how precedent and the Institutional Writings function as sources of law in Scotland and to interpret them using Scottish legal method |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback | ||||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
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||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Remember | To explain how legislation functions as source of law in Scotland, and to interpret statute through reliance on Scottish legal method |
| Factual | Understand | To demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the legislative competences of the UK and Scottish Parliaments in domestic and international contexts |
| Procedural | Apply | To explain how precedent and the Institutional Writings function as sources of law in Scotland and to interpret them using Scottish legal method |
| Factual | Understand | To demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the civil and criminal court hierarchies of Scotland |
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