Rules, rights and justice: an introduction to law
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| 7 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| End-of-course assessment | No residential school |
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This course is available for study in the countries shown. Fees may vary by country.
Summary
This course introduces the study of law and legal reasoning. It begins by looking at how rules develop within a society and how laws (in effect legal rules) are made, interpreted, and applied. Then, it examines the concepts of legal personality, unlawful conduct and states of mind. You will explore civil and criminal sanctions; issues raised by human rights legislation; and the concepts of rights and justice. Of particular interest as preparation for a law degree, the course also provides an excellent beginning if you wish to study other subjects. The course deals principally with the law of England and Wales.
Course content
This is the first Level 1 law course to be offered by the Open University’s Centre for Law. It offers both introductory study skills and basic knowledge of the English legal system and will be of relevance to you if you are interested in studying English law either for a qualification or for your own personal interest. You will be introduced to the nature and function of rules and law, to the distinctiveness of legal reasoning, and to the way in which law both responds to social phenomena and contributes to the development of different social, business and economic institutions.
The course will enable you to demonstrate an understanding of: legal rules and rule-making through the role of common law, parliament and Europe; the concept of legal personality and what constitutes unlawful conduct in law; the role of the institutions involved in adjudication enforcement; and how the law develops in order to respond to changing social, political, technological and economic climates. You will be introduced to the ideas of proof and truth, fairness and procedural requirements in the adjudication and trial processes. The role of sanctions and the notion of rights in both the organisational and individual context will be studied. You will then look at law, justice and social change through the study of family law and civil partnerships as well as the legal challenges posed by new technologies. The course will end by considering the idea of a just legal order and the concept of justice.
During the course, you’ll also learn to define and use legal terms and concepts; identify characteristics of a legal argument; and distinguish legally-persuasive material from legally-binding material. Other legal skills you’ll develop include reading legal and other study material in an appropriate way; identifying the relevance of information; and interpreting, accessing and using different information sources and evidence.
As well as specifically legal skills, this course will also develop your general study skills and you will learn to:
- take notes efficiently and effectively
- interpret, access and use different information sources and evidence
- select, synthesise and integrate material for further use
- communicate effectively in an appropriate and accurate written form
- interpret information from data presented in various forms
- analyse tasks and make plans for tackling them
- identify and evaluate material with conflicting conclusions
- frame and address problems and issues
- identify and critically evaluate relevant information.
- monitor your personal progress, identify your own strengths and weaknesses and implement ways of improving your own learning.
Vocational relevance
The course develops vocationally-orientated skills that are transferable to the job market: good written and communication skills; critical thinking; ability to analyse, synthesise, reflect on and present arguments; and problem solving and evaluating issues.
Entry
W100 is a Level 1 course and provides core subject knowledge and study skills needed for higher education and distance learning, to help students progress to study law at Levels 2 and 3, or to progress to other areas of academic study. You are strongly advised to start your Open University law studies with W100. It will give you the foundation knowledge and study skills to study law at a more advanced level. By the end of the course students will be expected to be working at the level required of first-year undergraduate students. If you haven’t studied before or for some time we recommend you start with the Openings course, Starting with law (Y166). If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please seek advice from our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Outside the UK
Please note that this course is only concerned with the law of England and Wales.
Qualifications
We can award a Certificate in Legal Studies (C77) to students who successfully complete the course.
W100 is an optional course in our
- BA (Hons) Leadership and Management (B54)
- BA (Honours) Business Studies (B04)
- Certificate in Business Studies (C63)
- Certificate of Higher Education in Social Sciences (C95)
- Diploma of Higher Education in Business (E42)
- Diploma of Higher Education in Leadership and Management (E43)
- Diploma of Higher Education in Social Sciences (E50)
- Foundation Degree in Business (G07)
- Foundation Degree in Leadership and Management (G08)
W100 is the recommended starting point for studying law, and can count towards an LLB (Hons) degree. It can also count towards most of our other degrees at bachelors level, where it is equally appropriate to a BA or BSc. We advise you to refer to the relevant qualification descriptions for information on the circumstances in which this course can count towards these qualifications because from time to time the structure and requirements may change.
If you have a disability or additional requirement
The written course material is available in a comb-bound format and written transcripts are available for the audio-visual material. The course materials – excluding textbooks – may be available on CD-ROM in ‘ReadOut’ format with navigational facilities. Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of printed material may be available. Some components may not be fully accessible using a screen reader and musical notation and mathematical, scientific, and foreign language materials may be particularly difficult to read in this way. You will need to spend time using a personal computer and the internet. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
If you are a new student, or new to courses using a computer or the internet, you will need to inform us of your particular needs as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Details of how to do this and our range of support services are described in our booklet Meeting Your Needs which you can download or request from our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
You can also find information about accessible course materials, financial support and the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services, on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Course materials
What's included
A course introduction, course manuals, course readers, a media guide, an assessment guide and a DVD.
You will need
You will use your computer to write and submit your assignments for marking and you will have access to a website that offers resources for and news about this course. You will also use resources from the DVD which is viewable either through your computer DVD drive or a DVD player.
Computing requirements
This course includes online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave. Some of your course software will be provided on disk.
You will need internet access and a computer. If you have purchased a new Windows computer since 2002 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual. Please note that you can use an Apple Mac or Linux computer if you can run Windows using Boot Camp or similar.
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor with whom you can communicate by email, telephone and post, who will help you with the course material and mark and comment on your written work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance. Your tutor will also run face-to-face tutorials that you are encouraged, but not obliged, to attend. Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with the Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.
You will be expected to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) online through the eTMA system unless there are some difficulties which prevent you from doing so. In these circumstances, you must negotiate with your tutor to get their agreement to submit your assignment on paper.
The assignments are an essential part of the course, so you should complete all of them. You will be given more detailed information about the assessment when you begin the course.
Professional recognition
If you are intending to use this course as part of the free choice for the LLB, and you hope to enter the Legal Professions, you should read carefully our Recognition leaflet 3.13 Law. There are different entry regulations into the legal professions in England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. You should read the Recognition leaflet as it is your responsibility to ensure that you meet these requirements.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
Future availability
The details given here are for the course that starts in February 2010. We expect it to be available at the same time once a year.
How to register
To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button. For more information and advice about registration see OU Study Explained.
About this page
An undergraduate course in Business and Management and Law.
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Student Reviews
W100 was the first course that I completed on my way to (hopefully) getting my QLD. The thing that took ...
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A very intense, well written and enjoyable course and includes very topical debates. Helps develop good study and writing skills ...
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