Master of Laws in Constitutional Theory, Law and Litigation

Purpose

To enable learners to become effective legal researchers and to engage with legal principles within this broader context critically, so ensuring their professional development as legal scholars or practitioners. Learners are assisted in engaging with the underlying legal theories and in assessing the legal principles that ultimately impact on society as a whole. An opportunity is provided for learners to obtain detailed knowledge of a specific chosen legal area, and to critically reflect, analyse and synthesise divergent legal concepts in the chosen area. Learners will engage with relevant material in the national, African regional and international contexts, thus enabling learners to interpret law in the broader context to effect positive legal change.

Rationale

As the legal field is ever-changing and developing within a broader constitutional, national and international context, new knowledge generated by trained researchers as professional practitioners is necessary for the enhancement of the broader legal profession, private and public practice, the judiciary and the court system, government and the legislature.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

The principles underlying outcomes-based, source-based and life-long learning, in which considerations of articulation and mobility play a significant role are subscribed to. Recognition of Prior Learning, whether acquired by formal education curricula or informally (by experience) is an indispensable element in deciding on admission to and awarding credits in an explicitly selected qualification.

Entry Requirement

The minimum requirement for this qualification is the

• Bachelor of Laws, Level 8.

This qualification comprises compulsory and elective modules at Level 9 totalling at 192 Credits.

Compulsory Modules, Level 9, 120 Credits

• Mini Dissertation, 96 Credits.
• Research Methodology, 24 Credits.

Elective Modules, Level 9, 72 Credits (Choose three modules)

• Advanced Tax I, 24 Credits.
• Constitutional and Human Rights Litigation, 24 Credits.
• Politics of Law, 24 Credits.
• Advocate: Constitutional Law, 24 Credits.

1. Identify, describe, critically evaluate and apply the main concepts and legal principles pertaining to a selected area of legal study within a broader constitutional and international context.
2. Identify issues and solve practical and perceived legal problems through analytical thinking and evaluative techniques.
3. Demonstrate advanced legal research skills pertaining to national, regional and international constitutional theory, law and litigation.
4. Apply a critical and evaluative approach to analysing complex issues in the field of constitutional theory, law and litigation.
5. Analyse complex legal problems relating to constitutional theory, law and litigation and motivate the appropriate way of dealing with these problems, with reference to specific legal principles.
6. Critically engage with legal principles specifically within the context of constitutional theory, law and litigation, and identify how they should be applied to complex legal problems in a general legal context.

Associated Assessment Criteria For Exit Level Outcomes

The following Associated Assessment Criteria are applied in an integrated manner to the Exit Level Outcomes

• Understand the critical areas of the Constitution law namely: theory and philosophy, the main structures and institutions of the state and the inter-relationship between them, Bill of Rights litigation and key constitutional issues confronting the country.
• Know the various provisions of the Constitution as judicially interpreted and, with reference to comparative jurisdictions and academic opinion, make informed predictions on the future developments of the law.
• Critically evaluate judicial precedents and academic opinions and express oneself effectively in seminars and persuasively in writing during formal assessments.
• Demonstrate awareness of critical developments in Constitutional law and the extent to which these areas of law are used to mediate and resolve some of the main social/legal and political issues of our time equipped with the requite knowledge to become part of a cadre of lawyers committed promoting the advancement of the Constitutional democracy and the rule of law.

Produce a dissertation that

I) Meets the requirements.

II) Is relevant to the topic and has depth and coherence of coverage,

III) Uses methodology that is appropriate,

IV) Is logically and persuasively structured,

V) Meets validity requirements in planning and execution,

VI) Demonstrates independent thinking,

VII) Is, at least in part, analytical and critical as opposed to being merely descriptive,

VIII)Contributes in some respect to the growth or development of knowledge.

• Accurately and logically interpret data/evidence.
• Acknowledge sources and provide consistent and detailed citations.
• Utilise an appropriate and sufficiently up-to-date range of sources.

Integrated Assessment

Each module will be assessed through an integrated individual written assignment or test, in addition to a range of oral and written, group and individual class assignments in order to give learners the opportunities to demonstrate a variety of competencies.

The dissertation requires learners to apply their learning in an integrated way to analyse a specific area related to their work context in a work-based assignment and to apply the theoretical frameworks to recommend solutions to identified legal problem areas. The dissertation assesses the ability of learners to integrate solutions from different modules to the applicable legal issue addressed in the dissertation.

Modules - In three of the modules learners write a four-hour, partly open book, examination. Learners are required to demonstrate a depth of understanding of the relevant case law, academic opinion and current thinking on the issues. In the fourth module, learners are required to draft a judgment or prepare an opinion on a relatively complicated constitutional issue for which they are given 6 hours. The questions require learners to apply the knowledge that they have gained during to the seminars to specific scenarios. Learners are permitted to take into the examination a limited number of pages of notes that they have prepared for the seminars. The objective is to encourage independent thinking about relevant and pertinent constitutional issues so to that learner from the qualification are conversant with the relevant literature are able to think independently and therefore advance the constitutional project in this country.

Dissertation - In preliminary drafts, their supervisors will developmentally assess the work of learners: 0% weighting. The final draft will be summative assessed by an internal examiner, his /her mark will constitute 50% of the final mark and by an external examiner and his/her, and mark will constitute 50% of the final mark.