1 / 10

TWO MODEST PROPOSALS FOR THE HAPPIER TEACHING OF PUBLIC LAW

TWO MODEST PROPOSALS FOR THE HAPPIER TEACHING OF PUBLIC LAW. Dr Lars Mosesson Bucks New University Lars.Mosesson@bucks.ac.uk. BACKGROUND It is regularly reported that many students on an LLB or GDL find Public Law (or “Constitutional & Administrative Law”) particularly challenging.

tambre
Download Presentation

TWO MODEST PROPOSALS FOR THE HAPPIER TEACHING OF PUBLIC LAW

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. TWO MODEST PROPOSALS FOR THE HAPPIERTEACHING OF PUBLIC LAW Dr Lars Mosesson Bucks New University Lars.Mosesson@bucks.ac.uk

  2. BACKGROUND It is regularly reported that many students on an LLB or GDL find Public Law (or “Constitutional & Administrative Law”) particularly challenging. This session will examine if this is found generally to be true; and, if it is, what we, as teachers of the subject, do and can do about it

  3. SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR WHY IT IS FOUND SO CHALLENGING It is a Challenging Subject! Students find it shapeless, confusing, irrelevant, not “Law”... It is unlike most other subjects on LLB or GDL, but still requires legal discipline The subject includes concepts (conventions & normativity, sovereignty, Rule of Law...) which are as challenging as any on the LLB or GDL. There is no creative document in the UK Dicey’s legacy & the Traditionalist mythology are misleading There are no centre or natural limits to the “subject”, and little agreement on its scope & content or on the approach to take  Few students have any grasp of history or politics – or of the nature of language

  4. 2. Few Practitioners, Black-letter Lawyers or Private Lawyers Grasp it: • It is a hybrid & contradictory area of study, involving formalism & realism; law & politics; norms & reality; the “authorities” & the daily news. • The courts are often not the primary decision-makers of the issues. • The subject involves appreciation of the big picture & deep issues & specifics., including politicalrealities. • There are key issues on which there is no one definitive answer. • There is inherent uncertainty & constant change, involving history & the present & the near future.

  5. 3. The Books are very Variable: • Some textbooksare good, but many lack coherence or clarity or depth or relevance or inspiration and a sense of the vitality of the subject • – often dry, plodding, flat, pot-boilers, own lecture-notes, aiming low (if anywhere) • – and the good ones are challenging at first. • The collections of cases & materials are often eccentric, designed for the author’s own particular course • Law dictionaries are particularly unhelpful in this area

  6. HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND? TWO SUGGESTIONS Be straight with the students: the subject is challenging - but it can make sense, if they work, think and use our support. - & it can become rewarding & even addictive! We must trust the students, inspire them, challenge them - not short-change them. Provide a conceptual framework & the relevant tools, & bring the subject to life.

  7. 1. Provide a Clear, Consistent & Living Conceptual Framework The purpose of the state as a living social organisation, within normative regulation = the need in a state for a system with officials, who need powers & to have & feel responsibilities, in a healthy balance = all the practical issues that flow from this = form & reality Setting up (“constituting”) a tennis club – and running it Justiciability – the limits to legitimate decision-making by judges – “Render unto the courts that which is of the courts” = and leave the rest to democratic politics

  8. 2. De-Bewitch our Intelligence • a. Wittgenstein = Words & meaning • = Essentialist fallacies & hidden pre-emptions Of facts & norms Of pens & love & shags... b. Many terms in Public Law are ambiguous and need clear & multiple definitions , e.g.:- - Constitution - Constitutional law - Separation of Powers - Convention - Parliament - Sovereignty - The Rule of Law - Democracy

  9. PURPOSE & ADVANTAGES OF INCLUDING THESE ELEMENTS Give students the tools & motivation to make sense of the materials Enable the students to enjoy it - and to do better in assessments. Wider education = to understand: - the state-system; - practical social decision-making; - how inevitable social problems may be prevented or resolved; • and how to avoid wasteful confusions caused by careless • language, as found in some books and in the media. Give the students the framework of Public Law within which Private Law operates.

  10. DISCUSSION • 1. Do your students find Public Law particularly challenging? • Did you, as a student? If so, why do you think this is? How have you responded to this challenge? 2. Do you think the suggestions, above, would help your students? 3. What other ideas do you have for helping your students to understand & enjoy the subject?

More Related