Criminal Law B: Doctrine and Theory (U04069)

? Credit Points : 40 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : LAW-3-U04069

This course is concerned with questions of doctrine and theory: how does criminal law operate and how should the criminal law best be structured? The course will consist of an advanced exploration of key components of criminal law, such as responsibility, actus reus, mens rea, justifications and excuses, and an in-depth examination of particular sets of rules such as the definition of homicide, sexual offences, property offences and selected criminal law defences.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : Criminal Law at Level 8

? Prohibited combinations : PL0019 Criminal Law

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Law, (School of Law, Schedule F)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 3rd year

? Delivery Period : Not being delivered

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 19 weeks

? Other Required Attendance : 2 hour(s) per week for 19 weeks

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Tuesday	09:00	10:50	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of this course, candidates should have:
(a) an advanced understanding of the structural components of criminal law, particularly as concerns Scotland but more generally in respect of the Anglo-American tradition;
(b) a familiarity with and understanding of the primary and secondary literature in this area;
(c) a detailed understanding of the specific issues studied;
(d) an awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of various ways of structuring the criminal law in these areas, and the ability to critically evaluate alternative approaches;
(e) an improved ability to conduct personal research to an advanced level and to communicate the results of that research in written form.