Undergraduate Course: Public Law Interpretation (LAWS10261)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course addresses how to interpret public law instruments (such as constitutions). We evaluate the ¿leading¿ approaches to public law interpretation, and focus on the problem of ¿originalism¿ (i.e. whether, and how, laws may change in content over time). |
| Course description |
Legal interpretation is a key skill for everyone needing to identify the content of legal instruments, and so to determine what they are permitted or required to do (or prohibited from doing). Among the most important legal instruments are constitutions, as well as statutes concerning constitutional (or other public law) matters. The course addresses how to interpret and apply public law instruments from both theoretical and practical legal perspectives. We look at what, interpretation is, critique the ¿leading¿ theories of legal interpretation, and examine the similarities (and differences) between statutory and constitutional interpretation. We then ask whether (and how) the content of a Constitution can change simply through the passage of time (the problem of ¿originalism¿). Finally, we turn to some issues specific to interpreting UK public law: conforming readings under the Human Rights Act 1998, s.3, and the highly controversial so-called ¿principle of legality¿.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Articulate what linguistic interpretation is, and what function it performs in understanding and applying legal instruments.
- Explain the key features of public law instruments that influence how they should be interpreted, and the ways in which they do so
- Demonstrate understanding of ¿originalism¿ and the possible approaches to it, and critically assess their relative merits
- Critically analyse and evaluate the academic literature, and form sound and persuasive arguments, regarding legal interpretation.
- Engage in constructive debate about complex theoretical issues.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Public law; interpretation; language; constitution; originalism; dynamic interpretation; living con |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Martin Kelly
Tel: (0131 6)51 7112
Email: Martin.Kelly@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Emma Hughes
Tel: (0131 6)50 2008
Email: Emma.Hughes@ed.ac.uk |
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