LAW3053 : Global Constitutional Law (Inactive)
- Inactive for Year: 2024/25
- Module Leader(s): Dr Ruth Houghton
- Lecturer: Dr Francesco De Cecco, Dr Sylvia de Mars
- Owning School: Newcastle Law School
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
The aims of the module are to offer an overview of:
• The academic debates within the field of global constitutional law
• The justification for, and role of, constitutional law and theories of constitutionalism at national, regional, and international levels
• The contemporary challenges to regional constitutional orders and responses to these challenges
• The theoretical debates within international law of an emerging constitutional order
Outline Of Syllabus
The syllabus is divided into three areas:
• Introduction to global constitutional law
• National and Regional Constitutional Orders (e.g. European Union)
• International Constitutional Law
The syllabus will cover contemporary challenges within global constitutional law, these include issues such as:
• Democratic Backsliding (with potential case studies being national, EU-level, or global in nature)
• Constitutional Rights Protection in the EU Constitutional Order
• Relations between constitutional orders
• The debate on the emergence of a global constitutional order
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 18 | 1:00 | 18:00 | Face to face weekly lectures on substantive class content. (FLEX – could be moved to synchronous or non-synchronous on-line material) |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 60:00 | 60:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 4 | 1:00 | 4:00 | 1 hour face to face seminar groups (FLEX: could be delivered as on-line ZOOM seminars) |
| Structured Guided Learning | Structured non-synchronous discussion | 6 | 1:00 | 6:00 | A combination of short recordings of lecture material and text published on Canvas. Students shall be given relevant pre-reading reading and relevant video lecture materials provided by the lecturer and/or reference to other external source material. |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Drop-in/surgery | 4 | 1:00 | 4:00 | Drop in weekly surgeries where students will be encouraged to drop in and discuss issues arising in the class. |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 108:00 | 108:00 | 83 hours own reading 25 Guided reading activities for small group teaching (6 hours per each seminar) |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Lectures: to provide an overview of the background and key topics within global constitutional law.
Small group teaching: these are in the form of one-hour seminars. They will provide an opportunity to develop further analytical and critique skills. The seminars will include student activity such as presentations, debate propositions, and group work. These components will provide space for discussion on topics within global constitutional law as well as formative practice opportunities ahead of the summative assessment. All seminars will be synchronous events (whether online or present-in-person).
Drop-in hours: these drop-in style sessions will provide students with an opportunity to ask a member of the teaching team questions about the module and substantive questions about the content.
Structured non-synchronous online lecture materials: alongside the lecture materials, students will be directed towards relevant online materials and prompted to answer questions and reflect so as to complement and elaborate on textbook-based learning.
Independent study: alongside seminar handouts, students will be directed towards cases or academic articles and will be asked a series of reflective questions; this will further develop their understanding of the areas and provide an opportunity to practice critical analysis of the sources being read.
Assessment preparation and completion: as the summative assessment is a 24-hour (take-home?) exam, students will need sufficient time to undertake independent research and to prepare for their assessment.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Exams
| Description | Length | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written Examination | 1440 | 2 | A | 100 | 24 Hour take-home paper. Answer 2 questions from a choice of 5. |
Formative Assessments
Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written exercise | 2 | M | 500-word written exercise in response to a seminar question. |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The summative exam will give students the opportunity to develop and demonstrate their ability to understand the operation of global constitutional law and theories, and present coherent arguments supported by appropriate legal basis as well as academic literature. The exam allows students to demonstrate learning outcomes across a broad range of topics within the syllabus. So as to acquaint the students with the expectations of this module, a 500-word submission based on a seminar question will be an optional formative assessment mid-semester.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- LAW3053's Timetable