Bachelor Of Law Research Articles

Teaching Latin to law students in the midst of the decolonisation of the university curriculum

Since 2015, the higher education sector in South Africa has been marked by protests and debates around inter alia tuition fees, language and the decolonisation of the university curriculum. Universities have increasingly been urged to present their efforts to decolonise their curricula. This begs the question whether it is possible to justify the teaching of a classic language, such as Latin, which is characterised by Eurocentrism, slavery and colonial conquests, within a climate where there is an urgency to move away from a colonised worldview. The teaching of Latin to law students particularly complicates this situation, as law is a discipline that emphasises rights, equality and social justice. The author sought to present an understanding of decolonisation that can be reconciled with critical teaching of Latin to law students. The methodology was twofold and consisted, firstly, of a literature review to present a description of the background to the decolonisation debate and the relevance of Latin to the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) curriculum. Secondly, the author elaborated on the use of texts from the Oxford Latin Course in a decolonised Latin classroom by reflecting on her own experience as a Latin student and a lecturer of law. This contribution found that Latin remains relevant for law students within a decolonised curriculum, where Latin lecturers are cognisant of social justice and contextualise the content of the module.

Bachelor of Laws (LLB) students’ views of their literacy practices: Implications for support in a time of change

Background: From 2020, the Law faculty has decided to discontinue the five-year Extended Curriculum Programme (ECP) stream within the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree for a variety of reasons, including students’ perceptions of stigma, the poor throughput rate of this stream and the identified need to extend academic support to more students in the mainstream class. Objectives: This article argues that we need to gain insight into the struggles experienced by novice writers on the ECP to inform the nature of support that will need to be provided to LLB students going forward. We thus sought to explore the nature of the challenges experienced by two sets of first-year LLB ECP students with acquiring legal writing practices, namely students from high school and postgraduate students with degrees from other faculties. Method: Two semi-structured interviews on students’ perceptions of their challenges experienced with legal writing were conducted with 12 participants. Results: Students’ struggles with legal writing could be traced to difficulties with engaging appropriately with legal concepts and sources, reading effectively and accommodating the discipline’s valuing of conciseness in presenting arguments. We also show how students’ English additional language status and prior degrees inform these struggles. Conclusion: The article shows the value of looking to ECP students’ challenges with literacy practices (legal writing) in their first year to inform support for all first-year LLB students.

THE BOLOGNA SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION AS THE BASIS OF THE EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION FOR ADMISSION TO THE LEGAL PROFESSION

The relevance of the study is caused, on the one hand, by the unification of approaches to the content of higher legal education in the world (related to the Bologna process), and, on the other, by different approaches of states when using the results of training in the bachelor/master/doctoral student paradigm when admitted to the legal profession. The authors investigated the situation in the main “civilized” states on this issue, revealing a wide range of approaches to the requirements for having an appropriate level of higher legal education for candidates for the status of a lawyer: only master (Ukraine, France), law bachelor (UK, Australia, Canada, USA, Slovenia), not a bachelor of law with the condition of additional training (UK, Australia), not a bachelor of law with subsequent legal practice (state California). As a result, the following conclusions were made: 1. In countries with the Bologna system of higher education, there are no unified approaches to the level of education that a candidate for obtaining the status of a lawyer should receive. 2. No regularities were found to determine why in some states the choice was made in favor of the “master's degree”, and in others - the “bachelor's degree” requirements for candidates for the status of a lawyer.

Tindakan US yang Melakukan Penadahan Hasil Usaha Perkebunan Ditinjau dari Undang-undang Republik Indonesia Nomor 39 Tahun 2014 Tentang Perkebunan

The objective of the study is to be the partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Law attained from Faculty of Law, University of Surabaya. he purpose of writing this scientific article is to find out and analyze the extent to which Based on Article 111 of the Civil Code Which states that every person who holds the results of plantation Business obtained from looting and/or theft as referred to in article 78 shall be sentenced to a maximum of 7 (seven) years imprisonment and a maximum fine of Rp.7,000,000,000.00 (seven billion rupiahs). This research analyzes the actions taken by the perpetrators (US), namely those who contarct plantation product in terms of law No.39 of 2014 concerning plantation. It can be started that in the case of the United States conducting extraction of plantation product is one form of imposition so that US can be subject to article 111 of law No.39 of 2014 concerning plantation.

Connection to Country – Place-based Learning Initiatives Embedded in the Charles Sturt University Bachelor of Law

Place-based learning is receiving widespread global approval for the way in which it effectively engages with local Indigenous communities. Charles Sturt University has made significant community partnerships to inform their law education curriculum. These partnerships include an “Elders in Residence” program to incorporate Indigenous place-based learning pedagogy into the teaching of core law curriculum. Such programs recognise that Indigenous Elders hold a unique place in community as the keepers of cultural knowledge. Law students engage with Indigenous knowledges to consider multiple perspectives of the law, this learning enabling students to critically reflect on their own positioning and cultural bias. The epistemological value of Indigenous knowledges is explored through the lens of justice and self-determination to equip law graduates with knowledge, skills and the competence to apply this learning to their own personal and professional practice.

A field trip in the first week at university: perspectives from our LLB students

ABSTRACTField trips are a major part of the pedagogy of experience. Generally, core theoretical knowledge is developed in class before a practical field application is facilitated to link knowledge. Field trips are both observational and participatory. This paper describes how the Bachelor of Laws students at an Australian university undertook a field trip to the Parliament during their first week at university. In contrast to traditional transmission of content knowledge and teaching legal rules, this field trip was purposefully designed as an early memorable, motivating experience for students to reflect on personal learning by connecting theory and context. This structured program had supporting activities and an aligned summative assessment. Findings of this qualitative study suggested that students and academics concurred that field trips are important for learning though their perceptions about it differed. For the students, it was a valuable learning experience which contextualised learning, developed an appreciation of different learning approaches, provided networking opportunities and set them thinking about potential future careers. Study outcomes indicate that curriculum designs that integrate experiential learning and linkage activities to professional settings across the entire law course are worth exploring and embedding into the curriculum.

The University of the Free State Faculty of Law/Write Site intervention – Supporting broader access with the skills for success

Heeding the call for broader access to tertiary studies for previously disadvantaged students, the University of the Free State (UFS) is one of only a few institutions in the country that offer an extended, five-year Bachelor of Laws (LLB) programme. Its more lenient admission requirements and more manageable distribution of course work across five study years have put access to professional legal studies within reach of students who would not have otherwise qualified for admission. Beyond broader access, however, still lies the challenge of student success. It is a well-documented fact that modern-day students enter higher education ill-prepared for the demands of tertiary studies, and those entering the extended LLB are no exception. The gaps in their skills sets include a lack of academic writing skills, which are among the core competencies required of a law graduate. In an effort to address this challenge, the UFS Faculty of Law has established an innovative collaboration with the Write Site, a writing centre staffed by language specialists who offer students personalised assistance with their writing assignments. This is done as part of the module Legal Skills, one of the foundational modules presented exclusively for students in the extended LLB programme. This article provides the details of the intervention, including its results to date. It concludes that the Faculty of Law/ Write Site collaboration is a model worthy of emulation, teaching students not only to write well, but also to do well in their academic field. Recommendations for fine-tuning the intervention are proposed, including a call for this type of skills assistance to be offered across the curriculum, instead of in a once-off module only. Whilst the current climate of acute human resources and funding shortfalls in higher education may make this hard to achieve, the academic success of our students and the professional success of our future lawyers and other professionals are on the line.

Towards a Sound Pedagogy in Law: A Constitutionally Informed Dissertation as Capstone Course in the LLB Degree Programme

The LLB degree programme (Bachelor of Laws) should adequately prepare graduates for the demands set by both legal practice and the greater South African society. Law schools are not tasked with producing future legal practitioners, but rather critical thinkers who can engage with the relationship between law and society in a meaningful way, and who recognise their duty to uphold the values of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 when performing their professional duties. Resultantly law teachers should construct learning environments that engage students in ways that help them develop creativity; embedded subject knowledge; and autonomous learning, critical thinking, and lifelong learning skills. A well-structured LLB degree programme should focus on this broader conception of legal education and a dissertation module as capstone course should be closely aligned with this objective. A greater academic influence could result in an academically rigorous degree programme that produces more mature graduates who possess competencies and attributes that exceed that which is demanded of them by legal practice. One way to establish a greater academic influence in a degree programme would be to include a final year dissertation module which demands that students illustrate the ability to think critically. The final year of a degree programme should provide the student with several opportunities aimed at culminating the learning experience and consolidating the skills and knowledge acquired throughout the preceding years of study. Capstone courses facilitate in-depth learning and should be employed to teach crucial skills related to the purpose of the degree. A compulsory dissertation module as capstone course, which embodies the pedagogical approach of transformative legal education, should be included in the revised curriculum of all law schools in South Africa. This dissertation module should demand that students engage critically with the principles of transformative constitutionalism in order to facilitate thinking that goes beyond traditional and conservative constructions of the South African legal system and its purpose. Such a dissertation could develop a student’s metacognitive ability and result in the development of new legal skills, and the sharpening of existing skills. When producing a dissertation a student is learning to write as well as writing to learn. Crucially, the process of disserting also requires legal research skills and the ability to formulate effective research strategies. A law student who is capable of utilising various sources of law, synthesising the information found therein and presenting it effectively is illustrating elements of authentic learning. But this form of authentic learning in will be near impossible to achieve without the active guidance of a willing supervisor. Law teachers perpetuate legal culture and the supervisor-student relationship creates the opportunity to sculpt the culture instilled so that it may have the desired impact on the student. The supervisor could advance this process by empowering the student to construct critical and transformative views of South African law. A dissertation module presented in this manner could produce students who are able to engage with law constructively and who will graduate as responsible citizens and aspiring legal professionals who are excited about inspiring social justice and transformation in their communities. 
 

Enhancing the Implementation of Sustainable Development in Nigeria through Legal Strategies

Despite an abundance of resources, attempts to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development have not become a reality in Nigeria. This article suggests legal routes for supporting Nigerian sustainable development, including the establishment of a constitutional right to sustainable development alongside intergenerational rights; public interest litigation; and the recognition of the public trust doctrine and budget analysis. Author’s Note Orji Uchenna Jerome holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) honours Degree from the University of Nigeria and a Masters of Laws (LL.M) Degree from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He is also qualified to practice as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and presently works as a legal counsel and consultant with interests in environment and development law and policy.

Learning Law through a Lens

In 2009 the Australian government funded the Learning and Teaching Academic Standards ('LTAS') project to identify and define academic standards and learning outcomes by discipline area, including law.1 The LTAS project identified six 'threshold learning outcomes' ('TLOs') for Australian graduates in the Bachelor of Law ('LLB') and Juris Doctor ('JD') degrees. The Council of Australian Law Deans subsequently endorsed the TLOs. TLO 5 relates to written and oral communication skills. In this article we examine two separate, but related, visual media projects that facilitate and support the development of this crucial learning outcome in law students at the University of Western Australia. In the first project Kate Offer created short films of courtroom scenes from a fictitious trial, loosely based on the Harry Potter books, which she used in large lectures in the core unit, 'Evidence'. For the second project, Natalie Skead made a film using the virtual reality platform, Second Life, which she used in small group teaching in the core unit, 'Equity and Trusts'.

NELSON MANDELA AND WITS UNIVERSITY

AbstractDrawing on the Mandela file in the Wits University Archives covering all aspects of his relationship with Wits, and on Mandela's prison correspondence, this article rotates around a remarkable story of persistence in the face of adversity and repeated failure – the story of Nelson Mandela's 46-year long pursuit of the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree. In 1943 he first enrolled as a part-time law student at Wits University and finally graduated with an LLB through the University of South Africa (UNISA) in 1989, a year before his release from prison. Fresh light is thrown on the Wits University Mandela dealt with, and on the obstacles placed in the way of his prison studies. Throughout there is a focus on Mandela and Wits – the university's impact on him as a student, his attempts to complete his Wits LLB while on Robben Island, his candidacy from prison for the Wits chancellorship, and, as president, his remarkable reunion with the law class of 1946.

“The Black Man in the White Man’s Court”: Mandela at Wits University, South Africa, 1943-1949

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was 24 years old when he enrolled for his Bachelor of Law (LLB) degree at the University of Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg, South Africa at the beginning of 1943. Mandela was the only African in the Law Faculty at Wits and suffered racism from both the white student body and faculty during the years he spent in pursuit of this degree. On July 20, 2015, Professor Bruce Murray of Wits presented a paper entitled “Nelson Mandela and Wits University”3 that the Sunday Times, South Africa printed with the title “No Easy Walk to LLB for Madiba,” that tersely suggested that it took Mandela 46 years to earn his LLB degree, instead of the normal stipulation of three or four years that is a requirement for a student to complete an LLB degree.4 After enjoying service at Hope Restoration Church, I read this newspaper article about the former President Mandela, who sacrificed so much for South Africa, feeling the injustice in the prejudicial manner in which both Murray’s Wits paper and the Sunday Times article were written. I thought of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. who said, respectively, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor,” and, “The hottest place in hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict.”5 Immediately, I replied to the Sunday Times article with a two-page piece entitled, “Between Mandela and his LLB Degree was Racism and Apartheid at Wits University.” Sunday Times (August 2 2015) printed just five paragraphs of my article and titled it “Racism at Wits cost Madiba his LLB.”6 As I was writing this article for Ufahamu, The Thinker (a pan-African quarterly for thought leaders) published my two-page article with my own title, “Between Mandela and his LLB Degree was Racism and Apartheid,” that the Sunday Times had opted not to publish.7 The humiliations that Mandela suffered at Wits, rooted in racism, prejudice, and discrimination continue at South African universities today. This paper is an attempt to put in the public domain these humiliations that speak to the rationales why it would take, according to the Sunday Times article, Mandela 46 years to earn an LLB degree.

La investigación: Un aprendizaje para la vida

This article refers to the experience as a researcher junior in the process of learning in the Bachelor of law and master in the Middle environment and sustainable development of the University of Manizales, is intended to encourage young people to relate to investigative processes and encourage institutions to generate new methodologies and didactic to attract students towards research and achieve greater coverage to the academic community.

Historiador político ou político historiador? Interações entre experiências intelectuais e institucionais do Barão de Guajará

This paper analyzes the relationship between political experience and intellectual Domingos Antonio Raiol (1830-1912). Representative of the High Imperial hierarchy, Raiol acted as President and parliamentarian Provincial, being welcomed in 1883 with the title of Baron of Guajara. Raiol divided its activities between the executive and legislative branches of the Empire, and also produced works on the history of his native province of Grao-Para. Some of his works represent an interesting way to understanding the interaction between politics and intellectuals in the context of the Second Empire. Thus, this paper investigates the links between the historical production of Baron Guajara and political experiences of this Bachelor of Law, during the second half of the nineteenth century, institutional context of successive crises, stabilization and decline of the monarchist regime in Brazil. Keywords: Amazon, History, Political.

Valuable Learning, Unwelcome Assessment: What LLB and JD Students Really Think About Group Work

This article contributes to current debates about the appropriate role of group work in legal curricula by providing insights into the attitudes of Bachelor of Laws ('LLB') and Juris Doctor ('JD') students towards such tasks. It begins by reviewing arguments for incorporating group work in legal education, both as a result of the recognition of its educational benefits, and as a response to increasing regulatory expectations regarding student collaboration skills. The article then reports the findings of a UNSW Law School Student Assessment Survey designed to determine how law students perceive group work and its assessment in law. One of the most striking findings is that many of the law students surveyed recognise and appreciate the learning and skills development benefits of group tasks, but are resistant to summative assessment of group work. Moreover, there are marked differences in attitude between LLB and JD students, and across year cohorts within those degrees. These findings suggest that further thought needs to be directed towards the specific purposes underpinning the choice of group work as a pedagogical tool, and assessment that is congruent with those purposes, taking into account the varying needs and experiences of different cohorts of students. The article concludes by considering whether meaningful group work can exist without summative assessment.

Relevance Of Prior Academic Qualifications To Predicting The Academic Achievement Of Undergraduate Students: An Analysis Of Law Enrollees At Makerere University

Students who have excelled academically in the past are regarded as having a greater chance of performing successfully in subsequent examinations. However, this argument is being questioned with regard to enrollees onto the Bachelor of Laws at the School of Law of Makerere University in Uganda. This study sought to obtain an understandin g of this issue using administrative data of 568 Bachelor’s of Law graduates of Makerere Univers ity during the period 2010-2012. A combined weighted score for the enrollees granted oadmission to the program and their Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) on graduation were adopted as measures of their prior academic qualifications and academic achievement, rAn assessment of the enrollees’ academic achievement is made using summary statisti cs. The bearing of prior academic qualifications on the academic achievement was inve stigated using a robust regression, controlling for student’s characteristics, gender, nationality, and year of enrollment. A median CGPA of 3.16 in the results points to a “lower seco nd” class degree obtained by a considerable number of graduates in the program. In the multivar iate assessment, high scores on entry to the program were significantly associated with high aca demic achievement (p < 0.01). These findings confirm enrollees’ prior academic qualifications as : 1) a predictor of academic achievement on the program and 2) thus, an indisputable measure for assessing the competence of candidates suitable for admission to the program.

Factores que influyen en la trayectoria escolar de la licenciatura en Derecho y Jurisprudencia en el Instituto de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades del estado de Hidalgo

Específicamente, la deserción estudiantil, el rezago y los bajos índices de eficiencia terminal se encuentran entre los problemas más complejos y frecuentes que enfrentan las Instituciones de Educación Superior del país. La tasa de graduación y la titulación de estudiantes de educación superior afectan significativamente a estas instituciones, por lo que es importante que se realicen estudios sobre la trayectoria escolar de los estudiantes de licenciatura.En la siguiente investigación, se reportan resultados de un estudio realizado en el Instituto de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, del Estado de Hidalgo, en la Licenciatura de Derecho y Jurisprudencia, una de las nueve licenciaturas valoradas originalmente. Como resultados del cuestionario, aplicado a una muestra de 72 alumnos, que responden a los diversos factores que influyen en su trayectoria escolar, en general los alumnos reportan en: Percepción del docente 78%, Percepción de conocimientos teóricos y prácticos durante la licenciatura 78%, Percepción del programa de licenciatura en la formación 76%, Percepción de dificultades académicas debido a factores externos 48%, Percepción de dificultades académicas debido a factores internos 45%, Expectativas del estudiante 79% y Percepción de la tutoría 60%.A partir de la muestra analizada, se clasificaron los siguientes tipos de trayectorias: Alumnos regulares con trayectoria excelente, Alumnos regulares con trayectoria regular, Alumnos con trayectoria irregular con una materia reprobada, Alumnos con trayectoria irregular con dos o más materias reprobadas, Egresados titulados y Egresados no titulados.Finalmente, con la información a obtener, se busca ayudar a los directivos en la toma de decisiones y medidas preventivas, así como continuar con el desarrollo de programas, conferencias, talleres, informes, y material de difusión considerando los factores o variables que afectan la culminación de los estudios de los alumnos.

Spanish Working End Of Law Degree In The European Higher Education Area

The working end of Law Degree is called to develop an important role when we consider that the European Higher Education Area is the student manager of his own learning and is considered essential that the student of law, among other skills, to acquire critical thinking skills, investigation techniques, personal development work and use of legal principles and fundamental values as a working tool in the interpretation of the legal system. The development of the working end of Law Degree in order to allow the student to a specific topic in depth and learn to develop a basic legal research. The work will enable the assessment of skills associated with the title of Bachelor of Laws. To highlight an element of the research is that development of it should be conducted in an orderly and systematic manner for which the teacher's work is essential from the outset. In this sense, the student, with guidance from the teacher must identify a target as the first topic of study. Much of the importance of the work lies in the student's learning method and technique to use. At this point, given that the study is done in the legal field, the work must be developed in stages, which are discussed in the communication. One final aspect to take into account and that is also the subject of analysis is the defense of the research to be undertaken before a court of teachers. The paper shall provide thoughts on what this job should be to grade, allowing students to deepen a specific topic and learn how to develop a basic legal research. It also examines the role to develop both the tutor and the student throughout the work until the presentation and defense of the court appointed by the Faculty concerned.

Nexo causal em matéria penal: análise da jurisprudência dos tribunais de justiça

Este artigo discute uma pesquisa empírica apresentada em 2009 como Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso na Direito GV sobre a definição da causalidade para responsabilização criminal nos tribunais de justiça. Foram analisadas 84 apelações criminais julgadas entre 2007 e 2008 e extraídos resultados quantitativos e qualitativos relacionados aos dados do processo, ao resultado da decisão e à argumentação. A análise desses resultados levou a cinco principais constatações: (1 ) a discussão sobre nexo causal ocorre quase exclusivamente em casos de crimes culposos; (2) muitas vezes, apesar de discutido pelas partes, a existência de nexo causal não é afirmada no acórdão; (3) o nexo causal é frequentemente afirmado com pouca fundamentação e, em geral, com menos argumentos do que a afirmação de culpa; (4) a teoria mais utilizada pelos tribunais é a da equivalência das condições; e (5) o nexo causal é frequentemente afirmado como decorrência da culpa.

The Theory and Practice of Teaching and Guiding Legal Research Skills

The aim of this article is to present a case study of the development process and its underlying theoretical fundaments of a research skills line in the law degree programme. Broader educational purposes of the article are to give managers and lecturers of law schools suggestions for implementing research skills in their curriculum. Accordingly, the article is aimed at stimulating students’ research skills. This article will discuss the background to the decisions that were made in the Utrecht School of Law, then discuss the ultimate end result, namely the implementation of a new research skills line and the publication of a standard research skills instruction. Furthermore, each section will commence with a brief outline of the theoretical framework, followed by an explanation of how this theory has been practically implemented in the Bachelor of Law in Utrecht.