Law Course (Level 3 Diploma)

Overview

A distance learning course is the ideal way to gain a Level 3 Diploma in Law. Whether you're looking to go on to further education, improve your job prospects or expand your knowledge, distance learning Diploma in Law is a flexible and convenient course, which allows you to comprehensively prepare for an exam or career through home study. What's more, because the distance learning Level 3 Diploma in Law course is a fully comprehensive course, no prior knowledge is required.

This Quality Assured Level 3 Diploma course is designed to give a "taster" to the subject and is suitable for both the adult learner returning to studying, or to the younger learner preparing for further academic study. This course provides a complete foundation in the subject area for those wishing to pursue a career in Law or for those wishing to undertake graduate studies in the field of Law. It is hoped that the course might inspire learners to proceed further in their study of law and embark on a degree course or equivalent professional course. Some of the degree "core subjects" are included in this course.

Law is a fascinating subject and covers every aspect of our daily lives. It is an ideal subject for someone with a logical mind, who likes research and attention to detail.

COURSE KEY TOPICS 

Module One - What is Law - Where does it come from?
Module Two - Who enforces the law - the Court structure
Module Three - Introduction to Law of contract and obligations (1)
Module Four - Law of Contract and obligations (2)
Module Five - Introduction to Property Law: (1)
Module Six - Property law (2) - The Conveyancing Proces
Module Seven - Wills, Intestacy and Law of Succession
Module Eight - Law of Torts
Module Nine - What are my rights? – Consumer Issues
Module Ten - Introduction to Criminal Law

HOME STUDY SUPPORT

You will be provided with comprehensive materials designed to provide you with everything required to complete your course of study. You will have your own personal tutor helping you with your course work and with any questions you may have. Plus you can contact our Student Advisors by email or phone for all the practical advice you may need – so we really are with you 100%.

What's more, you'll have access to the online student portal, where you can interact with other students, browse our resource library and manage your account.

COURSE ASSESSMENT

When you have completed the programme, your tutor needs to verify that you have worked through all parts of any Workbooks, Activities and Exercises successfully.

100% of the final mark is made up of an online multiple choice exam.

Upon verification of the activities, exercises and assignments, you will be awarded your diploma by OLQA as confirmation that your written work has met all of the learning outcomes and assessment criteria for the programme.

COURSE DURATION

We recommended you spend approximately 200 hours of your time studying for the course name. The pace of study is completely up to you. To give an example, if you dedicate 4 hours a week to the course it would take you a year to complete but if you could spare 8 hours a week you could complete it in six months.

Get started today, and you can earn your Level 3 Diploma in Law in as little as six months, or take up to a year, if you prefer – the choice is yours.

HOME STUDY COURSE ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

All Students must be 16 years of age or above.

The good news is that no prior learning knowledge or experience is essential to take this course. This course is openly available to anyone wishing to learn more about Law and would like to take part in a highly rewarding home study course. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to expand their knowledge and study further, so we try to keep our entry requirements to a minimum.

You have the freedom to start the course at any time and continue your studies at your own pace for a period of up to 12 months from initial registration with full tutor support.

Description

The OLQA Level 3 Law course is divided into ten comprehensive modules:

Module One - What is Law - Where does it come from?
The first module is the foundation to the diploma course. It poses the question as to what is law and where it comes from. In answer, it traces today's legal concepts from the Norman conquest, and gives an in depth look at some sources of law, particularly Judge made law - which has developed from that time, and how legislation is passed by Parliament.

Module Two - Who enforces the law - the Court structure
Having looked at where the law comes from in module one, this module examines who enforces the law. The module looks at the hierarchy of the Court structure in England in Wales and the European Courts. It looks at the function and jurisdiction of both Civil and Criminal Courts, and Tribunals

The module examines the lay person's role in law, namely the Magistrate and Juror. It module looks at how magistrates are appointed, and the work which is carried out by them in the Magistrates Court. The role of the Jury in the Crown Court is then examined, including who is eligible for Jury service and what decisions Jurors have to make. The module discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the lay person's role and encourages the learner to form his or her own views in this area.

Moving on to paid professional legal personnel, the module looks at the role and qualifications of solicitors and their staff, barristers and judges.

Module Three - Introduction to Law of contract and obligations (1)
Agreements are made every day. Friends might make arrangements to meet for lunch or dinner and although one person might not turn up, the other person may be annoyed but won't intend to sue the other for their non appearance! They will not intend to create legal relations.

A contract is an obligation, or an agreement made between two or more persons, who do intend to be legally bound and have some remedy in the civil courts if one party does not fulfil his or her obligations. To enable the parties to do this, the contract must be enforceable in the Courts, so various criteria must be met to ensure that the contract is valid. This module looks some of this criteria namely:

Offer and Acceptance
Intention to create legal relations
Consideration
Terms of the contract

Module Four - Law of Contract and obligations (2)
This module further explores the Law of Contract. Whilst module three, looks at how a valid contract enforceable is made, this module looks at matters which might negate this intention such as - mistake and misrepresentation. It goes on to examine when exclusion clauses are valid and the three tests that are applicable. Finally, the module looks at how a contract can be terminated, and the remedies available to an aggrieved party for breach of contract. Law of Contract is one of the "core subjects" studied in a Law degree course.

Module Five - Introduction to Property Law: (1)
This module looks at some Land law principles which have evolved and relate to land ownership. It studies the difference between real and personal property, which is essential not only so far as property law is concerned, but also in Will making and law of succession. The module then considers what chattels are as opposed to fixtures. This concept is important as anything which is attached to the land and is a fixture becomes part of the land. Ownership of the fixtures will pass to the new owner when the property is sold. However, a chattel such as a picture, will remain in the ownership of the seller.

It is interesting to study what a person actually owns where land is concerned. The legal title to the property comes from the land itself, and any house built on the land becomes attached to it. There are three different legal estates which can be held in land namely; freehold, leasehold and commonhold.

Most land in England and Wales has now been registered at Land Registry, and Land Registration System will be examined in detail

Module Six - Property law (2) - The Conveyancing Process
This module continues to look at Property law and some further land law principles, such as co-ownership of land; legal rights over land and covenants. The main part of the module examines the current the Conveyancing system in England and Wales and the procedure involved in the sometimes stressful act of buying and selling a house. Conveyancing is presently undergoing a revolution - the Land Registration Act 2002 is changing the concept of Conveyancing by dematerialising title deeds, and going forward to e-Conveyancing. Home Information Packs is due to be piloted in 2007.

Module Seven - Wills, Intestacy and Law of Succession
This module looks at the law of succession. It examines why make a person should make a Will and looks at the legal requirements of a valid will and how this should be signed and witnessed. It goes on to look at the types of legacies a person can leave in a Will.

The module then examines what happens if someone dies intestate - without making a Will, and looks at the Intestacy rules.

Module Eight - Law of Torts
This module looks at a civil wrong - a wrong which is committed by one individual against another to which redress can be sought in the civil Courts. In the module, the tort of negligence, which is topical is examined in detail. The concept of duty of care is crucial to a claim for negligence and emerged from "the snail in the bottle" case of DONAGUE v STEVENSON 1932 wherein Mrs Donoghue drank a bottle of ginger beer and then realised that there was a decomposing snail and she became ill. In order for her to be able to sue the manufacturer of the bottle of ginger beer she had to establish:

That there was a duty of care owed her
That the duty of care was broken
That there was loss, injury or damage caused
It was out of this case that Lord Atkins' "neighbour" principle upon which all negligence claims are based was established.

The module will look also look at omissions as a form of negligence. Finally the module will examine the defences which can be put forward by a defendant which may defeat of substantially diminish any claim, such as contributory negligence.

Module Nine - What are my rights? – Consumer Issues
This module firstly looks at another topical issue -consumer law. It examines in some detail the rights of a consumer contained in legislations, to expect that goods bought are of satisfactory quality and last for a reasonable period of time.

There are similar provisions in force with regard to the supplying of services which will be considered. The module then moves on to consider rights of property owners concerning boundaries and how the Land Registry may help to determine the correct boundaries of a property.

Finally the impact of recent legislation, the High Hedges Act will be considered which may help a home owner when faced with a dispute with a neighbour.

Module Ten - Introduction to Criminal Law
The final module gives an overview of criminal law. It looks at the following areas:

What is a crime?
How crime is investigated and the accused's rights at the Police Station
The mental element to a crime
The offences of Homicide - Murder and Manslaughter Some specific defences, such as diminished responsibility in murder, provocation and mental incapacity

Requirements

Minimum 16 years of age.