This course considers special legal areas not included elsewhere in the curriculum. Credit is determined by the instructor. Enrollment may be determined by the instructor. May be repeated for a maximum of four credit hours per course. May be repeated up to 99 times. May be repeated within the same term.

The course will offer an introduction to constitutional and administrative law in England. Week 1 will offer an overview of three main actors in English public law – the UK Parliament, the courts and the executive – as well as beginning to highlight some of the debates about the scope of their powers and the relationships between them. Subsequent weeks will build on the first by considering more specifically how the executive is held to account in English law. A major focus will be on judicial review, including the grounds on which it can be sought and the various barriers to access. However, the course will also consider other methods of legal accountability, including the role of tribunals in the English legal system and the possibility of bringing a private law claim against a public authority. The course, finally, will turn to considering and evaluating methods of rights protection in the UK, including the Human Rights Act 1998 and common law rights. The course will aim to foster legal expertise, especially in case law analysis. Each class will be focused on a case which will serve as a springboard for broader discussion of the themes raised.