The Student Room Group

Scroll to see replies

Original post by Swimmer
Thanks, we havent studied about veritas, so I dont think ill need it for exam.


Well, whatever you call it, it seems unlikely that truth as a defence to defamation isn't mentioned in your course? Perhaps it is called 'justification' instead? Have you covered other defences to defamation such as 'fair comment', 'privilege', 'public interest'?
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by Forum User
Well, whatever you call it, it seems unlikely that truth as a defence to defamation isn't mentioned in your course? Perhaps it is called 'justification' instead? Have you covered other defences to defamation such as 'fair comment', 'privilege', 'public interest'?


Yeah, we done justification, and all the others u mentioned. If it is also called justification it makes sence then. Also, may I ask you, how does privilege work? I find it hard to get my head around it. Thanks.
Can someone pleae help me answer this problem question - it's on part-payment of debt

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1990120
Reply 2303
Original post by Ape Gone Insane
New season of Silk is back on TV on May 15th if anyone is interested.


How about season 2 of Suits.
Original post by huzsky
How about season 2 of Suits.


Oh yeah. That's back on pretty much in the same week as the last episode of Silk, so it all works out good.
Some of these are pretty funny: Law School Memes.
Hi, I have a really unusual problem and wanted some advice. Basically, I am practising lots of past Tort problem questions in the library and can't keep control of my laughing. The scenarios are completely hilarious and I just get the fit of giggles. Is this likely to happen in the exam or will there be so much pressure of time etc that my mind will be elsewhere? I remember having a similar problem for criminal law, but was fine... lol
Original post by suffocation1992
Hi, I have a really unusual problem and wanted some advice. Basically, I am practising lots of past Tort problem questions in the library and can't keep control of my laughing. The scenarios are completely hilarious and I just get the fit of giggles. Is this likely to happen in the exam or will there be so much pressure of time etc that my mind will be elsewhere? I remember having a similar problem for criminal law, but was fine... lol


I suspect that the pressure of time and "The Fear" will suppress any urge to laugh.

Are they really that funny? :lolwut: The funniest problems we get are those for criminal procedure - but even then it's just in the names. We've had "Sloth" (the incompetent solicitor), "Sleaze" (the sex offender), and "Bent" (the corrupt policeman).
Original post by Tortious
I suspect that the pressure of time and "The Fear" will suppress any urge to laugh.

Are they really that funny? :lolwut: The funniest problems we get are those for criminal procedure - but even then it's just in the names. We've had "Sloth" (the incompetent solicitor), "Sleaze" (the sex offender), and "Bent" (the corrupt policeman).


Some of them are really funny, but perhaps I have a sick mind. One problem I am currently on:

"Tina and Michelle are the stars of a prank television show featuring the pair performing a mixture of dangerous stunts and outrageous jokes on unsuspecting members of the public. While they are filming, they carry out the following:

(1) A mock kidnapping where a van pulls up alongside Michelle in a busy city centre street and three armed and hooded production staff bundle Michelle into the van and speed away. Stacey witnesses this and was so horrified her hair turned white."

lol.
Original post by suffocation1992

Stacey witnesses this and was so horrified her hair turned white."


Original post by Tortious
I suspect that the pressure of time and "The Fear" will suppress any urge to laugh.

Are they really that funny? :lolwut: The funniest problems we get are those for criminal procedure - but even then it's just in the names. We've had "Sloth" (the incompetent solicitor), "Sleaze" (the sex offender), and "Bent" (the corrupt policeman).


You say that but apparently in one paper (it may have been criminal, I could be wrong), the invigilators reported various students in the exam hall trying not to laugh because of one of the problems. I honestly can't remember which one it was though.

(I did also enjoy Lenny the cat who is too clever for his own good when I did tort. Didn't make me laugh but did make me smile. Then again, I'm also the person who did the question on nuisance purely because it was set in Wales and I enjoyed the fact that of all the welsh names they could use for a 3rd guy, they picked Cadwalladwr. My mate said he wasted about 30 seconds trying to spell it :tongue:)
Original post by gethsemane342
You say that but apparently in one paper (it may have been criminal, I could be wrong), the invigilators reported various students in the exam hall trying not to laugh because of one of the problems. I honestly can't remember which one it was though.


:indiff:

(I did also enjoy Lenny the cat who is too clever for his own good when I did tort. Didn't make me laugh but did make me smile. Then again, I'm also the person who did the question on nuisance purely because it was set in Wales and I enjoyed the fact that of all the welsh names they could use for a 3rd guy, they picked Cadwalladwr. My mate said he wasted about 30 seconds trying to spell it :tongue:)


We used that paper for a revision session with NM once, and my friend did that question. I can't remember how we got onto it, but my friend had a ten-minute debate with him over whether Lenny's ability to open doors is something found in most cats. All the rest of us could do was sit there giggling awkwardly. :mmm:

I was also amused by the fact that, having had his argument on that point defeated, he then ranted about the other guy in the problem being stupid enough to put his ham on an antique plate. ("Who sues for ham?!")
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 2312
I am really worrying tbh, there is just so much to cover for criminal law. It is the underestimated topic I think, I do not understand why people think it's easy. If it was everyone would be getting firsts.
Reply 2313
Original post by mirin?
I am really worrying tbh, there is just so much to cover for criminal law. It is the underestimated topic I think, I do not understand why people think it's easy. If it was everyone would be getting firsts.


Everyone seems to go on about how easy it is and then a ridiculous amount of people fail. On a surface level it is easy as most of the stuff you cover you will have heard about in real life so will at least have a semblance of an idea of what you need to write about. It is the deeper and more complex things that people miss, mostly in their arrogance :dontknow:

Final law exam tomorrow :colone: Practical mooting, 20 minutes with the master of moots, shouldn't be too bad at all. And then I am free for a week before starting my new job :woohoo:
Reply 2314
Original post by Mess.
Everyone seems to go on about how easy it is and then a ridiculous amount of people fail. On a surface level it is easy as most of the stuff you cover you will have heard about in real life so will at least have a semblance of an idea of what you need to write about. It is the deeper and more complex things that people miss, mostly in their arrogance :dontknow:

Final law exam tomorrow :colone: Practical mooting, 20 minutes with the master of moots, shouldn't be too bad at all. And then I am free for a week before starting my new job :woohoo:


30-40% of people on the course (in my university) get a 2.2 or below for the module, on average, every year. To me, that is quite a high number of people not getting a grade that suggests they understand the material.

The level of understanding needed to critically assess the nuances, to me, are just as difficult as any other module I have had.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by mirin?
30-40% of people on the course (in my university) get a 2.2 or below for the module, on average, every year. To me, that is quite a high number of people not getting a grade that suggests they understand the material.

The level of understanding needed to critically assess the nuances, to me, are just as difficult as any other module I have had.


What's on the syllabus? At Cambridge, it's the following:

1. General character of English criminal law, including the burden of proof. Principles underpinning the criminal law. Relationship of statute and common law. Reform and codification.

2. The external and fault elements of crimes; strict liability; defences.

3. Complicity. Inchoate crimes. The liability of mentally disordered persons.

4. Homicide (including corporate manslaughter); the principal offences against the person; the principal sexual offences (ss 1-13, 61-63); the principal offences under the Theft Acts (theft, robbery, burglary, handling, making off without payment); offences of fraud; criminal damage.

A knowledge of the law of particular offences (other than those specified in (4) above, which will be listed on lecture outlines) is required only insofar as it is necessary to illustrate the application of the general principles of liability ((2) and (3) above).


Not overly helpful, eh? :rolleyes:

Anyway, if yours is similar, I'd say you should learn the following:

Property offences - people don't seem to like these, but they're not too difficult to get to grips with since they all build on theft (bar handling stolen goods, which I never really learned in detail). I'd definitely learn these in case you get a nasty non-fatals/homicide question you'd rather not do. Fraud is also very important, so make sure you learn this!

Non-fatals - learn these well. They're fairly easy to commit to memory because they all build on each other and, occasionally, there's some overlap (e.g. mens rea for s.47 is the same as common assault (Savage), actus reus of s.18 is the same as s.20 GBH (naturally, since s.18 is "GBH with intent" :wink:)).

Other, more weird non-fatals - I never learned things like "administering a noxious thing"; I knew of the offences, but I didn't know any cases. Thankfully I didn't have to use them - assault-s.18 are by far the most common non-fatals in problems.

Homicide - learn murder and voluntary manslaughter (diminished responsibility and "loss of control") well. I'm pretty sure you won't need suicide pact unless you've seen it come up in the past, and even then it's so small that you could probably get by just using the statute (even without cases). Also learn gross negligence manslaughter, but don't worry about corporate manslaughter or so-called "subjective recklessness manslaughter".

Sex offences - learn these and familiarise yourself with the SOA 2003, since the presumptions (s.74?) are a pain to try and apply in the exam if you don't know in advance roughly what they say.

Secondary liability - learn joint enterprise; it comes up a fair amount in problems (particularly in relation to murder) and is fairly simple to understand and apply once you've committed it to memory. Also learn the stuff on aiding, abetting, counselling and procuring

Inchoate offences - I don't remember much of this, but learn it. Also, if you've got access to a copy of Padfield on Criminal Law, there's a useful table on page 36 (?) which summarises inchoate-ception pretty well (e.g. whether it's legally possible to attempt to conspire).

Defences - leaving aside the special and partials (which relate only to murder), you'll need to know duress, insanity, automatism, self-defence, intoxication and self-defence. Bear in mind too that you'll need to know the effect of intoxicated mistakes (I can't remember much about this, but Herring's textbook covers it pretty well).

Policy questions - if your paper's anything like ours, you'll be expected to set criminal law in context. Think about the kinds of issues that the criminal law does/doesn't deal with, and whether it should/shouldn't. Brown, for instance, is fairly unlikely to be the basis of an essay question, but think about key cases and whether you agree with the outcomes - and also how to draw different areas of criminal law together. I was asked a question on, I think, domestic violence law - naturally I mentioned the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, but I also drew on my A Level knowledge of the old law on provocation and considered whether the reform of the provocation defence (now "loss of control") made it satisfactory for female victims of domestic violence. It seemed to go down pretty well - I'm just lucky I had that old knowledge to draw on!

Books - I can recommend Herring (text, cases and materials), although I've heard good things about Simester and Sullivan and Ashworth. I'd steer clear of Nutshells and the like - it's tempting to use them, but they're so superficial that you're more likely to confuse yourself.

Anyway, sorry for the long post - hope this helps, and best of luck with your exam. Bear in mind that this is Cambridge-specific advice, so don't be alarmed if your Criminal paper doesn't cover all of these areas! :nah:
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 2316
Original post by Tortious
What's on the syllabus? At Cambridge, it's the following:



Not overly helpful, eh? :rolleyes:

Anyway, if yours is similar, I'd say you should learn the following:

Property offences - people don't seem to like these, but they're not too difficult to get to grips with since they all build on theft (bar handling stolen goods, which I never really learned in detail). I'd definitely learn these in case you get a nasty non-fatals/homicide question you'd rather not do. Fraud is also very important, so make sure you learn this!

Non-fatals - learn these well. They're fairly easy to commit to memory because they all build on each other and, occasionally, there's some overlap (e.g. mens rea for s.47 is the same as common assault (Savage), actus reus of s.18 is the same as s.20 GBH (naturally, since s.18 is "GBH with intent" :wink:)).

Other, more weird non-fatals - I never learned things like "administering a noxious thing"; I knew of the offences, but I didn't know any cases. Thankfully I didn't have to use them - assault-s.18 are by far the most common non-fatals in problems.

Homicide - learn murder and voluntary manslaughter (diminished responsibility and "loss of control") well. I'm pretty sure you won't need suicide pact unless you've seen it come up in the past, and even then it's so small that you could probably get by just using the statute (even without cases). Also learn gross negligence manslaughter, but don't worry about corporate manslaughter or so-called "subjective recklessness manslaughter".

Sex offences - learn these and familiarise yourself with the SOA 2003, since the presumptions (s.74?) are a pain to try and apply in the exam if you don't know in advance roughly what they say.

Secondary liability - learn joint enterprise; it comes up a fair amount in problems (particularly in relation to murder) and is fairly simple to understand and apply once you've committed it to memory. Also learn the stuff on aiding, abetting, counselling and procuring

Inchoate offences - I don't remember much of this, but learn it. Also, if you've got access to a copy of Padfield on Criminal Law, there's a useful table on page 36 (?) which summarises inchoate-ception pretty well (e.g. whether it's legally possible to attempt to conspire).

Defences - leaving aside the special and partials (which relate only to murder), you'll need to know duress, insanity, automatism, self-defence, intoxication and self-defence. Bear in mind too that you'll need to know the effect of intoxicated mistakes (I can't remember much about this, but Herring's textbook covers it pretty well).

Policy questions - if your paper's anything like ours, you'll be expected to set criminal law in context. Think about the kinds of issues that the criminal law does/doesn't deal with, and whether it should/shouldn't. Brown, for instance, is fairly unlikely to be the basis of an essay question, but think about key cases and whether you agree with the outcomes - and also how to draw different areas of criminal law together. I was asked a question on, I think, domestic violence law - naturally I mentioned the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, but I also drew on my A Level knowledge of the old law on provocation and considered whether the reform of the provocation defence (now "loss of control") made it satisfactory for female victims of domestic violence. It seemed to go down pretty well - I'm just lucky I had that old knowledge to draw on!

Books - I can recommend Herring (text, cases and materials), although I've heard good things about Simester and Sullivan and Ashworth. I'd steer clear of Nutshells and the like - it's tempting to use them, but they're so superficial that you're more likely to confuse yourself.

Anyway, sorry for the long post - hope this helps, and best of luck with your exam. Bear in mind that this is Cambridge-specific advice, so don't be alarmed if your Criminal paper doesn't cover all of these areas! :nah:


Thank you for the post, it wasn't too long at all :smile:


Herring and Ashworth are the two I have bought myself because they are both excellent. I thoroughly recommend them to everyone here.

At the moment I am prepping essays because my lecturer said:

Four of the following ten topics will be examined via the essay questions (there are 8 questions in the exam, you have to answer 4. I am sure that 2 of the problem questions will be dishonesty offences and sexual offences) :
The harm principle and other principles of criminalisation
Criminal liability for omissions
Intent in criminal law
Recklessness in criminal law
Strict liability
Partial defences to murder
Consent to non-fatal non-sexual offences
Criminalisation of HIV transmission
Offences related to child pornography
Private defence

It is just unfortunate that these are very interesting topics but I am under pressure in studying them.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by mirin?
30-40% of people on the course (in my university) get a 2.2 or below for the module, on average, every year. To me, that is quite a high number of people not getting a grade that suggests they understand the material.

The level of understanding needed to critically assess the nuances, to me, are just as difficult as any other module I have had.


It's about 30-40% who get 2.2 and below in criminal at Cambridge too, it's got one of the lowest average marks of any paper.
At my uni, last year's lot- 1% got 1st, 23% got 2.1, 25% got 2.2 and rest got third or pass. Shockin :redface:
Has anyone ever complained about an exam question at their university? On the contract law multiple choice test (yes, really!) I just sat, there was one question which was either

a) A trick question which no-one could realistically have been expected to put the (technically correct) answer to, or
b) A question which was not supposed to be a trick, in which case there is an obvious correct answer (but it is technically completely wrong and there is a case in the Lloyd's Reports from 1983 which *explicitly* states that it is wrong).

I know that doesn't make much sense but I don't want to mention the question in case they re-use it!