LX402P: SCOTS LAW OF LEASES AND COMMERCIAL PROPERTY (2021-2022)

Course Aims: The aim of this course is to examine the commercial and social nexus of property law topics. In particular, the course will aim to

1. Explore and critically evaluate the key principles of the Scots law of leases commercial property and planning law;
2. Develop legal research, reasoning, analysis and legal argument proficiency plus oral, written and team working skills, combined with the opportunities to respond constructively to feedback; and
3. By providing students with the above knowledge and skills enable them to progress their legal education with greater understanding and confidence.

Main Learning Outcomes:

Knowledge and Understanding Seminars will cover the following topics:

• The philosophy of the lease;
• The lease as a ‘real’ right;
• The interaction of common law and statute in the Scottish law of leases;
• The residential lease – public sector/private sector; recent statutory developments in respect of residential tenancies;
• Commercial leases – long leases, the registration of leases.
• The essential characteristics of property transfer;
• The methods by which major legal systems deal with property transfer;
• The distinctions between original and derivative acquisition of real rights;
• The implications of Sharp v Thomson, Burnett’s Trustee v Grainger and Moncrieff v Jamieson.
• Registration systems relative to land;
• The methods of dealing with overriding interests;
• The relevance of servitudes to a development context;
• The doctrines by which a real right may be distinguished from a personal right; and
• The main aim is to examine in greater depth than is possible in the general class, issues arising in the law of conveyancing. While the detail of the existing rules is important, it will also be important to consider their practical and economic effect. Another principal aim is to foster the ability to conduct independent research taking account of relevant legislation and judicial precedent. This necessarily involves self-motivated learning and the habit of regularly checking Current Law and the journals. By the end of the course you will have developed knowledge of some of the practical and theoretical issues currently arising in property and conveyancing and possible approaches to reform.

Subject-Specific Skills and Concepts

Students will be able to:

1. Differentiate between and use appropriate primary and secondary sources and identify and retrieve up-to-date legal information using paper and electronic sources;
2. Use recognised methods of citation;
3. Use sources to support arguments and conclusions;
4. Recognise, analyse, and rank arguments and evidence in terms of relevance and importance by managing volume of legal sources and select key material to construct written or oral answers to a legal problem;
5. Identify the legal problem from information provided;
6. Address problems by reference to relevant material;
7. Bring together, integrate, compare and synthesise information and materials from a variety of different sources, which explore policy and doctrinal issues;
8. Be able to find in paper form legislative and case law materials in the Law Library;
9. Present arguments for and against propositions;
10. Be aware that arguments require to be supported by evidence, in order to meet legal requirements of proof by showing awareness of the need for evidence to support arguments;
11. Apply knowledge and analysis creatively to complex situations in order to provide arguable solutions to concrete problems by presenting a range of viable options from a set of facts and law;
12. Think critically and make critical judgements on the relative and absolute merits of particular arguments and solutions and make choices as to the most preferable;
13. Communicate orally and in writing (and electronically where appropriate) using English language by creating work in a permanent format that is understandable by the intended audience (through submission of exam answers, essays, samples thereof and participating in tutorial discussion);
14. Communicate in plain English, with legal terminology only as needed; and
15. Display informed knowledge and understanding of the social, economic, moral and ethical contexts in which law operates by demonstrating legal knowledge in association with related policy, underlying social conditions, professional ethical issues and moral issues.

Key Skills (Transferable)

1. Communicate orally and in writing;
2. Ability to work effectively in small groups to contribute to the group's task;
3. Ability to work independently, to organise and manage time, stress and effort in performance of tasks;
4. Problem solving skills;
5. Critical analysis;
6. Logical argument;
7. An ability to synthesise and organise complex materials and arguments.

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

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