Undergraduate Qatar Law 2022-2023

This course introduces the fundamental components and characteristics of the Scottish legal system. It includes a study skills programme which covers different facets of the study of law along with a series of practical workshops which introduce key legal information sources (both electronic and paper) and appropriate search strategies. Lectures and tutorials will cover topics such as the Scottish legal tradition, formal sources of Scots law, the legislative process, organisation of the courts, judicial precedent, civil procedure, alternative dispute resolution, the European legal order, legal services and access to justice.

The course provides firstly a map of private law as drawn from the Roman-law-derived institutional scheme. It then progresses to an equivalent of the medical student’s study of anatomy in the sense that, concentrating on the law of property and obligations, it examines the main concepts of private law in the Roman-law-derived civilian tradition and how they operate together as a system to solve every day legal problems.

The course builds upon the basic understanding of contract law acquired in Contract (LS1520), although it is important to understand that the topics are approached from a more theoretical perspective, and will critically evaluate at an advanced level, a number of themes introduced in LS1520. The course approaches a selection of current problems in contract law doctrine from the theoretical, comparative and philosophical perspectives. The topics will vary annually but will include consideration of 6 or 7 topics chosen from the philosophical basis of contract law, contractual formation, good faith, promise, contractual remedies, factors vitiating consent, contractual interpretation, and risk management through contract (exclusion clauses, penalty clauses etc) and frustration.  

This course introduces students to two of the key branches of the Scots law of obligations, namely Delict (which governs legal liability for situations such as the negligent infliction of harm upon others, or liability for breach of privacy) and Unjustified Enrichment (which is concerned with questions such as, if I pay you money in error, am I entitled to demand that you return it?).  The course will be taught primarily by means of lectures and tutorials.