Truman Bodden Law School Student Handbook
THE TRUMAN BODDEN LAW SCHOOL OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS
UNDERGRADUATE
STUDENT HANDBOOK
CAYMAN ISLANDS
ACADEMIC YEAR
2016/17
CONTENTS
Page
Welcome from the Director of the Law School 5-6
Truman Bodden Law School: Mission Statement 7
1 Introduction to the Law School 8-9
1.1 Regulations governing legal education 9
1.2 Affiliation with the University of Liverpool 9-10
1.3 Law School Staff and Contact Details 10
1.4 Support Staff Contacts and General Office Opening Times 10
1.5 TBLS Student Society & Committee 11
1.6 TBLS Entry Requirements 11
1.7 TBLS Academic Prizes 11
2 Law School and University Fees 12
2.1 TBLS Tuition Fees 12
2.2 University of Liverpool Registration Fees 12
2.3 Book Fees 12
2.4 Examination Fees 12
2.5 Photocopying Fees 12
2.6 Outstanding Fees 12-13
3A Important Academic Information for Students 13
3A.1 Penalties for late submission of assessed coursework 13
3A.2 Plagiarism and Collusion 13-14
3B Important General Information for Students 14
3B.1 TBLS web page & University academic resources 14
3B.2 University email addresses 14
3B.3 Health & Safety 14
3B.4 C.I. Government policy on smoking 15 3B.5 The Law Library 15-17
3B.6 Student ID cards 17
3C Important Procedural Information for Students 17
3C.1 Attendance rule 17
3C.2 Suspension of studies 17-18
3C.3 Return from suspension 18
3C.4 Transfer between programmes 18
3C.5 Withdrawal 18
3C.6 Illness/ Mitigating Circumstances 18
3C.7 Removal of Late Coursework Penalties Procedures 19
3C.8 Personal Difficulties/Mitigating Circumstances 19
4 Support Services for Students: The Personal Tutor Scheme 20
4.1 Strategy for student support and guidance 20
4.2 Formal support and guidance structure 20
4.3 Role of the Director of Legal Studies 20
4.4 Role of the personal tutor 20-21
4.5 Responsibilities of tutees 21
5 Student Matters 22
5.1 Getting to The Law School 22
5.2 Car parking 22
5.3 Staff-student meetings 22
5.4 Post 22
5.5 Official transcripts 22
5.6 Letters of reference/unofficial transcripts 22-23
6 The Law School Code of Practice 24-25
7 Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy 26
7.1 Summary teaching strategy 26
7.2 Summary assessment strategy 26-27
7.3 Summary learning strategy 27
7.4 Method of assessment 28
7.5 Coursework submission and the need for originality of content 28
7.6 Coursework submission deadlines 28
7.7 Exam and Assessment Periods 29
7.8 Assessment appeals: all programmes 29
7.9 Examinations and progression 29-30
7.10 Weighting of results 30
8 Foundation modules, curricula and module specifications 31
8.1 Programme Structure – Full Time Degree 31-33
8.2 Programme Structure – Part Time Degree 33-36 8.3 Module Specifications 36-37
8.4 The Professional Practice Course 38
9 Methods of instruction: learning and teaching 39
9.1 Tutorial rota 39
9.2 Understanding the teaching timetable 40
9.3 Online learning resources 41
9.4 Examinations and coursework assessments 41
9.5 Summative exam papers 42
9.6 Coursework submission dates 42
9.7 Past exam papers 42
9.8 Dissertation option 42
10 TBLS Complaints Procedure 43
10.1 General principles 43-44
10.2 Informal resolution of complaints 44-45
10.3 Formal complaints process 45-46
11 TBLS Student Disciplinary Code (Non Academic) 47-55
Appendices 56
Appendix A – Staff contact details 56
Appendix B – Academic Prizes 2016/2017 57
Appendix C – Teaching and Assessment Pattern 2016/2017 58 Appendix D – Tuition and Registration Fees 2016/2017 59
59
Truman Bodden Law School Student Handbook
WELCOME FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE LAW SCHOOL
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome both new and returning students to the Law School for the beginning of the 2016-17 academic year. The TBLS story started in 1982 with a cast of some seven pioneering law students and a lone director. That cast has now expanded to a total enrolment of in excess of 110 students on all programmes. 2012 witnessed a milestone in the history of the Law School, with September marking the 30th anniversary of its founding. August 2012 also saw the launch of the Law School / University Alumni Association. Any graduates interested in joining the alumni association should contact the University Alumni Relations Manager, Caroline Mitchell on:
In April 2014, the law school underwent a five yearly institutional review /re-validation visit conducted by a senior team of University academics and administrators. The outcome of that visit was extremely positive, with the University agreeing to renew the affiliation between the two institutions for a further period of five years. It has also been confirmed, following this visit, that the LL.B offered by the Law School will continue to have Qualifying Law Degree status, meaning that it is a recognised degree for professional practice purposes in the UK, as it has been since 2002. A major outcome of the institutional review visit was that it was agreed that TBLS would adopt a system of semesterisation in all modules from the beginning of the 2015-16 academic year. This change is intended to produce greater student choice in terms of optional module availability and it also facilitates two way student transfers between TBLS and the Liverpool Law School. The excellent results achieved by the 2016 graduating classes are confirmation that the new system is working very well. More information about semesterization is contained in the Module Information Handbook available on our website: www.lawschool.gov.ky.
A pioneer in the development of the Law School in 1982 was the then Minister of Education and Cayman Islands Attorney, the Honourable Truman Bodden, OBE, after whom the law school has been named since 2012. It is fitting therefore that the University of Liverpool agreed to confer an Honorary LL.D on Mr Truman Bodden at the Law School’s Graduation Ceremony held in August 2014. In attendance at the Ceremony was the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool, Professor Sir Howard Newby and his wife, Lady Sheila Newby, who were visiting Grand Cayman for the third time, accompanied by the University’s Public Orator, Professor Kelvin Everest.
The 2016-17 academic year again expects to welcome a new first year class characterised by its diversity in terms of culture, backgrounds and experience. A large international component of the enrolment is expected, with the increasing international popularity of TBLS a testimony to its strong reputation and the long standing affiliation with the University of Liverpool with whom the law school enjoys an enduring and close relationship. It is anticipated that the latest chapter in this relationship will see the introduction in September 2017 of a new taught part time Masters in Law programme in International Finance. The law school has recently appointed a ninth full time member of its Faculty to design and lead this programme. More information about the LLM programme will be available in the LL.M Handbook (forthcoming). Expressions of interest should be directed to:
During the course of the forthcoming academic year you will be required to study a diverse range of legal topics which will equip you well in the future, whether your career ambitions be the practice of law or otherwise. The extent of your success will necessarily correspond to the extent of your commitment to the study of law and the keenness of your desire to succeed. Take full advantage of the low lecturer-student ratio, there are few institutions, which better it in the common law world of legal education. With such ‘individual’ tuition, there can be little excuse for failure, but in the final analysis your success is up to you: conduct your research assiduously, analytically, and with an inquiring mind and be ready to call upon the experience and expertise of your lecturers whenever you encounter difficulties. In addition to their teaching and research responsibilities, all academic staff have a pastoral role and participate actively in the life of the Law School as personal tutors. For more information on the Personal Tutor Scheme please consult ‘Support Services for Students’ later in this handbook.
This handbook has been designed with you in mind, to give you a resource which you can keep with you throughout the year, and serves as a guide to assist you in finding answers to the myriad questions which are likely to arise during the course of your studies. This handbook is not intended, however, to be of itself a comprehensive source of information. Instead, it serves to provide general guidance and directions to where more comprehensive information can be located, typically on either the Law School website (www.gov.ky/lawschool) or the corresponding website of the University (http://www.liv.ac.uk).
In addition to the contents of this handbook, all students are strongly advised to acquaint themselves thoroughly with the following Laws and Regulations and Codes early in their Law School career: The Legal Practitioners Law (2015); The Legal Practitioners (Students) Regulations (2015 Revision) as amended; The Professional Practice Course Code, the TBLS Code of Discipline and the current University of Liverpool Code of Practice on Assessment. The University’s Code of Practice and Appendices can be located at: http://www.liv.ac.uk/tqsd/code-of-practice-on-assessment/
I encourage all students to become members of the Law School Students’ Society which, through the good offices of the student committee, organises a range of fund raising activities for the Society including social functions, lectures, and an annual Students’ Society dinner. Election for a number of Executive positions within the Society as well as class representative positions will be held early in semester one and I would encourage each of you to participate by registering your vote, thereby ensuring a truly democratic student society.
I hope that you find this handbook helpful. If you have any suggestions for how it might be improved, please feel free to email me ().
It remains for me to wish you a successful and fulfilling year during which it is hoped that you will develop an affinity and an enduring affection for the Law.
Mitchell C. Davies
July 2016
TRUMAN BODDEN LAW SCHOOL: MISSION STATEMENT
The aim of the Law School, in partnership with the University of Liverpool in the provision of its undergraduate LL.B Degree, is to provide students with a standard of tertiary level legal education equivalent to that prevailing in the United Kingdom and at other providers of legal education across the common law world.
In doing so, the Law School aims to provide an environment for its students that encourages and enables them to achieve their full potential in the pursuit of knowledge and academic excellence. The Law School also seeks to promote awareness of the legal, ethical, and moral issues relevant in the development of legal rules and in the practice of law.
At a postgraduate level, the law school also offers vocational legal training in the form of a fourth year Professional Practice Course which, following completion of articles of Clerkship, leads to qualification as an Attorney at Law of the Cayman Islands. This course is also intended to provide legal training at a comparable level to that offered on similar vocational courses in the United Kingdom and across the common law world. The aim of the law school is to provide students with an in depth knowledge of English and Cayman Islands law, and at the same time to develop transferable skills, advanced research capabilities, skills of analysis, logical thought, conciseness, and critical ability.
As noted above, the law school intends in September 2017 to introduce a second postgraduate programme, an LL.M in International Finance which it is hoped will also be an award of the University of Liverpool.
The courses offered by the Law School are intended to be of benefit not only to those students who wish to enter the legal profession but also to those having a variety of other professional career aspirations.
1. INTRODUCTION TO THE TRUMAN BODDEN LAW SCHOOL
The Truman Bodden Law School was opened on 27th September 1982 by the then Governor, Mr. Peter Lloyd, and in 1984 it moved to the fourth floor of the Tower Building. Since March 2005, the Law School has been located within the former CIBC Building, Edward Street, central George Town. Since its opening, the aim of the Law School has been to provide students with a standard of legal education equivalent to that prevailing at leading UK universities. Students successful in the honours degree programme are eligible to pursue further postgraduate study at institutions of higher learning across the common-law world. Consistent with the legal education experience in other law schools, TBLS students should anticipate an exciting and challenging experience. Unlike law undergraduates at many other institutions, however, TBLS students will not encounter over-populated classes and sometimes elusive lecturers.
The courses of study leading to the degree of Bachelor of Laws are designed to provide exposure to a wide range of English legal principles, and at the same time to develop skills of analysis, logical thought, conciseness, and critical ability. The courses offered by the Law School will be attractive therefore not only to those students who wish to enter the legal profession but also to those having a variety of other career aspirations.
The Law School boasts one of the Island’s finest law libraries with significant lending and reference collections. The library falls under the direct supervision of a qualified librarian, Mrs. Beverley Speirs, who also has responsibility for the Legal Department and Courts libraries. Ms Speirs is assisted by full time Library Assistant, Ms Lourdes Pacheco. As a registered student of the University of Liverpool, all undergraduate TBLS students also have access to the full range of online resources enjoyed by all University of Liverpool students. The Law School has a well equipped computer room with all computers having internet access. The entire Law School also has wireless internet capability.
The Law School provides tuition for both the full and part-time programmes leading to the Bachelor of Laws (Honours) Degree of the University of Liverpool and the qualification of Attorney-at-Law of the Cayman Islands, which follows successful completion of the postgraduate Professional Practice Course (PPC). The PPC course is supported by three key manuals written by TBLS academic staff which are available for purchase from the Law School. The manuals cover the following areas of local law: Cayman Conveyancing Law, Cayman Civil Procedure and Cayman Criminal Procedure.