the content

We have one overarching aim: to enable a student to pass the examination with the best possible grade. This is facilitated by presenting the Law syllabus to a student in a manner that is both up-to-date and readily comprehensible.

Regarding the former, as law is the fastest moving of any subject, it can only be delivered by electronic access. That does not mean that one has to be on-line all the time. Anything may be copied and pasted to a PC hard drive.

Regarding the latter, we speak to a student in the manner of a knowledgeable friend. Whilst the words "fun" and "law" are not readily juxtaposed, the written content is as entertaining as we can make it bearing in mind the complexity of the subject-matter.

The following lays out the key components of the site, taking the links from left to right on the Home Page.

search

The 'Search' button is useful if you want to find all references to something.

For example, an "All Documents" search on 'Lord Denning' would throw up over 300 documents containing references to the great judge; and if you wanted to search for his judgments or references to him in same, then a search under "Cases" would show around 200.

lectures

The lectures contain numerous links to the full and edited text of cases, Acts of Parliament, articles, media files (video and audio), internet sites or whatever, in an attempt both to broaden (and thereby deepen) the knowledge of a particular topic; make it more comprehensible; introduce you to research; and above all to make studying law both interesting and relevant.

Links in green are documents in our reference library, links in pink are media files which will play when you click the link. Links in blue are external internet links.

The idea behind the lectures is to replicate how a real lecture would be delivered. As such, you will find asides and comments. You will not necessarily agree with them. We hope you don't because the idea is to stimulate discussion.

It may help if you imagine that you are actually in a lecture and someone really is speaking to you. Try to make sense of what the speaker is saying. He will often be attempting to explain really complex matters and it will often be the case that you do not follow him at first pass. Don't despair because some legal principles take some time to sink in!

revision notes

If you scroll down to the bottom of each UNIT in LECTURES, you will find the relevant revision notes.  In the final analysis, all that stands between you and failure is the quality of your notes. The revision notes are essentially a distillation of the lectures into a coherent and ordered form with numbered headings, subheadings and so on.  You should copy the notes and paste them into your preferred text editor. Thereafter, you can flesh them out as the course progresses, through copying and pasting appropriate text.

cases

These are laid out in alphabetical order. All the cases have been edited down to an average of around five pages, in the hope that you'll give them a whirl. Try to get into the habit of reading cases. They are useful in that the judge will declare what the law is on the particular matter in hand. Also, with examinations in mind, they are a superb source for quotes that will help to set your script apart from the rest

Cases are colour coded to indicate their importance as follows;

  1. Cases in red italic are leading cases and of absolutely crucial importance. If they are not quoted in an exam, then you are likely to score very badly - if not fail.
  2. Cases in red are important cases and should be quoted where appropriate.
  3. Cases in orange are nice to know; not vital, but may be worth brownie points, for example because they are recent cases.
  4. Cases in green may safely be forgotten!

articles

As with the comments in CASES, the ARTICLES collection is a terrific resource for research and quotes.

The collection contains extracts from legal journals, Government papers, historic documents, reports, consultation papers as well as newspaper articles.

Use the search engine to find what you are after. For example, an "Articles" search on "human rights" will throw up around 300 references.

statutes

Acts of Parliament (i.e. statutes) are laid out here.

charts

At the end of most lectures, there is a chart which gives an overview of same. These are well liked as a revision aid. If you want to print these charts, then we will send you the originals free of charge in a zipped file. Just e-mail sales@e-lawstudent.com with the request, together with your name and that of your college/school.