Unit Specification Handbook
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UNIT SPECIFICATION HANDBOOK CILEx Level 4 Legal Services Knowledge Qualifications CILEx Level 4 Diploma in Commercial Litigation CILEx Level 4 Diploma in Debt Recovery and Insolvency CILEx Level 4 Diploma in Personal Injury Litigation CILEx Level 4 Extended Diploma in Personal Injury Litigation Issued: July 2014 Page 1 of 135 Introduction This handbook contains the CILEx unit specifications. These units are the building blocks of the following qualifications: CILEx Level 4 Diploma in Commercial Litigation, CILEx Level 4 Diploma in Debt Recovery and Insolvency, CILEx Level 4 Diploma in Personal Injury Litigation and CILEx Level 4 Extended Diploma in Personal Injury Litigation. This handbook should be read in conjunction with the CILEx Level 4 Legal Services Knowledge Qualifications Handbook which sets out the structure of the different Level 4 qualifications. The unit handbook is divided into four sections as follows: Section 1: Level 3 Law Unit* Section 2: Level 3 Professional Skills Units* Section 3: Level 4 Law Units Section 4: Level 4 Practice Units *The CILEx Level 4 Legal Services Qualifications contain Law and Professional Skills units shared with the CILEx Level 3 Professional Diploma in Law and Practice. This is permitted in the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) and the qualification’s credit value must be made up from 50% or more credits at the required level for the qualification to be recognised formally by the regulator (Ofqual) at that level. For further information see the Level 4 Legal Services Knowledge Qualifications Handbook. Page 2 of 135 Presentation of qualification units – an explanation of the unit specifications Each unit specification is presented in the same way: Title: each unit has its own title which seeks to succinctly convey the legal subject or skill area to be studied and assessed. Level: each unit has a level which identifies its difficulty. All the units in this handbook are set at either Level 3 or Level 4. Level 3 equates to GCE A Level standard of difficulty, whereas Level 4 equates to first year undergraduate standard of difficulty. Credit Value: as stated in section 3.2 of the Knowledge Qualifications Handbook, each unit has a credit value. Please see section 3.2 for a definition of this value and the purpose of credit. Learning Outcomes: this column expresses the key aims of the unit. It is expressed in terms of a series of outcomes (i.e. “the learner will”) that the student should know or understand by the end of their learning programme. In all the qualification assessments, CILEx will always be attempting to understand whether the student has demonstrably achieved these outcomes. Assessment Criteria: this column expresses the ways in which the student should be able to demonstrate their achievement/understanding of the learning outcome (“the learner can”). In all the qualification assessments, CILEx will use these assessment criteria to try and determine the extent to which the student has demonstrated achievement/understanding in respect of the learning outcomes. The student and tutor will notice that the assessment criteria have been written in a certain style. For any given learning outcome, there are a number of assessment criteria for which the key verbs are: to “Describe”, “Explain”, “Identify” etc. You will note that the final assessment criterion is nearly always “Apply an understanding …” This final assessment criterion marks a convention adopted in the writing of the units. At Level 3/4, the key skill for the student is to understand the Law and associated Legal Practice and then, critically, demonstrate its application to a specific case or scenario. CILEx has chosen to describe this skill of application in each unit specification in this way, as a single operation within each learning outcome. It means, of course, that each of the prior assessment criteria can be thought of as requiring this skill of application. You will note that at Level 4, there is the expectation that this application will be to a more ‘complex’ scenario. Knowledge, Understanding and Skills: this column attempts to describe the knowledge, understanding and skill that are relevant to the application of the assessment criteria. CILEx anticipates that tutors delivering units towards the new qualifications will utilise this column in order to build their schemes of work towards the delivery of units. Page 3 of 135 It should be noted that the knowledge, understanding and skill identified in this column is indicative and not intended to be exhaustive. CILEx has attempted to be as full as is possible in its knowledge, understanding and skills columns. However, the need for brevity will always mean that the content is indicative and needs careful “unpacking” by tutors and students. CILEx often uses examples to try and aid understanding in this situation. Where you see an example (usually indicated as “e.g.”) this normally means that you should not only be aware of the example identified, but also look to identify some others. Alternatively, where CILEx often uses the abbreviation “i.e.”, this normally means that CILEx is content that this specific list is an exhaustive one and no more need to be identified. Students and tutors will note that each knowledge, understanding and skill section ends with the phrase: “Application to a complex scenario”. This identifies the nature of the application required in the associated assessment criterion, i.e. the student has to be able to apply this understanding to a realistic, work-based scenario. Where there are additional requirements for this assessment criterion, such as the need for students to be able in the assessment to complete certain documents, then these will also be stated at this point in the unit specification. Students and tutors will also note that there are requirements for students to have an understanding of case law throughout each of the units. Case law is always italicised in the units to make it more readily identifiable. CILEx has adopted the following view on the place of case law within its Level 3/4 assessments: • Where case law is explicitly quoted in the unit specification, then students can be tested on this case law in an examination question; • Students cannot be tested on case law which does not explicitly appear in the unit specification; Alternatively, and more commonly, where the unit specification calls for “any relevant case law” or provides examples of case law, then the student will be expected to have identified and understood relevant examples for that specific topic or issue; • Students referring to case law in Level 3/4 examinations should give the name of the case and if there are two cases with the same name, should give the date but are not required to give the date otherwise. CILEx believes that this system for the delivery and assessment of case law will help clarify the teaching of case law and its assessment. When statutes are used as authorities, students will be expected to know the short title, or where appropriate, the title most commonly used to describe the statute, which will invariably include the date. Additional information about the unit: this grid of boxes at the end of each unit summarises key background information about the unit, e.g., who owns the unit, its start and expiry date, and the unit’s links to National Occupational Standards. Page 4 of 135 Section 1- Level 3 Law Unit Unit Number Unit Title Page numbers Unit 5 Law of Tort 6-16 Page 5 of 135 Unit 5 Title: Law of Tort Level: 3 Credit Value: 7 Learning outcomes Assessment criteria Knowledge, understanding and skills The learner will: The learner can: 1 Understand the meaning of the term ‘the 1.1 Define ‘tort’. 1.1 Civil wrong. tort of negligence’ 1.2 Describe the scope of tort. 1.2 Description of common law and statutory example of torts such as nuisance, trespass (to land, goods and the person), defamation, breach of statutory duty under the Occupier’s Liability Acts 1957 and 1984, Consumer Protection Act 1987 etc. 1.3 Describe the effects/functions of the law of 1.3 Normative rules, compensation, retribution. tort. 1.4 Define ‘negligence’. 1.4 Definition by reference to relevant case law, particularly the comments of Alderson B in Blyth v Birmingham Waterworks Co (1856). 1.5 Explain what must be demonstrated in 1.5 Duty of care, breach of duty of care, order to mount a successful claim in damage resulting from the breach of duty of negligence. care. Relevant case law: eg: Glasgow Corporation v Muir (1943), Barnett v Chelsea & Kensington HMC (1969). Page 6 of 135 2 Understand the tests for establishing a 2.1 Describe the general legal tests governing 2.1 Neighbour Test – Donoghue v Stevenson duty of care in cases of physical personal duty of care in negligence. (1932) injury and physical damage to property Three-stage Test – Caparo v Dickman (1990): Reasonable foreseeability: eg: Smith & Ors v Littlewoods Organisation Ltd (1987) Proximity. Eg: Topp v London Country Bus (SW) Ltd (1993) Must be just and reasonable: eg: L & Anor v Reading BCl & Ors (2007) 2.2 Apply the tests for establishing duty of care 2.2 & 2.3 Application of the Neighbour test and in negligence to a given set of facts. the 3 stage test to given scenarios. 2.3 Use the current law to predict probable legal outcomes deriving from given facts. 3 Understand the concept of public policy, 3.1 Explain the meaning of public policy in the 3.1 Consideration by the court of whether a particularly in the context of duty of care in context of duty of care in negligence. duty of care should exist: s1 Compensation negligence Act 2006: instruction to court to consider implications of awarding compensation eg: prevent a desirable activity from being undertaken.