Introductory classes on law : Episode 1

before my official classes commence, we had the opportunity for some introductory classes (or induction classes). Basically a range of different teachers came and gave us a brief overview and lil' snippets of fun-facts to give us a kick in the butt on the right track for the rest of the year. So here's an exclusive inside look into those episodes

Lesson 1

In the subject of Common Law we were going to learn some history and the basic elements of the entire English Legal System (as in the law system in England & Wales - only). So we were told of the 'Bayeux Tapestry (a small portion shown above), that's a tapestry that just extremely long and depicts various scenes of the 'Battle of the Hastings'. This battle occurred prior to the Norman Conquest which is what you should know about if you're going to learn the English Law. 

Do you know why it's important? It's because of the common law. THE common law system, started after this Norman Conquest. It is where the law that you could potentially be studying was given birth to. The person responsible for this would be William the Conqueror the guy who inadvertently created a system that is now used by many countries across the world including Britain itself (obviously!) , Malaysia, the US, etc. 

a little fact: William the Conqueror was previously known as William the Bastard

William the Conqueror statue in Falaise, France

The name "common" is used because, it is the law that applied to the whole kingdom. You see before this William guy came with his conquest, the people lived by traditions so there wasn't a place that had the exact same laws. When William started his rule, he and his minions (okay maybe not minions, but his advisers would be the more prudent word) went to different parts of the land, acted as judges, and came back home to discuss what went on that day. Soon, they discussed so much, that they wanted to make the same decisions whenever a similar problem came up with the villagers again.

This is what we call precedent. This 'precedent' business will be further discussed in detail if you study this subject. Precedent, where similar cases are treated alike. Remember that! So that's basically how the law system developed infecting all its regions with its rigid but certain & reliable ways.

Hence, some background reading on this would not be wasted, since it'll give you a more wholesome look on the law that you might come across. The year that should stick to your mind is 1066, where these momentous events happened.

The dawn of lessons are approaching!

and thus begins my first year of law school. Something that seems daunting for most, and dreadfully abhorring to some. I feel quite optimistic and stress free at the moment, but that won't last long, I'm sure. 

In fact, I haven't even started any of my classes as of yet. They would commence on the 22nd of April, and that seems to also be the day when I would meet my lecturers for the first time. Well, since I'm reformed and all (owing to my disastrous episode last year), I'm planning to sit on the front row and possibly interact with the teacher (this seems to be quite a stretch since I'm an introvert* and all)  but, that's my aim! 

I will be taking 4 compulsory subjects for my first year, these being

-Criminal Law by Ms. Nalina

-Contract Law by Ms. Priscilly

-Public Law by Mr. Saravanan

-Common Law by Ms Sabah

-(and a brief non-exam based subject) Legal Skills by Ms Sabah

There's even going to be an orientation on the 15, 16, & 17th of April, though I think it's not really required because I've pretty much met everyone in my class during the "introductory classes". Most are just going to go there to check out what they have in store for us.

 

According to the timetable given to me, there are also tutorial classes, but they will only commence in June. This is so that we have gotten the opportunity to cover a significant amount of chapters so that, the tutorial teacher can fire questions at us. Boy, that's going to be a day of terror.

*An introvert who wants to be a lawyer! ain't that a cosmic joke

A lil background, to go on

The previous year, I enrolled and survived through the horror that was Cambridge A-levels, also taken at BAC. It was a special course (horrifyingly named the "Express Route" - with good reason) where I was only allowed to take two fixed subjects (Law & Economics) to be completed in 7 months (to those who know how A-levels works, this meant that AS and A2 papers were to be taken together). I was fresh out of a public high school so I was pretty much just thrown head long into a rigorous fast paced subject which I had little time to grasp.

 

To be fair, i wasn't exactly a model student. It was the first time I was left to independently explore the city centre, so I traversed the many shopping malls, eateries and especially the cinemas (I must have watched dozens & dozens of movies that year) and skipped classes at random. When the examination day came, I only started studying the night before and the hours leading into the exam. I know. I know, that was terribly foolish of me, but the part of me that procrastinated a lot was just too strong.

I was ready for a certificate of failure when I trudged through the office doors to receive my results, but it was a miracle. I must have done some sort of good deed that year, because I actually passed. I got a D for Economics and an E for Law. Dismal, yeah. But this was miraculous, considering the few hours I spent the night before, and me drowning myself in caffeine, and Redbull with the total lack of sleep I had gotten.

This leads us to where I was put into an army style regime of studying by my father,but that's a different tale. But for now at least you know what came before.

A brief, "Whats's this about?"

Hi, I'm a mad hatter, and this would chronicle my days as an undergraduate student at Brickfields Asia College (BAC) in 2013. I've enrolled myself into the UK Transfer degree course, which would allow me to study for two years* in Malaysia (being my home) and a year abroad in the UK. There are a range of universities offered some as exclusive as Cardiff and Reading; or others like Aberyswyth that's a little way off by the sea in Wales. 

As you might conclude from the blog theme, I am little mad, so some of the stuff here might just be drivel but you never know when you're going to come across something that's dandy.

*It's a strategically planned course so a 3 year degree becomes a 2 1/2 year degree (one of the many reasons I chose to do it at this college), though there won't be any holidays or semester breaks but as one of the catchphrases of this college goes "in the real world the hare wins the race"