Compare and contrast the roles of the European Court of Justice and the International Court of Justice.

Aim of assignment

The broad aim of the assignment is to test your knowledge and understanding of key legal principles/concepts, and your ability to critically analyse /apply these.  Refer also to the intended module outcomes provided in PM007 Module Guide (available on the Kaplan VLE).

Assignment outline
You are required to write an essay addressing following question:

Compare and contrast the roles of the European Court of Justice and the International Court of Justice.  

Word count
The word length for this assignment is 3,000 words +/- 10%.  %.  Please indicate the word length on your submitted assignment.  The reference list is not included in the word count.

Assignment criteria
Assignments will be marked using the GIC assessment scale and assessed according to a range of criteria (further details available in PM007 Assignment Marking Criteria available on the Kaplan VLE).
1.    Presentation (5%)
2.    Structure (20%)
3.    Referencing (20%)
4.    Topic understanding – core aspects (20%)
5.    Topic width and depth – wider reading and thinking in depth about topic (20%)
6.    Critical thinking (15%)

Sources
Assignments should draw from a range of sources including academic textbooks, academic journals and reputable news references as well as primary sources of law eg legislation and case law.  Some indicative reading sources are provided within the PM007 Module Guide.

Referencing
Provide a complete and accurate list of references and within-text footnotes (in line with the OSCOLA Referencing Guidelines available on the Kaplan VLE.)

Compare and contrast the roles of the European Court of Justice and the International Court of Justice.  

Generic guidelines
Please note: You should also refer to the PM007 Module Guide for generic guidelines/information on assignment formatting and submission procedures.

Hints and Tips on Writing Law Essays
What is an Essay?
An essay is ‘an attempt’ to answer a question related to a certain field of study, usually to a specific and well-defined theme, literature, or debate.  (The word essay comes from the French word essai – to try, to attempt.)

Law essays require a combination of logical and coherent argument and evidence: the most important thing is to put together the evidence you have collected with the argument you want to put forward.  An argument is an answer to the question you have been asked.  Simply repeating everything you know about a topic is not a sound approach to writing law essays!  Your argument should be based on the evidence you have collected and considered.  A strong argument in law essays requires good use of evidence: you cannot argue well in without showing what or who supports your view.  Your argument and evidence should be presented logically.  Your own answer may be a good one, but it must also be presented in a way that makes sense to the reader.

The essay is an opportunity for you to demonstrate that you UNDERSTAND the law, and in particular your understanding of why it has developed as it has.  Success in writing law essays is rarely based on knowledge alone; you are required also to demonstrate an ability to analyse, evaluate and apply the law.

What do we mean by evidence?
Law students are required to draw evidence from different types of legal materials in print and electronic formats.  The main forms are:
1.    Primary materials which ‘state the law’: legislation for example treaties, acts or statutes, and case law (reports of court cases at differing levels in the judicial process)
2.    Secondary materials which ‘reflect and comment on the law’: books, journal articles, official documents and consultation papers

Compare and contrast the roles of the European Court of Justice and the International Court of Justice.

Where should I look for evidence?
The web can provide one of the most comprehensive searches available, however searches can return much information that is irrelevant or inappropriate for academic research.  Good places to start are:
•    References from relevant course documents (module guide; lectures; seminars; readings available on the VLE)
•    Initial searches on the University of Glasgow website to find a selection of relevant books, journals and databases for your topic
•    Searches on legal databases such as Westlaw or LexisLibrary to find cases, legislation and journal articles on your topic

How do I approach the question?
Interpreting the assignment question is an important first step.  Be clear about the scope of your essay.  A key task is to break the essay question into smaller sub-questions or sub-themes. This will help you to:
•    Source texts or sections of texts relevant to each sub-question or theme (making the reading more manageable and focused)
•    Establish agreements, disagreements or points of view within each theme or sub-question, and compare and contrast them
•    Plan the key points and paragraphs you will include in your essay, and their order
•    Identify examples or evidence that you can use to support key points or paragraphs

Visit the university of Glasgow weblink below on student views on writing essays.  One student considers essay planning:  “I would describe an average essay which I wrote here in the following sequence:
a.    I analyse the question and think what I already know about it, or look up some materials which I know I already have at hand;
b.    I find materials from the Library and the Internet;
c.    I do the reading (normally it takes most of my time), writing down some things which I find interesting or important;
d.    I look at what I have and see: a) if this answers the question and b) if I can come up with a definite structure using these materials;
e.    If not, I do some more research;
f.    I outline the structure on the left-hand side and put down the sources I will use for each point against it;
g.    I write the essay! (this can also be a long process, but it never took me longer than two to four days, depending on the word limit; the reading bit is still the longest, I think);
h.    I finish my copy-editing and do the proof-reading in the morning on the day previous to the deadline the latest; then I give it a day’s rest, and, giving it the last check (spelling, grammar and stylistic bits) in the morning, submit it.”

Structure and argument of the essay
Students at GIC often ask: ‘what is the structure of the essay?’ This question means: What points/ paragraphs should I include? What order should they be in? How should I build an argument?  Usually, questions of structure are considered near the end of the process of research and writing. Before considering ‘structure’, you should
•    Break the question down into sub-questions, and find readings relevant to those sub-questions
•    Read and take notes on the key texts for the questions and each sub-question
•    Formulate an argument based on the evidence you have collected;
•    Go back to your wider reading list to find evidence you need for particular points in your argument
•    Reconsider your argument in light of new evidence; formulate a ‘thesis’ or an answer to the question in a few sentences

Your argument (answer to the question) will depend on the evidence that you have collected, your views of that evidence, and how you ‘put it back together’ into a piece of prose.  Every essay should be ‘balanced’, in the sense of showing more than one side of the argument.

Citations and referencing
This module does not use the standard GIC Harvard system for referencing.  It uses OSCOLA.  OSCOLA is the Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities.

Compare and contrast the roles of the European Court of Justice and the International Court of Justice.  

You should reference anything (piece of information, idea, viewpoint, theory, etc) that has come from an external source (that is not just ‘your view’).  Citing accurate references is important to give authority for statements of law, to support claims about other people’s opinions and to provide the reader with evidence of the extent of your reading.

Quotations can be used to help you answer your question. Quotations should be explained or analysed, not just quoted; an explanation of a quotation (a ‘gloss’) may explain:
•    What certain pieces of law or words or terms mean;
•    What you think the author means;
•    The contrast between the views of different sources/authors;
•    The development of law over time;
•    The change in the views of one author over time;
•    The meaning of an example (e.g. a case) for your own argument

Writing and formatting conventions
Formatting: You should write the question at the top: this is what you are arguing about, after all!  You should write in full sentences.  The use of headings and sub-headings is recommended to break up the text. You should not use bullet points or other summarising or highlighting devices

Language: Your writing should be academic and formal: avoid the sorts of phrases or constructions you would use in speech: contractions (don’t, doesn’t, isn’t); invitations (‘Let’s…’); informal/ chatty expressions (‘So now we’ll look at…’); informal words/ terms, where formal alternatives exist (‘Besides’, ‘Nowadays’). Avoid using ‘I’, ‘me’, ‘you’ and ‘us’: your ‘voice’ should be objective.

Finally: Be as clear as you possibly can! Clarity and economy of expression are always appreciated; long words, complex grammar and intentional ambiguity are not the mark of good academic writing (though you will encounter this in your reading sometimes…).

Further resources on writing law essays

Redmand, P. and Maples, W. (2011). Good Essay Writing: A Social Sciences Guide. 4th ed. London: Sage Publications

Strong, S.I. (2014) How to Write Law Essays & Exams. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press

University of Glasgow weblinks:
•    Student views on writing essays (essays, essay questions, planning, structure, academic writing style): http://www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/socialsciences/students/international/preparingforstudy/writingessays/#tabs=0
•    Using the library to research essay topics:

http://www.gla.ac.uk/services/library/subjectssupport/subjects/law/#/help,articles&databases,research

Library information skills for Masters Students in Law [click on help section]: http://www.gla.ac.uk/services/library/subjectssupport/subjects/law/#/help,articles&databases,research

By admin in Essays on January 25, 2016