Subjects:

Legal Skills and Method

Contents:

1. Understanding the law

2. Finding the law

3. Reading the law

4. Law, fact, and language

5. The doctrine of judicial precedent

6. How precedent operates: ratio decidendi and obiter dictum

7. Making sense of statutes

8. Interpreting statutes

9. 'Bringing rights home': legal method and convention rights

10. European legal method

11. Exploiting legal reasoning

Among the many new skills law students have to acquire, using legal method and solving legal problems are possibly the most important. Yet all too often these legal skills are ignored, and it is assumed that students will acquire them as they progress through their course.

Learning Legal Rules brings together the theory, structure, and practice of legal reasoning in a readily accessible style. The book explains how to uncover and exploit the mysteries of legal materials. This is then used to draw the student into the techniques of legal analysis and argument and the operation of precedent and statutory interpretation. Throughout the book the authors also examine the importance of human rights and the permeating influence of EC.

New to this edition:-

• New 2-colour text design makes the book more user-friendly and allows the student to distinguish easily between text and exercises
• A test bank of 200 multiple choice questions and answers provides additional support to lecturers and students using the book and helps to test students' knowledge and to develop their understanding of key topics
• Now includes extra material on how cases are reported in chapter 5 which provides valuable background for students before they begin to study the doctrine of precedent
• Includes new exercises, diagrams, and improved sub-headings throughout
• Chapters on the EU and Human Rights have been updated to include recent changes

An Online Resource Centre provides updates, web links, and guidance on using the book