KNUST faculty of law
History
KNUST, the second public University to be established inGhana, was designed to provideeducation, for scientists and technologists. At the initial stages the courses that were provided at degree level were those that would best serve the needs of those target groups. Since thegraduatesof the University have to function in society, the Faculty of Social Sciences was established to offer courses in liberal arts and social sciences. In the early part of 1970 a tiny department of law was established in the Faculty of Social Sciences to teach land law as a ‘core’ subject in the BSc Land Economy and Managementprogramme. Not long afterwards a combined honours degree of Economics/Law, Sociology/ Law, Geography/Law etc was developed. The Department of Law also taught law courses in other Faculties of the University. In 2002, the University decided that the Social Sciences Faculty must undergo modern transformation, allowing aFaculty of Lawto emerge. In April 2003, the Council of KNUST approved a 4 year LLB programme and the first cohort of LLB students were admitted into the Faculty of Law in August 2003.
At KNUST we aim at providing training in law and promoting the development of a distinctly Ghanaian body of law through teaching and research. The courses that we offer have been designed to equip students with a broad and comprehensive background which will enable them on graduating, to engage in a wide range of professions and services to society. The graduates of the Law Faculty will undoubtedly fulfil the manpower needs of the country as graduates of law are required not only to practise law, but to work in important sectors of the economy.
Teaching & Learning Strategies
Throughout the LLB programme, students are encouraged to become actively engaged in the learning process. Courses will be delivered in a variety of ways including lectures, seminars, tutorials, workshops and moots. All teaching methods will attempt to achieve a common aim (the building of knowledge, experience and understanding). Students will be expected to participate fully in all activities from attendance at lectures and tutorials to individual and group work in workshops and moot exercises. There will be regular use of case studies as vehicles for exercising particular topics, for example, Introduction to Trial Advocacy Course requires students to act out a simulated case, and to learn the taking of instructions to the trial of the matter. In the Law of Contract, a case study is used to illustrate various aspects of the law including the formation,terms, discharge and remedies. Again, students will be involved in oral presentations as well as written submissions.
The Faculty is also committed to the integration of skills into the curriculum. By this we mean the acquisition of intellectual skills (research, analysis and problem-solving); transferable skills (study & communication, skills, time-management and group work; and legal skills (drafting, research, advocacy, interviewing and negotiation).
Although students will encounter many of these in the context of the professional practice course, such skills are also seen as relevant to the undergraduate degree. They are tools by which law and the legal process can be understood. They also equip students to move towards a career in law.
Assessment on the LLB programme follows University regulations and consists of written coursework, oral presentations and examinations. Where appropriate group work as well as individual performance is assessed. In each course, students will know in advance the assessment criteria used. Whenever possible assessment is used as a means of supplementing the student’s learning experience.
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMME
- Public Law
- Private Law
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