Today I had my first tutorial in Tort law. As I have already noted about my lecture, there is a massive focus on the number of cases I need to know. While I was able to complete the ominous amount of reading, alas I had not prepared the adequate level of detail (well there wasn’t a standard set for the class or me, but I could do more to participate better in class). The problem I found, was that my style of learning is not suited for talking in a law tutorial class. I usually do all my readings and make minimal notes and aim for zero (no, not because I am lazy) and then try and answer the questions to the best of ability the next day with no help. Then I go to class, with my answer, jot down what others say and see if this matches up with my notes (or fill in the blanks). Thus today I was unable to remember the details of my final case and while I was able to put in the answer for my notes, if I were to be called upon in class my answer would only ensure the sounds crickets. Know you may think, Hanik, where has this habit helped you in any situation? I’ll tell you. Philosophy (and sometimes Politics) where I can use my own intuitions and logic to deduce answers and reasoning. Then when I cannot, I go back write up some more notes and finally when exam season rolls around, I write proper notes based on what I was missing. The problem is that there are way too many cases for me to remember, so it looks as though I will have to adopt a new method. So sorry to my course mates, for not being useful in class.
Then I had my fourth public law lecture. And it was as usual quite enjoyable. I was not able to sit back and just act as though I knew everything. We had a quick look at the old South African constitutional crisis to see the importance of protecting entrenched clauses in the constitution. Before moving onto the powers of Parliament and seeing if Parliament could change the law retrospectively (the answer is yes it can, FYI) and what examples there are. So we looked at what Parliament did over in the post-war era to protect itself from the damages entailed during the war. It led to the question, should we be concerned about our actions now, if they are to be deemed illegally prosecutable in the future. And how would you do so? How could I plan to act, if I do not know what I was legally allowed to do so? In the US, this is not an issue, as the Constitution settles the matter (you can’t), but in the UK, we do not have a codified Constitution. What the effects on Common Law, which is set on precedent? I would like to be able to answer the questions, but we didn’t finish the planned lecture and will go onto to it next time. So while I wait, what are your thoughts?
HP KOTECHA 