Citation and Interpretation

1. (1) These regulations may be cited as the Master of Arts in Law - M.A. - Degree Course Regulations, 2001.

(2) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -

"the Board" means the Board of the Faculty of Laws;

"the Course" means the course of studies leading to the Degree of Master of Arts in Law - M.A.; and

"the Degree" means the Degree of Master of Arts in Law - M.A.

Applicability

2. These regulations shall apply to courses starting in October 2001 or later.

Eligibility for the Degree

3. To be eligible for the award of the Degree, students must:

(a) be registered as regular students in terms of the Admission Regulations of the University and satisfy the qualification requirements for admission to the Course stipulated in regulation 4;

(b) complete the course of studies, obtain all the credits indicated in regulation 8 and comply with any other requirements as prescribed in these regulations; and

(c) comply with any other requirements prescribed in any other relevant statutes, regulations and bye-laws of the University.

Qualifications for Admission

4. (1) Applicants for admission to the Course shall be in possession of one of the following qualifications:

(a) the degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D.); or

(b) a Bachelor's degree in law, including the Bachelor of Arts in Legal and Humanistic Studies, with at least Category II; or

(c) a Bachelor's degree with at least Second Class Honours in an area of study related to law or to the programme of study applied for by the applicants; or

(d) equivalent qualifications from this University or another university recognised by Senate for the purpose.

(2) The admission of applicants who have not studied Law at undergraduate level may be made conditional on the results of an interview. The Board may impose additional requirements, including the requirement to follow a preparatory programme of studies and passing a qualifying examination, prior to registration for the Course.

Registration for the Course

5. (1) Applicants wishing to register for the Course shall apply on the prescribed form and within the time specified by the Office of the Registrar.

(2) On admission to the taught and research Course, students shall be required to register for the appropriate number of study-units, as indicated in paragraph (a) of regulation 8.

Course Duration

6. The Course shall extend over a period of twelve months of full-time study or its equivalent in part-time study. The Board may extend the period of studies by not more than six months or its equivalent in the case of part-time studies.

7. Students pursuing the Course on a part-time basis shall be required to register at the beginning of each academic year.

Course of Studies

8. The Course shall be offered in areas of study in law and related subjects, as determined by the Board prior to the commencement of the academic year. The Course may be offered in one or both of the following modes of study, subject to the availability of resources and the number of applicants who opt for the taught and research mode of study:

(a) Research Mode of Study: consisting of the writing of a dissertation as stipulated in regulation 11, to which 30 credits are assigned; or

(b) Taught and Research Mode of Study: a number of study-units, to which 15 credits are assigned; and the writing of a dissertation, to which 15 credits are assigned.

Catalogue of Study-Units

9. In the case of the taught and research mode of study, the Board shall draw up a catalogue of study-units. The catalogue shall indicate the code, title, and description of each study-unit, the credits assigned to each study-unit, and the methods of teaching and assessment. The Board shall publish the catalogue prior to the commencement of each Course, following the approval of Senate.

Assessment and Progress in Taught and Research Mode of Study

10. (1) Credits shall be assigned according to the following grades in descending order of merit: A, B, C, and D. Failure shall be indicated by F. Incomplete work due to justifiable reasons (illness, approved absence, etc.) shall be indicated by I. In all other cases the results of uncompleted study-units shall be indicated as F.

(2) The grades for the study-units shall take into account the students' performance in the coursework and in the written examinations, which shall be held either on completion of a study-unit or at the end of the second semester. For the purpose of the award of an overall grade for a study-unit, coursework shall be weighted at 25% whilst the written examination shall be weighted at 75%.

(3) Students who fail in the written examination of one or more study-units shall be allowed to resit that examination once only at the next scheduled examination session. In such cases, the maximum grade that may be awarded is grade D.

(4) Students who do not obtain a minimum of nine credits at the first sitting shall be considered to have definitively failed. Students who fail any resit shall be considered to have definitively failed, unless the Board, in exceptional circumstances, decides to review the case.

Dissertation

11. (1) The length of the dissertation shall be as follows:

(a) Research Mode of Study: not more than 50,000 words in length; and

(b) Taught and Research Mode of Study: not more than 25,000 words in length. The subject shall be proposed by the students and approved by the Board. The dissertation should provide evidence of independent research and constitute an original contribution to the subject.

(2) Students shall present a written proposal for a dissertation topic not later than three months from the beginning of the academic year in which they shall be completing the Course.

(3) On approval of the dissertation proposal, students shall be assigned a supervisor who shall be appointed by the Board.

(4) The dissertation shall be submitted by not later than the second week of September. The Board may, in its discretion, grant students an extension of the submission date of up to three months.

(5) The dissertation shall be examined by a Board of Examiners appointed by Senate, on the recommendation of the Board.

(6) Students shall submit eight copies of the dissertation and declare in writing that the dissertation is their own work and conforms to the requirements indicated in paragraph (1) of this regulation.

(7) The Board of Examiners shall be convened by its Chairman to discuss the dissertation. Students may also be required to take a viva voce examination in defence of their dissertation.

(8) The Board of Examiners may approve the dissertation. It may require the students to make corrections or to completely rewrite the dissertation within a stated time limit or it may reject the dissertation altogether.

(9) Students whose dissertation is rejected or whose corrections or rewriting are considered inadequate or who have not submitted their dissertation within the required time limit shall not be awarded the Degree.

Classification and Award of the Degree

12. (1) The final grade of each student shall take into account the grade obtained in the dissertation or in all study-units and the dissertation, as the case may be, which shall be weighted according to the number of credits assigned to each.

(2) The names of students who qualify for the award of the Degree shall be published in a list in alphabetical order classified as follows:

Passed with Distinction
Passed.

Joint Degrees

13. (1) Where the University, with the approval of Senate, enters into an agreement with a foreign university for the granting of the Degree jointly, then the credits necessary to qualify for the Degree may be taken partly at the University and partly at the foreign university as provided for in such agreement.

(2) The Board of Examiners and the Degree Classification Board shall, in those cases referred to in paragraph (1) of this regulation, be constituted in terms of decisions taken by the appropriate governing bodies of both institutions.

(3) In the instances governed by this regulation the Degree shall be awarded jointly on one certificate by both universities and shall be conferred at either university as agreed between them.