Law is often divided into ‘public’ and ‘private’. If this division had to be followed within the Faculty of Laws, there would only be two departments, and the system would be unmanageable! Therefore the Public Law Department only covers certain aspects of what in the legal world is referred to as ‘public law’. The subjects currently studied under Public Law include Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Human Rights Law, Employment Law, Taxation Law, Private International Law, Social Law, Local Government Law, Industrial Law, Sports Law, Education Law, Tourism Law and Ombudsman Legislation.
Most of the listed subjects are taught at Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) and Higher Diploma Legal Procurator level. The Department however also offers a Master of Arts in Human Rights Law and Practice, and contributes towards other Masters programmes including the Master of Arts in Taxation. We also contribute towards the Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) degree course and the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree course and offer a postgraduate research Master’s degree in law – the M.A. in Law.
Apart from normal lecturing in the above subject areas, the Department organises tutorials and symposia for students following the compulsory subjects (Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Private International Law, etc.). With a view to retaining a certain academic level, the team overseeing the symposia in Constitutional and Administrative Law (held annually since 2018) have included external academics from overseas academic institutions.
The Department runs two evening courses, a Master of Arts in Mediation and a Diploma in the Laws of Procedure.