Terms & Conditions
BLC Regulations 2015-2016 (Warsaw)
The following regulations shall apply to all students attending the BLC centre in Warsaw
during the academic year 2015-2016. These regulations reflect the agreements reached
between Juris Angliae Scientia (as provider of the course) and our local university partners.
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1. THE COURSE CURRICULUM
The course will provide lectures and classes on the following subjects, which are compulsory
for all students.
FIRST YEAR SUBJECTS
ENGLISH LEGAL SYSTEM
INTRODUCTION TO EU CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
CRIMINAL LAW
LAW OF CONTRACT
CONTRACT DRAFTING AND SALE OF GOODS LAW
LAW OF TORT
LAW OF TRUSTS/PROPERTY
SECOND YEAR SUBJECTS
EU SUBSTANTIVE LAW
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW
THE LAW OF BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS (WITH EMPHASIS ON COMPANY LAW)
INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW
In order to graduate the Diploma course, students must successfully pass an assessment/exam
in each of these subjects.
All classes are compulsory and students must ensure that they comply with the Diploma
course attendance rules in order to be eligible to complete each individual subject and receive
the Diploma.
A timetable setting out the dates of lectures/classes will be made available to students via the
Moodle web-site. In the event that it proves necessary to make any amendments to the
original timetable, students will be given as much prior notice as possible.
2. TEACHING
Teaching will be provided in the form of:A. Classes (Seminars and tutorials)
Students receive 8-9 “class weeks” in each of the 2 years of the course (i.e. approximately 1618 “class weeks” during the 2-year Diploma Course). During each “class week”, students
discuss and resolve practical legal problems based on materials detailed in the various course
workbooks.
Classes are divided into two types – seminars and tutorials. Attendance is compulsory and
students must ensure that they attend all of the classes for their particular year of studies (i.e.
1st year or 2nd year). A record will be maintained of students’ class attendance and this will
form part of students’ attendance records (see part C below).
Furthermore, active participation is required in class discussion. Students will be provided in
advance with questions and topics for discussion during their classes, together with any
necessary reading and preparation materials. Students are responsible for preparing answers
to these questions and arriving at classes ready to discuss those questions.
Classes will be conducted by teaching staff of the British Law Centre.
The two separate types of classes are as follows:
(i) Seminars
In every “class week”, there will be a compulsory seminar which lasts for 90 minutes.
Students are provided in advance with questions that they must prepare answers to and these
questions will form the basis for discussion during the seminar. Questions are generally of a
“problem question” type, meaning that students are provided with a factual scenario and are
expected to discuss the possible legal conclusions that arise from these facts.
(ii) Tutorials
In every “class week”, there will be a compulsory tutorial which involves approximately 6-8
students per class which lasts for 60 minutes (or 90 minutes during the 2nd year of the
Diploma course). Again, the topics for discussion are provided to students in advance and
students are required to arrive at classes prepared to discuss the chosen issues. Questions are
a mixture of “problem questions” (see above) and “discussion questions”, requiring students
to critically assess how English/EU law resolves a particular legal issue.
(iii) Skills training
Students will also be required to attend one compulsory skills training seminar during the first
semester. Skill-training seminars will include issues such as: analysing case-law; analysing
and interpreting statute law; legal writing skills; online research exercise.
During classes on the 2nd year of the course, BLC students will be provided with more
“primary source materials” (i.e. cases, statutes etc.) and will be asked, as part of a group, to
prepare a précis of a particular case or legislation for discussion by the rest of the class.
Further details will be provided to students as they proceed to the 2nd year.
C. Students’ Attendance Records
Records will be maintained of students’ attendance at classes and lectures and of their
performance during classes. A copy of these records will be maintained on the course’s website (“Moodle”) and will be taken into account when deciding:
(i) whether a 1st year student may progress to the 2nd year of the course
(ii) whether a 2nd year student should be recommended for the course Diploma
Furthermore, any student failing to attend compulsory classes in a particular subject module
may be deemed ineligible to submit the assignment in that module and/or may be required to
complete an additional piece of written work or to repeat the relevant subject module in the
subsequent academic year in order to successfully complete the course. Students who need to
repeat a module in a subsequent academic year shall be required to pass that module (and any
other modules not yet successfully passed) in accordance with the course requirements
applicable in the new academic year in which they are to be assessed for that module (e.g. if a
particular module used to be assessed by way of assignment but is now assessed by way of
written exam, “returning” students will be required to write the exam).
3. MATERIALS
A. The Diploma Course’s Internet Site: “Moodle”
Having been accepted to the Diploma Course, all students are registered (through their e-mail
addresses) on the course’s web-site (“Moodle”), which contains the necessary reading
materials and additional materials. All students should therefore ensure that they have
properly completed the registration procedure (see section 4 below), that they have also
uploaded their course application which will be sent to them by e-mail following the expiry
of the cancellation period as confirmation of their application. Any change in their contact
details (including e-mail address) on Moodle should be kept up to date and in addition a
notice of the change sent to teaching staff directly by e-mail. Moodle is the primary source of
communication with all students and important notices will be sent via this web-site, so any
student whose e-mail address is not working for any reason must open a new account or
remedy the problem immediately. If any student does not receive mails from the Moodle site
they should contact the designated BLC tutor to advise them and take such action as is
necessary to resolve the issue, including, where required, acquiring a new e-mail address for
their Moodle registration.
Each subject module during the course is accompanied by one or more workbooks,
explaining the law relevant to that subject and containing questions to be prepared for class
discussions. Students are responsible for downloading the workbooks and other related
materials from Moodle, to bring the relevant materials with them to all lectures and classes
and to have completed the necessary preparation for any classes.
The materials available will include the following:• Workbooks (these may be accessed via the Course Documents link on Moodle)
• Seminar/tutorial questions (these are contained in the workbooks and may also be
downloaded from Moodle)
• Recommended and Additional Reading (these are contained in the workbooks)
• Assignment Questions (these may be accessed via the Assignments link on Moodle)
Students are responsible for ensuring that they regularly check the “Moodle” site for course
information since this site will be their main source of information and materials.
Furthermore, important information about changes in the programme and also special events
and timetable announcements will be posted on this site.
Each student is also required to upload a recent passport-sized photograph to the Moodle site
link entitled Profile as well as a copy of their completed BLC course application form. The
photograph must be uploaded on the first occasion that a student enters the Moodle site. The
photograph on Moodle shall be used by teaching staff to assist in the identification of
students for the purposes of compiling their attendance and performance records (see section
2 above) and is, accordingly, a compulsory requirement of registration on the Diploma
Course. The photograph should be the same as that attached to the application form (see
registration requirements).
B. Library facilities
Each of the local centres will also hold a selection of textbooks on each of the study modules
which may be accessed by Diploma course students who wish to undertake recommended
further reading in a module. Furthermore, the British Law Centre possesses its own library of
legal materials and students may borrow these materials on a short-term basis through the
BLC librarian.
4. FEES AND ADMISSION TO THE COURSE
A. FEES
Course fees are outlined in the course leaflets, which can be downloaded directly from the
BLC moodle site. Course fees are payable prior to the commencement of the course and are
based upon an annual fee.
Cancellations and Refunds Policy (this policy was updated on 17th May 2015)
This applies to all BLC courses for the academic year 2015-2016.
Applications to be registered on any BLC course can only be submitted through the BLC web
site and the relevant cancellation period will commence from the date shown on the
application recorded on the BLC web site.
I). Cancellation periods
1. Candidates submitting application forms prior to 17th July 2015:
Such candidates are entitled to cancel their application at any time up to and including 31st
July, at which time the BLC course fees will become due. No payments should be made
prior to 31st July but anyone who has paid (in full or in part) for the course prior to 31st July
(and no earlier than 14 days after the date of submission of their BLC application form) shall
be deemed to have waived their right to cancel their application and shall not be eligible for
any refund of the fees paid.
2. Candidates submitting application forms between 18th July and 14th September 2015:
Such candidates are entitled to cancel their application within 14-days from the date on which
their application was submitted. No payment can be made until this 14-day period has
expired.
3. Candidates submitting application forms less than 14 days prior to commencement of
the course:
Such candidates are entitled to cancel their application within 14 days from the date on which
their application was submitted. If candidates join the course before the expiration of this14day cancellation period but then subsequently choose to cancel their application having
already attended any BLC course module or having accessed/received course materials, they
shall be required to pay a fee proportionate to the annual course fees, such fee reflects the
extent of annual BLC services they received during the period prior to their cancellation.
Anyone attending (or accessing/receiving materials) related to any individual course module
as a result will be treated as having attended that entire module for the purpose of calculating
the relevant amount of fees payable in such circumstances.
II). Fees
1. Time of Payment
a) No fees should be paid prior to the expiry of the relevant cancellation period (described in
the section above).
b) Once the 14 day cancellation has expired the applicant will be sent fee payment
instructions. Annual course fees for the year 2015-2016 (i.e. 50% of the amount stated as the
“total fees” for any 2-year) are payable in full prior to the commencement of all centre
courses. However, where an application was made at a time when the course had already
commenced, or was due to commence in fewer than 14 days, payment should only be made
after the 14-day cancellation period has expired. If a student in the latter situation then
cancels their application, having already attended (or accessed/received materials related to)
any individual course module, they will be required to pay the proportionate fees discussed in
section A.3 above.
2. Instalment payments of annual fees
a) In the case of mitigating circumstances, students may apply to pay their annual course fee
in two equal instalments. If an instalment request is granted the student will be required to
sign a separate document:
(i) setting out the terms of the instalment payments; and
(ii) re-affirming their responsibility to pay the BLC annual fee in full.
b) Any request for instalment payments or related fees request shall be made in writing to the
Course Director/Deputy Director, details of which will be provided upon submission of the
application form. Separate Payment Details or Instructions shall form an integral part of the
BLC’s Course Regulations.
3. Potential Fee Increases For Any 2nd year of a 2-year Course
a) All attempts are made to keep course fees to a minimum, but the BLC reserves the right to
review courses fees on an annual basis and to increase annual fees for all their courses. In
such cases, the increased fee will apply to all new students and also to students commencing
the 2nd year of a 2-year course.
b) In the event that a fees review indicates the need for a fee increase, the level of such
increase will never exceed 10% of the previous year’s fee. In 2015-2016 this means that the
maximum potential annual course fee in 2016-2017 would be €605 (Warsaw student fee),
€825 (Warsaw non-student fee), €550 (other centres student fee) or €715 euros (other centres
non-student fee).
c) Since all applicants have been advised of the scope of any potential fee increases prior to
applying for the BLC programme, please note that these rules constitute an integral element
of all applicants’ contract with the BLC, to which the applicant has consented.
4. Returners’ Fees
A returner’s fee is payable by any person who, having failed to complete the Diploma course
within 2 years of study (excluding any break taken in accordance with the BLC’s course
Regulations), wishes to return to complete the course in a further year of study. The level of
Returners’ fees is set annually and is subject to review. For the purpose of demonstration
only, the fee level during 2015-2016 was €300.
5. Special cases
a) Fees payable by those who withdraw within the cancellation periods set out in paragraph A
above having attended the course or accessed/received course materials shall remain liable
to pay a fee proportionate* to the annual course fees which reflects the extent of annual BLC
services they received during the period prior to their cancellation. In particular anyone
attending (or accessing/receiving materials) related to any individual course module will be
treated as having attended that entire module for the purpose of calculating the relevant
amount of fees payable in such circumstances.
*Note: Proportionate fees represent a genuine assessment of the actual costs incurred by the
BLC for each of the stated activities. They also reflect the fact that the BLC’s recruitment
policy means that other students may be refused a place on the course which is considered to
be full, and courses at some centres may not have taken place at all in the absence of a
sufficient number of applicants. All applications acknowledge and accept that these costs will
be payable (or non-refundable) if they decide to withdraw from a course after the expiry of
the relevant cancellation period stated above.
b) After expiry of the cancellation period and in all other cases of withdrawal, the BLC
operates a no-refunds policy, although it is possible for individual students to apply to the
BLC Course Director/ Deputy Director to seek a waiver in part of this policy when justified
by their own individual circumstances. Any such mitigating applications should be
accompanied by supporting evidence.
III) Cancellation Notices
Any applicant wishing to cancel their application during the cancellation period must send
their cancellation notice in writing (e-mail will suffice) in the appropriate form. An example
form is sent to all applicants following submission of their application form. A cancellation
notice must clearly state your name, the centre to which you applied and that you wish to
withdraw your application. To meet the cancellation deadline, it is sufficient for you to send
your communication concerning exercising the right to cancel before the cancellation period
has expired. Once the cancellation period has expired, you will no longer have the right to
cancel your contract with the BLC.
IV) General
Any applicant who cancels their application in accordance with the rules below shall be
removed from the list of BLC applicants and (subject to the exceptions stated above) shall not
be required to pay any BLC course fees.
In all other cases applicants are deemed to affirm their participation on the BLC course and to
be bound by all related BLC Terms and Conditions.
B. ADMISSION TO THE COURSE
All persons seeking admission to the Diploma Course (“candidates”) shall be required to
fulfil the following requirements:
(i) Submission of Juris Angliae Scientia registration documents
(ii) Payment of course fees and “proof of payment” confirmation
These are described briefly below.
(i) Submission of Juris Angliae Scientia documents
Each applicant is required to complete the online BLC application form, which includes
uploading a recent passport-style photograph (i.e. photograph is limited to head area; no
sunglasses to be worn etc.) electronically attached in the relevant part of the form. This same
photograph must also be uploaded by students to the Moodle web-site, in order to assist in
identification. Accordingly, the photograph should be an appropriate one (e.g. not one
containing multiple people in the same photograph, not one from many years ago etc.).
Having already filed their application via the BLC’s web-page (www.britishlawcentre.co.uk),
applicants to the Warsaw Centre must also submit a recent curriculum vitae (in English) and
a written statement of no longer than 300 words (“motivation letter”) indicating why you
wish to study at the BLC. These should be sent to the Kierownik of the Centre (Dr Steve
Terrett – s.terrett@uw.edu.pl ).
The registration documents also require candidates to provide details of a valid and
functioning e-mail address. This e-mail address will be used to register students onto the
Diploma Course’s web-site and it will also be the address to which communications from the
administrative and teaching staff will be sent. Accordingly, it is crucial that students check
that their e-mail address is correctly provided and their e-mail accounts are not overloaded or
full, since this will prevent them from receiving notices and instructions relating to the
Diploma Course (see earlier paragraph 3).
(ii) Payment of course fees and proof of payment confirmation
The Payment Details information (sent separately and available on the BLC Moodle web site)
contains instructions regarding the levels of fees payable and the final date by which full
payment should be received and confirmed. Payment of the annual course fees is a precondition to full registration on any BLC course and may lead to the student being suspended
temporarily until the payment position is resolved. These instructions constitute an integral
part of the Course Regulations. Evidence of payment of course fees should also be uploaded
on Moodle where indicated under the Assignments heading.
(iii) Deadlines for completion of registration requirements
Students will be informed of the final deadlines by which all of the aforementioned
registration obligations must be completed. Failure to complete the registration obligations by
the specified deadline(s) may prevent a student being registered for the Diploma course for
the relevant study year.
Privacy Policy
All information provided by BLC students or candidates will be stored in accordance with the
Privacy Policy adopted Juris Angliae Scientia Ltd, details of which are available from the
BLC Moodle site.
In respect of candidates who are invited to participate in the Diploma Course, their
registration details are stored in accordance with the aforementioned Privacy Policy and in
accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. In respect of candidates who are not invited to
participate in the Diploma Course, their registration details will be destroyed immediately
and no record of such details will be kept.
Students who accept an offer to participate in the Diploma/Certificate course and who log-in
to Moodle are deemed to have consented to the processing of their personal data, solely for
the purposes of providing the BLC Diploma/Certificate course and related academic
activities.
5. ASSESSMENT
A. METHODS OF ASSESSMENT
During the course, students are required to successfully complete a piece of written work, or
other practical exercise, in each of the modules listed as part of the course curriculum (see
section 1 above). Each module is assessed by one of the following methods:
1. A Written assignment
Written assignments are the most common type of assessment and require students to provide
legal advice to characters involved in a series of events that raise particular legal problems
related to the relevant module study area. Emphasis is placed upon the provision of practical
advice and application of the law that students have learned.
2. An “open book” written exam
Students are required to answer practical problem-based questions (similar to written
assignments, but shorter) in an exam environment and controlled time conditions. All exams
are “open book” in the sense that students may use their notes and materials during the exam)
3. Practical exercises
Certain modules are assessed by way of practical exercises designed to test students’ legal
skills. For example, the Sale of Goods module is assessed by way of requiring students to
produce a contract for the sale of a given product. Other types of practical exercises include
mooting/debates, drafting of court pleadings etc.
4. Mini thesis
Some Modules may be assessed by way of written thesis, written by students on a topic they
choose from a list provided by the BLC. Those wishing to apply to write a thesis instead of
an exam will be required to submit a thesis proposal for the relevant module (discussing how
they would approach the thesis topic) and, if selected, would write this thesis instead of the
exam in that particular subject. Details of this will be provided to students as the course
progresses.
5. CEEMC or equivalent
Individual students may also seek an individual exemption for the European Union exam
when they compete as a team at the Central and East European Moot Court competition.
Individual exemptions may be offered annually in relation to similar activities, details of such
events available in any academic year can be found on the Moodle gradebook site.
Details concerning all assessment methods will be available to students from the “Moodle”
web-site and will contain details of the submission date and applicable word limits, where
relevant. Only those assignments (or other assessment methods) completed and submitted as
specified will be marked – assignments (or other assessment methods) submitted in
contravention of any of the submission rules will only be marked at the discretion of the
tutors, whose decision shall be final.
Students are required to have successfully completed 4 out of the 6 assessments in the 1st
year of the course (see course curriculum in section 1 above) before they will be allowed to
progress to the 2nd year of the course. Anyone failing to do so will be required to “return” as
a 1st year in order to complete the Modules they have not yet successfully passed, prior to
progressing to the 2nd year of the course.
Students who, in the judgment of the BLC teaching staff, have not successfully completed
sufficient assignments to warrant the opportunity to re-take only selected subjects will be
required to begin the course from the outset.
Attendance at lectures/classes
Attendance at the Diploma Course classes is compulsory and will be closely monitored.
Fulfilment of the attendance requirements is a requisite for progressing from the 1st year to
the 2nd year of the course and for graduating the course.
Failure to attend classes may lead to disciplinary consequences which may include the
following:
• Student required to complete extra piece of written work
• Student barred from submitting assignment/examination in module with problematic
attendance
• Student required to repeat module in following year
• Student unable to progress to the next year of the course (or to graduate the course) and
required to re-study an entire year of the Diploma Course.
Class performance
Students’ performance in classes will be noted, as regards their level of preparation,
understanding, effort and participation in class discussions. If a question arises in relation to
students assessment, attendance or final grade, student performance which is consistently
marked as above average in class and/or in extra mural activities arranged by the British Law
Centre will be taken into consideration by the tutors to assist in resolving any such question
and may also be counted in the final decision as to which students should receive additional
awards of “merit” and “distinction”.
B. STANDARDS OF ASSESSMENT
(i) Marking standards and procedures
All assignments and examinations are marked on a percentage (%) basis reflecting the criteria
and standards required by British Universities. A pass mark is between 40% and 100%,
although a mark of 100% is extremely unlikely and a “first class” mark is represented by a
mark of 70% or above (in accordance with standard practice at English Universities).
All assignments and other assessments are originally marked by members of the BLC
teaching staff. These are returned to students with tutor comments inter alia indicating areas
which could have been improved.
All assignments and examinations are subject to double external examination. Currently, the
external examiners responsible for finalizing BLC student results are from the University of
Cambridge and the University of Glasgow. Accordingly, any marks awarded by BLC
teaching staff are “provisional” until such time as they are approved by the JAS external
assessment procedures.
(ii) Failed assignments/examinations and retakes
Any student who fails an assignment/exam (i.e. not achieving at least 40%) will be entitled to
submit a re-take that assessment. If the re-take reaches the standard necessary for a pass, it
will be awarded a mark of 40%, but no higher. If the re-take assessment does not reach the
standard necessary for a pass, any student having failed the same assessment twice will be
ineligible to graduate the course and receive the Diploma, unless there are special extenuating
circumstances which the BLC teaching staff feel justify allowing that student a 3rd attempt at
the same assessment. This decision will also take account of the attendance and performance
records of the student before deciding whether to permit another attempt at the assessment.
All students should note that successful completion of 4 out of 6 assessments is normally
necessary in order to progress from the 1st year to the 2nd year of the course and of all
assessments in order to graduate the course (see part A above for details).
One primary written exam session will be given to students during each academic year – this
will normally be in May but precise dates will be confirmed on a year-by-year basis. A final
re-take exam session will be arranged in September/ October of the same year for those
students who failed (or did not sit) an exam during the primary session. Students who do not
sit the exam in the first session and then fail at the subsequent retake session will fail that
subject overall and be ineligible to receive the Diploma during that year and, if permitted to
do so, will be required to “return” to the 2nd year in order to complete the relevant
Module(s).
6. COMPLETION AND CERTIFICATION
All students having successfully completed all of the compulsory course modules within the
permitted time-limits, and having completed all other requirements concerning payment of
fees and attendance, will be recommended for the course Diploma. A recommendation for
Course Diploma is subject to external assessment (as mentioned above) and does not
constitute an official recognition that the recommended student has graduated the course. A
student’s graduation shall be finally confirmed only upon having completed the confirmation
procedure. The confirmation procedure normally commences in September/October of each
academic year and is usually completed by November/ December of the same year,
whereupon graduating students will be informed of such confirmation and of the time and
place of the graduation ceremony.
Graduates of the Diploma course shall receive the following:
1. A Course Diploma signed by senior representatives from Juris Angliae Scientia (in some
centres it is also signed by a representative of the Local University Host)
(The Diploma is categorized into Pass, Merit and Distinction according to assignment and
performance grades obtained during the course and participation in extra-curricular activities
undertaken by the BLC.)
2. ECTS points/ local university exemptions.
As part of its agreement with local university partners, students may be eligible for the award
of ECTS credits as part of their own national law degree or may be entitled to seek partial or
full exemptions for national law degree examinations based upon work completed for the
diploma course. More information on what is available from the local centre can be obtained
from the relevant Local Programme Director. No ECTS credits are awarded directly by the
BLC.
7. MISCELLANEOUS
(i) Location of the British law Centre Warsaw Office
University of Warsaw
Faculty of Law & Administration
Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie 47, room 11
03-347 Warszawa
Tel: (+48 22) 552 7278
(ii) Location of the British Law Centre Headquarters
The BLC has its primary office base Cambridge.
Any queries regarding matters concerning Juris Anglia Scientia or any general queries
relating to organisation of the course (including academic matters concerning the course
modules, assignments, attendance records etc.) should firstly be raised with the appropriate
tutor – a list of subject-areas for which each individual tutor is responsible is available on
Moodle and the query should be addressed to the relevant tutor. The contact details of the
various BLC staff members are available from the “Moodle” web-site.
As regards other matters students may contact the Warsaw Course Director (Dr. Steve Terrett
– s.terrett@uw.edu.pl ) regarding their query.
The course is provided by the UK-based charity Juris Angliae Scientia and therefore the
interpretation or application of the Diploma rules/ regulations is regulated by English law and
any disputes arising in relation to the Diploma course shall be subject to the jurisdiction of
the English courts.
All efforts are made to minimise amendments to these Regulations. However, in the event
that any amendments are made, the version of the Regulations in force in any given academic
year shall apply to all BLC students.
By submitting an application form for the Diploma Course and logging-on to Moodle, BLC
students shall be deemed to have consented to these rules, including responsibility for
payment of full course fees for the relevant academic year (subject to the cancellation and
refund policy above) and to the retention of their personal data (exclusively for the purposes
described herein) by the BLC.
Cambridge, April 2015