Dr Jason N E Varuhas
Mooting at Christ's
Please address any such enquiries to the
Director of Admissions, Christ's College, Cambridge, CB2 3BU, or by e-mail
to admissions@christs.cam.ac.uk
Directors of Studies:
Part 1A: Mr James Edwards
Parts 1B, 2, Erasmus and LLM: Dr Sarah L. Steele
Junior Research Fellow in Law:
Dr Jason N E Varuhas
Number of students admitted each year: 8-10
Christ's Law Website:
www.christs.cam.ac.uk/prospective-students
University Website: www.law.cam.ac.uk
Introduction: Studying Law
Christ's College Law provides a first-rate opportunity to study law in a
rigorous and collaborative setting. Its diverse student body is drawn from
across the nation and around the world, and it boasts an extensive network
of distinguished alumni. There are about 35 students in Law residence at any
one time, across the years, forming an ideally-sized, friendly and diverse
community. Upon graduating, Christ's lawyers have gone on into many walks of
life - especially, but by no means only, the legal profession. The Law
degree is neither necessary nor sufficient for legal practice, and at
Cambridge, in particular, Law is treated as an intellectual discipline
rather than a vocational training course.
Beyond this, Law students at Christ's have access to exceptional resources,
both academic and social. The College offers a well-stocked, separate Law
library, and a flourishing student-run Law society.
Law at Cambridge University
The Cambridge Law Faculty today is one of the largest and most prestigious
in the country. It is internationally renowned for its academic and their
research. The Faculty is unrivalled in the fields of public international
Law, criminology and English legal history in particular, but offers strong
coverage of the entire range of graduate and undergraduate course options.
The faculty possesses an internationally important research library, the
Squire Law Library, with its vast range of materials on open access for all
students to use. The faculty and Squire library are both housed in a
stunning modern building designed by Norman Foster and Partners (1995),
about 15 minutes' walk from Christ's, with a further adjacent building for
the Institute of Criminology. The faculty's building provides an inspiring
environment for study, and is much envied (and indeed, utilized) by students
from other faculties for its airy and well-lit work spaces and extensive
computing facilities.
Students take four subjects in their first year for Part IA: Criminal Law,
Constitutional Law, Law of Tort and Civil (Roman) Law. In the second year
five subjects are studied for Part IB. The range of subjects on offer is
wide - from Family Law to International Law. Most students take Land Law and
Contract Law. In Part II, students can study five subjects, or six if the
student selects 'half papers', across an even wider range of subjects, with
the option of writing a 12,000 word dissertation in areas of Law where a
seminar course is offered.
The Faculty selects from among existing second year undergraduates to take
part in the one-year study abroad Erasmus scheme, at partner universities in
Poitiers (France), Utrecht (Netherlands), Regensburg (Germany), and the
Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Spain). No separate application is needed
for these courses when applying for entry to read Law at Cambridge.
Teaching at Cambridge is divided between lectures delivered in the Faculty
of Law, and small-group supervisions (of 1-5 students) given at or arranged
by the undergraduate's college. Assessment is by examinations at the end of
each year, corresponding to the three Parts of the Tripos.
More information about the Faculty and Law curriculum may be found on the
Faculty's excellent and comprehensive website.
Law at Christ's College
Colleges are responsible for the selection and admission of undergraduates,
the provision of social facilities such as accommodation, and ongoing
personal and academic support. Every College has a Director or Directors of Studies in
Law, part of whose job is to advise students in their choice of subjects and
to arrange supervisions for them. Supervisions are tutorial teaching
sessions in small groups, and are one of the major advantages of a Cambridge
education, providing individually tailored help and tuition. They offer a
more directed and relevant approach to a student's own work than is possible
at most other universities, where similar material can only be covered in
example classes involving much larger numbers of students.
As outlined above, Cambridge has a longstanding strength in Law, with a
thriving undergraduate Law school. See some students' views of studying Law
at Christ's.
Dr Sarah Louise Steele
Sarah read Law at the Flinders University of South Australia and completed a
Masters in International Studies before completing a DPhil in Law at
University of Oxford, where she examined men in the United States'
anti-human trafficking context. She researches the interaction between law,
victimhood, and gender. Sarah is interested specifically with the
constructing of men and masculinities in and through cross-border criminal
regulations. Her work considers Othering, as well as gender discrimination,
and makes policy-relevant suggestions regarding new ways to formulate and
speak about transnational crimes like trafficking.
Sarah currently teaches Criminal Law; Criminology, Sentencing and the Penal
System; and Ethics in World Politics. She has worked as a lecturer and
researcher for universities in the UK, Australia and USA in Criminology,
Politics, Law, and International Relations.
Mr James Edwards
James read Law at Christ's College, Cambridge, and completed the BCL at
Magdalen College, Oxford, as well as the BCL in London. He then returned to
Oxford - to University College - for a DPhil in Law. James is interested in
most aspects of legal and political philosophy, with a specific focus on
philosophical issues arising within the Criminal Law.
James currently teaches Constitutional Law, Jurisprudence and Criminal Law.
He previously worked as a Stipendiary Lecturer at Hertford College, Oxford.
Jason is a Junior Research Fellow at Christ's. He recently completed his
Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge, entitled "Damages for Breaches of
Human Rights: A Tort-Based Approach", and has published on this topic in
the Modern Law Review, "A Tort-Based Approach to Damages under the Human
Rights Act 1998" (2009) 72 MLR 750-782. He completed his undergraduate
studies in law and economics at Victoria University of Wellington, New
Zealand, and his LL.M. at University College London, being awarded the
Derby/Bryce Prize in Law. He has previously taught at Victoria University
of Wellington and Downing College, Cambridge. He has served as a Judge's
Clerk at the New Zealand Court of Appeal, and is qualified as a barrister
in New Zealand. His research interests include public law and politics, the
law of tort, and remedies, and he has recently published on a range of
subjects within these fields. He is currently undertaking a large-scale
research project on the Westminster Parliament.
All Law students at Christ's have the opportunity to participate in mooting.
In recent years, Christ's undergraduates have been very successful in
mooting and all first years are required to participate in the intercollege
mooting programme in Michaelmas Term. A moot is a simulated court case, in
which the participants are presented with a set of facts and then have to
make submissions about how the law should apply to those facts like
barristers in front of a "judge". Moots raise questions of law rather than
questions of fact - cross-examination of witnesses as in a "mock trial" is
not required! The activity hones a number of important skills, such as
public speaking, legal research and the crucial ability to think on one's
feet.
Christ's College Law Society
The Law students at Christ's have an active society run by officers annually
elected from among the current undergraduates. Each year events may
include: a party for the new undergraduates in October, a dinner at the end
of Michaelmas Term, the black-tie Annual Dinner in January, an informal
dinner at the end of Lent Term, and finally a garden party in June featuring
strawberries, cream, Pimms to celebrate the end of the academic year. There
is no shortage of opportunities to meet and interact with other students
interested in Law and others from around the University.
College Facilities
Christ's is distinctive amongst the Cambridge Colleges. It offers strong
tutorial support to its students as they pursue their academic work, and is
able to offer accommodation for all three years to all of its
undergraduates. The College also provides a modern library including a
specialist Law Library, a theatre, sporting facilities including a fitness
room, playing fields, social activities and clubs and societies open to all.
How to Apply
In addition to nominating Cambridge as one of your selected universities on
the UCAS application form, you also need to decide between choosing a
College and making an Open Application (allowing a College preference to be
chosen for you by computer). This can appear to add to the complexity of
applying to Cambridge, but in reality the option of stating your particular
College preference increases the control which you have over your own
application. Many criteria can be used for choosing a College of preference,
including such factors as location, architecture and accommodation, and
academic, musical or sporting reputation. If you are able to visit Cambridge
(preferably on a College Open Day) you may get a better idea of the
location, atmosphere and facilities of various Colleges.
Christ's College does not have fixed quotas of places for different subjects
and the exact numbers admitted in any one year will depend upon the
strengths of the fields of applicants in various subjects. However, Christ's
aim is to admit around 8 to 10 students each year in Law. Details of how to
apply can be found on the Faculty of Law website or on the College website
under Admissions.
Interviews are held in November and December: applicants will have two
interviews at Christ's. No special preparation is needed for the interview,
and in particular, no special knowledge of Law will be expected. The
process aims to identify aptitude and potential for legal reasoning and
study at Cambridge, rather than existing knowledge. Students invited for
interview will also be asked to sit the Law Test, details of which can be
found on the Faculty's website.
Entry requirements are likely to be A*AA at A-level, or equivalent grades in
other systems. For those selected instead for a conditional offer, the
precise target conditions are assessed individually. If you are made a
conditional offer, you would have a guaranteed place at Cambridge provided
that you achieve your target.
A final point worth making is that we only make offers that we believe
candidates have a realistic chance of achieving. Our aim is to admit the
best students regardless of their background.
Information about deadlines and further details about applying can be found
on the University's Admissions Pages.
Further Information
If you are able to come to a College Open Day, we will be glad to tell you
more about the College and the course in person.
If you are not able to
come, we will be happy to answer any queries you may have that are not
covered by the normal literature.
