Department of Law

In soccer, as in any other sport, there are rules and there are referees, whose task it is to interpret and apply those rules. No matter how clear the rules or laws of the game may be, it is not always an easy task for the referee to make the correct decision — if indeed there is a correct decision at a given time, for it is often the case that different referees adjudicate differently given the same set of circumstances. The governing body of a sport may also make changes to its rules or advise a different line of interpretation in regard to a particular rule, perhaps to make the sport more competitive or to reflect changes in the nature of the sport. In the same way, there are rules that govern human society, with each political entity having its own set of rules that constitutes a system of law. The constant changes that accompany social and technological progress mean that legal precedents set in the past are no longer valid or relevant to the present, and the law has to respond to such changes for the sake of equity and justice. Although a thorough knowledge of the myriad of laws that a modern state possesses is perhaps the ultimate objective for a student of law, in the Department of Law our primary aim is cultivation within our students of a deep understanding of the underlying and unchanging principles of law and train them to think logically so that they can argue by power of reason. While the study of law as an academic pursuit focusing on archival research may at times seem somewhat abstract, we also give our students the opportunity to study case law drawing on actual cases that are occurring around us in contemporary society. This engenders appreciation of the dynamic nature of the study of law as an academic subject revolving around the lives of real people.