JUDGMENT QUESTION Judgment:
Imagine that the events in Bernard v Josephs [1982] Ch 391 took place many years later than they did in reality:
So that the parties purchased their home in 2009 and that the case heard in 2019 in the High Court. Write the leading judgment in the Court of Appeal, using modern conventions of judgment-writing and applying today’s law of co-ownership. Students are advised to consult Feminist Judgments, ed. R.Hunter, C. McGlynn and E. Rackley (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2010, available in an on-line version in the library) for examples of alternative judgments, and a useful discussion in the introductory chapters about the challenges involved in writing them.
Judgment: not more than 4 pages which must be formatted in accordance with the School of Law’s Assessed Work Rules (otherwise penalties will apply). NB Only the formatting need comply with the Assessed Work Rules, not the content. The judgment should look like the judgment part of a case report, not an essay.
Specific assessment criteria for this exercise:
• Accurate exposition of relevant law
• Correct application to facts
• Appreciation of social context
• Modern terminology
• Correct judgment-writing conventions and style (as in modern law reports)
• A judgment – not simply advice, but a decision. Learning Outcomes: Students will
•Demonstrate an understanding of English co-ownership law;
• Apply law to given facts, showing an appreciation of the interplay of facts and law in their social context;
• Write like a judge using modern English judgment-writing conventions.
