English Land Law

English Land Law has evolved over the centuries from being a largely unregulated sphere where possession was said to be ?9/10s of the law?; where an English man's home was said to be his castle; where the state had little involvement; and where colonial residues are rife. Long before England colonized other countries, it was colonized itself by William the Conqueror and to this day, all freehold estates are held from the Crown ? where an individual dies intestate, the Crown is the ultimate heir. The aim of this module is to introduce you to English and Welsh land law, including the systems of unregistered and registered title to land in that jurisdiction, along with rules relating to the recognition of other interests in land. Students will gain an appreciation of the interaction between legal interests, the intervention of equity and statutory law. Whilst most of this course is confined to the study of the rules relating to land rights within the aforementioned jurisdiction, the importance of the passage of the Human Rights Act 1998 along with the European Convention on Human Rights shall be seen in a number of different areas of the course. There will also be some commentary along the way on various policy issues and tensions, which serve to make the course more comprehensible and interesting.