Common Law/Politics

Common law and politics is a combination that brings together two disciplines with a deep historical and conceptual relationship. Common law, the system of law that developed in England and was carried by colonialism and settlement across much of the world, is one of the most significant legal traditions on earth. Studying it provides insight into how rights, duties, and obligations are established through judicial decisions and accumulated precedent, how legal reasoning works, and how the common law tradition has shaped the legal and political institutions of the UK, the United States, Canada, Australia, and many other countries.

Politics provides the broader framework for understanding how power is organised and exercised in those same states, how constitutions and legal frameworks relate to democratic governance, and how law and politics interact in shaping the conditions of public life.

At the University of Glasgow, this four-year full-time programme is an important distinction to note: the Common Law LLB is not accredited by the Law Society of Scotland, as the current description makes clear, and is therefore not suitable for students who wish to qualify as a solicitor in Scotland. It is, however, an intellectually serious combination that develops legal reasoning and political analysis in depth, and it is well suited to students who wish to pursue careers that draw on legal and political knowledge without practising as solicitors in the Scottish jurisdiction. The programme includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to engage with legal and political systems in another country.

You will study the principles and methods of common law alongside the major areas of political science, developing the analytical rigour of legal reasoning and the comparative and theoretical frameworks of politics simultaneously.

Graduates pursue careers in policy, journalism, public sector management, international organisations, legal-related roles outside regulated practice, academia, and a wide range of professional contexts where legal and political understanding is valued. Postgraduate study in law, politics, or international relations is a natural progression.