Law and change: Scottish legal heroes

You learn about the law-making process in Scotland, explore how the legal system has been influenced by change and consider how law has been used to respond to developments in society. Scots laws and lawyers have influenced development of laws on a national, regional and global level and you explore examples of this influence. You'll consider how words such as reasonableness, duty, rights, justice, fairness are used in relation to law and legal systems and their relevance in contemporary Scotland before looking at how you can make a difference by becoming involved in the law making process yourself.

Enrolling on the course will give you the opportunity to earn an Open University digital badge. Badges are not accredited by The Open University but they're a great way to demonstrate your interest in the subject and commitment to your career, and to provide evidence of continuing professional development.

Once you are signed in, you can manage your digital badges online from My OpenLearn. In addition, you can download and print your OpenLearn statement of participation - which also displays your Open University badge.

The Open University would really appreciate a few minutes of your time to tell us about yourself and your expectations for the course before you begin, in our optional start-of-course survey . Once you complete the course we would also value your feedback and suggestions for future improvement, in our optional end-of-course survey . Participation will be completely confidential and we will not pass on your details to others.

Course learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

• Understand the complexity of issues in law-making and application
• Discuss how laws reflect the society within which they are made
• Explain the role of individuals and institutions in effecting legal change.