England

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Accessibility statement
This module emphasises critical engagement with laws in context. Equity, trusts and land are examined as individual laws, as well as through interactions with today's political, cultural, social and economic contexts and those possible in the future. Throughout the module, you'll be prompted to recognise and examine these contexts and interactions, as well as to question and challenge them in-depth using reasoning and curiosity. This module promotes individual research, and more importantly, collaboration and conversation within communities of students and academics to help nurture confidence, knowledge and skills.
This module has been designed to examine the three areas of law, both individually and together, in a manner that promotes deep analysis.
Equity

The module starts by exploring equity, which means interrogating the tension between the law and the foundations of justice and fairness within the legal landscape, particularly in relation to property. Thousands of years of philosophy, politics and legal reasoning have fermented to form the foundations of today’s equity, and some of those ideas will be explored via equity’s ‘operative’ procedures, doctrines and rules, and most notably via its remedies (specific performance, rescission, etc.) In fact, because we find equity in so many diverse areas of law and life, it might arguably be better thought of in the plural rather than the singular as equities.
Trusts

In trusts, there is a rich historical narrative of proprietary and financial management and manipulation that continues to evolve in the 21st century. We find these evolutions in many forms, including creative ‘tax management’ schemes and products and the work of charities, as well as the dawning of a digital age in relation to trusts. You will critically examine where these evolutions leave the trust today and, importantly, where it might be going in the future. Trusts will be examined from both a conceptual basis and from a practical and professional standpoint. Both strands engage with the law in a demonstrably critical fashion.
Land law

In land law, we find, quite simply, life and not just the procedures, doctrines and rules used by conveyancers. Land law has long been dominated by a mere focus on ‘black-letter’ law and the assumption of property ownership. A key aim of the land law section is to challenge such assumptions through the ‘cracked lens of ownership’ – that is, not just via ownership, but via the ideas and practicalities of pre-ownership, anti-ownership, pseudo-ownership and post-ownership. One approach taken is the interrogation of some of the normative positions in land law – such as covenants, easements and land rights – from a more political perspective that will question entrenched notions of ownership in the law and wider society of England and Wales.
This module has been designed as a series of eight blocks, each of which is divided into a number of units. Each unit is the equivalent of a week’s study.
As you progress through the module, the amount of directed learning will be reduced. At the start of the module, you'll be guided as to how to spend almost all your study time; by the end, only about 50% of your study time will be directed, and you will be expected to manage and conduct your own independent research for the remainder of the time.
If you have studied any OU law modules before, you may find that the structure and content of this module differs from them. This module has a very specific structure and combines two approaches to content in a way that aims to promote both curiosity and the critical examination of the law. You have one single bespoke textbook especially tailored to provide you with the relevant substantive ‘black-letter’ law for all three subject areas – you might like to think of this as a ‘repository’ of the law that is of concern to this module.
You'll also have ‘wrap-around’ critical materials that take on various forms, including audio and film. The aim is to develop a greater depth of appreciation for law in context and for you to start asking your own detailed and critical questions of the law.
In order to study this module, you must have successfully completed 60 credits of study at Stage 2.
This module will be of potential interest to you if you enjoy philosophy, politics, economics or social sciences, as well as traditional law. As this is a Stage 3 law module, it includes some complex legal ideas. It is therefore highly recommended that you have successfully completed at least 60 credits of law at Stage 2, with either Contract law and tort law (W202) or Public law and criminal law (W203).
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the module, please speak to an adviser.
You’ll get help and support from an assigned tutor throughout your module.
They’ll help by:
Online tutorials run throughout the module. While they’re not compulsory, we strongly encourage you to participate. Where possible, we’ll make recordings available.
Course work includes:
You'll be provided with a textbook and have access to a module website, which includes:
You will need to record an oral presentation as part of your assessed work on this module. We strongly recommend that you use a headset with a microphone, as using an external or integrated microphone and speakers could result in a poor-quality recording.
The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone, and this Accessibility Statement outlines what studying W302 involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.
To find out more about what kind of support and adjustments might be available, contact us or visit our Disability support website.
Equity, trusts and land starts once a year – in October.
This page describes the module that will start in October 2025, when we expect it to start for the last time.
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