This module is not currently running in 2024 to 2025.
The module aims to facilitate a holistic understanding of public and private international law issues in the contemporary legal regulation of the sovereign and non-sovereign parts of maritime, airspace and outer space territories. This includes an examination of the key areas of private law such as transportation, liability and business transactions in maritime law, the law of the sea, air law and space law. Any international business transaction involving the sale and supply of goods has to contemplate the means by which the goods are transported from the exporter's country to the importer’s country. This means that international carriage of goods is a central aspect of international commercial law. Carriage of goods by sea, by air and increasingly in the form of payload on spacecraft has played and continues to play an extremely important role in contemporary international commercial law. This module further complements the departmental emphasis on cross-disciplinary approaches to the study of law and examination of the interaction of law with other disciplines, particularly international relations, politics, business and economics, as well as science and technology.
Total contact hours: 18
Private study hours: 182
Total study hours: 200
LLM in (Specialisation); LLM in Law; PG Diploma in (Specialisation); PG Certificate in Law
Main assessment methods
Essay of no more than 4000 words (80%)
Presentation, in groups, approx. 15 minutes per group, mark awarded for the group (10%)
Group work paper, 1000 words per group member, mark awarded for the paper overall (10%)
For the participation elements, the convenor will take opportunities to clarify aspects of each student's contribution to the group, as well as their overall knowledge and understanding. Students will also have the ability to discuss any 'free-riding' concerns with the convenor as necessary.
Reassessment methods
Reassessment Instrument: 100% coursework
Carr, I., International Trade Law (6th ed, Routledge, 2017).
Churchill, R.R., & Lowe, A.V., The Law of the Sea (3rd ed, Manchester University Press, 1999).
Grief, N., Public International Law in the Airspace of the High Seas (Springer, 1994).
Oduntan, G., Sovereignty and Jurisdiction in Airspace and Outer Space: Legal Criteria for Spatial Delimitation, (Routledge, 2011).
Wilson, J., Carriage of Goods by Sea (7th ed, Longman, 2010).
See the library reading list for this module (Canterbury)
The intended subject specific learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module, students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of the relationships between the legal regimes governing international business transactions
relating to the movement of vessels, goods and persons in maritime, sea, airspace and outer space territories.
2. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the unification and harmonisation of private international regulation of maritime law, air law and
space law through the adoption of international treaties and conventions.
3. Demonstrate a systematic understanding of the principles of liability for maritime, airspace and outer space activities.
4. Demonstrate originality in the application of knowledge of key legal dimensions of the aviation business, such as aviation insurance and
liability for damage.
5. Critically appreciate the legal and economic implications of the development of space activities, particularly the commercialization of
space transportation and communications systems, as well as the fast developing potentials of exploitation of space based resources.
The intended generic learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module, students will be able to:
1. Critically reflect upon complex ideas and arguments, to digest, analyse and test scholarly views, to relate scholarly ideas and arguments
to issues and circumstances in the contemporary global political economy and to summarise and analyse scholarly arguments.
2. Demonstrate advocacy and defence by formulating an opinion in response to an issue or question and to construct coherent and
persuasive arguments to advocate one's view and to defend that view against criticism.
3. Demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problem questions. Responding at short notice to questions and
challenges making use of knowledge, analytical tools and perspectives acquired in the module.
4. Demonstrate a systematic ability to adopt cross-disciplinary approaches to the study of law and to appreciate the interactions between law
with other disciplines, particularly international relations, economics and politics as well as science and technology.
Stage 1
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