Postgraduate PCert, PDip, LLM
Law
The Kent LLM allows you to broaden and deepen your knowledge and understanding of law by specialising in one or more different areas.
The Kent LLM allows you to broaden and deepen your knowledge and understanding of law by specialising in one or more different areas.
Kent Law School, at the University of Kent, is a leading UK law school with recognised excellence in teaching and legal research. Our distinctive critical approach views the law within the broader social, political and economic contexts in which it operates. You study full-time or part-time and can begin your studies in September or January.
You learn within a supportive, cosmopolitan, and intellectually stimulating environment, working closely with academic staff. We use critical research-led teaching throughout our programmes to ensure that you benefit from the Law School’s world-class research.
Our innovative Master’s in Law degree has an international and contemporary focus. It offers an open choice of modules and pathway enabling you to tailor your LLM study to suit your needs and interests. Your specialism is left open until you arrive and is determined by the modules you choose. You can develop in-depth expertise by studying one or two specialised subject pathways or study for a general Kent LLM with no specialist pathway.
Specialist pathways include:
It is possible to start the Kent LLM at Canterbury in September or in January. January entry allows students the flexibility to begin their studies without the need to wait for entry in September. Students who begin the Kent LLM on a full-time basis in January study over a period of 15 months. You study three taught modules in the first spring term and three taught modules in the autumn term. In your second spring term, you write your dissertation. Dissertation submission will be on the final day of the second spring term (usually in early April).
During the summer vacation, you are:
Law at Kent was ranked in the top 20 in The Times Good University Guide 2023. Study Law at a University employers recognise and respect.
In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021, 100% of our Law research was classified as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ for impact and environment.
Following the REF 2021, Law at Kent was ranked 2nd in the UK in the Times Higher Education.
We provide dedicated careers support so you can realise your ambitions and carve out the legal career you want.
The extensive law collection in Templeman Library and our dedicated law librarian are there to support your studies and access legal databases.
Our broad range of modules and pathways mean you can study the issues that matter to you. And with starts in September or January, you work to your timeline.
In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021, 100% of our Law research was classified as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ for impact and environment.
Following the REF 2021, Law at Kent was ranked 2nd in the UK in the Times Higher Education.
As part of your application to study at Kent, you will need to submit a portfolio. See further guidance regarding portfolio requirements.
We require a first class or upper second class honours degree in law or a relevant subject, or an equivalent international degree and we also welcome applications based on a lower second class honours degree which we will consider on a case-by-case basis alongside your relevant professional experience and other qualifications.
All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.
Please see our International Student website for entry requirements by country and other relevant information. Due to visa restrictions, students who require a student visa to study cannot study part-time unless undertaking a distance or blended-learning programme with no on-campus provision.
The University requires all non-native speakers of English to reach a minimum standard of proficiency in written and spoken English before beginning a postgraduate degree. Certain subjects require a higher level.
For detailed information see our English language requirements web pages.
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.
The following modules are offered to our current students. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.
This first extracurricular module provides an introduction to the legal research and writing skills required to carry out research at Masters level, bearing in mind the international character of our LLM student body. This may include an introduction to the English Legal System (particularly important for international students); a session on the various traditions of Critical Legal Thinking; a session on researching and writing for an LLM essay (particularly important for international students); plagiarism; oral skills; and workshops on using REFWORKS, OSCOLA and other library resources.
This second extracurricular module will enable students to acquire and develop the skills necessary to carry out a longer term research project such as their LLM dissertations, learn about other forms of post-graduate studies and career development. Although the focus will be on research methods and theoretical frameworks, other sessions might include: a workshop on editing scholarly work; an introduction to doctoral research; a workshop on working with long documents; and writing a CV.
This first extracurricular module provides an introduction to the legal research and writing skills required to carry out research at Masters level, bearing in mind the international character of our LLM student body. This may include an introduction to the English Legal System (particularly important for international students); a session on the various traditions of Critical Legal Thinking; a session on researching and writing for an LLM essay (particularly important for international students); plagiarism; oral skills; and workshops on using REFWORKS, OSCOLA and other library resources.
This second extracurricular module will enable students to acquire and develop the skills necessary to carry out a longer term research project such as their LLM dissertations, learn about other forms of post-graduate studies and career development. Although the focus will be on research methods and theoretical frameworks, other sessions might include: a workshop on editing scholarly work; an introduction to doctoral research; a workshop on working with long documents; and writing a CV.
Over the past few decades, the scope of intellectual property has grown significantly. The goal of the module is to provide an overview of copyright and the law of confidential information from different angles in order to be able to assess this expansion. In so doing, it will examine this area of law from historical, theoretical and practical perspectives. The emphasis throughout the module is on reflexive critique. That is, we will study the different modes of justifying copyright and the protection of confidential information; the different historical approaches to trace the ways in which we can understand the political economy of copyright and confidential information and we will look at the past to try to find ways of thinking about the present situation of international legal regimes. On a more contemporary level, we will study the interaction between copyright and freedom of expression, the problems posed by technological works, as well as the more practical question on the way of producing evidence in copyright and breach of confidence trials. No prior knowledge or study of intellectual property is required
This module will examine the problems that arise in commercial transactions between businesses established in different States. The module will concentrate specifically on the 'transnational' nature of such transactions, and some of the solutions characteristically adopted by different legal systems, with emphasis on International, English or the US systems, or where appropriate legal rules and materials of other jurisdictions by way of illustration. The module will also cover the unique features of current transnational business transactions such as Mergers and Acquisitions, and the importance of information and communication technologies.
This module explores the legal implications (practical and theoretical) of foreign direct investment. Attention is paid to the perspectives of states, investors, civil society actors and theorists; and to placing legal implications in their economic, social, political and historical context. Questions considered include:
• What political, economic and legal actors and factors have shaped the international law on foreign investment?
• What are the legal implications of the fact that most foreign investments are made by corporations?
• What roles can host state legal systems play in attracting and regulating foreign investments?
• What international legal mechanisms are used to enable foreign investment?
• What challenges do current concerns with corruption and tax evasion pose to existing international law on foreign investment?
The aim of the module is to focus on the theoretical, institutional and practical aspects of modern international commercial arbitration. This would involve a close examination of the ad hoc systems and the main institutional structures (e.g., ICC, ICSID, WIPO, Iran-US Claims Tribunal, and PCA). The module covers current issues and developments relating to international commercial arbitration including: arbitral jurisdiction; applicable procedural and substantive laws; the status and role of arbitration agreements; the conduct of arbitral proceedings; the arbitral award; challenge, recognition and enforcement of award; and online arbitration/online dispute resolution (ODR). The English Arbitration Act 1996 and the UNCITRAL Rules as well as the UNCITRAL Model Law will be examined closely. The course will also critically examine the relationship between international commercial arbitration and international development law as well as aspects of the international commercial arbitration concerning sovereign states in oil and gas disputes. Comparative study will be made of the emerging commercial arbitration legislation and international arbitral practice of certain developing states such as Nigeria, India and China. The course also aims to provide an appreciation of the similarities and contrasts between the work of international arbitral institutions and the work of international courts such as the International Court of Justice in commercial and economic matters.
This module explores a range of key issues in contemporary intellectual property, which are subject to contentious and often crudely conducted debates. It identifies and questions intellectual property law's underlying justifications, conceptual assumptions and material practices through the lens of novel modes of biological, cultural and scientific production that challenge the legal regime. Questions in this regard include:
• Can nature be patented? Do patents turn human persons into 'things'?
• Who produces knowledge? Who owns access to knowledge?
• Is enforcing patents on pharmaceuticals in developing countries just?
• Does quoting or paraphrasing in literature or art amount to copying? Is creativity original?
• Is plagiarism theft? Kidnapping? Plain bad manners?
• What is the cultural and political significance of free software?
• Do trade marks commodify language?
The module will introduce students in detail to the most acute and pressing current debates in intellectual property, such as justification for patents and their effects, copyright and piracy, logos & brands. It aims to provide students with a solid understanding of legal internal ways of thinking and arguing about intellectual property, as well as an introduction to wider theoretical resources which will encourage a differentiated and critical assessment of intellectual property law’s effects and limitations. Intellectual property will furthermore be understood to comprise not only intellectual property law, but also proprietary practices and strategies that concern knowledge. Readings will be drawn from the multi-disciplinary scholarship on intellectual properties, including anthropology, history, science studies, economics and social theory.
This module provides a detailed study of the history, rules, doctrines and institutions of public international law. It offers a critical analysis of the international legal order and a firm basis upon which to found arguments concerning the political importance of international law. The module pays special attention to the way in which the evolution and operation of the international legal order influence not only international relations, but also daily domestic life.
At the end of the course students will be able to assess, both internally and in context, the main rules, doctrines and institutions of public international law. Students will also develop the necessary tools to reflect critically on some of the most important problems and tensions that define the contemporary global order: from calamities resulting from war, international interventions and surveillance strategies in countries like Afghanistan, Libya and Pakistan, to the everyday effects of increasing socio-economic disparities and environmental decay in both the Global South and the Global North.
This module provides an introduction to global environmental law and a preface to regulatory themes, principles, values, and strategies that are examined in other modules. The focus of the module is on the law relating to pollution in relation to the three environmental media of water, air and land. It uses examples and case studies from around the world and different legal cultures to demonstrate various approaches and efforts to address pollution and improve environmental quality. The module seeks to assess different models and strategies for environmental quality regulation against broader objectives for the environment in reflecting upon what it is that is to be regulated, and why, and whether actual approaches to regulation are the best way of achieving this.
The law relating to international trade and the environment represents a key element in the national and international legal response to the need to protect the environment and to secure broader environmental policy objectives, notably sustainable development. This module is structured to provide a broad coverage of and opportunity for critical appraisal of various key international rules and institutions which address the relationship between freedom of trade between states and environmental protection. Within this structure, illustrations are provided of many of the key areas in case studies on topical and contentious issues.
This module is designed to enable postgraduate students to obtain both essential knowledge of and critical insight into, issues relating to international human rights law. Human rights occupy an extremely important place in contemporary discussions about law, justice and politics at both the domestic and the international level. Across all spheres of government, bodies of law and, pretty much, in every single social mobilization, human rights are invoked and debated.
This module approaches the key place occupied by human rights in the contemporary world from an international perspective. In placing a focus at the international level, the module aims to link the international origins of human rights and the main human rights systems, with the actual practice of human rights. Particular attention is paid in the module to the value, as well as the limits of human rights when they approach, or try to address the problems and the aspirations of five important 'subjects': the Citizen, the Army, the Migrant, the Worker, and the Woman.
There are a number of ways to study the field of international law. It can be treated doctrinally as a system of rules from various sources – such as treaties, state practices that are seen to have the binding force of law, and general principles shared across domestic jurisdictions – built up over time to regulate interactions between states and other entities. It can be studied as a historical phenomenon, emerging out of a colonial history with contemporary implications. It can also be studied as an (imperfect) approach to addressing international 'problems', placing international law in broader social, political, and historical contexts as one possible source of ‘solutions’. This course starts from international law as an approach, highlighting the field’s limits and possibilities in relation to a set of contemporary inter- and trans-national concerns, which may include the use of armed force, responses to emerging security threats, and unresolved territorial disputes. The course focuses on a changing set of key themes in international law, such as sovereignty, statehood, self-determination, and the regulation of armed conflict. It explores these overlapping themes as they emerge across several issues and case studies, bringing international law into a relationship with contemporary geopolitics and the field’s historical inheritance.
This module provides a critical examination of the principles and institutions and theory and practice of international criminal law. The module introduces the aims and objectives of international criminal law and examines the establishment and operation of international criminal justice institutions, and the substantive law of international crimes. It explores key theoretical and doctrinal debates in international criminal law. In particular, it seeks to locate the work of international criminal courts and tribunals in their broader political and contextual contexts. Case studies and special topics in international criminal law, form an important part of the module.
The establishment of the WTO on 1 January 1995 has signalled the beginning of a new era in international economic relations. Unlike the GATT, whose main purpose was the reduction of barriers on trade in goods, the WTO legal regime reach deeper into more areas of policy-making, ranging from the regulation of services and investments to the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. Furthermore, through its Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) the WTO has the capacity to generate case-law on the resolution of disputes under the WTO agreements that it covers. This marks a significant shift from the earlier GATT dispute settlement mechanism as it creates, for the first time on the multilateral level, a binding decision-making apparatus. Thus any serious attempt to understand the nature and development of international economic law requires a careful and detailed study of the WTO and its emergent law and practice. It is the cornerstone of the new global economic order. This module offers a comprehensive overview of this evolving legal and regulatory order.
This module offers a critical study of policing from historical, legal, political and social perspectives. It focuses primarily on policing in the United Kingdom, with other appropriate jurisdictions (including the European Union) being used for comparative purposes.
This module examines key issues in environmental law and governance beyond the state. Through a study of recent developments in international environmental law and private international law, the module analyses phenomena such as economic approaches to environmental regulation, the role of scientific panels and indigenous knowledge in environmental decision-making and the extension of liability and responsibility for environmental harm and damage. The aim of the module is to understand how new transnational laws are made and implemented, as well as the key values, legal principles and strategies that guide environmental policy and decision making in the 21st century. The module is taught through a series of case studies, such as on climate change and biodiversity conservation
In this module we study the main principles, key institutions, policies and politics of transnational criminal law. We explore selected examples of transnational offending and international legal responses thereto in the light of current theoretical, political and doctrinal debates. We consider transnational crimes and the mechanisms by which states cooperate with each other and with international institutions in order to enforce their domestic criminal law. Some of the key debates considered include: the nature of transnational criminal law as an emerging regime; the relationship between human rights and transnational criminal law; the role of the United Nations Security Council in transnational criminal law and critically the role of the individual in the transnational criminal legal system.
This module examines a range of topics which illustrate the role of law in relation to the social, political, economic and environmental challenges arising from anthropogenic climate change and the need to move to a low carbon economy, including through the promotion of renewable and other alternative forms of energy generation and conservation. This includes the operation of regulatory and governance frameworks at an international, regional and national level and the role of litigation.
The module requires introductory coverage of the international context, and explores some of the specific ethical and policy questions to be addressed in tackling climate change., The module does not cover those aspects of the international legal regulation of climate change that are covered in LW906 International Environmental Law: Legal Foundations or any coverage that there may be in LW884 International Environmental Law: Substantive Legal Aspects. The focus is on the EU and national level, and comparative analysis.
In recent years corporate governance - meaning the governance of the large corporations which dominate modern economic life - has emerged as a major area of political and academic interest. Increasing attention has come to be focused, in particular, on the comparative aspects of corporate governance and on the different legal regimes found in different parts of the world, with policy makers striving to determine which regimes are most likely to deliver (so-called) `efficiency' and competitive success. In this context much has been made of the differences between shareholder-oriented, Anglo-American governance regimes and the more inclusive (more stakeholder-oriented) regimes to be found in certain parts of continental Europe and Japan. One result is that the increasing interest in corporate governance has re-opened old questions about the nature of corporations, about the role and duties of corporate managers and about the goal of corporate activities and the interests in which corporations should be run.
This module will explore these debates. More generally, the question of corporate governance has become entangled with other important debates, most notably that surrounding the merits (or otherwise) of different models of capitalism: Anglo-American regimes are associated with stock market-based versions of capitalism, while European regimes are associated with so-called welfare-based versions of capitalism.
The question of corporate governance has, therefore, become embroiled with debates about the morality and efficiency of different models of capitalism. These too will be explored in this module.
The module examines the complex sets of laws and policies that inform the varied field of migration law with regard to the variety of its subjects. In particular, the module examines the context and history of controlling migration internationally; the role of the concept and practices of state sovereignty in conjunction with the development of international protections and regulations; the critical evaluation of international labour migration law, international asylum and refugee law, forced labour and human trafficking. In addition, the module offers, each year, a series of case studies on particularly prevalent contemporary issues such as environmental displacement, internal displacement, extraterritoriality and indefinite detention.
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.
This module is designed to examine and assess the core foundational legal principles and regulatory structures underpinning international environmental law and policy. Specifically, it considers the various core sources of international law relating to the environment, the principal international institutions involved in its development as well as legal issues involved relating to its implementation and enforcement.
Credit is the lifeblood of capitalism. The law that regulates household and commercial credit is of significant, economic, and social importance in developed and developing economies. The 2008 world financial crisis was triggered by failures in debt-markets associated with household financing. This module explores central ideas about the role of credit in the economy and its contribution to economic, social, political and cultural development.
This module focuses on how law facilitates, shapes and determines the flow of credit to households and businesses domestically as well as internationally. It primarily explores the rationales that underpin the creation, production and supply of credit. It traces these to mainstream, economic thought and understandings of credit. The module critically examines and evaluates how these rationales take into consideration (or, indeed, fails to consider) principles of social justice and equality. Importantly, the module introduces historical, gendered, cultural, and sociological approaches to credit as viable alternatives to the dominant, mainstream understanding of consumer and commercial credit.
The focus of the module will be on understanding some of the processes of production and contestation of science and technologies, and will question what this newly articulated understanding of science tells us about how to regulate science and how to regulate with science. The module will be based, theoretically and methodologically, on some of the key texts of Science and Technology Studies (STS), familiarising students with this particular branch of sociology and its emphasis on the need to question common understandings of science as objective, neutral, and occupying a space distinct from "social" or “political” spheres. This will enable students to reflect on the idea that science, law and politics can be seen as co-produced, interrelated, and co-dependent, and that reliance on scientific “facts” or scientific experts in the making of regulation is not a neutrally informed process. These issues will be illustrated by case studies on contemporary and contested issues that have been of interest to lawyers and STS scholars – and, importantly, explored by scholars working at the interface of these disciplines. The case studies envisaged (which will include: climate change; GM products; pharmaceutical development and access to health; traditional medicine and global regulation) will provide a focal point for exploring the key questions and themes of the module: what is the role of science in law and policy/politics? How objective is science, and how do scientific methods and devices participate in building the image of science as an independent, a-political, discipline? What is/should be the role of scientific experts in democratic states? How far does global science, and its institutions, challenge the role and approaches of regulators? What are/should be the relationships between regulation, citizens and science?
This second extracurricular module will enable students to acquire and develop the skills necessary to carry out a longer term research project such as their LLM dissertations, learn about other forms of post-graduate studies and career development. Although the focus will be on research methods and theoretical frameworks, other sessions might include: a workshop on editing scholarly work; an introduction to doctoral research; a workshop on working with long documents; and writing a CV.
This second extracurricular module will enable students to acquire and develop the skills necessary to carry out a longer term research project such as their LLM dissertations, learn about other forms of post-graduate studies and career development. Although the focus will be on research methods and theoretical frameworks, other sessions might include: a workshop on editing scholarly work; an introduction to doctoral research; a workshop on working with long documents; and writing a CV.
The module will explore emerging privacy and data protection issues. Students will be challenged to critically examine how e.g. personal, financial, health and transactional data are managed and who has access to this information. It will require students to assess emerging legal, regulatory, data protection and personal privacy issues raised by widespread access to personal information, including genetic data.
The essential aims and objectives of the proposed LLM module are to equip students to undertake a sustained analysis of privacy and data protection law. Students will be asked to critically examine whether privacy protection, consent and confidentiality measures are proportionate to the legal requirements to protect personal information while balancing the requirements of economic commerce, the state and public administrations to collect, use and share personal information.
This module will explore the extent to which the "new global economy" (global integration of production and increased migration, digital and informational technologies, transformations in work and production processes, the shift to services, and the informalisation of work) has undermined the pillars upon which labour law was constructed after World War II in developed capitalist economies. These pillars were standard employment contracts, trade unions, vertically integrated firms, social democratic parties, and strong (protectionist) nation states. The module will explore the recent strategy of conceptualizing labour rights as a species of human rights in order to promote worker protection. The focus will be on international and transnational norms and institutions, and their interaction with national/domestic labour regimes. The module will consider changing forms (from labour standard to labour rights and hard to soft law) and scales (national to transnational and international) of regulation, the changing “subjects” of labour law (women, migrant workers, “solo” self-employed), and the changing goals of labour law (flexibility and competiveness versus security and protection). The course will place labour rights in their social, economic and political context.
What causes us to forget that 'the economy' and ‘the law’ are made up of interacting human beings? Why does it matter? These are questions that are relevant to every person in every country. They are the questions that motivate the emergent field of Economic Sociology of Law (ESL), which takes sociologically-inspired approaches to relationships between the ‘economic’ (the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services) and the ‘legal’ (the use, abuse and avoidance of legal rules and institutions). In this module we systematically (that is, addressing the analytical, empirical and normative components) explore the limitations of orthodox legal and economic approaches, and examine how Economic Sociology of Law might compensate for them. There is a strong practical and empirical emphasis, and examples are drawn from current events and policy from all over the world.
Cultural heritage law has developed as a distinctive legal topic in the last thirty years to regulate the widening concept of heritage which started with the protection of historical monuments in the 19th century and now includes intangible values.
This area of law considers a developing jurisprudence that involves international treaties, laws, ethics, and policy consideration relating to the heritage. Academic research now aims to identify values and principles that contribute to a fair and equitable cultural heritage policy. It addresses the essential question of the need to change the law to accommodate the specific needs of protection of cultural heritage/cultural property. It aims to give coherence to practices shaped by art dealers, collectors, museums, communities and States, as well as a complex body of rules at the intersection of civil law, property law, criminal law, public law, private international law and public international law. Those different interactions have developed a less than coherent legal framework that will be comparatively analyzed by reference to French, English and American Law.
The module will focus on the law relating to retail banking. We will be looking at banks as deposit takers in the UK. This will involve an examination of the banker-customer relationship which will include the following: the rights and obligations of the parties in a banking relationship; the operation of the customer's account; the use of different methods of payment by customers such as cheques and plastic cards; and the challenges that electronic banking poses to the banking relationship. The module will also consider the regulatory roles of the Bank of England, the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority as well as the effect of various EU Directives and international measures on UK law. In the latter half of the module, focus will be given to the other core activity of banks as deposit takers, i.e., lending money. This will involve looking at the various types of loans provided by banks, the types of security that banks take and the enforcement of such security. Other ancillary issues such as the impact of insolvency on the banker-customer relationship and anti-money laundering measures will also be examined.
The module spans environmental and ecological legal issues arising from contexts where land development and conservation are at issue.
Land development places considerable stress upon wildlife conservation, natural resources and environmental quality. As an initial matter, development might contravene common law restrictions upon land use arising in the law of nuisance. However, in most legal systems the decision to grant planning permission is critical in determining whether a development goes ahead. The land use planning system and policy guidance give an opportunity for planning authorities to scrutinise the likely environmental and ecological impacts of a development proposal, before a development is authorised. The anticipatory approach is taken a step further when a proposed development is likely to have a significant effect upon the environment and where Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required before granting permission for development. The methodology of environmental assessment is also applied where Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is required of plans and policies, rather than individual developments. The need to implement requirements from European Union environmental law, with regard to EIA and SEA, is of critical importance.
The conservation and sustainable use of living natural resources is a key element in securing the overarching environmental policy objective of sustainable development. In part, the land development system, referred to above may be used to prevent developments which are excessively damaging to flora, fauna and their habitats or ecosystems. However, conservation or ecological law goes beyond this in attaching a special legal status to non-human living resources and their environment. In part, the laws which provide this special status are of national origin and prevent the destruction of wildlife or require the designation of land for wildlife conservation purposes (such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest). Beyond the national measures for direct protection of wildlife and the protection of ecologically important habitats, important ecological laws from arise from European Union and global international sources. Specifically, the EU Wild Birds and Habitats Directives, and the Biodiversity Convention are used to illustrate some of the key legal features in regional biodiversity conservation law. A concluding session examines the international trade dimension of wildlife conservation law.
This module will cover the legal framework in which the entertainment and knowledge industries operate. The objective is to introduce the key features of the music, film, pharmaceutical, finance and toy industries to embrace a different way of studying copyright, design, trade mark and patent rights. It is an attempt to study law "in action", and to provide students with a capacity to understand how intellectual property rights are transacted, evaluated and litigated differently depending on the trade/industry. The module will study the complex interplay between law, commerce, culture and communications and identify how these connections make intellectual property licensing possible.
The goal of the module is to provide an in-depth introduction to the laws of patents and trademarks (including passing off). Particular emphasis is placed on the political, socio-historical, cultural and economic contexts in which these laws operate, as well as on the implications of legal concepts on proprietary strategies.
The module will take a distinctive approach towards the study of intellectual properties by focusing on concepts and their practical effects: the module will focus on key concepts in patents, trademarks and passing off and critically examine their implications for political economy, culture and science. Such key concepts may include: patents, novelty and invention; in trademarks and passing off: brands, sign and goodwill.
No prior knowledge or study of intellectual property is required.
The 9/11 terrorist attacks of 2001 and ensuing 'war on terror' has enabled the global spread of counterterrorism laws, norms and practices aimed at pre-empting future threats. The trans-boundary nature of global terrorism has also prompted novel alignments of national, regional and international actors and fostered greater enmeshment between these legal orders. As authority is delinked from national and regional oversight mechanisms and becoming more reliant on expertise, serious accountability problems are arising. From targeted killing by drones to the global criminalisation of terrorist financing, and from ISIL and the problem of 'foreign terrorist fighters' to novel surveillance networks and practices, the global war on terror stretches existing legal categories, challenges fundamental rights and provokes urgent questions about the legitimate scope of transnational security governance.
This module immerses students in these contemporary problems and debates by introducing the emergent domain of global security law and governance. Particular emphasis is placed on the post-9/11 transformation of the UN Security Council into a global legislator and norm-setter in the counterterrorism field and the accountability challenges that new pre-emptive security governance practices pose. Students are exposed to a broad repertoire of theoretical approaches (including global constitutionalism, legal pluralism, international fragmentation, and transnational law) and legal mechanisms (including soft law techniques, targeted sanctions and forms algorithmic governance) and pushed to analyse an array of cross-cutting legal problems.
The curriculum will offer an introduction to major schools of ethical reasoning within the western tradition (including deontology, consequentialism, and principle based moral reasoning) and significant concepts in bioethics (including autonomy, welfare, and justice). The concepts will be explored through application to a number of legal case studies including the regulation of death and dying and organ transplantation.
The module will explore some of the most significant issues in the legal regulation of healthcare, including medical malpractice; duty of care; capacity; consent; best interests; refusal of treatment; public health; and resource allocation.
The curriculum will focus on the issues of reproductive rights, reproductive justice and the appropriate limits on reproductive autonomy. Topics covered will include moral and legal status of the embryo and fetus and the 'right to life' as it applies in this context; the regulation of embryo research and assisted reproductive technologies; surrogacy; contraception, abortion, sterilisation and the legal regulation of pregnancy.
This module will examine the scope and nature of a 'right to health' and how it has been put into effect. It will also study the manner in which law and other forms of regulation facilitate or impedes the achievement of health objectives in areas such as access to essential medicines, control of infectious diseases, cross-border medical research and treatment, reduction of tobacco usage, promotion of breastfeeding and so on. It will also explore the issues raised by 'health tourism', including for access to treatment which would be illegal or unavailable in the home country, e.g. for surrogacy, abortion and assisted reproductive technologies.
This module offers a critical study of contemporary issues in the English and Welsh criminal justice system. It uses inter-disciplinary insights about the workings of the criminal justice system and draws on scholarship from disciplines of history, critical legal studies, politics and sociology. The module's focus is primarily on England and Wales, but will reference other appropriate jurisdictions for comparative purposes. The course explores contemporary problems facing the criminal justice system with reference to topics such as youth justice; gendered aspects of criminal law; punishment; the emotional labour of criminal practice; and critical race theory. The course takes an interdisciplinary approach meaning that the topics are situated in the context of human rights and social, political and historical realities.
The curriculum will focus on the ethical and legal issues of organ donation, assisted dying, autonomy at the end of life, euthanasia, withdrawal of treatment, medical futility, palliative care, advance decision-making and appropriate limits of end of life care and medical assistance in dying. Topics covered will include contested definitions of death (brain death, cardiac death) and somatic treatment; dignity in life and death; regulation of Do Not resuscitate orders and Advance Directives; withdrawal of end-of-life treatments; best interests of the braindead patient, minimally conscious and patient in a permanent vegetative state; UK and international regulation of euthanasia, assisted suicide, medical assistance in dying and palliative care
The module is designed around 12 lectures and 10 one-hour seminars for hands-on computer work. The course is aimed at introducing students to the fundamentals of quantitative methodology in political science (applicable to all social sciences). The course proceeds from the grounding theoretical issues of quantitative work, data manipulation, and formal analysis. It builds students' knowledge by developing the most common and – useful – quantitative methods in the discipline including: univariate, bivariate, and multivariate description and analysis. Finally, significant attention will be given to inferential statistics as it represents the most visible aspect of modern political science.
The module is designed to provide students with an advanced understanding of politics in the Middle East. The module covers various social (e.g. identities), economic (e.g. role of natural resources) and religious (e.g. role of Islam) themes, and thus provides students with a wide-ranging perspective from which to analyse the political life of the region. Particular emphasis is placed on the nature and causes of conflict and political violence, and on the role of the state. The module also focuses on the historical development of the region as a way of helping students to understand the nature and causes of its contemporary political situation.
This module provides an overview of the degree to which cyberspace continues to revolutionise the operations of both state and non-state actors, and the challenges of governing this 'fifth sphere' of power projection. Whilst this module is not entrenched in International Relations or Security Studies theory, students will have the opportunity to apply both traditional and non-traditional approaches to the politics of cyberspace. Key themes include: 21st century technology, cyber warfare, espionage, surveillance, deterrence theory, cyberterrorism, and representation of threatening cyber-entities. Students will develop a toolkit to critique the existing state and NGO-based governance regime for cyberspace, and will convey arguments both for and against a ‘Geneva Convention’ for cyberspace.
Whenever we make a statement about international affairs, and world politics we rely on certain (often implicit) theoretical assumptions: about power, interests, identities, norms and how they relate to the behaviour of international actors. Whether we like it or not, we are 'doomed' to rely on theories. The starting-point of this module is not that theories are the only possible and all-encompassing approach to the study of international affairs, but that they are helpful to understand, compare and critically evaluate interpretations of international issues: if we all use theoretical assumptions, we better make them explicit and understood, to make sure what exactly we are claiming.
International Relations theories are not approached as strict categories with clear boundaries, but rather as a continuously evolving debate. The module does not attempt to give an encyclopaedic overview of all theories of International Relations, but rather to confront different views. The main objective is to understand the core differences between different theoretical approaches.
The module provides an overview and framework for considering the evolving field of international conflict resolution. This module examines how conflict research has evolved within the field of political science through an in depth analysis of nationalism and community identities. It will initially investigate different levels of conflict and violence from the intrapersonal to the communal and, finally, to the state and international level. Then, the module will examine competing theories on conflict and violence. The theoretical reflections will focus on different aspects of conflict, ranging from inter-state to intra-state conflict as well as rationalists, institutional and psychological approaches in preventing conflict. In each instance, various and contested concepts are discussed and analysed through close study of social and political theories. Specific case studies and new security concerns will be reviewed.
The module aims to introduce current thinking and practice in the field on conflict resolution, conflict management and conflict transformation, including conflict prevention and peace-building. Can protracted violent conflicts be prevented, and how are they brought to an end? Is it possible to deal with the root causes of conflict? How do the wider conflicts in the international system impact on local and regional conflicts, and under what circumstances are conflicts transformed? We will explore these questions with reference to theories of conflict resolution, comparative studies and case studies. The module will focus mainly on international and intra-state conflict. There will be opportunities to discuss conflicts at other levels, such as the role of diasporas and the media in conflict and its transformation. You are encouraged to draw on your own personal knowledge of conflict situations.
The course provides an overview and a framework for considering the field of international conflict resolution. The students have the opportunity to explore conflict resolution methods such as mediation, negotiation, collaborative problem solving, and alternative dispute resolution. The approach is interdisciplinary and juxtaposes traditional approaches in conflict management with the scientific study of conflict and cooperation. Across the term students will be exposed to a range of different theories and approaches to conflict management and be required to practically apply the course content in a number of simulations.
This module focuses on the evolution of security studies as a discipline and its implications for practice. We examine a variety of theoretical and empirical materials that provide students with the basis for analysing pressing questions related to issues of war, security and peace in the world today. This module thus provides a good grounding for understanding contemporary security challenges (such as the environmental degradation, conflict, gender-based insecurity, terrorism, mass surveillance and arms proliferation among others) and our responses to them. It will engage with debates around the 'broadening' and ‘deepening’ agenda of security studies, which has extended the scope of security studies beyond the nation-state, and the role of new security actors.
The purpose of the module is to develop an understanding of the complex relationships between terrorism, counter-terrorism efforts, and human rights, both at home and abroad. Central to the module is the role of the state in responding to terrorism, in attempting to prevent terrorism, and in itself using and sponsoring terrorism. In this regard students are encouraged to re-evaluate assumptions about the state and its place in domestic and international politics, focusing particularly on crimes by the state. Students will be introduced to competing approaches to the study of terrorism, many of which are grounded in wider theories and approaches common to International Relations and Security Studies.
One of the challenges of the module is to think critically about the implications and consequences of those various approaches. The module will begin by looking at the various methodological, theoretical, and definitional challenges associated with the study of terrorism. Building on this grounding, students will then begin analysing terrorism, counter-terrorism and the role of the state through a number of case studies drawn from the 20th and early 21st Centuries. They will be encouraged to relate each of the case studies to the broader methodological and theoretical debates explored in the first few weeks of the module.
The module draws from comparative politics, international relations, and political thought to analyse the past, present, and future of the democratic national state, the dominant form of political system in today's world. It addresses questions such as: Why are some states federal and others unitary? What explains the resilience of nationalism? Does economic integration leads to political disintegration? Why has regional integration gone much further in Europe than elsewhere? Is multi-national democracy possible? The module first charts the emergence of the modern state and its transformation into a national and democratic form of political system. Subsequently, it explores some key aspects of the formation, structuring, restructuring, and termination of states such as the unitary/federal dichotomy, processes of devolution, the challenge of secession, the question of the connections between the economic environment and the number and size of states, the phenomenon of supra-state regional integration, and the connections between nationality and democracy. It concludes by assessing the challenges facing the democratic national state in the 21st century and their likely trajectory in the foreseeable future.
This module provides students with a detailed introduction to the nature and study of public opinion. Opinion and attitudes are central to the choices that citizens make and to the way they behave, which in turn are core outcomes in politics. Yet the nature and formation of those attitudes are complex, and shaped by a range of individual and contextual factors, which are central subjects within psychology. This module therefore brings together perspectives from both political science and psychology, in helping students to understand how citizens form attitudes and opinions, the processes and considerations that underpin attitude formation, the factors and actors that influence these formative processes and the effect that citizens' attitudes have on their behaviour. The module will also consider the principal ways in which we identify and measure public opinion, notably through surveys. Underpinning the module will be the central question of whether the nature of citizens' opinions are consistent with the assumptions and demands of modern democratic states.
This module explores some key issues, debates and controversies in the cross-disciplinary study of terrorism and political violence. Since 9/11, terrorism and jihadist violence in particular has become one of the most contentious and politically charged issues of our time. Yet it remains poorly understood, in part because of the contention and consequent polarization surrounding it, but also because of the methodological challenges in researching the individuals and group involved in terrorist activity. One of the core aims of the module is to bring into focus the central points of contention in debates over the meaning, nature and causes of terrorism in contemporary western societies, and to help shed a light on the challenges - methodological, practical and ethical - of researching an issue saturated in danger, secrecy and stigma. What is terrorism and how should it best be defined? Why does the term "terrorism" carry such a potent stigma? What are the master cultural and intellectual narratives for thinking about terrorism and terrorists? Does it make sense to talk of "the terrorist" as a category of person, and what are the problems inherent in efforts to "profile" those who engage in terrorism? What do terrorists and terrorist groups want? Is terrorism rational? What is suicide bombing and what explains it? How do terrorist rhetorically frame the use of violence against civilians? What is ISIS and is it Islamic? What is radicalization and how should it be conceptualized? Can terrorism ever be morally justified? The purpose of this module is to provoke a framework for thinking about these and other crucial questions about terrorism and political violence.
This module examines gender and crime in a globalised world. Several core themes inform the international exploration of crime, victimisation and justice, including 'race', class, age, sexuality, locality, economics, politics, power and discourse. The module offers students the opportunity to engage with a broad range of internationally classical and influential bodies of literature spanning feminist and critical criminology, masculinities theories, victimology, queer theory and globalisation. Men and women as victims and offenders will be examined through a gendered lens to assess how culture, discourse and identity function to enhance or diminish vulnerability to criminalisation, victimisation and injustice. Underpinning these analyses are notions of power, which prove central to considerations of the extent to which globalisation informs patterns of gendered offending, victimisation and access to justice
Critical criminology constitutes a broad and multi-disciplinary tradition that studies the complex relationships between crime, control and power. The module will aim to acquaint students with the richness of writings in this field, the variety of political positions and the development of different traditions in the UK, US and the European continent. Critical criminology has also taken a recent interest in the processes associated with globalisation, thus giving rise to an emerging sub-discipline, global criminology. The module will also examine how this allows new understandings of crime, power and control, which link the global to the local. Various theoretical perspectives will be encountered, including those of new deviancy theory, Marxism, Foucauldian thought, left realism, abolitionism, social harm perspectives and, more recently, cultural criminology.
In the late modern period we are presented with an extraordinary wealth of criminological theory. Past and present paradigms proliferate and prosper. This course examines these theories, placing them in the context of the massive social transformations that have taken place in the last thirty years. It is not concerned so much with abstract theory as criminological ideas, which arise in particular contexts. It aims, therefore, to situate theories in contemporary debates and controversies and allows students to fully utilize theoretical insights in their criminological work. In particular we will introduce the current debates surrounding cultural criminology, the debate over quantitative methods and the emergence of a critical criminology
This module will examine the emergence and development of the modern prison in the light of the major social and economic changes that have taken place over the last two hundred years. It will examine the changing functions of the prison over that period and will look at the development of community based sanctions and alternatives to custody. It will then examine the reasons for the growth of imprisonment in the post war period and in particular its rapid increase on both sides of the Atlantic over the past two decades. It will examine the issues of gender and race in relation to prisons and penal policy and examine the key debates concerning the changing composition of the prison population. It will then go on to look at penal reform and in particular the impact of privatisation on the prison system.
This module requires students to submit a dissertation of no more than 15,000 words on a topic relevant to one of the subject specialisations of the degree programme and approved by the academic staff. It is conceived as that part of the degree programme where students have considerable leeway to follow their own particular interests, with guidance from staff. Students are assigned a supervisor upon submission of the dissertation proposal according to topic and staff expertise. Supervision of work on the dissertation is concentrated in the second half of the academic year and appropriate help will be given to the student. Original research is likely to be rewarded with high grades, but it is not a requirement at this level.
Duration: 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time (September start); 15 months full-time, 28 months part-time (January start)
You can tailor your studies to your particular needs and interests to obtain an LLM or Diploma in a single specialisation, in two specialisations jointly, or by choosing a broad range of modules in different areas of law to obtain a general LLM or Diploma in Law.
As a student on the LLM at Canterbury, your choice of specialisation will be shaped by the modules you take and your dissertation topic. To be awarded an LLM in a single specialisation, at least three of your six modules must be chosen from those associated with that specialisation with your dissertation also focusing on that area of law. The other three modules can be chosen from any offered in the Law School. All students are also required to take the Legal Research and Writing Skills module. To be awarded a major/minor specialisation you will need to choose three modules associated with one specialisation, and three from another specialisation, with the dissertation determining which is your 'major' specialisation.
For example, a student who completes at least three modules in International Commercial Law and completes a dissertation in this area would graduate with an LLM in International Commercial Law; a student who completes three Criminal Justice modules and three Environmental Law modules and then undertakes a dissertation which engages with Criminal Justice would graduate with an LLM in Criminal Justice and Environmental Law.
Specialist pathways include:
The postgraduate programmes offered within the Law School are usually taught in seminar format. Students on the Diploma and LLM programmes study three modules in each of the autumn and spring terms. The modules are normally assessed by a 4-5,000-word essay. Students undertaking an LLM degree must write a dissertation of 15,000 words.
For programme aims and learning outcomes please see the programme specification.
Kent Law School has a lively and active postgraduate community, bought about in part by our strong research culture and by the close interaction between our staff and students. Staff publish regularly and widely in journals, conference proceedings and books and embed their research in their teaching. Taught students have regular contact with their programme and module conveners with staff on hand to answer any questions and to provide helpful and constructive feedback on submitted work. The Law School has an active and inclusive extra-curricular academic and social scene with regular guest lectures, talks and workshops organised by our research centres (which include the Centre for Critical International Law and the Centre for Sexuality, Race and Gender Justice (SeRGJ).
Our Law Library has long been a leader in the development of electronic resources for legal teaching and research. The extensive and up-to-date law collection in the University’s Templeman Library is particularly strong on electronic material, and the Electronic Law Library includes numerous legal databases, which are increasingly invaluable tools for research. In addition, you can access the text of thousands of law journals online. Our law librarian is available to train you to use these resources and runs regular legal research classes with postgraduate students.
We have a dedicated postgraduate office, offering support from application to graduation. Postgraduate students at Kent Law School have access to a postgraduate computing room, study area and common room with wireless internet access.
All students registered for a taught Master's programme are eligible to apply for a place on our Global Skills Award Programme. The programme is designed to broaden your understanding of global issues and current affairs as well as to develop personal skills which will enhance your employability.
Kent Law School is widely recognised as a world leader in critical and interdisciplinary scholarship including socio-legal studies, law and humanities, critical legal studies and feminist theory.
We place law in its wider social, political and historical contexts, and attend to a wide range of thematic and geographical areas, and are renowned in particular for our attention to the role of law in creating, challenging and perpetuating social and global inequalities.
Read more about our Research and Research Centres, and about the Staff who teach at Kent.
Employability is a key focus throughout the University and at Kent Law School. You have dedicated employability support together with a broad choice of work placement opportunities, employability events and careers talks.
Within the Division for the study of Law, Society and Social Justice (LSSJ), we have excellent links through our dedicated LSSJ Careers team, with leading law firms and prominent members of the legal profession - many of whom visit the University to meet our students. We also work with employers to create work placement opportunities for our students.
Details of graduate internship schemes with NGOs, charities and other professional organisations are made available to postgraduate students via the School’s Employability Blog.
Law graduates have gone on to careers in the following fields:
Information about the internship programme for LLM students can be found on the Kent Law School Employability blog.
The annual tuition fees for students starting this course in January 2024 can be found on the Student Finance page.
The 2024/25 annual tuition fees for this course are:
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
For students continuing on this programme fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk.
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
For students continuing on this programme, fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.*
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
Find out more about general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.
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