Law

How do you write effectively at postgraduate level? How do you become an independent researcher? How do you communicate complex ideas to a specialist or non-specialist audience? You will develop the necessary critical reading skills and advanced writing and research skills required to undertake independent research and write up academic work at postgraduate level with confidence. You will engage with the nature of legal research and the different methodologies that can be used to critically analyse the law. You will develop your communication skills to be used in various formats, including addressing scholarly audiences according to academic conventions (e.g. legal referencing and citation skills). You will develop your research skills, including how to design a research project, refine a research question, identify sources and search for relevant materials. You will acquire and develop the skills necessary to carry out a longer-term research project such as your dissertation.

What is an author?  How has the law imagined its figure and its rights? How do we define a secret?  And what is the link between copyright and secrecy?

Over the past few decades

What role does the international regulation of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) play in the promotion of socio-economic well-being of countries? Do investment treaties strike a balance between protection of investments and respect for states’ right to regulate in the public interest? The regulation of multinational corporations investing in the host country and the legal relationship between the host country and multinationals have been matters of controversy between capital exporting and capital importing countries for decades. The emergence of the international law on foreign investment can be traced back to the immediate post-colonial period. This conflict has been reflected in both international and national legal regimes and has intensified with the call for a New International Economic Order (NIEO) since the 1970s. Despite the fact that the campaign for a NIEO has not been successful, there have been efforts at both the regional and multilateral levels to codify international law in the field. You will gain a comprehensive understanding of the legal implications (practical and theoretical) of foreign direct investment regulation, placing these implications in their economic, social, political and historical context. Attention will be paid to the perspectives of states, investors, civil society actors and theorists.

Get ready to delve into the contemporary debates currently unfolding in intellectual property (IP) law. Throughout this module, you will engage with pertinent issues that prompt a re-evaluation of the boundaries of IP law. These encompass diverse areas such as access to medicine, biodiversity and climate change, fashion, and emerging technologies. You will explore beyond the surface-level, and question the very foundations of IP law, examining its underlying justifications and the way it shapes our cultural and scientific landscape. By the end of this module, you'll not only have a solid grasp of IP law, but you'll also be equipped with the tools to critically assess its broader impact and limitations. You will also draw from a wide range of disciplines like anthropology, history, economics, to provide a well-rounded assessment of IP law. So get ready to think critically, ask tough questions, and explore the fascinating world of IP law!

What are the rules, principles, and structure of our contemporary international legal order? Where does this order come from and where is it heading towards in the future? How can we assess its effectiveness and relevance in the face of rising global threats and crises, from climate change to war? Are ‘humanity’ and all nations equal members of an ‘international community’? By examining the history, theory and doctrine of international law, you will understand and critically evaluate international law-making and dispute settlement mechanisms, measures, and initiatives. You will gain knowledge of the operation of the major international institutions and the capacity to develop advanced legal arguments and institutional reform proposals in the area of public international law. You will also develop the ability to critically reflect on the broader relation between law and politics in the global context.

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 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.

What is the relationship between international trade law and the environment? What impacts does the increasing liberalisation of transboundary trade have on protection for the environment? You will learn about aspects of the legal relationship between international trade and the environment, a subject whose borders and principles are far from settled. You will study international, regional and/or national responses to the effects of transboundary trade, to enhance protection for the environment. You will critically appraise key international as well as regional or national rules seeking to exert controls over transboundary trade flows for the purpose of benefiting the environment.

Human rights occupy an important place in contemporary discussions about law, justice and politics at both the domestic and the international level. From different areas of government and bodies of law to diverse social movements, human rights are frequently invoked and debated. You will explore the role of human rights in the contemporary world from an international perspective, building a comprehensive and critical understanding of the limits and possibilities of framing problems and tensions within the language of human rights. You will examine the historical emergence of human rights before turning to their appearance in legal frameworks such as international treaties and institutionalisation at sites such as the United Nations. You will consider several substantive areas in which human rights are asserted, ranging from civil and political to economic, social and cultural rights.

When atrocities occur, for example during wars or other conflicts, how can the perpetrators be held to account? How does international law seek to do so? What kind of justice does international criminal law deliver, and for whom? By introducing you to key debates about the principles and practices of international criminal law, this module develops your ability to understand and critically assess the response of international law to crimes that are widely understood to touch on the interests of all humankind. You will gain knowledge about the core crimes in international criminal law (genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and aggression) and the operation of key institutions, such as the International Criminal Court, and their relationships with national processes. You will gain understanding of the roles of key parties and participants in international criminal processes.  By considering the theories that underpin the principles and practices of international criminal law, and the politics that constrain them, you will develop the ability to critically reflect upon international criminal law and its effects in a range of contexts. Through understanding the historical, political, economic and social contexts of international criminal law you will be able to evaluate the promise of international criminal law as well as its limitations in delivering justice after atrocity.

What role does world trade law and practice play in the global economic order? Does it help address or contribute to socio-economic inequalities between and within countries? Is the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in crisis and if so, what are the alternatives for governing global trade relations? The establishment of the WTO in 1995 was supposed to signal the beginning of a new era in international economic relations. Unlike the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), whose main purpose was the reduction of barriers on trade in goods, the WTO legal regime reaches deeper into more areas of policy-making - ranging from the regulation of services and investments to the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights - posing considerable environmental and developmental challenges for states and the international community. Furthermore, through its Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) the WTO generates case-law on the resolution of disputes under the agreements it covers. You will carry out a detailed study of WTO law and practice and the contribution it makes to the development of international economic law.  You will appreciate the challenges it faces, in light of competing theories and ideologies of economic and social globalisation, and inter-state and inter-regional economic conflicts.

What is the role of the police within our society? Why are there tensions between the police and the public? You will reflect on what policing is, and on the social, organisational, legal and ethical frameworks within which it is delivered.   You will consider the manner and extent to which policing is delivered outside of conventional organised police bodies, the manner and extent to which police functions can extend far beyond crime, order and public safety, the diverse range of bodies discharging a policing function, the extent to which police officers are able to rely on consent rather than power or authority, the extent to which police officers act beyond the law, and the extent to which the police use their power and resources to advance sectional or partisan interests. In confronting these challenges, you will  offer a rounded and critical examination of what is encompassed by police powers and policing as a concept. Your studies will move beyond the traditional orthodox understandings of policing and enable you to subject the police to critical scrutiny from historical, social, political, legal and comparative perspectives.

How does international law respond to cross border crimes? How are the rights of defendants and victims safeguarded in cross-border crime criminal processes? What are the implications for states and individuals of the securitisation of transnational crime control? We will engage with key debates about the theories, principles and application of transnational criminal law, and the political assumptions that underpin them. We will critique the response of international law to transnational crimes, such as trafficking, terrorism, money laundering and corruption, and examine the legal mechanisms by which states co-operate to enforce their domestic criminal law. You will understand what transnational crimes are, and how they have developed, and what legal mechanisms (such as extradition) international law provides for states and other actors (such as INTERPOL) to co-operate in transnational crime control.  You will critically explore the drivers of transnational criminal law, what legal mechanisms are used, the multiple and criss-crossing interests transnational criminal law reflects and how the rights of victims and defendants are protected in this system, especially where transnational crime control is securitised. You will also reflect on the limits of current knowledge and law’s ability to address the root causes of transnational crime.

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 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.

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 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.

How and why does law shape economic life, and vice versa; and to whom does it matter? Explore relationships between economic life, especially the production, distribution and consumption of goods, services and capital; and legal life, especially the creation, use, abuse, and avoidance of legal rules and institutions. You will examine questions such as why and how do government actors seek to shape (constrain, facilitate, or generate) economic transactions; and when and how do they seek to shape the accumulation of capital? You will engage with a critical sociolegal approach, in which ‘the economy’ and ‘the law’ are interpreted as fundamentally social phenomena, and attention is paid to their moral and ethical subtexts. The module highlights how such an approach can address some of the conceptual, empirical and normative limitations of traditional legal and economic approaches. There is a strong practical and empirical emphasis, with examples drawn from current events and policy across the world.

Who does the money in your bank account legally belong to? Why does your bank card say ‘Visa’ or ‘Mastercard’? Why do we borrow money from and become indebted to a bank, a private corporation, and not the government for example? And what does the future of banking will look like in a world where how we see and use money is being shaped by financial technologies, regulatory technologies and artificial intelligence? This module will critically explore the present and future of banking, by introducing you to the national and international legal architecture governing the role and regulation of banks, central banks, the payment system, money laundering, credit and debt, the interplay between data protection and the bank-customer relationship; as well as evolving practices such as open banking, use of crypto currencies and central bank digital currencies. Focus will be on the English banking system throughout; however other jurisdictions will be drawn on for comparative purposes. You will gain a comprehensive understanding of the role of banks in society and the tools to critically explore what the future of banking may look like in light of the ever- evolving technological and regulatory landscape.

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.

How does intellectual property law work in practice? What are the distinctive features of creative and scientific industries?  

You will study the legal framework in which the entertainment and knowledge industries operate. The course examines intellectual property law “in action”: you will gain an insight into the ways in which intellectual property rights are transacted

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.

You will interrogate modes of ethical reasoning, and concepts from bioethics, relevant to healthcare decisions. In doing so, you will draw on critical theoretical and historical perspectives to situate in context major theories within the western tradition (including virtue ethics, deontology, consequentialism, principle-based moral reasoning), and explore alternative modes and concepts (such as from feminist and postmodern ethics). The kinds of healthcare decisions to which these concepts and modes of reasoning will be applied may include the nature of the physician-patient relationship; the appropriateness of medical, surgical or biotechnological intervention; the character, authority and use of medical knowledge; and public health and health systems governance. 

You will also use a theoretically and historically situated understanding of ethical reasoning and bioethical concepts to identify and critically evaluate the policies or philosophies underlying medical and healthcare law. From this

You will explore emerging issues of reproductive rights, reproductive justice, health law and regulation of reproductive autonomy and reproductive science. You will critically examine reproductive justice issues, legal and social policy tensions regarding the moral and legal status of the embryo and foetus and the ‘right to life’ as it applies in this context; regulation of embryo research and assisted reproductive technologies; surrogacy; and contraception, abortion, involuntary and voluntary sterilisation, and the regulation of contraception, pregnancy, and reproduction. You will assess emerging legal, governance and regulatory issues in reproductive justice and critically examine their implications for law, policy, the delivery of reproductive health services and the conduct of genomic and embryonic research. You will undertake a sustained analysis of UK, EU and International reproductive law, policy, and governance. You will critically examine how reproductive justice, including reproductive choice, the right to have children and to parent, and the right not to have children, have developed and are currently at the centre of rights advocacy for LGBTQ+ people, minority groups, and vulnerable populations.

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.

What should criminal ‘justice’ look like? What is at stake if the system fails to deliver? You will engage in a critical study of the contemporary challenges facing the English and Welsh criminal justice system. By introducing you to some of the political priorities of the recent past, you will learn to contextualise, analyse and critique recent policy and practice. You will be provided with the theoretical lenses – from fields of law, psychology, economics and politics – to enable you to articulate how the system is or is not delivering for victims, defendants, professionals and the public. The English and Welsh system is spotlighted but students may draw on other jurisdictions for comparative purposes. In the context of lengthy court delays, striking barristers, the rise to prominence of the role of the victim and concerns about defendant rights to access to justice, the functioning of the criminal justice system has never been more contested yet essential.

Who should the law hold to account for poor healthcare provision and standards? Should only patients who are physically injured receive compensation? Is compensation what injured patients and their families want when healthcare goes wrong? What should the standard for consent to treatment be in healthcare law and should this be different for different patients depending on their illness(es) or cognitive abilities? You will consider all these fascinating questions and more. Healthcare provision is a complex and risky, yet crucially important societal endeavour. We are all reliant on healthcare provision to lead a decent life. Healthcare provision and the legal concepts underpinning its regulation are routinely challenged by changing professional practice, new scientific developments and shifts in patient values and health needs. You will learn about the impact of these shifts and challenges on the legal regulation of healthcare provision in the UK’s NHS through the lens of key issues such as access to healthcare, regulation of clinical negligence, patient consent to/refusal of treatment and patient capacity to make healthcare decisions. You will also learn about the law’s role in underpinning and/or resisting societal inequalities concerning healthcare provision. You will analyse contemporary legal issues and challenges in healthcare practice through a series of weekly case studies, selected to showcase different theoretical perspectives and promote your critical thinking.

What question has particularly interested you in your LLM? How do you become an expert in a specific area of law? How can you design and carry out a research project under individual supervision from an expert? You will submit a dissertation on a topic relevant to one of the subject specialisations of the degree programme (Criminal Justice, International Criminal Justice, International Commercial Law, Intellectual Property Law, Public International Law, International Law with international Relations, International Environmental Law, Human Rights Law, Law and Health, Law and Society or Law) under the supervision of an expert in this area. You will be able to apply the theoretical and practical principles of research methodology and theoretical frameworks that you have learnt during the first part of your studies.