European Law LLM

Module credits: 60

Written work on a legal topic of the your choice resulting from individual research and normally based upon material falling within the area covered by the degree for which you are registered.

Module credits: 15

The module will deal with special issues in copyright and designs and their international exploitation at an advanced level. The British, European and international law relating to these rights will be studied in detail. Comparison will also be made with national Member States laws.

Special topical issues in copyright and designs law will be studied including the protection of computer programs, databases and technological protection measures. National and Community unregistered and registered design rights. Finally you will be given an insight as to the future of copyright and designs at EU and international level.

Module credits: 30

The module examines the legal regulation of competition within the single and free market of the EU and serves as an introduction to basic legal and economic principles as well as to detailed study of the rules of Union law which seek to outlaw competitive behaviour.

Module credits: 15

This module is concerned with the substantive area of European Union single market law - the four economic freedoms of goods, persons, services and capital. It includes an introduction to the EU institutions and the powers of the EU to construct the single market as a core element of Europe's "economic constitution". It assesses the effectiveness of regulation and harmonisation as the main tools of market construction.

Each of the four economic freedoms is analysed in depth using case studies to focus on issues such as the tension between economic freedoms, or "market rights" and other rights and values concerning the public interest, such as economic and social rights and environmental protection. The methods adopted by the Court of Justice to strike a balance between these interests is evaluated. Cross-cutting issues across the four freedoms are explored.

Module credits: 15

This module is concerned with the European Union's (EU) status as a global trade power and explores its relations with other countries, including the United Kingdom Post-Brexit, the EU, the United States and China. It also includes the role that the European Union plays within the World Trade Organisation.

Subjects examined include:

• the EU's competence to conduct trade policy and its effectiveness to achieve objectives beyond trade
• the scope of Common Commercial Policy, EU/WTO relationship
• trade and human rights
• trade and development cooperation
• EU-UK trade relations in the wake of Brexit

Module credits: 15

The module will deal with the basic principles of patent law and it will do so from an international and comparative perspective. Special attention will be paid to European and US patent law before attention will turn to biotechnological inventions and a case study on stem cell patents.

Module credits: 15

The module will deal with the basic principles of trade mark law and it will do so from an international and comparative perspective. Special attention will be paid to European and US trade mark law before attention will turn to passing-off and comparative advertising issues.

Module credits: 15

Since the global financial crisis of 2008, corporate rescue and insolvency has been at the forefront of policy making and reform around the world. Using real-world events, this module links theory to practice and covers the following:

• Introduction to company law, insolvency and global business operations
• Effective business forms for global operations: group structures and organisational patterns
• Companies crossing borders: doing business abroad
• Harmonisation of company laws and supranational business forms
• Regulating enterprise groups - a comparative and international perspective
• The quest for harmonisation and uniformity in insolvency
• The European Regulation on Insolvency Proceedings
• The UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency: a global solution for international insolvencies
• Insolvency of multinational enterprise groups

The module is also run in conjunction with the University of Nottingham Commercial Law Centre who organise a range of engagement seminars which include representatives from the UK Government and the World Bank.

Module credits: 15

This module offers the fundamentals of international commercial arbitration, the most important dispute resolution mechanism for international business transactions.

The module begins with the legal framework of international commercial arbitration. It then deals with jurisdiction of arbitration tribunals and certain procedural issues arising in arbitration practice. The module ends with the setting aside and recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards. 

The module focuses mainly on English law of arbitration which is put in comparative perspective and compared and contrasted especially with the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration.