Contents

MODULE DESCRIPTIONS:

Advocacy in Mediation

This interactive course will cover a theoretical and practical examination of the role of the lawyer in the mediation process covering deciding to mediate, selection of a mediator, pre-mediation submissions, negotiation techniques, preparation for and representing the client's broad range of interests at mediation, confidentiality, lawyer and mediator ethics, Court-annexed mediation programs, and the mediation process through its use of lecture, discussion, video and role-playing.

African Human Rights Law

The course analyses core aspects of African human rights law. It examines the application in the African context of international human rights instruments, with special emphasis on the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and Protocol. It assesses the exten to which the Charter has influenced domestic legal systems in Africa. Several specific human rights themes are examined, including hte death penalty, fair trial rights , the right to healthcare, equality issues, prisoner's rights, freedom of expression and the rights of ethnic and religious minorities. So far as domestic legal systems are analysed, the emphasis will be on the position in Commonwealth states.

Alternative Dispute Resolution in Ireland

Alternative Dispute Resolution in Ireland will explore Commercial Arbitration & Mediation, Law and Procedure. It will be concerned solely with the Arbitration and Mediation of commercial disputes and will not address in any great detail such matters as statutory schemes or family mediation.

The course will be taught by means of lectures and seminars and will be supplemented by guest seminars/lectures involving practising Irish arbitrators/mediators and experts. The syllabus is designed to provide students with a detailed knowledge of Irish law and procedure relating to arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution processes. A special feature of the course will be the Award Writing component, which will provide a grounding in the construction and analysis of reasoned arbitral awards.

Comparative Public Law

This course will examine public administration and judicial review in four jurisdictions: the EU, the US, the UK and Ireland. After reviewing the usefulness and appropriateness of comparative law in a public law context, the course will be divided into two parts. Part One will examine federalism and multi-level governance in the US and the EU, as contrasted with the unitary executives of Ireland and the UK.

This part of the course will also examine new techniques of governance, such as regulation, privatization and public-private partnerships, and consider their impact on democracy and human rights. Part Two of the course will consider the way in which public law controls the operation of government, and examine themes such as governmental accountability, democratic legitimacy, openness in government, separation of powers, and human rights protection.

Corporate Governance

Corporate Governance concerns the question of whose interests should be served by a company and how to ensure that managerial decisions do indeed further these interests. This course offers a general introduction to the concept of corporate governance and self-regulation and the legal regime governing Irish companies. The course contains a theoretical component and will address the separation of ownership and control and "agency cost" problems.

Practical constraints on managerial conduct, the structure and function of the board of directors, shareholders and shareholder remedies will also be explored. The course will also address the topics of corporate social responsibility and business ethics. International trends in corporate governance will also be explored with a particular focus on the role of institutional investors.

Cross-Border Commercial Litigation in Europe

The overall aim of this course is to give students a practical familiarity with the common European rules of private international law applying in civil and commercial matters. These rules deal with the often difficult issues that arise in the institution and conduct of civil and commercial proceedings in Europe involving more than one state.

EC Competition Law

This course presumes a basic acquaintance with the institutional law of the European Communities (e.g. the various roles of the institutions and the types of legislation) and focuses on the substantive law of competition applicable to undertakings.

The course focuses on the EC Treaty articles on competition and on the programmatic secondary legislation, much of it recent. Secondarily, reference will be made to the Commission's Notices on competition policy and the decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Communities and decisions of the European Commission. Some attention will be given to Article 90 (EC) and to the Irish law on competition, which in substance, but not in institutional structure, mirrors the EC system.

EC Consumer Law

This course introduces students to the substantive law of consumer protection in Ireland, where the National Consumer Agency is charged with the defence of consumer interests and the development of a robust consumer culture. However, most of the Irish law in this area emanates from the European Union, where the Health and Consumer Protection Directorate General (DG SANCO) is the primary guardian of consumers.

Subjects studied within the context of this course will include: the history and evolution of consumer protection law, the regulatory role of both the National Consumer Agency and DG SANCO, sale of goods and consumer guarantees, unfair terms in consumer contracts, electronic commerce, holiday and travel law, the regulation of unfair commercial practices (including unfair and misleading advertising), consumer insurance, consumer credit, product liability and product safety, the enforcement of consumer law at national and EU level (including small claims cases and, at the other end of the spectrum, multi-party litigation).

This course not only seeks to examine consumer law from a black-letter perspective, but also draws upon the application of the subject in a societal context to illustrate how it operates to protect the individual in a modern economy.

EC Public Procurement & State Aids

This course deals with two areas of EC control of State intervention in the market. State Aids is a branch of Competition Law, and Public Procurement Law (the law governing the award of State contracts) is enacted under the Internal Market competence, but is linked also to Competition Law. Both areas are highly important in practice to the private sector (to whom Aids may be given or who may wish to challenge them, or who seek government contracts) and public, including semi-state, sectors, and in EC law, and presently are a focus of EC policy.

They are areas of EC law of high practical significance, constituting primary rules governing 15%-20% EU GDP. The course will be taught primarily by reference to original material, much of which is programatic. There may be guest lectures from practitioners. Material will be distributed at cost in class. Good internet connection will be useful to students. Textbooks in these areas tend to be very expensive practitioner texts and will not be obligatory. Some foundation in EC/EU law is required as the course proceeds on the basis of a focus on these substantive areas, without re-teaching basic Community law doctrines and institutional law.

Employment Litigation

The LL.M. course in Employment Litigation aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the nature of employment litigation in Ireland. In order to do this, the course integrates an analysis of substantive employment law issues with a consideration of key procedural rules, enabling the governing doctrinal principles of employment law to be understood in a practical setting.

In particular, the course aims to provide a thorough overview of the many different legal fora in which redress is sought in the employment context in Ireland, and of the nature of the litigation that is instituted in each forum. Throughout the course, attention is focused upon topical and emerging judicial and legislative developments in the area and on the effects of these developments on employment litigation in practice.

European Human Rights Law

This course examines various aspects of international human rights law, and discusses the general themes of which human rights can and should be protected by the international legal order, for example whether the international community should attempt to regulate the cultural practice of female circumcision. Particular emphasis is placed on the European Convention on Human Rights, which is often described as the most successful human rights system in the world.

The course examines the institutional structure of the ECHR system and also certain substantive rights protected by the ECHR, such as freedom from torture, freedom of expression, and family rights. The likely impact of incorporation of the ECHR into Irish law, potentially a very significant development, is also considered.

European Intellectual Property Law

The protection of intellectual property law rights raises a multiplicity of issues in Community law. On the one hand, the recognition and protection of such rights is an essential part of a functioning and dynamic market economy. On the other, such rights may present a direct threat to the unification of the internal market.

This course will examine the attempts made to reconcile these two aspects of intellectual property rights both by the Court of Justice and by the Community legislative powers. Topics covered will include the application of the EU Treaty provisions and secondary legislation applicable to copyright, patents, trade marks and industrial design rights. The course will be of particular use to those wishing to work in a commercial environment, however any student seeking to understand how Community law works in practice will find it relevant.

European Legal History

This survey module traces intellectual and institutional developments in European legal history. Topics include: historical and comparative legal sources and authorities; legal pluralism, receptions, and transplants; law in relation to society and identity; legal nationalism and the state; continental influences on the Anglo-American tradition.

European Tax Law

It is no longer possible to consider the national tax systems of Member States of the European Union in isolation from the Community legal order. The requirements of Community law increasingly, through the processes of both positive and negative integration, form a jurisprudence of meta rules with which Member State tax systems must comply. European Tax law will examine the implications of this fascinating and fast developing field.

The following areas will be explored during the course:

• The institutional framework and historical background to Community tax law;
• The impact of the fundamental freedoms on Member State systems of taxation ;
• The harmonisation of Value Added Tax;
• The Community Customs Code, Excises and Capital Duty;
• The Harmonisation of Direct Taxes;
• State Aid rules and Member State taxation;
• Member State co-operation and dispute resolution;
• The European Convention on Human Rights;
• The interaction of European Community tax law and international tax law.

Method of Assessment is by means of essay and an end of semester examination of two hours duration. Essay and examination account for 50% of the marks respectively.

EU Sports Business Law

This course focuses on aspects of the relationship between the law and the business of sport in Europe and beyond. Sport is a global multi-billion euro industry and generates significant legal issues in the areas of contract law, commercial law, intellectual property law, competition law and general European Community law.

To this extent we consider the issues such as Sport as commercial property;, Contractual issues arising in a Sports Business law context; The protection of the revenue earning potential of sport; The European freedoms and sport from Bosman to Meca-Medi;, Legal aspects of the organisation of a sporting event; Competition law and sport generally and Television and sport.

EU Banking Law

This targeted course will focus on the narrower EU and Irish banking and credit union (friendly societies) and related markets. Topics will include the EU, prudential and competition frameworks in which financial institutions operate within Ireland and the EU; how financial institutions are regulated; how the central bank of the EU, the European Central Bank, fits in to the scheme of regulation; attempts to regulate competition amongst banks and credit unions; Irish-EU coordination; consumer issues; interest groups in the banking sector; and, important treaty and secondary legislation. Additional topics to be discussed throughout the course will include the impact of monetary union and the accession of new member states to the banking system; and, a comparison with other bank regulatory systems throughout the world. An optional visit to the European Central Bank located in Germany will be planned.

EU Environmental Law

The course introductory material covers the evolving legal basis for environmental action, the principles of European environmental law and techniques for environmental management. This is followed by a series of lectures and presentations on substantive aspects of EC environmental law including EC conservation and biodiversity law, horizontal measures, water protection, air pollution, waste and climate change.

Students are expected to participate actively in class and to prepare a substantial research paper. The course will focus on policy considerations and how they have been achieved at EC and Member State level by reference to practical cases and experience. Topics covered may change according to the research interests of the lecturer and the time available.

EU Financial Services Law

This survey course will focus on the broader EU and Irish financial services sector with major emphasis on the important sub-sectors of financial institutions, pension schemes, securities and insurance and cross-border expansion. Topics include an overview of the EU and Irish regulatory frameworks; important exemptions; jurisdiction to regulate; EU-Irish law coordination and the study of important treaty and secondary legislation.

Also investigated throughout the course will be how the EU-Irish financial services regulatory scheme compares to the regulation of financial services throughout other parts of the world, such as the United States, Japan and China. A guest speaker from the Irish Financial Regulator will be planned.

Globalisation & Law

In the present era of globalisation we are witnessing the collapse of national barriers in the face of the international movement of capital, workers, commodities, ideas and communications of every kind. The ending of the Cold War, the increasing power of international corporations, the development of information technology and the expansion of air travel have had a huge impact in changing global culture and on our understanding of law.

The traditional models of nation states and international law have given way to challenges to the concept of sovereignty, the development of international human rights tribunals, such as the International Criminal Court, the extension of new international legal rights and duties to non-state actors and the development of new models of global administrative regulation.

The course on Globalisation and Law seeks to examine these developments in order to gain new insights into the nature and purpose of law. It analyses how globalisation has changed traditional approaches to public and private international law, human rights law, international trade law, freedom of expression (in relation to such matters as defamation, pornography and incitement to hatred), political dissent, terrorism and cultural and religious diversity.

International Economic Law

International Economic Law concerns the legal regulation of trade between states. It is to be differentiated from International Trade Law, which relates to national legal regulation of import, export and transport of goods. International Economic Law draws on certain issues of International Trade Law and Public International Law. The courses focuses on the organisations put in place to regulate economic relationships between states such as the World Trade Organisation and some of the international treaties, which it enforces such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

The course examines international rules governing free trade such as most favoured nation status, national treatment rules and rules against tariffs and other barriers to inter state trade. Defences to breaches of these rules will be looked at. Finally, the course will scrutinise the special rules applicable to developing nations.

International Family Law

International Family Law concerns aspects of international law that relates to families and also domestic law that applies to international families. This course will introduce international human rights norms relating to families and family life as well as private international law rules that affect families, and also examine the interaction between the two.

Individual topics will include marriage, separation and divorce, child custody, abduction and adoption, and maintenance and spousal support. Particular focus will be placed on European rules and the Hague Conventions although other convention and the domestic rules of various States will also be examined.

International Tax Law

International tax law is an interesting and developing area of law that is of importance not only to corporate commercial activity but also to questions of fairness as between developed and developing nations. This course will examine the fundamentals of international taxation from a legal perspective before going on to consider the key emerging trends in this branch of the law.

The following areas will be explored during the course:

• Jurisdiction to tax and the problem of international double taxation;
• Methods of relief from international double taxation;
• The OECD and UN Model Tax Treaties;
• Interpretation of Tax Treaties;
• International Tax Planning;
• International Tax Avoidance and Tax Havens;
• International Tax Policy Method of Assessment is by means of essay and an end of semester examination of two hours duration. Essay and examination account for 50% of the marks respectively.

Internet Law & Regulation

The Internet occupies an important place in our modern world but its free development and cross-border nature raise difficult questions concerning law and regulation. While technology moves rapidly, legal and regulatory mechanisms have not been able to match that pace and much of what has become accepted practice in relation to Internet regulation falls into the grey area of soft law.

The objective of this course is to permit students to develop an understanding of the area which will enable them to adopt a searching approach to the challenges posed by the Internet and other electronic media in terms of both the application of existing laws to an electronic age and the difficulty in obtaining a co-ordinated international approach to regulation of the Internet.

This course will begin with a consideration of the origins of the Internet which will give an insight into relevant regulatory institutions such as ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) and WIPO (The World Intellectual Property Organisation) and domestic Irish institutions such as the IEDR (the Irish domain registry). The course will then consider a range of issues under the umbrella of Internet governance such as electronic contract formation, consumer protection issues relating to e-commerce, defamation and the Internet, the regulation of website domain names and the legal response to issues such as cybercrime and spam.

Jurisprudence

This course focuses on the question "what is law?" and methodology and epistemology in jurisprudence. The course moves from understanding the difficulty of identifying law in a modern legal system, to issues of continuity and revolution in legal systems, to a roundup of some schools of analysis of the fundamental question what is law, and moves about half way through the course to fundamental epistemological issues and their relationship to the question "what is law?". Students are required to read and think between seminars, and to handwrite or type about 7 short essays (a few pages), and be prepared to participate in class. The purpose of the essays and their correction is to improve student performance in examination, and do not count towards the final mark.

The Legal System of Timor Leste

Timor Leste (East Timor) has had a difficult emergence into independence. Having asserted its freedom from Portugal in 1975 it was occupied by Indonesia until 1999, when Indonesia departed, leaving behind a trail of destruction. The U.N. assumed responsibility. In 2002 a new Constitution came into effect. This course examines the legal system of Timor Leste. How a small country establishes itself in an entirely new constitutional order is a fascinating study of law in action.

Media: European Media Law Regulation and Policy

• Would British politics be different if Tony Blair owned ITV, Channel 4, Sky, and Manchester United? Regulating competition and ownership is a very sensitive political issue. Can we even trust the media to report on it accurately?
• Over the past 15 years, we have seen an increase in the amount of broadcasting outlets, but in many states, a simultaneous reduction in the diversity of ownership. What use are 57 channels if Murdoch is all that´s on?

The legal and administrative regulation of media structure, delivery and content, though still largely a matter of national law, is increasingly becoming an international one. European institutions, such as the Council of Europe and the European Union are progressively playing ever more crucial roles in the determination of media law, policy and regulation. The purpose of this course is to provide orientation in and a critical understanding of the media policies of the European Union and Council of Europe, of the legal rules that govern content issues in the European media industry, and some of the important technological issues that influence or hinder such policies and laws. In particular, the aim is to induce in participants in the course the capacity of critical reflection upon the evolution of European media law, policy and regulation as a matter of politics, policy and practice, on the one hand, and of academic discussion, analysis and scholarship, on the other.

The module runs for a two hour class each week in the second semester. It will be taught by lectures, practical exercises and discussions, and there will be significant use of electronic materials, research tools, teaching resources and so on. Participants will be expected to prepare materials in advance and to participate in the class exercises each week; this class participation will be recorded and evaluated, and will be worth 15% of the overall mark. There will be a compulsory piece of independent research worth 35%. And there will be a final two-hour open-book examination worth 50%.

If you are interested, you can download a full description of the course here, including a statement of the aims, objectives and outcomes of the course, a description of its key themes, and a detailed course outline and bibliography, as well full details of participation activities and assessment.

Medicine and the Law

This subject involves consideration of aspects of the health care system, including professional malpractice, informed consent to treatment, research, mental disability, abortion, new reproductive technologies, organ donation, euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Product Liability in Europe

The course examines aspects of product liability in Europe, including contractual warranties, common law negligence, the Product Liability and Product Safety Directives, product liability litigation, problems of proof, damages, limitation of actions and jurisdictional and choice of law issues.

RESEARCH DISSERTATION

The research dissertation, of a maximum of 25,000 words, may be on any theme, subject to the approval of the Director of the LL.M. degree programme and the availability of a supervisor. The dissertation must be submitted on or before 31 July.