(LLM) Master of Laws
International Trade and Maritime Law with Professional Placement
Current
University of Essex
University of Essex
Essex Law School
Colchester Campus
Masters
Full-time
LLM M221PP
10/05/2023
Details
Professional accreditation
None
Admission criteria
A 2:2. Degree in Law or a joint honours Degree with Law. Applicants who do not hold a Law Degree but who have additional relevant professional experience and/or traineeships or professional qualifications/certifications issued by professional bodies such as Bar Associations can apply and will be considered.
IELTS (International English Language Testing System) code
IELTS 6.5 overall with a minimum component score of 5.5 except for 6.0 in writing
If you do not meet our IELTS requirements then you may be able to complete a pre-sessional English pathway that enables you to start your course without retaking IELTS.
Additional Notes
The University uses academic selection criteria to determine an applicant’s ability to successfully complete a course at the University of Essex. Where appropriate, we may ask for specific information relating to previous modules studied or work experience.
Course qualifiers
A course qualifier is a bracketed addition to your course title to denote a specialisation or pathway that you have achieved via the completion of specific modules during your course. The
specific module requirements for each qualifier title are noted below. Eligibility for any selected qualifier will be determined by the department and confirmed by the final year Board of
Examiners. If the required modules are not successfully completed, your course title will remain as described above without any bracketed addition. Selection of a course qualifier is
optional and student can register preferences or opt-out via Online Module Enrolment (eNROL).
None
Rules of assessment
Rules of assessment are the rules, principles and frameworks which the University uses to calculate your course progression and final results.
Additional notes
None
External examiners
Prof Duncan Sheehan
Professor
University of Leeds
External Examiners provide an independent overview of our courses, offering their expertise and help towards our continual improvement of course content, teaching, learning, and assessment.
External Examiners are normally academics from other higher education institutions, but may be from the industry, business or the profession as appropriate for the course.
They comment on how well courses align with national standards, and on how well the teaching, learning and assessment methods allow students to develop and demonstrate the relevant knowledge and skills needed to achieve their awards.
External Examiners who are responsible for awards are key members of Boards of Examiners. These boards make decisions about student progression within their course and about whether students can receive their final award.
Programme aims
International Trade Law and Maritime law are important, extensive, complex, fascinating and specialised areas of law. Their particularity lies in the fact that they bring together many fields of law (such as contract law, public international law, finance law, law of the sea, company law and insurance law) together with a plethora of international treaties and conventions. They lay down the foundations for the regulation of trade between states. The LLM in International Trade and Maritime Law taught by international experts in the field offers specialised modules which develop the necessary skills to research, litigate and negotiate in international trade law, international company law, marine insurance law, carriage of goods by sea and ship sale, admiralty law, international finance law, international environmental law as well as the law of the sea. The international character of our LLM is matched by the diversity of our staff and students forming a truly global community which is reflective of the nature of international trade and shipping.
- Give you a thorough and in-depth knowledge and understanding of the main principles of law in the areas of international trade and maritime law .
- To provide you with a clear understanding of the social, political, cultural and economic background of the laws in question.
- Give you an understanding of how national, European Union Law and international law interact .
- Provide you with an understanding of legal principles deriving from a variety of legal instruments, including standard contracts, national law, international law and conventions, EU Law and national and international case law.
- Provide you with advanced skills of legal analysis and problem solving which are crucial for a career in the legal field .
- Study maritime law in great depth and understand the historic roots of modern trade, international conventions, marine insurance and the carriage of goods by sea .
- Study the current developments in the field in question and understand the rationale behind reform .
- Through the placement students will gain relevant work experience within an external organisation, developing their legal and professional skills and putting into practice substantive topic learning from the course.
- To develop the employability skills of students and reflection on practical experiences.
Learning outcomes and learning, teaching and assessment methods
On successful completion of the programme a graduate should demonstrate knowledge and skills as follows:
A: Knowledge and understanding
A1: Demonstrate advanced knowledge and understanding of the fundamental legal rules, methodologies, concepts, models, principles and institutions of maritime and trade law.
A2: Demonstrate advanced knowledge and understanding of how maritime and trade law influences and is influenced by the business environment by organisations such as the IMO (International Maritime Organization).
A3: Demonstrate advanced knowledge and understanding of the social, cultural, economic and political context in which the law in this area develops, including the legal dimensions of business and moral issues and vice versa
A4: Learn some substantive areas of trade and maritime law in depth.
A5: Learn some substantive areas of the study of business in depth, particularly the maritime industry and commerce.
A101: Understand through experience the practical application of international and commercial law and procedural aspects.
Learning methods
A1 – A5 are acquired through lectures, seminars and tutorials. Students are expected to undertake thorough and in-depth independent research in the fields of International Trade and Maritime Law (including wet and dry shipping) which involves the analysis of primary and secondary UK and international sources. They are required to submit research of high quality which involves not only a thorough analysis of law but also of the economic, cultural, political and societal actors which underpin it, particularly the commercial aspects of the maritime industry but also the responsibilities of trade parties towards the public The analysis involves a variety of legal documents that range from national laws to international conventions and it is based on the referencing of a wide range of resources which include reports, articles, books as well as conference papers and national and international case law, such as the International Maritime Organization and the International Chamber of Commerce. The essays in question form an original piece of research and require a high level of skills. Students will also be tested on their understanding and knowledge in examinations for some modules, to showcase their ability to think on-the-spot without support of secondary material.
A101 will be acquired specifically on the placement, in addition to elements of A1-A5.
Assessment methods
A combination of assessment methods will be used. Testing the knowledge-base for A1 – A5 is through unseen examinations, take home examinations, module essays, the foundation essay and the dissertation.
A101 will be assessed specifically through the placement assessment, in addition to elements of A1-A5.
B: Intellectual and cognitive skills
B1: Identify accurately the issue(s) which require researching.
B2: Be aware of the legal dimension of business and moral issues and vice versa.
B3: Apply relevant primary and secondary legal sources.
B4: Reason critically, identify, analyse, and solve problems, sometimes within a comparative framework.
B5: Produce a comprehensive, coherent and sophisticated synthesis of relevant doctrinal and policy issues in relation to a topic.
B6: Critically evaluate the merits of particular arguments and advanced scholarship in the field.
B7: Present and make a reasoned choice between alternative solutions or methodologies and, where necessary, propose new hypotheses.
B8: Deal with complex issues both systematically and creatively, make sound judgments in the absence of complete data, and communicate the conclusions clearly.
B9: Demonstrate and exercise originality of thought in the application of knowledge.
B101: Develop commercial awareness and professional legal research and application to a concrete set of facts.
Learning methods
Skills B1 through B9 are obtained and developed through discussion groups and large group interactive classes where there is an emphasis on group discussion and practical problem solving (hypothetical and actual). B5 and B6 are also enabled through lectures. All skills are complemented by class-independent reading undertaken by students in the light of guidance by lecturers and discussion tasks. Intellectual and cognitive skills are also acquired through written and oral feedback on coursework. In addition, learning is enhanced by formative assessment of Skills B1 and B3. B7 - B9 are learned through in-class discussion.
In addition, the dissertation requires students to identify a precise research question, to apply primary and secondary legal and other relevant resources, to critically assess major legal questions and problems and to suggest solutions or take side in a debate. The analysis involves legal, political, historical, cultural as well as doctrinal matters and requires the students to make reasoned arguments which should be well-referenced in literature and jurisprudence. They are required to criticise the existing parties to major debates as well as to take sides and choose between contrasting views. The dissertation is a demanding piece of independent research which requires a high level legal analysis.
B101 skills will be acquired specifically on the placement, in addition to elements of B1-B9.
Assessment methods
A combination of assessment methods will be used, which will enable the students to demonstrate successful development of all B skills. Some modules will be assessed through unseen exams, take home exams, and some through essays. Independent working is also assessed through the dissertation (B9).
B101 will be assessed specifically through the placement assessment, in addition to elements of B1-B9.
C: Practical skills
C1: Identify, select and retrieve up-to-date information relating to law and business, using both paper and electronic sources.
C2: Co-apply multiple applicable regimes of national and international law as they relate to a given practical problem.
C3: Use and apply terminology and concepts in context to applied problems, actual or hypothetical.
C4: Debate and critically analyse contemporary challenges in the area of study.
C101: Demonstrate professional communication and conduct skills, team working skills and time management abilities suitable for the workplace.
Learning methods
A precise use of legal terminology is at the centre of the relevant analysis. The students are required and taught as to how to analyse a field of law which is quite well researched in the past and yet to be able to submit an original piece of work; it involves their ability to criticise, analyse, compare, explain well-researched questions or aspects of law which are yet relatively unexplored.
Skills C1 and C2 are developed through preparation for seminars and the large group interactive classes, and through research for the Foundation Essay and Dissertation.
In addition to traditional research methods, students are expected to use the internet and legal databases when researching their assessed work in order to find primary and appropriate secondary sources, either in on-line or paper format.
Skills C3 and C4 are developed through seminars by way of the medium of problem solving and group discussion.
Skill C4 is particularly developed through the Foundation Essay and Dissertation.
Skills C1 - C4 are developed in seminars, large group interactive classes, and the Foundation Essay, which assessment reinforces their learning by students.
Inclusivity is achieved through the use of Moodle to communicate resources and teaching materials, through different styles of teaching and learning and through different types of assessment, for example through ‘open book’ essays and the dissertation.
C101 skills will be acquired specifically on the placement, in addition to elements of C1-C4.
Assessment methods
A combination of assessment methods will be used. Some modules will be assessed through exams and some through essays/problem questions. Skills C1 - C4 are assessed through summative take home exams, unseen exams, module essays, the foundation Essay and the Dissertation.
Inclusivity is achieved through the use of Moodle to communicate resources and teaching materials, through different styles of teaching and learning and through different types of assessment.
C101 will be assessed specifically through the placement assessment, in addition to elements of C1-C4.
D: Key skills
D1: Both orally and in writing, (i) work with the English language proficiently in relation to legal matters and matters of business law; (ii) present knowledge or an argument in a clear, coherent and relevant manner, and (iii) analyse materials pertaining to international trade and maritime law that are complex and technical.
D2: (i) Produce a word-processed essay or other text in an appropriate form and (ii) effectively use online academic and other resources to facilitate the research process.
D3: Where relevant and as the basis for an argument, use, present and evaluate information provided in numerical or statistical form.
D4: (i) Analyse complex factual and hypothetical scenarios and (ii) Identify key legal questions and apply relevant law and effective research methodologies thereto.
D5: Participate in group work to the benefit of the group as a whole.
D6: With limited guidance, reflect on his or her own learning, and to make use of feedback and (ii) demonstrate the ability to plan and undertake effective independent research.
Learning methods
Skills D1, D2, D4 and D5 are acquired through discussion in class where students debate legal issues and problems as well as through the foundation essay and dissertation.
Skills D1, D2, D4 and D6 will be developed through writing summatively assessed and formative coursework and consequent feedback, both written and that obtained in oral sessions.
Skill D3 is developed, where necessary, in modules and assessments where students are required to read figures and statistics in the context of various empirical studies. Skill D5 is particularly developed through group work exercises conducted in seminars.
Skill D6 is developed through continual oral feedback in learning and teaching sessions to stimulate self-reflection and personal learning development, including through researching and writing the dissertation.
All D1-D5 skills will be developed during the placement.
Assessment methods
Skills D1 - D6 are assessed through essays, take home exams, unseen exams and the dissertation, including D3 where necessary. Skill D5 is formatively assessed through interactive engagement during lectures and discussion groups.
Inclusivity is achieved through the use of Moodle to communicate resources and teaching materials, through different styles of teaching and learning and through different types of assessment.
All D1-D5 skills will be assessed through the placement assessment.