Taught Masters Degrees: LLM in International Commercial Law

Syllabus

* International / comparative modules.

To qualify for the LLM in International Commercial Law students must complete at least 2 options which adopt an international or comparative focus and complete their dissertation on an international commercial law topic.

The International Commercial modules at Dundee provide students with a detailed understanding of core issues relevant to the resolution of commercial disputes and an appreciation of contractual principles. Central to this are the courses in International Business Transactions [IBT] and Private International Law (Common Law Perspectives). These focus on the resolution of business disputes and cover such areas as: commercial arbitration; jurisdiction in domestic, European and international litigation; the conflict between common law and civil law approaches to jurisdiction; the use of injunctions and other jurisdictional tools in international litigation; the recognition of foreign judgments in different legal systems; international attempts to harmonise jurisdiction rules; the law applicable to contractual obligations within Europe; the role of the lex mercatoria; the law applicable to corporations and international insolvency actions.

These modules are complemented by the comparative contract law course – Principles of International Contract Law – which considers not only the UN Convention on the International Sale of Goods but also developments in the USA and at European level. International Dispute Settlement focuses on inter-State dispute settlement with regard to commercial/economic disputes and also covers the settlement of disputes between corporate bodies and States.

The Commercial modules at Dundee provide students with a detailed understanding of core issues relating to corporate law and allow for specialisation in the fields of corporate governance, contract, intellectual property law and E-Commerce.

Principles of Corporate Law provides a strong central core which links to many of the other modules in the programme. This module focuses on the structure and development of company law in the United Kingdom in an international context. It covers the radical re-shaping of company law in the United Kingdom in 2006 which will almost certainly impact on the reform of corporate law in other jurisdictions which have shaped their corporate regimes on earlier UK legislation.

Corporate Governance covers issues relating to the distribution of power within companies and looks at governance regimes across the world. The impact of Enron and Worldcom have made governance issues much more high profile than had previously been the case. Dundee's strength in the field of corporations is reflected in the specialised modules dealing with Financial Services and Markets Regulation.

Intellectual Property Law examines the statutory and common law regimes in the United Kingdom which regulate and control copyright, patents, trademarks, and design rights. Consideration is also given to intellectual property issues in a digital environment and the significant role of the European Union in shaping and influencing intellectual property rules and principles in the United Kingdom.

This module is closely linked to the Principles of International E-Commerce module which focuses on emerging issues in the digital world and examines issues such as contracting in a digital environment, conflicts of law issues in relation to online transactions and consumer protection in an online environment.