Course summary

Our LLM in European Trade and Commercial Law offers you the opportunity to study the highly significant area of European legislation relating to trade and commerce that continues to have huge relevance in the economic and political landscape. As well as learning about key commercial issues such as cross-border commercial litigation and EU takeover regulation, you will also examine more people-related topics such as the protection of human rights and constitutional issues. If European law is a new subject to you then you will also take a foundation module that introduces the fundamental principles of European Community law. The course runs for one year full-time and is delivered through a series of lectures and also small seminar or tutorial groups. You will be required to complete an extended dissertation using your own research on an area of European law of your own choice, for which you will be given support and guidance from a member of the academic staff with expertise in that particular area. The law school is home to the Durham European Law Institute and you will be encouraged to join its many activities, while the library includes the European Documentation Centre which boasts a wide range of European-related material, to which you will have access as part of your studies. A longstanding expertise and a tradition of innovative, interdisciplinary research can be found within the School and this heritage is supported by outstanding academic facilities including a moot court, dedicated workroom, a pro bono room and a Harvard-style lecture theatre. Course structure Core modules Introduction to European Law offers an overview of the fundamental principles of European Community law and provides a springboard for further study or research into more specialised areas. This key module will enable you to acquire a proper grounding in basic principles, features and institutions of the European Community legal system. Applied Research Methods in Law provides specialised knowledge on the range of research methods and skills available in legal studies as well as an advanced understanding of their strengths and weaknesses and of their relevance for different forms of legal research. The module also creates a framework within which you will be able to critically assess potential research topics and, importantly, where you will be able to design, discuss and develop a detailed research proposal of the appropriate standards for your dissertation. The Dissertation is based on your particular research interests in an area of European Trade and Commercial Law, and can be of one of three lengths – 10,000 or 15,000. The dissertation is equivalent to 2 or 2.5 modules, depending on word count.