The main subject areas on offer at Master of Laws level include:
Banking and financial law is legislation applied on a national or international level to regulate and stabilise the economy and to prevent or minimise large-scale financial problems. The subject also covers fraud, corruption and financial irregularities. If you want to take this sort of course, you will need to become familiar with the language of international finance – securities, loans, bonds, derivatives and how they work.
LLMs in banking and financial law consider different aspects of relevant legislation, especially compliance (with policies and regulations) and diligence (monitoring of procedures). The ability to make balanced political, economic and monetary risk assessments, to see the broad picture as well as homing in on small details and to untangle very complicated legal requirements lies at the heart of these subjects. Students who are interested in how the financial world operates and who are willing to probe into the frameworks that surround it will find a master’s in banking or financial law fascinating.
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Studying banking and financial law in the UK
Business law covers any legislation that affects commercial enterprises, the agencies and regulations involved with them, and their impact on the economy, whether this relates to large multinational companies or small-town enterprises (although, at LLM level, the stress is often on the former). The term commercial law is often used interchangeably and the two disciplines are very similar, but a master’s in commercial law may put more emphasis on trade and transactions. The main elements in both areas are: the regulation of commercial affairs on a local, national and global scale; financial and tax management; expansion; joint ventures; and generally maximising efficiency, profit and growth.
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Studying business and commercial law in the UK
Competition law, known in the US as ‘antitrust law’, has three main elements:
• Prohibiting agreements or practices that restrict free trading and competition between businesses.
• Banning abusive behaviour by a firm dominating a market, or anti-competitive practices that tend to lead to such a dominant position.
• Supervising the mergers and acquisitions of large corporations, including some joint ventures.
The substance and practice of competition law vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Protecting the interests of consumers and ensuring that entrepreneurs have an opportunity to compete in the market economy are often treated as important objectives. Competition law is closely connected with law on deregulation of access to markets, state aids and subsidies, the privatisation of state-owned assets and the establishment of independent sector regulators.
The two largest and most influential systems of competition regulation are United States antitrust law and European Community competition law. National and regional competition authorities across the world have formed international support and enforcement networks.
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‘Green’ issues have never had a higher profile: a general public and political awareness of the need to sustain and protect our world has seen the growth of environmental legislation at local, national and international level. It has even made an impression on other legal areas like business law (corporate social responsibility and the need to balance commercial interests with sustainability), human rights law and shipping law. Lawyers specialising in the environment are in a small profession, but their numbers are growing rapidly. This is a good time to enter an expanding area.
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Studying environmental law in the UK
As the European Community becomes larger and more complex, so have the different laws and legislative processes within it. Some of the newer states built their own fresh legal framework after the collapse of Communism: often, this was based on more established systems, such as the law of England and Wales. However, there are still a number of different codes and ideologies within the EU that occasionally conflict with one another. So the study of European law is a very broad subject, which can be split into several areas: the separate legal structures of the different European Union countries, which are often studied comparatively, ie by measuring substantive individual legislation (employment law, contract law, criminal justice and so forth) from one member state against that of others; cross-European laws that apply to all member states and can range from fairly minor regulations to major treaties; philosophical, historical and political considerations; interaction with countries beyond Europe; and specific legal issues, such as immigration, human rights and conduct of business
Increasingly, issues like civil liberties, movement of people, environment and development are being debated by law and policy makers, and these issues, too, are finding their way into master’s in EU law, as is the debate about whether all member states should embrace the same legislation.
From the above, you can see that there is a lot of choice and very wide scope to pursue a variety of legal interests if you choose to pursue a master’s in European law. Detailed research is needed to find the course(s) that are right for you.
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Studying European law in the UK
Awareness of human rights has grown dramatically since the end of the last century. The collapse of communism; political and religious conflicts; the growth of immigration; and a better general understanding of the existence of minority groups have all contributed to interest in this topic. This has led to more national and international legislation designed to protect society. In particular, the law has sought to preserve freedom of expression and to end discrimination against the most vulnerable and underprivileged members of society.
Initiatives like the European Human Rights Act have had a global impact and an increasing number of lawyers are now specialising in this field. The potential for varied and interesting work is huge: human rights law has numerous social and legal implications – for crime, immigration, development, family, the environment, employment regulations and even the way that businesses are run.
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Studying human rights law in the UK
We now live in a global economy, an increasingly multicultural society and a world where we can be in touch with other countries almost instantly. So it is no wonder that the practice – and study – of international law has grown in recent years. In its simplest form, international law is the formulation and application of legislation that applies across international boundaries and does not favour one particular state or group of countries. So it is used in place of (for example) UK law or US law to resolve a dispute or set up a contract when international interests are at stake.
These legal processes may originally have grown out of custom or good practice, as is the case with business transactions, or they may be based on agreed ethical principles, particularly relating to issues of criminal justice and human rights. In many instances, they are enshrined in treaties and agreements at the highest level, such as those put forward by international conventions or by bodies like the World Trade Organization.
International law also responds to major social and economic factors that have a worldwide impact, such as terrorism, conflict, the environment, development, and, in this electronic age, copyright and intellectual property. The aim is to uphold high principles, not to support major world powers above smaller states, and to protect the public interest.
So studying international law means understanding a huge and constantly changing field. Apart from the features noted above, LLMs in international law also cover
- the historical, philosophical and moral background to the subject, and
- comparative law, through evaluating the legislation and legal framework of different countries.
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Studying international law in the UK
Public law defines any legislation that affects the individual: it is linked to the relationship between state, government and members of the public. It was formerly called constitutional law and at its core is the ancient principle of jurisprudence. It is about the balance between ensuring civil order and respect for the law while allowing freedom of thought, speech and action. It also includes the interface between the rights and responsibilities of governments and those of citizens. So it considers all kinds of legal and social issues, such as crime, justice and human rights and the ways in which laws are framed, altered and enforced. With globalisation, the field has expanded to cover relationships between different states and countries, war and international disputes. This is a complex field and is constantly changing in response to national and international events. If you have a wide interest in law and enjoy exploring and comparing complicated legal ideas, then an LLM in public law could be right for you.
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Studying public law in the UK
Tax law gives an overview of the direct and indirect ways in which governments collect and generate revenue, and at the different jurisdictions, ambiguities, gaps and technicalities that can benefit businesses and individuals who want to reduce tax obligations, preserve profits and offset debts. In more recent years, this subject area has also expanded to consider a wider range of subjects, such as the use and misuse of off-shore tax ‘havens’, fraud, corruption, money laundering and ties to international crime.
LLMs in tax law consider different aspects of the formulation and enforcement of relevant legislation and how it reflects economic and social changes on a national, cross-border and international scale). Tax law is always quick to change, often extremely intricate, difficult to interpret and apply, and demands a good grasp of detail.
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Studying tax law in the UK
