LLM Discussion Board

The School of Law, Queen’s University of Belfast, is proud to announce the establishment of a new and topical postgraduate taught course in Law and Governance, covering issues of Sustainable Development, Globalisation & Economic Competition, and Devolution.

Introduction
The LLM in Law and Governance is a new course, specifically designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to some of the most challenging issues facing policy entrepreneurs in the world today. Specifically, the course will address core issues of (multi-level) governance and offers students the possibility of specialising in one of three areas:

- Governance and Sustainable Development
- Governance, Globalisation and Economic Competition
- Governance and Devolution.

The course is international in focus and taught by leading academics and practitioners.

This innovative course is designed to meet a growing international need to produce postgraduate students with detailed knowledge of complex (multi-level) governance issues and excellent skills to work with transdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches. The course provides students with the necessary skill base to pursue and further their careers within corporations, NGOs and regulatory authorities and national and international legal professions. The interdisciplinary nature of the course, coupled with interaction with the research clusters on governance, regulation, environmental justice, and human rights already in existence at Queen's, provides students with relevant expertise.

The course is taught within a directed learning framework through weekly seminars, which provide an overview on a particular area. Students gain broad and essential knowledge about governance and a set of skills to analyse governance at the regional, national, EU and international levels. These seminars offer a starting point for the completion of assessed essay questions. The second major method of testing is a dissertation, the exact subject of which is to be chosen in consultation with the Course Coordinator. There will be an opportunity to undertake a placement linked to the choice of dissertation.

Duration
1 year Full time / 2 years Part time

Entrance Requirements
Applicants must have a degree in law (normally 2.1 or above, or equivalent) or a closely related academic subject (e.g. politics, economics, sociology). Relevant corporate or regulatory experience will be taken into consideration for mature students.

Who is the course aimed at?
The course has been designed to prove equally attractive to those transferring from an undergraduate course as well as those who wish to build on practical experience in industry or public policy.

Resources within the Law School:
Students registered on the LLM will be able to avail of an array of seminars and workshops grounded in governance within the Law School, its Institute of Governance, Public Policy and Social Research, and policy practitioners. Students have the opportunity of attending, and contributing to, a range of international conferences hosted by QUB. The Law School provides postgraduate students with a range of excellent facilities including access to a postgraduate computer room.

Course Outline:
All students take 5 modules (with a specialisation on one of the three areas in the second semester) and one dissertation:

Module Outline:

Approaches to Governance/Theoretical Issues includes:

• Theories of Governance and Regulation
• “Old” and “New” Modes of Governance
• Normative Approaches to Governance / Good Governance
• Power and Governance
• Policy Evaluation, Transparency, and Accountability and Governance

Multi-Level Governance includes:

• Practical Legal and Political Aspects of Governance
• Changes and Dynamics of Governance and Regulatory Politics (at local, regional, European and international levels)
• Multi-Level Governance in Complex Network Societies

Advanced Research Skills (for Law and Governance) includes:

• Social Science Research Methods & Interdisciplinary Research Skills
• Dealing with Complexity and Uncertainty in Socio-Legal Research
• Research Ethics
• Practical and Methodological Tools Required to Deliver a Masters’ Level Dissertation

Approaches to Governance and Sustainable Development includes:

• Origins and Evolution of Sustainable Development
• Capacity-Building, Ecological Modernisation and Sustainable Development
• The Role of International Institutions
• The Global ‘Trade and Environment Debate’
• Environmental Law and Policy from an International and Comparative Perspective
• Climate Change and Sustainable Development
• Globalisation, Greening Capitalism, and Sustainable Development

Sustainable Development in the European Union includes:

• Environmental Governance in the EU
• The EU, Leadership and International Environmental Governance
• Policies for a Sustainable Development in the EU
• Policy Integration and conflict, the Lisbon Agenda and Sustainable Development

Globalisation and Regulation includes:

• Governance in the Era of Globalisation
• Current Regulatory Reforms and Competitiveness Issues
• The Role of International Institutions
• Causes and Consequences of Regional Integration Projects
• Regulatory Competition in the Area of Risk Regulations

European Union Governance includes:

• EU Competition Policy
• EU Monetary and Fiscal Policy
• Business- and Trade-Sensitive Policy Areas and their Relevance for the EU’s Strategy of Increased Economic Competitiveness

Devolution and Modernising Government includes:

• How Statute Law for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales is Made within the Context of Devolution in the UK and EU membership
• The Role of the State and Civil Society in Law-Making Processes
• Regional Inputs in the EU Legislative Process
• Power and the UK’s Devolved Structures