PostGraduate Courses: School of Law, Trinity College Dublin

TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN SCHOOL OF LAW Tel : 353 1 679 2392; Fax 353 1 677 0449; email: Kelley.McCabe@tcd.ie POSTGRADUATE COURSES
	The Law School offers three POSTGRADUATE DEGREE programmes and three UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE programmes: POSTGRADUATE DEGREES Two of these degrees are postgraduate research degrees in law: the M.Litt and the Ph.D. These involve carrying out research at the University under the supervision of a member of the Law School's staff, with the subsequent submission of a thesis. LL.M. : Taught Degree of one year duration M.Litt/Ph.D: Postgraduate Research Degrees - [ Current Post-Graduate Research Pages ] LL.M. DEGREE PROGRAMME The LL.M. degree is taught over a period of one academic year. The year is divided into two semesters during each of which students are required to take three half options. Each half-option is offered in one semester only and involves 22 hours of classwork. Students are required to sit examinations towards the beginning of the Hilary Term and the end of Trinity term (i.e. January, May/June) in each of the six half options, and complete a research dissertation over the academic year on an approved theme. Students choose from an extensive list of LL.M. half-options. The Law School Committee reserves the right to fix a quota for any particular option, or to withdraw an option, or in a particular academic year, to introduce an additional option or to decline to offer an option. Information on Admissions can be found here Last Modified 25 November, 2008 by Kelley McCabe
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS: Advocacy in Mediation This interactive course will cover a theoretical and practical examination of the role of the lawyer in the mediation process covering deciding to mediate, selection of a mediator, pre-mediation submissions, negotiation techniques, preparation for and representing the client's broad range of interests at mediation, confidentiality, lawyer and mediator ethics, Court-annexed mediation programs, and the mediation process through its use of lecture, discussion, video and role-playing. *Course Lecturer: Mr. John P. Madden* African Human Rights Law The course analyses core aspects of African human rights law. It examines the application in the African context of international human rights instruments, with special emphasis on the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and Protocol. It assesses the exten to which the Charter has influenced domestic legal systems in Africa. Several specific human rights themes are examined, including hte death penalty, fair trial rights , the right to healthcare, equality issues, prisoner's rights, freedom of expression and the rights of ethnic and religious minorities. So far as domestic legal systems are analysed, the emphasis will be on the position in Commonwealth states. *Course Lecturer: Professor William Binchy* Alternative Dispute Resolution in Ireland Alternative Dispute Resolution in Ireland will explore Commercial Arbitration & Mediation, Law and Procedure. It will be concerned solely with the Arbitration and Mediation of commercial disputes and will not address in any great detail such matters as statutory schemes or family mediation. The course will be taught by means of lectures and seminars and will be supplemented by guest seminars/lectures involving practising Irish arbitrators/mediators and experts. The syllabus is designed to provide students with a detailed knowledge of Irish law and procedure relating to arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution processes. A special feature of the course will be the Award Writing component, which will provide a grounding in the construction and analysis of reasoned arbitral awards. *Course Lecturer: Mr. Oliver J. Connolly BL* Comparative Civil Rights In this course, we will be engaging in a critical analysis of various matters connected with civil liberties and civil rights and will be doing through the vehicle of comparative law. Thus we will consider various issues (listed below) having regard to the approach taken to these issues in amongst others, Ireland, Germany, United States, South Africa, Council of Europe and, on occasion, other states including a theoretical Islamic state. The issues considered are The concept of universal Human Rights and civil liberties as well as universal understandings of what these rights entail and the principled bases on which these rights can be restricted. The Right to Privacy both generally and in the following contexts The issue of “unconventional sexual practices” Justifying restrictions on the right to privacy by reference to moral concerns Abortion Gay Marriage The right to Freedom of Expression both generally and with a specific focus on the concept of offensive expressions including blasphemy against Islam, cross burning and Nazi marches in the United states and Holocaust denial in Germany. The class will involve pre-lecture preparation and considerable class participation. In addition, students will, on occasion be asked to prepare presentations to be given in class. Assessment will be by way of exam, but the presentations in question will count for 20% of the final grade. *Course Lecturer: Dr. Neville Cox BL* Comparative Public Law This course will examine public administration and judicial review in four jurisdictions: the EU, the US, the UK and Ireland. After reviewing the usefulness and appropriateness of comparative law in a public law context, the course will be divided into two parts. Part One will examine federalism and multi-level governance in the US and the EU, as contrasted with the unitary executives of Ireland and the UK. This part of the course will also examine new techniques of governance, such as regulation, privatization and public-private partnerships, and consider their impact on democracy and human rights. Part Two of the course will consider the way in which public law controls the operation of government, and examine themes such as governmental accountability, democratic legitimacy, openness in government, separation of powers, and human rights protection. *Course Lecturer: Ms. Catherine Donnelly* Corporate Governance Corporate Governance concerns the question of whose interests should be served by a company and how to ensure that managerial decisions do indeed further these interests. This course offers a general introduction to the concept of corporate governance and self-regulation and the legal regime governing Irish companies. The course contains a theoretical component and will address the separation of ownership and control and “agency cost” problems. Practical constraints on managerial conduct, the structure and function of the board of directors, shareholders and shareholder remedies will also be explored. The course will also address the topics of corporate social responsibility and business ethics. International trends in corporate governance will also be explored with a particular focus on the role of institutional investors. *Course Lecturer: Dr. Ailbhe O’Neill BL, The Honourable Mr. Justice Ronan Keane* Criminal Evidence This course will examine contemporary issues relating to the gathering and presentation of evidence in the Irish criminal justice system. The topics to be discussed will include: the exclusionary rule in relation to unlawfully obtained evidence, developments in the law relating to confessions, forensic scientific evidence, the proposed DNA database, and evidentiary rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. Some prior knowledge of the law of evidence is recommended. The course will combine lectures with class discussion and group presentations. Assessment will be based on essays and research papers. Course Lecturer: Dr. Liz Heffernan Cross-Border Commercial Litigation in Europe The overall aim of this course is to give students a practical familiarity with the common European rules of private international law applying in civil and commercial matters. These rules deal with the often difficult issues that arise in the institution and conduct of civil and commercial proceedings in Europe involving more than one state. *Course Lecturer: Mr. Jonathan Newman BL* EC Competition Law This course presumes a basic acquaintance with the institutional law of the European Communities (e.g. the various roles of the institutions and the types of legislation) and focuses on the substantive law of competition applicable to undertakings. The course focuses on the EC Treaty articles on competition and on the programmatic secondary legislation, much of it recent. Secondarily, reference will be made to the Commission's Notices on competition policy and the decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Communities and decisions of the European Commission. Some attention will be given to Article 90 (EC) and to the Irish law on competition, which in substance, but not in institutional structure, mirrors the EC system. *Course Lecturer: Dr. Diarmuid Rossa Phelan BL* Employment Litigation The LL.M. course in Employment Litigation aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the nature of employment litigation in Ireland. In order to do this, the course integrates an analysis of substantive employment law issues with a consideration of key procedural rules, enabling the governing doctrinal principles of employment law to be understood in a practical setting. In particular, the course aims to provide a thorough overview of the many different legal fora in which redress is sought in the employment context in Ireland, and of the nature of the litigation that is instituted in each forum. Throughout the course, attention is focused upon topical and emerging judicial and legislative developments in the area and on the effects of these developments on employment litigation in practice. *Course Lecturer: Mr. Des Ryan BL* EU Banking Law This targeted course will focus on the narrower EU and Irish banking and credit union (friendly societies) and related markets. Topics will include the EU, prudential and competition frameworks in which financial institutions operate within Ireland and the EU; how financial institutions are regulated; how the central bank of the EU, the European Central Bank, fits in to the scheme of regulation; attempts to regulate competition amongst banks and credit unions; Irish-EU coordination; consumer issues; interest groups in the banking sector; and, important treaty and secondary legislation. Additional topics to be discussed throughout the course will include the impact of monetary union and the accession of new member states to the banking system; and, a comparison with other bank regulatory systems throughout the world. An optional visit to the European Central Bank located in Germany will be planned. *Course Lecturer: Mr. Alan Rabkin* EC Environmental Law The course introductory material covers the evolving legal basis for environmental action, the principles of European environmental law and techniques for environmental management. This is followed by a series of lectures and presentations on substantive aspects of EC environmental law including EC conservation and biodiversity law, horizontal measures, water protection, air pollution, waste and climate change. Students are expected to participate actively in class and to prepare a substantial research paper. The course will focus on policy considerations and how they have been achieved at EC and Member State level by reference to practical cases and experience. Topics covered may change according to the research interests of the lecturer and the time available. *Course Lecturer: Professsor Yvonne Scannell* European Human Rights Law This course examines various aspects of international human rights law, and discusses the general themes of which human rights can and should be protected by the international legal order, for example whether the international community should attempt to regulate the cultural practice of female circumcision. Particular emphasis is placed on the European Convention on Human Rights, which is often described as the most successful human rights system in the world. The course examines the institutional structure of the ECHR system and also certain substantive rights protected by the ECHR, such as freedom from torture, freedom of expression, and family rights. The likely impact of incorporation of the ECHR into Irish law, potentially a very significant development, is also considered. *Course Lecturer: Ms. Grainne Mullan BL* European Intellectual Property Law The protection of intellectual property law rights raises a multiplicity of issues in Community law. On the one hand, the recognition and protection of such rights is an essential part of a functioning and dynamic market economy. On the other, such rights may present a direct threat to the unification of the internal market. This course will examine the attempts made to reconcile these two aspects of intellectual property rights both by the Court of Justice and by the Community legislative powers. Topics covered will include the application of the EU Treaty provisions and secondary legislation applicable to copyright, patents, trade marks and industrial design rights. The course will be of particular use to those wishing to work in a commercial environment, however any student seeking to understand how Community law works in practice will find it relevant. Course Lecturer: Ms. Imelda Higgins BL European Tax Law It is no longer possible to consider the national tax systems of Member States of the European Union in isolation from the Community legal order. The requirements of Community law increasingly, through the processes of both positive and negative integration, form a jurisprudence of meta rules with which Member State tax systems must comply. European Tax law will examine the implications of this fascinating and fast developing field. The following areas will be explored during the course: The institutional framework and historical background to Community tax law; The impact of the fundamental freedoms on Member State systems of taxation ; The harmonisation of Value Added Tax; The Community Customs Code, Excises and Capital Duty; The Harmonisation of Direct Taxes; State Aid rules and Member State taxation; Member State co-operation and dispute resolution; The European Convention on Human Rights; The interaction of European Community tax law and international tax law. Method of Assessment is by means of essay and an end of semester examination of two hours duration. Essay and examination account for 50% of the marks respectively. *Course Lecturer: Mr. Niall O'Hanlon BL* EU Travel and Tourism Law In the past, the law relating to package holiday contracts comprised a substantial measure of courses on travel and tourism law. In recent years, however, the sales of package holidays have declined but, with the advent of the Internet and the rise of the budget airlines, the volume of independent travellers has increased exponentially. As a consequence this course focuses not only on package holidays, but also on the legal rights of the independent traveller, in particular in relation to carriage by air, rail and sea and the booking of accommodation abroad. Given that package holidays are still important for literally tens of millions of consumers in the European Union, this course will, first of all, explore the concept of a ‘package’ from a legal perspective. Secodly, we will look at the law of contract in relation to package holidays, in particular, but also other forms of travel contracts in general. Thirdly, we will examine, in depth, the manner in which travel contracts are regulated by the criminal law. In this context, both the Package Holidays and Travel Trade Act, 1995 and the Consumer Protection Act, 2007 are of major significance. In the concluding part of this course, we will assess several important aspects of travel law which fall outside the spheres of both contract law and criminal law, but which are essential in order to complete the complex interlocking jigsaw of EU Travel and Tourism law. This final part of the course will examine the legal position of travel agents, the protection afforded consumers through the bonding and security system established by the Package Holidays and Travel Trade Act, 1995; an overview of the practical aspects of both arbitration and litigation in travel cases ; an exploration of the pitfalls inherent in the conclusion of accommodation contracts over the Internet ; and, finally, to meet the needs of independent travellers who do not have a tour operator to sue as their ‘mark’ for damages, insights into how to pursue an action against a foreign supplier of holiday and tourism services. *Course Lecturer: Mr. Alex Schuster BL* EU Sports Business Law This course focuses on aspects of the relationship between the law and the business of sport in Europe and beyond. Sport is a global multi-billion euro industry and generates significant legal issues in the areas of contract law, commercial law, intellectual property law, competition law and general European Community law. To this extent we consider the issues such as Sport as commercial property;, Contractual issues arising in a Sports Business law context; The protection of the revenue earning potential of sport; The European freedoms and sport from Bosman to Meca-Medi;, Legal aspects of the organisation of a sporting event; Competition law and sport generally and Television and sport. *Course Lecturer: Dr. Neville Cox BL and Mr. Alex Schuster BL* EU Securities Law This course will focus on the EU securities markets and the relevant regulatory regimes, and will complement the EU Financial Services Law course. Topics will include an overview of the institutions that play a part in the securities markets, their functions and the prudential and competitive frameworks in which such institutions must operate; EU efforts to achieve a single securities market and the free movement of capital; the methods of offering securities to the public under the available regulatory regimes; concerns related to market integrity and investor protection; and a general overview of the financial products available to investors, including securitizations and structured products. Topics covered will be described through current events wherever possible. Knowledge of mathematics, economics or finance is absolutely not necessary. *Course Lecturer: Donald MacLean* Freedom of Expression The basic idea of the course is to give content to the Irish constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression by focussing on recent important speech jurisprudence, doctrine and research in Ireland and in other jurisdictions, such as Australia, Canada, the UK, the US, and the European Convention on Human Rights, with examples also drawn from other jurisdictions such as New Zealand, Germany and the European Union. The main pedagogical objective is to deepen and broaden the dialogue between the Irish constitution and other relevant documents on the one hand, and the constitutions and basic human rights documents in other similar common law and European jurisdictions on the other, by examining not only the extent to which Irish constitutional and legal soil may either take transplants of external freedom of expression norms or grow its own similar norms in a process of parallel evolution but also the converse case of the extent to which international norms can be influenced by Irish developments. More Course Lecturer: Dr. Eoin O'Dell EU Financial Services Law This survey course will focus on the broader EU and Irish financial services sector with major emphasis on the important sub-sectors of financial institutions, pension schemes, securities and insurance and cross-border expansion. Topics include an overview of the EU and Irish regulatory frameworks; important exemptions; jurisdiction to regulate; EU-Irish law coordination and the study of important treaty and secondary legislation. Also investigated throughout the course will be how the EU-Irish financial services regulatory scheme compares to the regulation of financial services throughout other parts of the world, such as the United States, Japan and China. A guest speaker from the Irish Financial Regulator will be planned. *Course Lecturer: Mr. Alan Rabkin* Globalisation & Law In the present era of globalisation we are witnessing the collapse of national barriers in the face of the international movement of capital, workers, commodities, ideas and communications of every kind. The ending of the Cold War, the increasing power of international corporations, the development of information technology and the expansion of air travel have had a huge impact in changing global culture and on our understanding of law. The traditional models of nation states and international law have given way to challenges to the concept of sovereignty, the development of international human rights tribunals, such as the International Criminal Court, the extension of new international legal rights and duties to non-state actors and the development of new models of global administrative regulation. The course on Globalisation and Law seeks to examine these developments in order to gain new insights into the nature and purpose of law. It analyses how globalisation has changed traditional approaches to public and private international law, human rights law, international trade law, freedom of expression (in relation to such matters as defamation, pornography and incitement to hatred), political dissent, terrorism and cultural and religious diversity. *Course Lecturer: Professor William Binchy* International Economic Law International Economic Law concerns the legal regulation of trade between states. The courses focuses on the organisations put in place to regulate economic relationships between states most notably, the World Trade Organisation and the international treaties, which it enforces such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The course examines trade in goods, services and the international regulation of intellectual property. Consideration is given to the international rules governing free trade such as most favoured nation status, national treatment rules and rules against tariffs and other barriers to inter state trade. Defences to breaches of these rules will be looked at. Finally the negotiation of trade agreements and the rules relating to international trade disputes are reviewed. Course Lecturer: TP Kennedy International Family Law International Family Law concerns aspects of international law that relates to families and also domestic law that applies to international families. This course will introduce international human rights norms relating to families and family life as well as private international law rules that affect families, and also examine the interaction between the two. Individual topics will include marriage, separation and divorce, child custody, abduction and adoption, and maintenance and spousal support. Particular focus will be placed on European rules and the Hague Conventions although other convention and the domestic rules of various States will also be examined. *Course Lecturer: Ms Eimear Long* International Tax Law International tax law is an interesting and developing area of law that is of importance not only to corporate commercial activity but also to questions of fairness as between developed and developing nations. This course will examine the fundamentals of international taxation from a legal perspective before going on to consider the key emerging trends in this branch of the law. The following areas will be explored during the course: Jurisdiction to tax and the problem of international double taxation; Methods of relief from international double taxation; The OECD and UN Model Tax Treaties; Interpretation of Tax Treaties; International Tax Planning; International Tax Avoidance and Tax Havens; International Tax Policy Method of Assessment is by means of essay and an end of semester examination of two hours duration. Essay and examination account for 50% of the marks respectively. *Course Lecturer: Mr. Niall O'Hanlon BL* International Trade Law International Economic Law draws on certain issues of International Economic Law and Public International Law. It builds on some of the material covered in the International Economic Law but can be taken independently of it. This course will examine a number of controversial trade issues and considers the approach of law and regulation to them. The course commences with a consideration of the issue of development and the special rules applicable to developing nations. It then moves on to look at the issues surrounding international trade and agriculture, the conflicts that can arise between international environmental law and international trade law and finally will examine issues of international trade and competition law. Course Lecturer: TP Kennedy Internet Law and Regulation The Internet occupies an important place in our modern world but its free development and cross-border nature raise difficult questions concerning law and regulation. While technology moves rapidly, legal and regulatory mechanisms have not been able to match that pace and much of what has become accepted practice in relation to Internet regulation falls into the grey area of soft law. The objective of this course is to permit students to develop an understanding of the area which will enable them to adopt a searching approach to the challenges posed by the Internet and other electronic media in terms of both the application of existing laws to an electronic age and the difficulty in obtaining a co-ordinated international approach to regulation of the Internet. This course will begin with a consideration of the origins of the Internet which will give an insight into relevant regulatory institutions such as ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) and WIPO (The World Intellectual Property Organisation) and domestic Irish institutions such as the IEDR (the Irish domain registry). The course will then consider a range of issues under the umbrella of Internet governance such as electronic contract formation, consumer protection issues relating to e-commerce, defamation and the Internet, the regulation of website domain names and the legal response to issues such as cybercrime and spam. Course Lecturer: Deirdre Ahern Introduction to International Criminal Law This course will provide an overview of the structures, principles and emerging issues in international criminal law. Students will be given an introduction to the institutions and sources of international criminal law, from its inception at the Nuremberg Tribunal through the ad hoc UN tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia to the establishment of the permanent International Criminal Court. The course will analyse some of the major international and national prosecutions for breaches of international criminal law, and will examine the legal basis for and definitions of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Substantive and procedural issues of jurisdiction and the obligation to prosecute, admissibility, individual criminal responsibility, fair trial rights, evidence, victim participation and sentencing will also be examined. The course will conclude with a focus on current legal and political challenges and potential future developments for international criminal law. Course Lecturer: Niamh Hayes Judicial Activism, Human Rights and the Indian Constitution The Supreme Court of India has a well justified reputation for judicial activism. This course analyses the Court’s jurisprudence on a range of themes, including equality, religious liberty, public interest litigation, gender, freedom of speech, preventive detention and environmental protection. It addresses questions relating to democracy and the limits of judicial activism, as well as considering other agencies for the protection of human rights in India. Course Lecturer: Prof William Binchy Jurisprudence This course focuses on the question "what is law?" and methodology and epistemology in jurisprudence. The course moves from understanding the difficulty of identifying law in a modern legal system, to issues of continuity and revolution in legal systems, to a roundup of some schools of analysis of the fundamental question what is law, and moves about half way through the course to fundamental epistemological issues and their relationship to the question "what is law?". Students are required to read and think between seminars, and to handwrite or type about 7 short essays (a few pages), and be prepared to participate in class. The purpose of the essays and their correction is to improve student performance in examination, and do not count towards the final mark. *Course Lecturer: Dr. Diarmuid Rossa Phelan BL* The Legal System of Timor Leste Timor Leste (East Timor) has had a difficult emergence into independence. Having asserted its freedom from Portugal in 1975 it was occupied by Indonesia until 1999, when Indonesia departed, leaving behind a trail of destruction. The U.N. assumed responsibility. In 2002 a new Constitution came into effect. This course examines the legal system of Timor Leste. How a small country establishes itself in an entirely new constitutional order is a fascinating study of law in action. *Course Lecturer: Professor William Binchy* Media: European Media Law Regulation and Policy - Would British politics be different if Tony Blair owned ITV, Channel 4, Sky, and Manchester United? Regulating competition and ownership is a very sensitive political issue. Can we even trust the media to report on it accurately? - Over the past 15 years, we have seen an increase in the amount of broadcasting outlets, but in many states, a simultaneous reduction in the diversity of ownership. What use are 57 channels if Murdoch is all that’s on? The legal and administrative regulation of media structure, delivery and content, though still largely a matter of national law, is increasingly becoming an international one. European institutions, such as the Council of Europe and the European Union are progressively playing ever more crucial roles in the determination of media law, policy and regulation. The purpose of this course is to provide orientation in and a critical understanding of the media policies of the European Union and Council of Europe, of the legal rules that govern content issues in the European media industry, and some of the important technological issues that influence or hinder such policies and laws. In particular, the aim is to induce in participants in the course the capacity of critical reflection upon the evolution of European media law, policy and regulation as a matter of politics, policy and practice, on the one hand, and of academic discussion, analysis and scholarship, on the other. The module runs for a two hour class each week in the second semester. It will be taught by lectures, practical exercises and discussions, and there will be significant use of electronic materials, research tools, teaching resources and so on. Participants will be expected to prepare materials in advance and to participate in the class exercises each week; this class participation will be recorded and evaluated, and will be worth 15% of the overall mark. There will be a compulsory piece of independent research worth 35%. And there will be a final two-hour open-book examination worth 50%. If you are interested, you can download a full description of the course here, including a statement of the aims, objectives and outcomes of the course, a description of its key themes, and a detailed course outline and bibliography, as well full details of participation activities and assessment. *Course Lecturer: Dr. Eoin O'Dell* Medicine and the Law This subject involves consideration of aspects of the health care system, including professional malpractice, informed consent to treatment, research, mental disability, abortion, new reproductive technologies, organ donation, euthanasia and assisted suicide. *Course Lecturers: Professor William Binchy, Dr. Ciaran Craven BL and Dr. Neville Cox BL* Product Liability in Europe The course examines aspects of product liability in Europe, including contractual warranties, common law negligence, the Product Liability and Product Safety Directives, product liability litigation, problems of proof, damages, limitation of actions and jurisdictional and choice of law issues. *Course Lecturers: Professor William Binchy and Mr. Alex Schuster BL* Key Issues in Private International Law Private International Law is at present undergoing a major transformation as it seeks to come to terms with contemporary developments in human rights, regional realignments and the increasing international remit of modern constitutions. The course examines these developments and their impact on traditional approaches to jurisdiction, choice of law and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. It looks in particular at how private international law has become part of the European Community and Union Law project. *Course Lecturer: Professor William Binchy* Public Procurement Law This course aims to provide students with a comprehensive overview of government contracting. Increasingly, the government enters into public-private partnerships and other public contracts as a means of delivering public services, such as healthcare and housing. This course examines the procedures used by the government when it decides to enter into contracts; the extent to which the government uses contracts to promote secondary policies such as assisting the vulnerable in society; the interactions between public procurement and competition law and state aid; and the remedies available when the government violates requirements of procedural fairness and transparency when contracting. In addition, the course will consider the options available to the government to draft its contracts more effectively from the citizens’ perspective and mechanisms for holding private contractors accountable to citizens. Throughout the course, the impact of EU law in this area is closely analysed; and comparative experience from the UK and the US is also considered where relevant. *Course Lecturer: Dr. Catherine Donnelly* Restitution There are no prerequisites for this course, but strong familiarity with the principles of Contract, Equity and Trusts would be a distinct advantage, and good knowledge of the principles of Corporate and Commercial Law and of the Law of Property would be very helpful. Objectives: Restitution is the emergent third head of the private law of obligations, separate and distinct from Contract and Tort. If the Law of Contract is concerned with assumed obligations, and if the Law of Tort is concerned with obligations imposed to remedy wrongs, then the Law of Restitution is concerned with those obligations imposed to reverse unjust enrichments. The subject has matured significantly in recent years in a striking conceptual dialogue between the academy and the bench all over the Common Law world, but it is still in considerable state of flux, giving rise to a fantastic opportunity to participate in the fascinating ongoing process of developing a whole new area of the law. This is of significant theoretical concern, as it engages with many modern academic controversies, including the relationship of the subject with other areas of the law. And it is of significant commercial concern, as it often provides practical solutions to problems arising out of the failure of contracts, corporate collapse and commercial fraud. The aim of this course is to engage with the fundamental elements of this exciting and dynamic subject in an Irish context and to stimulate and promote Irish contributions to the continuing development of the subject in the Common Law world. More *Course Lecturer: Dr. Eoin O'Dell* RESEARCH DISSERTATION The research dissertation, of a maximum of 25,000 words, may be on any theme, subject to the approval of the Director of the LL.M. degree programme and the availability of a supervisor. The dissertation must be submitted on or before 31 July. CONTACTS LL.M. Course Director and Director of Research: Dr Neville Cox, School of Law, Trinity College, Dublin 2 Tel (Country Code + 353) (01) 896 1350; Fax (Country Code + 353) (01) 677 0449; Email: ncox at tcd.ie LL.M. Course Administrator: Ms Kelley McCabe, School of Law, Trinity College, Dublin 2 Tel (Country Code + 353) (01) 679 2392; Fax (Country Code + 353) (01) 677 0449; Email Kelley.McCabe at tcd.ie M.LITT DEGREE PROGRAMME A student registered for the degree of M.Litt. is required to carry out research in a legal topic. The minimum period of research before which a thesis can be submitted is one year from the date of registration, and the maximum period three years. In the case of part-time registration, the minimum period of research before a thesis can be submitted will be two years from the date of registration and the maximum period four years. For details of Research Areas see Postgraduate Student Research Subjects PH.D DEGREE PROGRAMME The minimum qualifications for admission as a Ph.D. student are higher than those for admission as an M.Litt student. In particular, applicants must show evidence of marked aptitude for research. Applicants are normally accepted on to the Ph.D. register only after they have spent a period on the M.Litt register during which this aptitude is assessed. More difficult topics and more extensive and deeper research are required for the Ph.D. than for the M.Litt. The minimum period of research before which a thesis can be submitted is two years from the date of registration, and the maximum period five years. Where part-time registration is permitted, the minimum period of research before a thesis can be submitted is three years from the date of registration, and the maximum period seven years. A student must normally spend at least two years in full-time supervised research within the University. Modifications to this requirement will be made only in exceptional circumstances. However, a Ph.D. thesis will only be accepted for examination if two full annual fees have been paid by the candidate. No exception will be made to this regulation. When any modification is proposed, the applicant will be considered for admission only on to the M.Litt register, and transfer to the Ph.D. register will be made only if there is strong evidence that all aspects of the arrangement are satisfactory. Current Post-Graduate Research Pages ADMISSIONS Please note that applications for admission to the LL.M programme are invited from graduates holding a good honors law or law based interdisciplinary degree. Admission to the programme is at the exclusive discretion of the LL.M sub-committee and admission requirements may vary from year to year. Students whose first language is not English will be required to provide evidence of competency in this language through one of the well established international standard tests such as TOEFL or IELTS. A computerised TOEFL score of at least 230 or a manual score of at least 570 is required. Alternatively, an IELTS grade of at least 6.5 is required or a Cambridge Certificate of at least Grade C. The LL.M. Brochure can be downloaded here. Please note this is not the 2008/09 brochure. Updates will be available soon. To receive a copy of the LL.M brochure email Kelley McCabe at Kelley.McCabe at tcd.ie To receive application forms contact the Graduate Studies Office Arts Building, Trinity College Dublin 2. Tel. 353 1 896 1166; fax 353 1 671 2821; email: gradinfo at tcd.ie The LLM application form and all relevant instructions can be downloaded from http://www.tcd.ie/Graduate_Studies/prospectivestudents/howtoapply/index.php All completed application forms should be returned to Graduate Studies, (Taught Course Admissions), Trinity College no later than 1st April of the year admission is sought. For the Trinity College Postgraduate Prospectus and other additional information please visit the Graduate Studies website: http://www.tcd.ie/Graduate_Studies/

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS:

Advocacy in Mediation
This interactive course will cover a theoretical and practical examination of the role of the lawyer in the mediation process covering deciding to mediate, selection of a mediator, pre-mediation submissions, negotiation techniques, preparation for and representing the client's broad range of interests at mediation, confidentiality, lawyer and mediator ethics, Court-annexed mediation programs, and the mediation process through its use of lecture, discussion, video and role-playing.
Course Lecturer: Mr. John P. Madden

African Human Rights Law
The course analyses core aspects of African human rights law. It examines the application in the African context of international human rights instruments, with special emphasis on the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and Protocol. It assesses the exten to which the Charter has influenced domestic legal systems in Africa. Several specific human rights themes are examined, including hte death penalty, fair trial rights , the right to healthcare, equality issues, prisoner's rights, freedom of expression and the rights of ethnic and religious minorities. So far as domestic legal systems are analysed, the emphasis will be on the position in Commonwealth states.
Course Lecturer: Professor William Binchy

Alternative Dispute Resolution in Ireland
Alternative Dispute Resolution in Ireland will explore Commercial Arbitration & Mediation, Law and Procedure. It will be concerned solely with the Arbitration and Mediation of commercial disputes and will not address in any great detail such matters as statutory schemes or family mediation. The course will be taught by means of lectures and seminars and will be supplemented by guest seminars/lectures involving practising Irish arbitrators/mediators and experts. The syllabus is designed to provide students with a detailed knowledge of Irish law and procedure relating to arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution processes. A special feature of the course will be the Award Writing component, which will provide a grounding in the construction and analysis of reasoned arbitral awards.
Course Lecturer: Mr. Oliver J. Connolly BL

Comparative Civil Rights
In this course, we will be engaging in a critical analysis of various matters connected with civil liberties and civil rights and will be doing through the vehicle of comparative law. Thus we will consider various issues (listed below) having regard to the approach taken to these issues in amongst others, Ireland, Germany, United States, South Africa, Council of Europe and, on occasion, other states including a theoretical Islamic state. The issues considered are

The concept of universal Human Rights and civil liberties as well as universal understandings of what these rights entail and the principled bases on which these rights can be restricted.

The Right to Privacy both generally and in the following contexts

The issue of “unconventional sexual practices”
Justifying restrictions on the right to privacy by reference to moral concerns
Abortion
Gay Marriage

The right to Freedom of Expression both generally and with a specific focus on the concept of offensive expressions including blasphemy against Islam, cross burning and Nazi marches in the United states and Holocaust denial in Germany.

The class will involve pre-lecture preparation and considerable class participation. In addition, students will, on occasion be asked to prepare presentations to be given in class. Assessment will be by way of exam, but the presentations in question will count for 20% of the final grade.
Course Lecturer: Dr. Neville Cox BL

Comparative Public Law
This course will examine public administration and judicial review in four jurisdictions: the EU, the US, the UK and Ireland. After reviewing the usefulness and appropriateness of comparative law in a public law context, the course will be divided into two parts. Part One will examine federalism and multi-level governance in the US and the EU, as contrasted with the unitary executives of Ireland and the UK. This part of the course will also examine new techniques of governance, such as regulation, privatization and public-private partnerships, and consider their impact on democracy and human rights. Part Two of the course will consider the way in which public law controls the operation of government, and examine themes such as governmental accountability, democratic legitimacy, openness in government, separation of powers, and human rights protection.
Course Lecturer: Ms. Catherine Donnelly

Corporate Governance
Corporate Governance concerns the question of whose interests should be served by a company and how to ensure that managerial decisions do indeed further these interests. This course offers a general introduction to the concept of corporate governance and self-regulation and the legal regime governing Irish companies. The course contains a theoretical component and will address the separation of ownership and control and “agency cost” problems. Practical constraints on managerial conduct, the structure and function of the board of directors, shareholders and shareholder remedies will also be explored. The course will also address the topics of corporate social responsibility and business ethics. International trends in corporate governance will also be explored with a particular focus on the role of institutional investors.
Course Lecturer: Dr. Ailbhe O’Neill BL, The Honourable Mr. Justice Ronan Keane

Criminal Evidence
This course will examine contemporary issues relating to the gathering and presentation of evidence in the Irish criminal justice system. The topics to be discussed will include: the exclusionary rule in relation to unlawfully obtained evidence, developments in the law relating to confessions, forensic scientific evidence, the proposed DNA database, and evidentiary rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. Some prior knowledge of the law of evidence is recommended. The course will combine lectures with class discussion and group presentations. Assessment will be based on essays and research papers.
Course Lecturer: Dr. Liz Heffernan

Cross-Border Commercial Litigation in Europe
The overall aim of this course is to give students a practical familiarity with the common European rules of private international law applying in civil and commercial matters. These rules deal with the often difficult issues that arise in the institution and conduct of civil and commercial proceedings in Europe involving more than one state.
Course Lecturer: Mr. Jonathan Newman BL

EC Competition Law
This course presumes a basic acquaintance with the institutional law of the European Communities (e.g. the various roles of the institutions and the types of legislation) and focuses on the substantive law of competition applicable to undertakings. The course focuses on the EC Treaty articles on competition and on the programmatic secondary legislation, much of it recent. Secondarily, reference will be made to the Commission's Notices on competition policy and the decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Communities and decisions of the European Commission. Some attention will be given to Article 90 (EC) and to the Irish law on competition, which in substance, but not in institutional structure, mirrors the EC system.
Course Lecturer: Dr. Diarmuid Rossa Phelan BL

Employment Litigation
The LL.M. course in Employment Litigation aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the nature of employment litigation in Ireland. In order to do this, the course integrates an analysis of substantive employment law issues with a consideration of key procedural rules, enabling the governing doctrinal principles of employment law to be understood in a practical setting.

In particular, the course aims to provide a thorough overview of the many different legal fora in which redress is sought in the employment context in Ireland, and of the nature of the litigation that is instituted in each forum. Throughout the course, attention is focused upon topical and emerging judicial and legislative developments in the area and on the effects of these developments on employment litigation in practice.
Course Lecturer: Mr. Des Ryan BL

EU Banking Law
This targeted course will focus on the narrower EU and Irish banking and credit union (friendly societies) and related markets. Topics will include the EU, prudential and competition frameworks in which financial institutions operate within Ireland and the EU; how financial institutions are regulated; how the central bank of the EU, the European Central Bank, fits in to the scheme of regulation; attempts to regulate competition amongst banks and credit unions; Irish-EU coordination; consumer issues; interest groups in the banking sector; and, important treaty and secondary legislation. Additional topics to be discussed throughout the course will include the impact of monetary union and the accession of new member states to the banking system; and, a comparison with other bank regulatory systems throughout the world. An optional visit to the European Central Bank located in Germany will be planned.
Course Lecturer: Mr. Alan Rabkin

EC Environmental Law
The course introductory material covers the evolving legal basis for environmental action, the principles of European environmental law and techniques for environmental management. This is followed by a series of lectures and presentations on substantive aspects of EC environmental law including EC conservation and biodiversity law, horizontal measures, water protection, air pollution, waste and climate change. Students are expected to participate actively in class and to prepare a substantial research paper. The course will focus on policy considerations and how they have been achieved at EC and Member State level by reference to practical cases and experience. Topics covered may change according to the research interests of the lecturer and the time available.
Course Lecturer: Professsor Yvonne Scannell

European Human Rights Law
This course examines various aspects of international human rights law, and discusses the general themes of which human rights can and should be protected by the international legal order, for example whether the international community should attempt to regulate the cultural practice of female circumcision. Particular emphasis is placed on the European Convention on Human Rights, which is often described as the most successful human rights system in the world. The course examines the institutional structure of the ECHR system and also certain substantive rights protected by the ECHR, such as freedom from torture, freedom of expression, and family rights. The likely impact of incorporation of the ECHR into Irish law, potentially a very significant development, is also considered.
Course Lecturer: Ms. Grainne Mullan BL

European Intellectual Property Law
The protection of intellectual property law rights raises a multiplicity of issues in Community law. On the one hand, the recognition and protection of such rights is an essential part of a functioning and dynamic market economy. On the other, such rights may present a direct threat to the unification of the internal market. This course will examine the attempts made to reconcile these two aspects of intellectual property rights both by the Court of Justice and by the Community legislative powers. Topics covered will include the application of the EU Treaty provisions and secondary legislation applicable to copyright, patents, trade marks and industrial design rights. The course will be of particular use to those wishing to work in a commercial environment, however any student seeking to understand how Community law works in practice will find it relevant.
Course Lecturer: Ms. Imelda Higgins BL

European Tax Law
It is no longer possible to consider the national tax systems of Member States of the European Union in isolation from the Community legal order. The requirements of Community law increasingly, through the processes of both positive and negative integration, form a jurisprudence of meta rules with which Member State tax systems must comply. European Tax law will examine the implications of this fascinating and fast developing field. The following areas will be explored during the course: The institutional framework and historical background to Community tax law; The impact of the fundamental freedoms on Member State systems of taxation ; The harmonisation of Value Added Tax; The Community Customs Code, Excises and Capital Duty; The Harmonisation of Direct Taxes; State Aid rules and Member State taxation; Member State co-operation and dispute resolution; The European Convention on Human Rights; The interaction of European Community tax law and international tax law.
Method of Assessment is by means of essay and an end of semester examination of two hours duration. Essay and examination account for 50% of the marks respectively.
Course Lecturer: Mr. Niall O'Hanlon BL

EU Travel and Tourism Law
In the past, the law relating to package holiday contracts comprised a substantial measure of courses on travel and tourism law. In recent years, however, the sales of package holidays have declined but, with the advent of the Internet and the rise of the budget airlines, the volume of independent travellers has increased exponentially. As a consequence this course focuses not only on package holidays, but also on the legal rights of the independent traveller, in particular in relation to carriage by air, rail and sea and the booking of accommodation abroad.

Given that package holidays are still important for literally tens of millions of consumers in the European Union, this course will, first of all, explore the concept of a ‘package’ from a legal perspective. Secodly, we will look at the law of contract in relation to package holidays, in particular, but also other forms of travel contracts in general. Thirdly, we will examine, in depth, the manner in which travel contracts are regulated by the criminal law. In this context, both the Package Holidays and Travel Trade Act, 1995 and the Consumer Protection Act, 2007 are of major significance.

In the concluding part of this course, we will assess several important aspects of travel law which fall outside the spheres of both contract law and criminal law, but which are essential in order to complete the complex interlocking jigsaw of EU Travel and Tourism law. This final part of the course will examine the legal position of travel agents, the protection afforded consumers through the bonding and security system established by the Package Holidays and Travel Trade Act, 1995; an overview of the practical aspects of both arbitration and litigation in travel cases ; an exploration of the pitfalls inherent in the conclusion of accommodation contracts over the Internet ; and, finally, to meet the needs of independent travellers who do not have a tour operator to sue as their ‘mark’ for damages, insights into how to pursue an action against a foreign supplier of holiday and tourism services.
Course Lecturer: Mr. Alex Schuster BL

EU Sports Business Law
This course focuses on aspects of the relationship between the law and the business of sport in Europe and beyond. Sport is a global multi-billion euro industry and generates significant legal issues in the areas of contract law, commercial law, intellectual property law, competition law and general European Community law. To this extent we consider the issues such as Sport as commercial property;, Contractual issues arising in a Sports Business law context; The protection of the revenue earning potential of sport; The European freedoms and sport from Bosman to Meca-Medi;, Legal aspects of the organisation of a sporting event; Competition law and sport generally and Television and sport.
Course Lecturer: Dr. Neville Cox BL and Mr. Alex Schuster BL

EU Securities Law
This course will focus on the EU securities markets and the relevant regulatory regimes, and will complement the EU Financial Services Law course. Topics will include an overview of the institutions that play a part in the securities markets, their functions and the prudential and competitive frameworks in which such institutions must operate; EU efforts to achieve a single securities market and the free movement of capital; the methods of offering securities to the public under the available regulatory regimes; concerns related to market integrity and investor protection; and a general overview of the financial products available to investors, including securitizations and structured products. Topics covered will be described through current events wherever possible. Knowledge of mathematics, economics or finance is absolutely not necessary.
Course Lecturer: Donald MacLean

Freedom of Expression
The basic idea of the course is to give content to the Irish constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression by focussing on recent important speech jurisprudence, doctrine and research in Ireland and in other jurisdictions, such as Australia, Canada, the UK, the US, and the European Convention on Human Rights, with examples also drawn from other jurisdictions such as New Zealand,
Germany and the European Union. The main pedagogical objective is to deepen and broaden the dialogue between the Irish constitution and other relevant documents on the one hand, and the constitutions and basic human rights documents in other similar common law and European jurisdictions on the other, by examining not only the extent to which Irish constitutional and legal soil may either take transplants of external freedom of expression norms or grow its own similar norms in a process of parallel evolution but also the converse case of the extent to which international norms can be influenced by Irish developments.

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Course Lecturer: Dr. Eoin O'Dell

EU Financial Services Law
This survey course will focus on the broader EU and Irish financial services sector with major emphasis on the important sub-sectors of financial institutions, pension schemes, securities and insurance and cross-border expansion. Topics include an overview of the EU and Irish regulatory frameworks; important exemptions; jurisdiction to regulate; EU-Irish law coordination and the study of important treaty and secondary legislation. Also investigated throughout the course will be how the EU-Irish financial services regulatory scheme compares to the regulation of financial services throughout other parts of the world, such as the United States, Japan and China. A guest speaker from the Irish Financial Regulator will be planned.
Course Lecturer: Mr. Alan Rabkin

Globalisation & Law
In the present era of globalisation we are witnessing the collapse of national barriers in the face of the international movement of capital, workers, commodities, ideas and communications of every kind. The ending of the Cold War, the increasing power of international corporations, the development of information technology and the expansion of air travel have had a huge impact in changing global culture and on our understanding of law. The traditional models of nation states and international law have given way to challenges to the concept of sovereignty, the development of international human rights tribunals, such as the International Criminal Court, the extension of new international legal rights and duties to non-state actors and the development of new models of global administrative regulation.

The course on Globalisation and Law seeks to examine these developments in order to gain new insights into the nature and purpose of law. It analyses how globalisation has changed traditional approaches to public and private international law, human rights law, international trade law, freedom of expression (in relation to such matters as defamation, pornography and incitement to hatred), political dissent, terrorism and cultural and religious diversity.
Course Lecturer: Professor William Binchy

International Economic Law

International Economic Law concerns the legal regulation of trade between states. The courses focuses on the organisations put in place to regulate economic relationships between states most notably, the World Trade Organisation and the international treaties, which it enforces such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The course examines trade in goods, services and the international regulation of intellectual property. Consideration is given to the international rules governing free trade such as most favoured nation status, national treatment rules and rules against tariffs and other barriers to inter state trade. Defences to breaches of these rules will be looked at. Finally the negotiation of trade agreements and the rules relating to international trade disputes are reviewed. Course Lecturer: TP Kennedy

International Family Law
International Family Law concerns aspects of international law that relates to families and also domestic law that applies to international families. This course will introduce international human rights norms relating to families and family life as well as private international law rules that affect families, and also examine the interaction between the two. Individual topics will include marriage, separation and divorce, child custody, abduction and adoption, and maintenance and spousal support. Particular focus will be placed on European rules and the Hague Conventions although other convention and the domestic rules of various States will also be examined.
Course Lecturer: Ms Eimear Long

International Tax Law
International tax law is an interesting and developing area of law that is of importance not only to corporate commercial activity but also to questions of fairness as between developed and developing nations. This course will examine the fundamentals of international taxation from a legal perspective before going on to consider the key emerging trends in this branch of the law. The following areas will be explored during the course: Jurisdiction to tax and the problem of international double taxation; Methods of relief from international double taxation; The OECD and UN Model Tax Treaties; Interpretation of Tax Treaties; International Tax Planning; International Tax Avoidance and Tax Havens; International Tax Policy
Method of Assessment is by means of essay and an end of semester examination of two hours duration. Essay and examination account for 50% of the marks respectively.
Course Lecturer: Mr. Niall O'Hanlon BL

International Trade Law
International Economic Law draws on certain issues of International Economic Law and Public International Law. It builds on some of the material covered in the International Economic Law but can be taken independently of it. This course will examine a number of controversial trade issues and considers the approach of law and regulation to them. The course commences with a consideration of the issue of development and the special rules applicable to developing nations. It then moves on to look at the issues surrounding international trade and agriculture, the conflicts that can arise between international environmental law and international trade law and finally will examine issues of international trade and competition law.
Course Lecturer: TP Kennedy

Internet Law and Regulation
The Internet occupies an important place in our modern world but its free development and cross-border nature raise difficult questions concerning law and regulation. While technology moves rapidly, legal and regulatory mechanisms have not been able to match that pace and much of what has become accepted practice in relation to Internet regulation falls into the grey area of soft law.

The objective of this course is to permit students to develop an understanding of the area which will enable them to adopt a searching approach to the challenges posed by the Internet and other electronic media in terms of both the application of existing laws to an electronic age and the difficulty in obtaining a co-ordinated international approach to regulation of the Internet. This course will begin with a consideration of the origins of the Internet which will give an insight into relevant regulatory institutions such as ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) and WIPO (The World Intellectual Property Organisation) and domestic Irish institutions such as the IEDR (the Irish domain registry). The course will then consider a range of issues under the umbrella of Internet governance such as electronic contract formation, consumer protection issues relating to e-commerce, defamation and the Internet, the regulation of website domain names and the legal response to issues such as cybercrime and spam.
Course Lecturer: Deirdre Ahern

Introduction to International Criminal Law
This course will provide an overview of the structures, principles and emerging issues in international criminal law. Students will be given an introduction to the institutions and sources of international criminal law, from its inception at the Nuremberg Tribunal through the ad hoc UN tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia to the establishment of the permanent International Criminal Court. The course will analyse some of the major international and national prosecutions for breaches of international criminal law, and will examine the legal basis for and definitions of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Substantive and procedural issues of jurisdiction and the obligation to prosecute, admissibility, individual criminal responsibility, fair trial rights, evidence, victim participation and sentencing will also be examined. The course will conclude with a focus on current legal and political challenges and potential future developments for international criminal law.
Course Lecturer: Niamh Hayes

Judicial Activism, Human Rights and the Indian Constitution
The Supreme Court of India has a well justified reputation for judicial activism. This course analyses the Court’s jurisprudence on a range of themes, including equality, religious liberty, public interest litigation, gender, freedom of speech, preventive detention and environmental protection. It addresses questions relating to democracy and the limits of judicial activism, as well as considering other agencies for the protection of human rights in India.
Course Lecturer: Prof William Binchy

Jurisprudence
This course focuses on the question "what is law?" and methodology and epistemology in jurisprudence. The course moves from understanding the difficulty of identifying law in a modern legal system, to issues of continuity and revolution in legal systems, to a roundup of some schools of analysis of the fundamental question what is law, and moves about half way through the course to fundamental epistemological issues and their relationship to the question "what is law?". Students are required to read and think between seminars, and to handwrite or type about 7 short essays (a few pages), and be prepared to participate in class. The purpose of the essays and their correction is to improve student performance in examination, and do not count towards the final mark.
Course Lecturer: Dr. Diarmuid Rossa Phelan BL

The Legal System of Timor Leste
Timor Leste (East Timor) has had a difficult emergence into independence. Having asserted its freedom from Portugal in 1975 it was occupied by Indonesia until 1999, when Indonesia departed, leaving behind a trail of destruction. The U.N. assumed responsibility. In 2002 a new Constitution came into effect. This course examines the legal system of Timor Leste. How a small country establishes itself in an entirely new constitutional order is a fascinating study of law in action.
Course Lecturer: Professor William Binchy

Media: European Media Law Regulation and Policy
- Would British politics be different if Tony Blair owned ITV, Channel 4, Sky, and Manchester United? Regulating competition and ownership is a very sensitive political issue. Can we even trust the media to report on it accurately?
- Over the past 15 years, we have seen an increase in the amount of broadcasting outlets, but in many states, a simultaneous reduction in the diversity of ownership. What use are 57 channels if Murdoch is all that’s on?

The legal and administrative regulation of media structure, delivery and content, though still largely a matter of national law, is increasingly becoming an international one. European institutions, such as the Council of Europe and the European Union are progressively playing ever more crucial roles in the determination of media law, policy and regulation. The purpose of this course is to provide orientation in and a critical understanding of the media policies of the European Union and Council of Europe, of the legal rules that govern content issues in the European media industry, and some of the important technological issues that influence or hinder such policies and laws. In particular, the aim is to induce in participants in the course the capacity of critical reflection upon the evolution of European media law, policy and regulation as a matter of politics, policy and practice, on the one hand, and of academic discussion, analysis and scholarship, on the other.

The module runs for a two hour class each week in the second semester. It will be taught by lectures, practical exercises and discussions, and there will be significant use of electronic materials, research tools, teaching resources and so on. Participants will be expected to prepare materials in advance and to participate in the class exercises each week; this class participation will be recorded and evaluated, and will be worth 15% of the overall mark. There will be a compulsory piece of independent research worth 35%. And there will be a final two-hour open-book examination worth 50%.

If you are interested, you can download a full description of the course here, including a statement of the aims, objectives and outcomes of the course, a description of its key themes, and a detailed course outline and bibliography, as well full details of participation activities and assessment.
Course Lecturer: Dr. Eoin O'Dell

Medicine and the Law
This subject involves consideration of aspects of the health care system, including professional malpractice, informed consent to treatment, research, mental disability, abortion, new reproductive technologies, organ donation, euthanasia and assisted suicide.
Course Lecturers: Professor William Binchy, Dr. Ciaran Craven BL and Dr. Neville Cox BL

Product Liability in Europe
The course examines aspects of product liability in Europe, including contractual warranties, common law negligence, the Product Liability and Product Safety Directives, product liability litigation, problems of proof, damages, limitation of actions and jurisdictional and choice of law issues.
Course Lecturers: Professor William Binchy and Mr. Alex Schuster BL

Key Issues in Private International Law
Private International Law is at present undergoing a major transformation as it seeks to come to terms with contemporary developments in human rights, regional realignments and the increasing international remit of modern constitutions. The course examines these developments and their impact on traditional approaches to jurisdiction, choice of law and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. It looks in particular at how private international law has become part of the European Community and Union Law project.
Course Lecturer: Professor William Binchy

Public Procurement Law
This course aims to provide students with a comprehensive overview of government contracting. Increasingly, the government enters into public-private partnerships and other public contracts as a means of delivering public services, such as healthcare and housing. This course examines the procedures used by the government when it decides to enter into contracts; the extent to which the government uses contracts to promote secondary policies such as assisting the vulnerable in society; the interactions between public procurement and competition law and state aid; and the remedies available when the government violates requirements of procedural fairness and transparency when contracting. In addition, the course will consider the options available to the government to draft its contracts more effectively from the citizens’ perspective and mechanisms for holding private contractors accountable to citizens. Throughout the course, the impact of EU law in this area is closely analysed; and comparative experience from the UK and the US is also considered where relevant.
Course Lecturer: Dr. Catherine Donnelly

Restitution
There are no prerequisites for this course, but strong familiarity with the principles of Contract, Equity and Trusts would be a distinct advantage, and good knowledge of the principles of Corporate and Commercial Law and of the Law of Property would be very helpful.

Objectives: Restitution is the emergent third head of the private law of obligations, separate and distinct from Contract and Tort. If the Law of Contract is concerned with assumed obligations, and if the Law of Tort is concerned with obligations imposed to remedy wrongs, then the Law of Restitution is concerned with those obligations imposed to reverse unjust enrichments. The subject has matured significantly in recent years in a striking conceptual dialogue between the academy and the bench all over the Common Law world, but it is still in considerable state of flux, giving rise to a fantastic opportunity to participate in the fascinating ongoing process of developing a whole new area of the law. This is of significant theoretical concern, as it engages with many modern academic controversies, including the relationship of the subject with other areas of the law. And it is of significant commercial concern, as it often provides practical solutions to problems arising out of the failure of contracts, corporate collapse and commercial fraud. The aim of this course is to engage with the fundamental elements of this exciting and dynamic subject in an Irish context and to stimulate and promote Irish contributions to the continuing development of the subject in the Common Law world.

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Course Lecturer: Dr. Eoin O'Dell