Legal Studies

This is a Public International law and European Union law course for political science students. It focuses on the legal structures underpinning international relations, covering selected topics to provide the basic concepts for understanding the nature and function of International Law and EU Law. Students will deepen their understanding of the complex legal framework governing international and European affairs, shaping contemporary international politics and global governance. The course covers: the making and sources of International Law; subjects of International Law; responsibility in International Law; settlement of disputes and enforcement of International law: the return of sovereignism and use of force; the crisis of post-Second World War international law: the restoration of aggressive use of force in territorial disputes; the EU as a supranational organisation; the EU as an autonomous legal order; the impact of EU law and International Law in domestic systems; the law of the internal market: the fundamental freedoms; the crisis of the rule of law and supranational cooperation in Europe. Written midterm, final exam, group project.

This course introduces ongoing debates on human rights by returning to their philosophical sources, in particular theories of natural law and their long intellectual history. Why were natural law theories the original source of the idea of human rights? Why did they
cease to be the dominant theoretical framework from the nineteenth century onward? What replaced them? Can human rights be conceived without reference to natural law? Do human rights retain their validity if one abandons the idea of a universal human nature? The course is structured around three methodological choices. First, it is situated at the interface of philosophy, legal theory, and legal history. Second, it adopts a long-term historical perspective, ranging from ancient philosophy through the Middle Ages to contemporary theories. Third, it sheds light on present-day debates concerning human rights.

 

From the wearing of the abaya in schools to the dissolution of religious associations and the debate on secularism… current events provide us with numerous examples showing that the law has become the primary arena for debate on the role of religion. It is up to the law to define religion, to set its boundaries, and to determine its legitimate forms and acceptable expressions. This course provides a better understanding of this contemporary demand placed on the law and its professionals (legislators, judges, legal experts, etc.) by tracing the major stages in the establishment of religion as a legal subject. To this end, the course clarifies the interactions between law and the social sciences within the various frameworks (sociological, historical, anthropological) for understanding the relationship between law and religion; draws conclusions regarding the various legal regimes applicable to religion (in France, North America, and European case law); and examines these dynamics in action through several case studies (wearing religious symbols in school, Pastafarianism, circumcision).

Public International Law governs the everyday life of the international society and supplies the fundamental framework for the conduct of the international political process. In this context, it deals mainly, but not exclusively, with the relations of sovereign states inter se and their relations with international organizations, individuals, transnational corporations, ‘peoples’, and other international actors. This course provides the students with an introduction to this field of law. The course provides students with a contemporary introduction to the subject of international law. Further this course provides students with an understanding of the nature and sources of international law; introduces students to the main subject areas of international law and keep them abreast of contemporary developments; introduces students to the principal areas of international conflict and the main actors on the international stage; fosters a critical appreciation of the role played by international law in world affairs; introduces students to the basic international legal research and IT skills using the Library and the Internet; and familiarizes students with the professional role and career choices of the international lawyer.

One person’s carelessness causes another to suffer a broken leg, damage to their car, or a financial loss. Someone plays music too loudly all through the night, disturbing their neighbours’ sleep. One person defames another, or touches their body without their consent. These are examples of torts. Tort law tells us when the person who has suffered injury has a civil right to require the injurer to make repair. Our course examines the fundamental principles and functions of tort law; the general tort of negligence and its application in specific settings (e.g. actions of public authorities, occupiers’ liability); the distinction between negligence and strict liability; liability for defective products; defamation; private nuisance; trespass to the person; and special topics on the kinds of injury that tort law deems worthy of compensation (especially the complex position with regard to psychiatric and economic harm); and the kinds of remedy that it provides to claimants.

Students learn about the major mechanisms for the protection of human rights in the British Constitution and the role that judges have in enforcing human rights and administrative law. As such, students learn about the Human Rights Act 1998, the rule of law as a constitutional value, the process of legal accountability known as judicial review and relevant human rights topics, including but not limited to freedom of expression, the law governing protest in the United Kingdom, freedom of religion, and other relevant human rights topics. This involves detailed consideration of key pieces of primary legislation and international treaties relevant to human rights protection as well as important case law relevant to these topics. Students also consider and engage with many of the ongoing academic debates about these topics.

This course introduces the sector and its principal issues, contracts, and sources of dispute, with lectures on the financing of major energy projects; granting of hydrocarbons rights and related contracts; the power sector and its main contracts; public international law rules on climate change and national litigation; the legal effects of an expanded role for renewable energy in the energy transition; how disputes are typically managed including international treaty and commercial arbitration.

Art and cultural heritage is not only a tool to express the creative value of an artist, of a community, of a movement, it is also inundated and steered by a complex set of legal rules and institutions. Art Law has been quipped as a quixotic way of navigating through concepts from contracts, property, and taxation to deeper, ethical issues such as moral rights, the levity of ethnic repatriation, and memorialization. This course surveys an expanse of topics to serve as an introduction into both art and cultural property law. It traverses the intersectionality of art, culture, and international law in topics as varied from Nazi looted art, generative AI, capitalism in the art market, institutional actors such as auction houses and museums, culture in times of war, and modes of dispute resolution. This course simulates a moot court, on a fictional looted art case. Prior knowledge and artistic inclination is not required for this course (but passion is preferred).

This course is about the problem of crime. It introduces some of the central issues, themes, and concepts involved in thinking critically about crime. Students are concerned with exploring how perspectives drawn from across the social sciences can inform our understanding of this significant contemporary social issue. 

This course provides analysis of white-collar and corporate crimes and deviance. Such acts (or omissions) often occur within the context of international commerce and business, and may be facilitated at the transnational level through the use of offshore financial centers and "shell" firms or third parties in other jurisdictions. This course therefore critically examine the nature and organization of these crimes (e.g., the processes and practices necessary to carry them out), the key social actors involved (e.g., who are the "criminals," why do they do it, and who is being victimized?), and the mixture of responses to such crimes (e.g., enforcement, self-regulation, prevention/reduction, disruption/intervention) at the local, national, and transnational levels. To explore these issues, students examine a number of relevant in-depth case studies such as corporate corruption and bribery, tax avoidance/evasion, and modern slavery.