Legal Studies

The course is structured around a strong theme that runs persistently through all parts of Intellectual Property law. Indicative themes include "the public domain" (which is often construed as an architectonic principle of intellectual property law), and "the incentive effect" (an essential strand in the justification of intellectual property law). The central theme is used to introduce the basic elements of each branch of intellectual property and to focus on examples which illustrate contemporary intellectual property law: the constitution of the public domain in digital environments, the capture of public discourse by leading brands, the impact of incentives in the creation of software, the international dimension of incentives in the pharmaceutical sector. The objective in this introductory course is to develop the skills required to engage critically with the mechanics of each branch through a detailed examination of the chosen theme. 

This course raises questions about state powers to coerce, to intrude into people’s private lives, and to inflict the pains of punishment. In recent years, there has been a radical shift from “just deserts” to “public protection” and prevention of re-offending. Criminal justice policies determined to be “tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime” have led to an astonishing increase in the use of imprisonment. The female prison population, for example, has more than tripled in two decades. The course covers all the major issues including patterns of crime and criminological theories of the causes of, and responses to, criminal behavior. Students examine policing, prosecution, sentencing, and the purpose and effects of imprisonment. Students consider special categories of offender – including children and young people, women, and those considered dangerous. Students examine how political ideology informs and shapes criminal justice policy. At all stages, they consider race, class, and gender and whether the system provides equal rights and protection to defendants, victims, and wider society.

This course offers an introduction to corporate law and to the legal and non-legal governance mechanisms which encourage directors to act in their company's and not in their own interests. The course sets corporate law and governance within its economic and business context, with particular regard to how corporate law and governance mechanisms facilitate or inhibit economic activity. The course adopts an explicitly comparative approach drawing on both UK, US, and continental European law.

This course analyzes the incentives created by laws and legal institutions, as well as their implications for economic activity in a globalized world.

The course examines arbitration procedure laws and rules of international commercial dispute resolution. Topics include characteristics and nature of commercial arbitration; international commercial arbitration agreement and its validity; the composition of the arbitral tribunal and the jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal; the main procedural matters of international commercial arbitration; the cancellation system of international commercial arbitration awards ; Recognition and Enforcement of International Commercial Arbitration Awards; Practice, Legislative Regulations and Improvement of International Commercial Arbitration in China.