Legal Studies

International environmental law (IEL) is an innovative, dynamic, and rapidly developing field that seeks to address global environmental issues such as the impacts of, amongst others, climate change and illegal trade in endangered species. As the causes, effects, and potential solutions of such global phenomena transcend national boundaries, international cooperation is increasingly important as reflected in a growing number of international environmental agreements. This course offers an overview of the evolution of IEL, as well as an introduction to the major concepts, cases, and principles that shape effective global environmental governance. Throughout the course, attention is focused on international responses to environmental issues with a transboundary or global scope. Following the introductory lectures, which set the scene by introducing the rules and principles of IEL, students have an opportunity to explore the role of international law in regulating environmental problems such as, inter alia, climate change, biodiversity loss, wildlife trading, and marine pollution. Students also consider the role of IEL in strengthening the rights of nature movement, as well as the governance of the oceans, the Arctic, and Antarctica.

This course discusses modern democratic countries through introducing the Taiwan constitution. Students should have concepts of the law, familiar with basic rights, and maintaining political system and social order. This course invite presenters from different professional field to discuss different social topics.

The objective of this course is to assess the means available to the international community when addressing challenges such as armed conflict, terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, organized crime, and refugee crisis in a coordinated manner. The course is construed around different thematic security threats and critically assesses the way in which the international community attempts to address these issues. The role of the UN Security Council is crucial in this context but it is not the sole actor of relevance when addressing security related issues. Since the starting point of the assessment remains a legal one, this course is not only about what ideally should be done, but also what can lawfully be done under international law. The course encompass both a written policy brief as well as an oral component in the form of a simulated televised interview.

The course places anti-discrimination law in a broader context: theoretical justifications for the anti-discrimination principle are examined, and use is made of historical and social science material where appropriate. The course makes clear the assumptions which underlie traditional thinking concerning anti-discrimination law, and expose these to critical scrutiny. This task is especially important because of the recent expansion and consolidation of anti-discrimination law in Great Britain, as a result of the Human Rights Act 1998, the new anti-discrimination directives under Article 19 TFEU, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and the Equality Act 2010.

This course introduces the lawyer's profession practically and theoretically from an international perspective. The first part of the course explores the provisions governing the exercise of the lawyer's job in various legal systems, across multiple jurisdictions, and at the different levels of courts. The second part of the course focuses on the various manners to practice as a lawyer, from a comparative legal perspective, by studying the traditional missions of advising, representing, defending, and assisting clients in legal proceedings; as well as the lesser-known missions of negotiating, mediating, facilitating, and lobbying. The third part of the course explores the everyday practical reality of the profession of an international lawyer in several areas of law and across various industries and sectors, including the key concepts and technical issues related to the exercise of the legal profession in a disruptive post-Covid-19 world.