University Calendar 2008/9
Section VI : Academic Regulations - Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences
School of Law



MAIN INDEX
PREFACE
SECTION I
SECTION II
SECTION III
SECTION IV
SECTION V
SECTION VI
SECTION VII
SECTION VIII
SECTION IX
ARCHIVE 2002/3
ARCHIVE 2003/4
ARCHIVE 2004/5
ARCHIVE 2005/6
ARCHIVE 2006/7
ARCHIVE 2007/8
Regulations for the Degree of Master of Laws

The degree of Master of Laws (LLM), in any of the eight streams set out in Regulation 5 below, shall be awarded by the Senate to candidates who have satisfactorily completed not less than 12 months full-time study, or 24 months prescribed part-time study, and have passed the required examinations. The degree may be awarded with Distinction, with Merit or at Pass level.

  1. The requirement for entry to the programme shall normally be a good honours degree in Law of any approved university. Candidates with other qualifications may be accepted by the School Board.

  2. A candidate shall be examined or assessed at such time or times as shall be prescribed by the School Board prior to the commencement of the programme and must satisfy the Board of Examiners in a dissertation and each of three topics selected in accordance with Regulation 4 (ii) below.

  3. The programme shall commence in October and shall consist of:

    1. the preparation of a dissertation; and

    2. studies in any four of the following modules which the School Board decides shall be available during the year or years in question:

      • Admiralty
      • Carriage of Goods by Air
      • Carriage of Goods by Sea
      • Commercial Conflict of Laws and International Litigation
      • Comparative Civil Liberties
      • Comparative Competition Law
      • Comparative Intellectual Property Law
      • Comparative Land Laws of Europe
      • Corporate Governance
      • European Land Law
      • European Trusts, Succession and Private Tax Law
      • EU Litigation and European Private Law
      • International Commercial Arbitration
      • International Tax Law
      • International Protection of Human Rights
      • International Law of the Sea
      • International Marine and European Environmental (Liability) Law
      • International Trade Law
      • Internet Law
      • IT Law and Public Policy
      • Legal Regulation of Fraud and Money Laundering
      • Marine Insurance
      • Secured Commercial Lending
      • Unjust Enrichment
      • World Trade Organisation Law and Regional Economic Integration

    3. The School Board shall have power to add to the above list of topics from time to time and also to withdraw any from the list.

    1. Candidates may choose to study for a Master of Laws in any one of the following eight streams: LLM, LLM (Commercial and Corporate Law), LLM (European Law), LLM (European and Comparative Property Law): LLM (International Business Law), LLM (International Law), LLM (Maritime Law), LLM (IT and Commerce).

    2. Candidates wishing to study for the LLM are free to make an unrestricted choice of the optional modules listed in Regulation 4(ii) above.

    3. Without prejudice to Regulation 5(d) below, candidates wishing to study for any of the seven named streams of the LLM must (subject to Head of School's discretion) choose modules from the specific 'stream' as indicated in Appendix 1.

    4. The School Board shall have power to add to and/or withdraw from the above designated degrees and to the modules within each designated degree.

  4. Candidates shall not be entitled to present themselves for any examination unless they have regularly attended and performed the prescribed work for the programme to the satisfaction of the Head of the School of Law. For the purpose of this Regulation, examination shall include all methods of assessment.

  5. Each candidate shall submit the title of his/her dissertation not later than the end of the third week of the third term of the programme. Completed dissertations, which shall be word processed, must be lodged with the School Office by 30 September immediately following the end of the programme. In exceptional cases, and with the permission of the Head of School, the dissertation may be submitted by a later date.

  6. Failure in One Module

    1. A candidate who fails in one module only in the May/June examinations may retake that module in the Supplementary Examinations in August/September of the same year. Coursework is not carried forward and the result is determined solely by the Supplementary Examination.

    2. The deadline for the submission of the dissertation will normally remain the last Friday in September of the same year and the candidate will receive dissertation supervision in the usual way during the summer of that year.

    3. A candidate covered by paragraphs 8(i) and 8(ii) may only submit his or her dissertation by the usual deadline of the last Friday in September if he or she has passed the module retaken in the Supplementary Examinations.

  7. Failure of a Retaken Module

    1. A candidate who fails a retaken module in the Supplementary Examinations in August/September (and who cannot therefore, under paragraph 8(iii) above, submit their dissertation in September of the same year) is entitled to an automatic right to re-sit all four modules in May/June of the following year and will be required to take the papers set for that occasion - see paragraphs 12(i) and 12(ii) below. A resit candidate's dissertation must be submitted by the last Friday in September of the year in which they satisfy the Board of Examiners in their resit examinations with no further dissertation supervision being provided.

    2. Should such a candidate fail to satisfy the examiners in their automatic right of resit they will not be entitled to any further retake or resit unless there are medical or other personal problems to justify the candidate being Deemed Not Sat. The candidate's programme will normally be terminated.

  8. Failure in two or more Modules

    A candidate who fails in two or more modules in the May/June examinations is entitled to an automatic right to resit all four modules in the Supplementary Examinations in August/September of the same year or in May/June of the following year, at their election. This choice must be communicated in writing to the School Office within two weeks of the publication of the examination results in May/June.

  9. Automatic Right of Resit in the same year

    1. Where the candidate exercises their automatic right of resit at the Supplementary Examinations in August/September of the same year, coursework is not carried forward and the result is determined solely by the supplementary examination or, where assessment is fully by coursework, by submission of new coursework. Provided the candidate satisfies the Board of Examiners in their automatic right of resit, the deadline for the submission of the dissertation will be the last Friday in October of the same year and the candidate will receive dissertation supervision in the usual way during the summer of that year.

    2. A candidate who fails to satisfy the Board of Examiners in one or more modules in their automatic right of resit is not entitled to a retake or further resit unless there are medical or other personal problems to justify the candidate being Deemed Not Sat. The candidate's programme will normally be terminated.

  10. Automatic Right of Resit in the following year

    1. A candidate exercising their automatic right of resit in May/June of the year following that in which they failed to satisfy the Board of Examiners, whether under paragraph 9(i) or 10 above, will normally do so as an external student and will be assessed solely by examination. Where a failed module has been assessed solely by coursework, the candidate's performance will normally be determined by the submission of new coursework.

    2. At the discretion of School Board, a candidate may be allowed to repeat the year as an internal student. Where a candidate sits as an internal student they will be required to study the same modules and to submit and be assessed in new coursework and examinations in accordance with the modules resat. Where a module(s) is unavailable, an internal resit student must study an alternative module(s) from the options available. In exercising its discretion to grant a student internal status, the School Board will take into consideration all the circumstances of the case including the cause of failure (eg: illness or study issues), past attendance record and the availability of School resources to accommodate another internal attempt.

    3. Where the candidate exercises their automatic right of resit in May/June of the following year under paragraph 10 above, whether as an external or an internal student, the deadline for submission of the dissertation will be the last Friday in September of the year in which they satisfy the Board of Examiners in their resit examinations and supervision will be given in the summer of that year.

    4. A candidate who fails to satisfy the Board of Examiners in one or more papers in their automatic right of resit will not be entitled to submit their dissertation nor are they entitled to a retake or further resit unless there are medical or other personal problems to justify the candidate being Deemed Not Sat. The candidate's programme will normally be terminated.

  11. Failure in the Dissertation

    1. The deadline for submission of a dissertation will be the last Friday in September of any given year except in the case of a candidate exercising their automatic right of resit in the same year when the deadline will be the last Friday in October.

    2. A candidate failing to satisfy the Board of Examiners in the dissertation will be notified of that failure following the LLM Examination Board held after submission and may re-submit a dissertation on the same topic on one subsequent occasion.

    3. The deadline for that one re-submission is 30 September following notification to the student of failure in the dissertation. Candidates re-submitting a dissertation are not entitled to any further supervision.

  12. Part-time Degree

    1. Failure in One Module
      A candidate who fails in one module only in the May/June examinations may retake that module in the Supplementary Examinations in August/September of the same year. Coursework is not carried forward and the resit is determined solely by the Supplementary Examination.

    2. Failure of a Retaken Module
      A candidate who fails a retaken paper in the Supplementary Examinations in August/September is entitled to an automatic right to re-sit the two modules sat in that year in May/June of the following year and will be required to take the papers set for that occasion - see paragraphs 12(i) and 12(ii) above. Should such a candidate fail to satisfy the examiners in their automatic right of resit, they will not be entitled to a retake or further resit unless there are medical or other personal problems to justify the candidate being Deemed Not Sat. The candidate's programme will normally be terminated.

    3. Failure in Two Modules
      A candidate who fails in two modules in the May/June examinations is entitled to an automatic right to the resit of those two modules*. The resit will normally be exercised by sitting the Supplementary Examinations in August/September of the same year. Any coursework is not carried forward and the result of the resit is determined solely by the supplementary examination or, where assessment is fully by coursework, by submission of new coursework.
      * The automatic right to resit two modules will apply in each year of part-time study.

    4. Failure of Automatic Right of Resit
      A candidate who fails to satisfy the Board of Examiners in one or more papers in their automatic right of resit is not entitled to a retake or further resit unless there are medical or other personal problems to justify the candidate being Deemed Not Sat. The candidate's programme will normally be terminated.

    5. Dissertation
      The deadline for the submission of a candidate's dissertation is the last Friday in September after the candidate has satisfied the examiners in all four modules. In the normal programme supervision of the dissertation is provided during the summer of the candidate's second year of study.

    6. Carrying a Retake
      A candidate with a right of retake which has arisen as a result of the failure of one module taken as if for the first time in the Supplementary Examinations in August/September may continue their programme of study into a second year and exercise their right of retake at the May/June examinations of that second year of study.

    7. Progression
      A candidate is not permitted to carry an automatic right of resit of two modules but must satisfy the examiners in their resit examinations before they are permittedto continue with their programme of study.

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Submitted by the Secretariat
Last reviewed: 17-Jul-2008
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