Our flexible LLM gives you the freedom to tailor your studies to suit your career aspirations, and graduate with an LLM in International Business Law, Business Law or Law depending on the modules you choose and the subject of your dissertation. On this course you will delve deeper into core aspects of business law and regulations in domestic and international contexts. We will introduce you to common law and civil law legal systems, and compare approaches to legislative interpretation, use of precedent and codification.

From international trade contracts to the international exploitation of intellectual property rights, or examination of how the internet works and the legal problems that arise from it, the areas of study we offer within the international private corporate and commercial law specialism are vast and specialised.

Our diverse range of modules equip you with the skills and knowledge needed to develop your career, whether you want to work in law, management, exporting, consultancy, or academia. Study in a setting that encourages debate and meaningful discussions on international business practices, and protections that the law gives. Your learning will also benefit from the close links that Leicester De Montfort Law School maintains with local and national companies.

Key features

• Gain an edge in this competitive field and set yourself up for international employment opportunities by learning in greater depth about the common law and civil law approaches to business law.
• Design your own course. The diverse range of specialist modules within the course will allow you to tailor your studies to meet your career aspirations.
• Enjoy a diverse learning experience with students from other legal systems.
• Widen your career options. This course will prepare you for employment in international fields such as management, exporting and consultancy or academia.
• Learn from lecturers with extensive academic international experience from a wide variety of backgrounds. In addition to academic and research expertise, the teaching team also includes experienced legal practitioners, to give the course a balance of practical and academic focus.

“The course took the learning content beyond the remit of the classroom by providing us with real-world challenges and showing us the implications of legal procedures on business practices.” – Merul Parekh, LLM International Business Law graduate

Structure and assessment

Course modules

The course begins with an induction week with a range of sessions introducing the course, library resources, the optional modules (with a view to assisting you in your choice of options), research skills and general orientation sessions. You will also be allocated a personal tutor.

Following the induction week, you will study two core modules:

Introduction to Comparative Business Law – introduces you to common law and civil law legal systems, and compares and contrasts their different approaches to legislative interpretation, use of precedent and codification. It also examines the role of European Union law in attempting to harmonise the law relating to contract.

Research Methods – this module looks at the main methods of social science research, including qualitative and quantitative. It considers the elements of valid and reliable research and the various approaches that can be considered in designing a research strategy. Technical skills of research in law in the UK and EU will also be covered.

You must also select a further 90 credits of taught modules for study in the first and second semesters in accordance with your interests and needs from a range of 15 and 30-credit optional modules. As you have chosen the international business law pathway, at least 30 credits must be selected from one or more of the following modules with an international business law emphasis:

• International Sales Law (15 credits) – covers international trade contracts, Incoterms, the Vienna Convention, modes of trade finance, payment and resolution of trade disputes
• International Carriage of Goods (15 credits) – looks at bills of lading and other shipping documents, international carriage of goods conventions, including Hague Visby, Hamburg and Rotterdam Rules as well as problems of multimodal transport
• International Exploitation of Intellectual Property Rights (15 credits) – examines the nature of intellectual property (IP) law, evaluates its justifications and explores the global structure of international IP law. You will focus on: the agreement on Trade Related Aspects of IP (TRIPS) 1994; the Berne Convention; the Madrid Protocol and the European competition law that effects its exploitation. This module also investigates: the Community Design Regime, the Community Trade Mark; the national structure of copyright and patent; issues of international enforcement specific to IP; and the comparative differences in US law. You will also look at the international agreements for IP licensing and distributorship, including the impact of EU competition law upon them and review of the exploitation of image rights across all IP fields
• Private International Law (15 credits) studies domicile, jurisdiction under EU and traditional rules, choice of law and enforcement of judgments
• EU Competition Law 1 (15 credits) – explores the economics of competition, the scope of EU competition law, abuse of a dominant position (Article 102), prohibition against restrictive practices (Article 101) and vertical agreements
• EU Competition Law 2 (15 credits) – studies merger control, public enforcement, private enforcement and state aid. Completion of EU Competition Law 1 is a pre-condition for study of this module
• European E-Commerce Law (15 credits) – looks at how the internet works and the legal problems that arise from it. You will explore how contracts are formed electronically, the Brussels Regulations on Jurisdiction, the Rome Regulation on choice of law and the EU’s e-commerce regulations and directives. This module also covers e-signatures, payment for goods and services over the internet, the Distance Selling directive, the sale and supply of goods to consumers, spam, data protection, on-line market places and what to do if a transaction goes wrong

You must also complete a 15,000 word dissertation (60 credits) over the summer period on a topic that is relevant to an aspect of international business law. This provides you with an excellent opportunity to study an aspect of international business law that is of particular interest to you.

Note: Please note that modules are offered subject to minimum demand and availability of staff and may change each year. All modules are subject to change in order to keep content current.

Facilities and features