LLM in Innovation, Technology and the Law

The LLM in Innovation, Technology and Law offers advanced study of a range of law and law-related subjects, which address the opportunities and risks posed by innovation and new technology.

The programme also offers an opportunity to develop more detailed knowledge, understanding and research skills in a chosen dissertation topic.


Dr Rachael Craufurd Smith, Reader in EU Law, discusses the benefits of studying for an LLM in Innovation, Technology and the Law at Edinburgh Law School.

This unique degree programme explores the role of the law in regulating and promoting new and emerging technologies. The courses on offer will enable you to examine the legal, ethical and regulatory issues in fields such as:

  • artificial intelligence
  • biotechnology
  • data protection
  • information technology
  • intellectual property
  • online media and social media platforms
  • medical sciences
  • space law

The core subjects of the degree provide in-depth knowledge of domains where law engages with technology, laying the foundations for a specialised dissertation.

By the end of your studies will have acquired a sophisticated awareness of the problems that arise in the field of law and technology and the differing approaches to their solution.

Sundaresan, LLM Innovation, Technology and the Law, 2025
The University of Edinburgh is the perfect blend of tradition and advanced academic excellence. I always knew this was where I wanted to be.
Sundaresan
LLM in Innovation, Technology and the Law

Digital technologies are increasingly becoming a ubiquitous part of the world we live in. Technological development brings about change at a pace that was unfathomable just a few years ago, and this involves every aspect of our daily lives and our societies:

  • the way we communicate;
  • the way business transactions are concluded;
  • the way the media operate;
  • the way artificial intelligence replaces human beings in the workplace and beyond;
  • the way personal data is shared, and much more.

As law-makers and regulators around the world strive to grapple with on-going changes, this programme offers a unique opportunity to engage with contemporary questions surrounding the law and policy that govern innovation processes, combining together diverse perspectives from a range of cutting-edge courses.

By the end of your studies for this degree, you will have acquired a sophisticated awareness of the problems that arise in the field of law and technology and the differing approaches to their solution. The degree will also enhance career prospects in the legal profession, in regulatory bodies at the international and domestic level, third sector organisations and within media, IT and creative industries.

Staff on the Innovation, Technology and the Law Programme explore the risks and opportunities created by technological innovation for individuals and society more generally.

Dr Lachlan Urquhart’s research considers how we can build ethical frameworks into artificial intelligence systems, with projects designed to enhance the trustworthy nature of robotic systems, eg drones; to analyse the ethics of affective computing use in smart cities in Japan and the UK; and to develop an internet device that can help dementia sufferers manage identity and memories.

Professor Burkhard Schafer’s research also focuses on the ethics of emerging technologies, with a specific interest in how technology influences the development and application of the law.

Nicolas Jondet’s research interests lie in the field of privacy, information control, and the regulation of new technologies such as blockchain; while Drs Paolo Cavaliere and Rachael Craufurd Smith have worked together to represent the UK on the EU Media Pluralism Monitor. Dr Cavaliere’s research focuses on issues surrounding freedom of expression and digital platforms, while Dr Craufurd Smith has particular interests in media ethics and regulation, media concentration and transparency, and the regulation of commercial speech.

Throughout each academic year, a number of prominent experts from both academic and professional backgrounds come and deliver talks and seminars, and generally engage with our student and research community. Speakers invited over the last few years included prominent scholars from the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Leuven, Penn State and Queensland among others.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in Innovation, Technology and the Law please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

This programme can be taken full-time over one year, or part-time over two years subject to visa restrictions.  It offers a range of courses from the fields of technology, communications, IP and medical law with an international perspective, giving you the option to tailor the programme to suit your needs and interests.

The programme consists of 180 credits, comprising taught courses worth 120 credits (60 credits per semester) and a 10,000 word dissertation worth 60 credits. 

View 2026-27 programme information for the LLM in Innovation, Technology and the Law

Courses offered in the 2026-27 academic year can be found below. 

Kai, LLM Innovation, Technology and the Law, 2025
Edinburgh Law School broadened my technology law standpoint through strong academic support and genuine freedom of thought.
Kai
LLM Innovation, Technology and the Law, 2025

You must select between 80 and 120 credits of the following courses: 

  • International and European Media Law (20 credits)
    This course will examine the impact of International and European law on, firstly, the structure of media markets and, secondly, the content of media services. The course will start with a discussion of the nature of the media, the media 'value chain', and the relationship between media freedom, freedom of expression and other human rights. It will examine the various international organisations competent in the media field and the regulatory strategies that are being adopted to deal with media convergence and globalisation. In relation to structural matters, consideration will be given to consolidation of media ownership and state funding of the media, in particular public service broadcasting. In relation to content controls, the course will examine attempts to create a more equitable flow of media content and concerns over 'media imperialism', the regulatory problems posed by pornography and hate speech and the balance to be struck between freedom of the media and privacy.
     

  • Robotics, AI and the Law (20 credits)
    The course introduces you to the legal and wider regulatory issues raised by the increasing use of automated and autonomous devices. As we increasingly allow machines to make decisions for us, this raises significant problems for our legal concepts of liability, responsibility legal personhood.

    In addition to gaining a deeper understanding of the specific legal issues that are created by a number of particularly important applications of robotics and autonomous agent technology, you will also acquire a generic understanding of the types of problems that are raised by autonomous technologies for the theory of regulation. You will gain an understanding of the limits of regulation by law and the ability to evaluate comparatively other modes of regulation for a given problem.  

  • Software and the Law (20 credits)
    This course will examine how software is generated, protected and commercialised. It will explore the intellectual property protection afforded to software via copyright, patents or trade secrets. It will also explore more complex issues of ownership, such as in the employment context or when AI is used to generate software. The course will explore the requirements imposed on software development with respect to data protection and information security. It will also look at liability issues for software providers and risk assessments and classification of software using AI. Lastly, the course will explore competition law issues relevant to software marketplaces, the definition and compliance with interoperability requirements as well as technical standardisation
     
  • Decentralised Technologies: Law, Finance and Society (20 credits)
    This course critically examines the legal and political dimensions of blockchain technology, from its ideological roots in the discourse on decentralisation to its practical applications for decentralised finance and decentralised governance of socio-technical systems. After examining the main crises encountered by blockchain networks and blockchain-based systems, we will examine the main legal approaches to regulating this technology and its applications, before evaluating how blockchain ecosystems use self-governance to address legitimacy concerns and deter external regulation.
     
  • Hardware and the Law: Intellectual Property, Safety, Sustainability and Sovereignty for Tech Devices (20 credits)
    The course explores the regulatory frameworks applicable to innovative technical devices such as computer microchips, solar panels, batteries or medical implants. The aim is to engage with all the legal and regulatory protections and obligations relevant to the financing, invention, deployment and commercialisation of such tech devices.
     
  • The Legal Challenges of Information Technologies (20 credits)
    This course introduces you to key issues in the fast-paced area of technology law. We will consider a wide variety of hard regulatory questions posed by impacts of emerging information technologies. These systems are often changing, adapting, and shifting, meaning regulation in this domain does too. This creates a policy and legal landscape that is often in a state of flux but also gives us a wide range of case studies, examples, and legal frameworks to consider in this course. Each week we will explore and analyse interesting questions about the socio-technical risks and harms posed by specific new technologies, the merits and demerits of different regulatory strategies, and the role law plays in shaping how these technologies impact our everyday lives.
     
  • E-Governance and Digital Human Rights (20 credits)
    What is the shape of democracy in the XXI Century? Digital technologies are already impacting virtually every aspect of public life, from high-level decision-making in political spheres to the way local authorities deliver public services; from supporting the delivery of essential services to harnessing the potential of technological innovation to bridge the digital divide and promote economic development. The course focuses on five selected case-studies to discuss the impact of digital technologies on today's societies from a specific public law angle, including constitutional theory (equality before the law, democratic decision-making processes), administrative law (delivery of public services, due process, public accountability) and international public law (human rights in regional and international treaties) perspectives.
     

You will have the option to take between 0 and 40 credits of the following courses from different subject areas offered by the Law School, depending on availability and with the express permission of the Programme Director.

  • International Environmental Law (40 credits)
  • Intellectual Property Law 1: Copyright and Related Rights (20 credits)
  • Intellectual Property Law 2: Industrial Property (20 credits)
  • Surveillance and Security (20 credits)
  • International Climate Change Law (20 credits)
  • International Human Rights Law (20 credits)
  • Fundamental Issues in Medical Jurisprudence (20 credits)
  • Contemporary Issues in Medical Jurisprudence (20 credits)
  • General Principles of Criminal Law (20 credits)
  • Fundamentals of Comparative Private Law (20 credits)
  • Cybercrime and Cyber Security (20 credits)
  • Law and Development (20 credits)
  • Advanced Issues in Patent Law and Policy (20 credits)
  • Comparative Statutory Interpretation (20 credits)
  • Advanced Issues in Registered Trade Mark Law (20 credits)
  • Fundamentals of Legal Argument (20 credits)
  • Sustainability in Food Supply Chains: Law and Policy (20 credits)
  • Reproduction and the Law (20 credits)
  • Fundamentals of EU Competition Law 2 (20 credits)
  • Fundamentals of EU Competition Law 1 (20 credits)
  • The Law of Integration: understanding the EU Legal System (20 credits)
  • Competition Law, Intellectual Property & the Innovation Economy (20 credits)
  • Sustainable Finance and the Law (20 credits)
  • Introduction to Health Law (20 credits)
  • Current Issues in the Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights (20 credits)
  • Medico-Legal Issues in Clinical Negligence and Regulation (20 credits)

Having successfully completed 120 credit points of courses within the LLM, you will be ready to move onto a single piece of independent and in-depth research. The 10,000 word dissertation allows you to focus on a preferred topic from within the field of innovation, technology and the law, normally based on a subject you have studied in one of your courses during the programme.

You are supported with your independent research in several ways:

  • During semester 2 (Jan – March) you are provided with targeted opportunities to develop research and writing skills necessary for the successful completion of a larger research project.
  • You receive advice on formulating an appropriate research topic and feedback on developing a specific research question.
  • You are assigned an academic supervisor who will provide you with support and guidance while you undertake your research. You will have three meetings with your supervisor (in the period April – June, following the end of taught courses) in which avenues of research are discussed; a structure for the dissertation is developed; and feedback is provided on a sample of the dissertation. The dissertation is submitted in August.

This independent research project is a challenging but rewarding endeavour, allowing you to demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the relevant literature and an ability to engage critically with a range of sources, drawing on the skills and knowledge you have developed during your studies. You are encouraged to show originality and evidence of independent thinking. Indeed, the outcome of the project – your dissertation – may provide a useful platform for the next stage of your career.

Please note that due to unforeseen circumstances or lack of demand for particular courses, we may not be able to run all courses as advertised come the start of the academic year.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in Innovation, Technology and the Law please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

Page update: Courses for the 2026-27 year were published on the 16th April 2026. 

Staff teaching on the core courses for the LLM in Innovation, Technology and the Law for 2025-26 are experts in their field and are actively involved in cutting-edge research in various legal fields including media law, regulation of new technologies, IT law, IP law, and medical law and ethics.

Dr Smita Kheria - Programme Director 2025-26

Smita is a Senior Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law and the founding director of the LLM in Intellectual property Law. She studied at the University of Buckingham (LLB (Hons)), the University of Cambridge (LLM), and at Queen's University Belfast (PhD). Before undertaking her doctoral studies, she also practised as an advocate in commercial and intellectual property law. She combines legal expertise in copyright and related rights with socio-legal research on intellectual property law in the real world.

Smita’s primary research interests are in substantive law on copyright and related rights, in using empirical research to address questions pertaining to intellectual property and policy, and, in exploring connections between Intellectual Property law and new forms of property and culture through the lens of creators and users. She has been involved in several RCUK funded research projects that have empirically examined how copyright intersects with the everyday lives and practices of online creative communities, arts and humanities researchers, and professional creators and performers, as well as how creators’ organisations shape copyright policy. 

Smita is a Co-Director (IP Law) of the SCRIPT Centre and Vice Chair of the Socio-Legal Studies Association, She is a co-author of the textbook Contemporary Intellectual Property: Law and Policy (3rd to 6th edns, Oxford University Press). She has recently co-founded the Network for Empirical Legal Studies in Intellectual Property.

Find out more

Burkhard is Professor of Computational Legal Theory and Director of the SCRIPT Centre for IT and IP law. His main field of interest is the interaction between law, science and computer technology, especially computer linguistics. How can law, understood as a system, communicate with systems external to it, be it the law of other countries (comparative law and its methodology) or science (evidence, proof and trial process). He is currently working mainly on issues such as privacy compliant software architecture and more generally the scope and limits of representing legal concepts directly in the internet infrastructure.

Find out more

Morshed Mannan joined Edinburgh Law School on 1 November 2024 as a Lecturer in Global Law and Digital Technology. He was previously a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute, where he was part of the ‘BlockchainGov’ ERC project led by Dr. Primavera de Filippi. His research focuses on blockchain governance and cooperative governance. He received his Ph.D. from Leiden Law School, Leiden University in 2022 for his dissertation entitled: The Emergence of Democratic Firms in the Platform Economy: Drivers, Obstacles and the Path Ahead. 

Find out more

Judith Rauhofer is a Lecturer in IT Law and an Associate Director of the Centre for Studies of Intellectual Property and Technology Law (SCRIPT). Her research interests include the commercial and fundamental rights aspects of online privacy and electronic surveillance, data protection, information security and all areas of e-commerce and internet law and policy. Judith is particularly interested in exploring the tensions between privacy as an individual right and as a common good.

Find out more

Paolo will be on sabbatical for the 2025-26 academic year

Paolo Cavaliere joined the Law School from September 2014 as a lecturer in Digital Media and IT Law. Prior to joining the School, Paolo has been a researcher at the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policies of the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies of the University of Oxford where he has also helped to coordinate the Monroe Price Media Law Moot Court Competition. His main interests in research include the discipline of pluralism and diversity in the media, e-democracy and the relationship between new media and politics, regulation of audiovisual industries and digital media. He has written about different aspects of Media law, including “mediacracy” and the democratic deficit of the EU; media pluralism in the European sphere; digital technologies and the political debate in the public sphere.

Find out more

Lachlan will be on sabbatical for the 2025-26 academic year

Lachlan is a Lecturer in Technology Law at the University of Edinburgh. He is also a visiting researcher at the Horizon Digital Economy Research Institute, where he was a Research Fellow in Information Technology Law from 2016-2018.

Lachlan's primarily works at the boundaries of computer science (human-computer interaction), information technology law (mainly privacy and information security), and computer ethics. He focusses extensively on the technical, socio-legal, sociological, and ethical implications of living with interactive computing (e.g. Ubicomp/Internet of Things, robotics, smart homes & cities, social media etc.).

Find out more

The staff teaching on this programme are subject to change for 2026-27 academic year. Staff listed as on sabbatical will not be available to teach for the duration of their sabbatical.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in Innovation, Technology and the Law please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

LLM in Human Rights

The LLM in Human Rights is designed to provide you with a theoretical and practical understanding of international human rights law in its broader political context, with a particular emphasis on human rights in times of transition, including conflict situations or other political and societal movements.

Professor Kasey McCall-Smith, Dr Elisenda Casanas Adam and Dr Kathryn Nash, provides an overview of the LLM Human Rights, their areas of research and expertise and its importance in the world today.

You will have the opportunity to not only explore the global role of human rights and the international and domestic machinery that promotes and enforces rights, but also how academic debates connect to the practice of human rights.

The programme has a flexible structure, including some interdisciplinary options, that enables you to tailor your curriculum to best suit your individual interests and career plans, drawing from a choice of specialised courses from the Law School, the School of Education and the School of Social and Political Science.

Edinburgh Law School is an ideal place to study human rights. With a history at the centre of the Scottish Enlightenment, we offer a unique academic space for the learning and research of human rights, which includes the Global Justice Academy and the Edinburgh Centre for International and Global Law. Additionally, the various research centres within the Law School and across the University address crucial global challenges spanning the ambit of civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights and each year offer abundant opportunities for students to explore the links between human rights and the fast-paced world around them. The School is also uniquely placed to maximise its relationships with the City of Edinburgh’s many and varied human rights and peace initiatives.

Ryan, LLM Human Rights, 2025
Making the jump and moving to Edinburgh was the best decision I have made for myself, both personally and professionally.
Ryan
LLM Human Rights, 2025

Despite what many in the press may lead the public to believe, human rights and the legal and political machinery that exist to promote and protect those rights are here to stay. Human rights language is embedded across international, regional and national legal frameworks and the LLM is designed to teach you how to use this language for the improvement of the world around you. Human rights increasingly permeates other legal fields and disciplines. Understanding the basis of these rights will inform you as to how use your education to contribute to a more sustainable social and environmental future.

Because human rights are prevalent across such a broad range of disciplines, graduates of our programme have the opportunity to find work across an unlimited field. In addition to specialising in human rights law as practitioners, past students have gone on to work for human rights courts, the diplomatic service, as policy analysts and researchers in the government or in civil society and advocacy organisations, to name but a few of the career paths that have been followed after completing the LLM in Human Rights.

Professor Kasey McCall-Smith talks about the different careers graduates of the LLM Human Rights have gone on to work in.

As a leading research institution, those teaching on the human rights programme make a point of bringing their research insights into the classroom.

Whether exploring transitional justice negotiations, deliberating the role of human rights in constitution building, addressing fair trial issues in Guantánamo, teasing out the role of women in security strategies or understanding how national governments prioritise rights through law and policy, academic staff are eager to engage students in their projects. This not only provides real, practical insight into the theory of human rights, but animates the debates about human rights in our seminars.

Additionally, each week you will have the opportunity to attend multiple extracurricular events, adding a further layer of depth to the basic course offerings.

The Global Justice Academy

Professor Kasey McCall Smith talks about the link between the LLM Human Rights and the Global Justice Academy.

Students on the human rights programme are an active part of the Global Justice Academy (GJA) engagement efforts. Students contribute their research power to the development of materials that assist civil society organisations in delivering their programmes of work and action.

The GJA is an interdisciplinary network that supports research, teaching and knowledge exchange on global justice issues. It seeks to build on, consolidate and expand the work of existing centres and collaborations at the University of Edinburgh.

Find out more about student engagement as part of the Global Justice Academy

Edinburgh plays host to a wide-ranging schedule of academic and research events throughout the year. You will be able to subscribe to mailing lists in line with your preferences. Rarely does a day pass where there are no extra-curricular events taking place.

In addition to Edinburgh academics often speaking at research related seminars, academic visitors abound in Edinburgh. Through the variety of research centres, particularly the Edinburgh Centre for International and Global Law and the Global Justice Academy, students are able to tailor an extracurricular calendar that meets all lines of theoretical, legal and interdisciplinary approaches to human rights. Furthermore, across the year we invite experts into the classroom to cover specific human rights issues in depth.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in Human Rights please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

This programme can be taken full time over one year or part time over two years, subject to visa restrictions, and gives you the opportunity to study a wide range of subjects across human rights, law, crime and criminal justice, as well as options from other disciplines. This enables you to tailor the programme to meet your specific interests.

Professor Kasey McCall-Smith talks about the Human Rights Clinic course and the Work Based Placement (the alternative to the conventional dissertation).

The programme consists of 180 credits, comprising taught courses worth 120 credits (60 credits per semester) and a 10,000 word dissertation worth 60 credits.

Courses offered in the 2026-27 academic year can be found below. With the exception of the compulsory courses, and depending on demand, space on specific courses may be limited.

You must take this course:

  • International Human Rights Law (20 credits, must be taken in semester 1)

    This course will focus on the international law of human Rights, primarily through looking at the U.N. system including Charter and Treaty bodies as well as looking at the links between International human rights law and other related fields such as International Humanitarian law and International Criminal law.

You can select between 60 and 100 credits of the following courses:

  • International Criminal Law (20 credits)

    This course focuses on the study of selected foundational aspects of international and transnational criminal law and international co-operation in the administration of justice. The course will be taught through seminars, which include introductions to key topics of relevance to international criminal law and general discussion, including on particular case studies. The seminars will thus cover aspects such as the sources of international criminal law, the structure of international crimes (in particular actus reus, mens rea and justifications), but also specific crime categories (in particular, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes).

  • Inter-state Conflict and Humanitarian Law (20 credits)
    The course will comprise the study of conflict in international law. It will be concerned with the law relating to the resort to armed force by states. The law relating to self-defence will be studied. There will also be a focus on humanitarian law, in particular, on the law relating to entitlement to combatant status, on the law regulating the conduct of hostilities between opposing forces and the law on the protection of civilians in armed conflict. In addition, there will be a study of post-conflict issues.
     
  • Human Rights and Conflict Resolution (20 credits)
    This course will examine the role of human rights in intra-state conflict and in peace processes. In particular it will examine how peace processes and agreements deal with power-sharing arrangements, transitional justice mechanisms, gender equality, and return of refugees. The course will examine the moral, political and practical dilemmas in dealing with these issues, and consider the extent to which human rights law provides useful guidance and requirements, or hinders conflict resolution efforts. The course will also touch on the overlapping requirements of international humanitarian law and international criminal law.
     
  • Advanced Issues in Human Rights  (20 credits)
    The objective of the course is to enable students, primarily through research, presentation, discussion and writing, to acquire a thorough knowledge of the advanced theory and law of human rights protection at the international level and the capacity to critically analyse how the human rights system works in practice. It builds upon the foundations delivered in International Human Rights Law.

 

  • Human Rights Clinic (20 credits)
    The objective of the course is to enable you, primarily through research, discussion, writing and presentation in a practical setting, to acquire a thorough knowledge of advanced human rights protection at the national and international level. Through a strong link to professional human rights practice it will develop your capacity to critically analyse how the human rights system works and the demands that it places upon the various actors, including civil society, government, legislatures and stakeholders. It builds upon the foundations delivered in International Human Rights Law.
     
  • Fundamental Issues in International Law (20 credits)
    This is a course in which fundamental elements of public international law are studied at an advanced level. It is intended to be suitable for those who may have taken a basic undergraduate course but who wish to explore the issues in greater depth.
     
  • Child Law in Comparative Perspectives (20 credits)
    This course aims to explore the legal status of children in Scots law, the law in other jurisdictions within the UK and the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Students from other jurisdictions will be encouraged and invited to share research findings from their home countries.
     
  • Citizenship in Europe (20 credits)
    The aim of this course is to explore the multi-level governance framework for citizenship in Europe, looking at the national, sub-national and international/European levels at which law operates. The aim is to understand the classic notion of national citizenship in the context of developments such as European Union citizenship and the impact of supranational and international norms such as the ECHR, placing the law throughout in its wider political context.
     
  • EU Immigration and Asylum Law (20 credits)
    The course is aimed to provide the students with the foundations of EU Immigration Law. They will engage in discussion on primary and secondary sources, as well as analysis of the centrepieces of the area. Through the involvement of practitioners, they will be exposed to different approaches and address the topics from a theoretical, and practical, points of view.
      
  • LGBT Rights: A Legal Perspective (20 credits)
    This course engages with the complex relationship between selected LGBT matters and the legal framework applying to them. Its basis is the treatment which minorities defined by gender identity and sexual orientation have received in human rights law, with the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights being particularly important sources.
      
  • Global South Actors in International Relations and International Law, 1945-present (20 credits)
    Major powers were often dominant in constructing modern political and legal systems. However, Global South actors have also been a powerful but underacknowledged force in shaping world affairs. The subject of the course is how intergovernmental organisations in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia have shaped political and legal norms and institutions in human rights, peace and security, and disaster management.
     
  • Making International Law (20 credits)
    This course will explore the complex and subtle art of international law-making, focusing on the Law of Treaties. Attention will be given to the variable actors and multilateral processes that monitor, add to and adjudicate questions of international law. One of the core aims of the course is strengthening the student's understanding of how new rules are created and how existing rules develop along with the global community in the context of shared values. In exploring these issues, students will critically examine questions relating to rule development and coherence of the international system.
       

  • Law and Power in the Muslim World (20 credits)

    This course provides a critical understanding of law's relationship to power and politics in and through the 'Muslim World'. The course introduces diverse critical perspectives that examine the role of law in constructing and challenging global legal hierarchies, particularly as they play out in relation to Muslim contexts and communities.

  • E-governance and Digital Human Rights (20 credits)

    What is the shape of democracy in the XXI Century? Digital technologies are already impacting virtually every aspect of public life, from high-level decision-making in political spheres to the way local authorities deliver public services; from supporting the delivery of essential services to harnessing the potential of technological innovation to bridge the digital divide and promote economic developmen The course focuses on five selected case-studies to discuss the impact of digital technologies on today's societies from a specific public law angle, including constitutional theory (equality before the law, democratic decision-making processes), administrative law (delivery of public services, due process, public accountability) and international public law (human rights in regional and international treaties) perspectives.

You will have the option to take between 0 and 40 credits of the following courses from different subject areas offered, depending on availability and with the express permission of the programme director.

  • Global Childhoods and Human Rights (20 credits)
  • Surveillance and Security (20 credits)
  • Global Crime and Insecurity (20 credits)
  • Advanced Comparative Constitutional Law (20 credits)
  • Cybercrime and Cyber Security (20 credits)
  • Mental Health Law (20 credits)
  • Issues in Law and Sustainable Development (20 credits)
  • Innovation: Law and Policy (20 credits)
  • Introduction to Health Law (20 credits)
  • Rethinking International Law (20 credits) 
  • Human Rights, Democracy and Courts in Turbulent times (20 credits)
  • International Relations Theory (20 credits)
  • Gender and Development (20 credits)
  • Refugees, Health and Humanitarian Action (20 credits)
  • Pursuing Justice after Violence (20 credits)

Having successfully completed 120 credit points of courses within the LLM, you will be ready to move onto a single piece of independent and in-depth research. The 10,000 word dissertation allows you to focus on a preferred topic from within the field of human rights, normally based on a subject you have studied in one of your courses during the programme.

You are supported with your independent research in several ways:

  • During semester 2 (Jan – March) you are provided with targeted opportunities to develop research and writing skills necessary for the successful completion of a larger research project.
  • You receive advice on formulating an appropriate research topic and feedback on developing a specific research question.
  • You are assigned an academic supervisor who will provide you with support and guidance while you undertake your research. You will have three meetings with your supervisor (in the period April – June, following the end of taught courses) in which avenues of research are discussed; a structure for the dissertation is developed; and feedback is provided on a sample of the dissertation. The dissertation is submitted in August.

This independent research project is a challenging but rewarding endeavour, allowing you to demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the relevant literature and an ability to engage critically with a range of sources, drawing on the skills and knowledge you have developed during your studies. You are encouraged to show originality and evidence of independent thinking. Indeed, the outcome of the project – your dissertation – may provide a useful platform for the next stage of your career.

As an alternative to the conventional dissertation, some students may have the chance to apply to complete a project-based report with an NGO, government department, political party, or other relevant business or organisation during the spring and summer.

You will undertake a research project on a human rights topic linked to the activities of your respective host. The research projects will need to be officially approved by the programme director, and you will have a relevant member of staff as a contact, in parallel with the arrangement for dissertation supervision.

Project opportunities will be made available on a competitive basis, with applications made at the start of semester two.

Placements will be competitive and candidates will be shortlisted on the basis of their marks for the previous semester, with employers making the final decision based on the student's personal statement.

You may also set up projects directly, subject to a formal process of approval by the programme conveners.

Please note that due to unforeseen circumstances or lack of demand for particular courses, we may not be able to run all courses as advertised come the start of the academic year.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in Human Rights please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

Page update: Courses for the 2026-27 year were published on the 16th April 2026. 

Staff teaching on the core courses for the LLM in Human Rights for 2025-26 are experts in their field and are actively involved in cutting-edge research in various areas of human rights, international and public law.

Dr Nora Jaber - Programme Director 2025-26

Dr Nora Jaber joined the University of Edinburgh Law School as Lecturer in Law in the Globalised Muslim World in September 2024.

Her research lies at the intersection of international law, human rights, and feminist theory, with a particular focus on gender justice in the Arab and Islamic world. She critically examines the role and limitations of international law in advancing justice in non-Western contexts, centring alternative frameworks and epistemologies that are often marginalised in dominant legal discourse.

Nora’s doctoral research on legal activism and struggles for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia was awarded the 2022 Leigh Douglas Memorial Prize by the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies. More broadly, her work explores the complex relationship between law and social justice, particularly how legal frameworks can both enable and constrain political struggles against oppression. In 2024, she co-founded the Juridification of Justice research network, which brings together scholars and practitioners engaged with these themes.

At Edinburgh, Nora convenes and teaches courses including International Human Rights Law, Law and Power in the Muslim World, and Rethinking International Law. She currently serves as Deputy Director of the Al-Waleed Centre for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World and as Programme Director of the Human Rights LLM.

Before joining the University of Edinburgh, Nora was a Lecturer in Law at the University of Exeter. She holds a PhD in Law from King’s College London and an LLM in Public International Law from the London School of Economics.

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Dr Deval Desai is Reader in International Economic Law. He joined Edinburgh Law School in 2020. His work focuses on law and development, administrative law and regulation, theories of the state, and and the role of knowledge and expertise in institutional reform processes. He has taught on these topics at the Geneva Graduate Institute, Harvard Law School, Manchester, Northeastern Law School, SOAS, and the Universidad de los Andes.

Deval previously held research positions at Harvard Law School and the Geneva Graduate Institute. He serves as editor-in-chief of the Cambridge University Press book series, Elements in Legal Theory and  the Global South. He also serves on the editorial board of the Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, the Emerging Scholars Forum of Global Perspectives, and has served on the editorial board of the Harvard International Law Journal.

Deval is an interdisciplinary scholar. His articles appear in leading journals in law, political science, and development studies. His first monograph, Expert Ignorance (Cambridge University Press; open access), draws on legal and social theory, development studies, international relations, and performance and theatre studies. His work is also informed by a decade of experience working for the World Bank on rule of law and governance in sub-Saharan Africa; as well as advising the UN on rule of law issues.

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Katy Macfarlane started off her career as a secondary school teacher of Economics and Accounting. She then graduated with an LLB from Edinburgh University in 1992. From 1999 to 2007, she headed up the Scottish Child Law Centre. Katy is a qualified solicitor, Safeguarder for the Children’s Hearing System, Child Welfare Reporter in family law actions in Edinburgh Sheriff Court and experienced mediator. Between 2002 and 2007, Katy was invited to lecture on LLB courses, and teach on the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice (DPLP) and Trainee Continuing Professional Development (TCPD) before being appointed to the academic staff in 2008.

Katy’s areas of interest are Child and Family Law and Mental Health Law. Her publications include: the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 Annotations (W Green); and Thomson’s Family Law in Scotland (8th ed, Bloomsbury Professional). Katy is co-editor of the Family Law Bulletin (W Green).

Katy is regularly invited to speak at conferences on family and child law matters. She is a member of the Scottish Government’s Cross Party Groups on Children and Young People, and Mental Health, and a Trustee on the Board of the Scottish Child Law Centre.

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Dr. Kathryn Nash is a Senior Lecturer and Chancellor’s Fellow in the University of Edinburgh Law School. Previously she was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Political Settlements Research Program. She received her PhD in Politics and International Studies from SOAS University of London, and her research interests include global governance, the role of regional organizations in responding to complex crises, and peace and security. Her book – African Peace: Regional Norms from the Organization of African Unity to the African Union – was recently published by Manchester University Press.

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Juline Beaujouan is a passionate researcher and educator with transdisciplinary experience in the field of Peace and Conflict Studies and a keen interest in collaborative and responsible research practices. She is currently a Post-doctoral Research Fellow with the Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform (PeaceRep), based at the University of Edinburgh. Juline is also a Senior Researcher with Open Think Tank (Kurdistan Region of Iraq) and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute Defense and Security Program (Washington D.C.). 

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Jo Shaw has held the Salvesen Chair of European Institutions in the School of Law since January 2005. Since 2018, she has also held a part time visiting position in the New Social Research programme of Tampere University in Finland.

Between 2009-2013, she was Dean of Research of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, leading on research development and REF submission for the College. From 2014-2017 she was Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities.

Since 2017, she has been working on a set of related projects on citizenship regimes: what they are and how they work. Her work has been supported by a EURIAS Fellowship at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies (2017-2018) and a Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship (2018-2020). She is also co-Director of the Global Citizenship Observatory. Her current work builds on research previously funded by the European Research Council and the Nuffield Foundation.

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Dr Asanga Welikala is a Lecturer in Public Law at Edinburgh Law School, The University of Edinburgh, and the Acting Director of the Edinburgh Centre for Constitutional Law. He is also a Research Associate of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London, and Research Fellow of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), Sri Lanka. Asanga's research interests lie in comparative constitutional law, applied constitutional theory, and Commonwealth constitutional history.

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Elisenda Casanas Adam is Lecturer in Public Law and Human Rights and Associate Director of the Edinburgh Centre for Constitutional Law. Her main research interests lie in the comparative analysis of public law, focusing on plurinational constitutionalism, referendums and self-determination, devolution and federalism, and judicial review and the protection of human rights in multi-level systems. She has a special interest in the public law of Scotland and the United Kingdom, and of Catalonia and Spain.

Prior to joining the Law School in 2011, Elisenda was Lecturer in Constitutional Law at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (2009-2011) and the University of Girona (2008-2009). She holds degrees from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Spanish law degree and LLM) and the European University Institute, Florence (PhD, ‘Judicial federalism from a comparative perspective: Spain, the United States and the United Kingdom'). She has also been a visiting researcher at the University of California, Berkeley.

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Dr Leandro Mancano is Senior Lecturer in EU Law at Edinburgh Law School, former Head of EU Law Subject Area and former Programme Director of the LLM in European Law.

Leandro’s main research interests lie in EU constitutional Law, EU fundamental rights Law, the law and policy of the EU Area of Freedom Security and Justice. He teaches and is course organizer of courses in EU Law, EU Criminal Law, EU Asylum and Immigration Law.

Leandro’s publications focus on the interaction amongst different areas of European law and policy, such as crime, migration, and human rights. His first monograph analyses the legislative and judicial approach of the EU to deprivation of liberty in the fields of substantive and procedural criminal law, immigration, citizenship and free movement.

Before joining the University of Edinburgh, Leandro received his PhD from Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (Pisa). He has been visiting researcher at Queen Mary University of London, Université Libre de Bruxelles and the University of Copenhagen. Leandro is UK’s Deputy Contact Point for the European Criminal Law Academic Network (ECLAN).

Leandro is regularly involved in public engagement, has drafted policy papers and provided evidence to Scottish institutions

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Stephen Neff's primary research interest is the history of public international law. He is the author of a book on the historical development of international economic law. His current focus is the history of the law of neutrality. Another major interest is international human rights law, from both the academic and the practical standpoints.

Stephen Neff's primary research interest is the history of public international law. He is the author of a book on the historical development of international economic law. His current focus is the history of the law of neutrality. Another major interest is international human rights law, from both the academic and the practical standpoints.

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Luis is an international human rights lawyer and visiting lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, with particular expertise in economic, social and cultural rights. He leads this area of rights within the Scottish Human Rights Commission, Scotland’s National Human Rights Institution.

He has worked for more than 16 years both in practice and academia across Europe, Africa and the Americas. He has been a Human Rights Specialist at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; a Research Fellow at the Global Business Initiative on Human Rights; an Associate Lecturer at the University of Essex and the University of Pretoria and Georgetown University; a Legal Officer at the Program of Action in Education in Human Rights; a Program Officer at the Jesuit Refugee Service; and a consultant for several international and civil society organisations, including the Organisation of American States, the United Nations, and the Norwegian Union on Municipal and General Employees.

Paul Behrens joined the faculty in 2012. His principal research interests are international criminal law, diplomatic law, international humanitarian law and comparative constitutional law. He is an Associate of the Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Leicester University and member of the Surrey International Law Centre. Together with the director of the Stanley Burton Centre, he is the founder of an interdisciplinary research initiative which has hosted conferences on selected topics in the field of genocide studies.

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Professor McCall-Smith holds the Chair of International Law and Human Rights and is programme director for the LLM in Human Rights. She joined the Law School on a permanent basis in 2014. She is a US qualified lawyer and holds a BA and a Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas. She also holds an LLM and PhD from the University of Edinburgh.

She is an active researcher in international human rights law, treaty law and is interested in how different actors contribute to the development of international law, including the role of treaty bodies as generators of law. For several years she has been exploring best practice in relation to incorporating human rights treaties into national law with a focus on how different actors negotiate the vertical relationship between international and national law. Professor McCall-Smith works alongside numerous civil society organisations and channels this practical experience into her teaching and programming on the LLM in Human Rights. She also has carried out extensive research on the issues of torture and fair trial in the US military commissions in Guantanamo and the conditions of detention, including how detention relates to the prohibition against torture.

Professor McCall-Smith’s work on treaty law focuses on reservations to and interpretation of treaties. While much of her work has focused on human rights treaties, particularly the ICCPR, ICESCR and UNCRC, her current work concerns the ways in which treaty law engenders coherence and divergence across different fields of international law.

Her current research projects include Understanding the Environmental Conditions of Detention and multiple projects focused on implementing the UNCRC Incorporation Act 2024 alongside colleagues in the Observatory of Children’s Human Rights Scotland.

She is currently the Director of Postgraduate Research at the Law School and the Director of the Global Justice Academy. From 2017-2023 she was the Executive Chair of the Association of Human Rights Institutes (AHRI). Since 2020, she served as a member of the Academic Advisory Panel to the Scottish Government’s Human Rights Task Force and the Expert Advisory Group on UNCRC Incorporation. She is a visiting professor at the University of Arkansas (USA) and KU Leuven (Belgium). Alongside her role as an academic, Professor McCall-Smith acts as a consultant on projects across a range of issues relating to human rights and the law of treaties.

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Nehal Bhuta joined Edinburgh Law School in 2018 from the European University Institute where he was Professor of Public International Law. His research interests include: International law, human rights, international humanitarian law, history and theory of international law, indicators in global governance, histories of rights, political theory, theory of the state, international criminal law.

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Paolo Cavaliere joined the Law School from September 2014 as a lecturer in Digital Media and IT Law. His main interests in research include the discipline of pluralism and diversity in the media, e-democracy and the relationship between new media and politics, regulation of audiovisual industries and digital media.

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The staff teaching on this programme are subject to change for 2026-27 academic year. Staff listed as on sabbatical will not be available to teach for the duration of their sabbatical.

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If you have any questions about the LLM in Human Rights please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law

The LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law is designed to provide you with an advanced, multidisciplinary knowledge of the legal issues and techniques related to environmental protection, with special emphases on climate change and the marine environment.

Students standing in the Old College Quad

During your studies you’ll evaluate the historic and on-going development of international, European and national law for environmental protection, exploring the inter-relations between these different levels of law making.

You will develop the skills required to analyse the activity of international and supranational legal and political institutions, national governments and domestic courts, NGOs and businesses in the private sector, which are working in environmental protection and natural resources management.

You may also have the opportunity to take environment-related courses from other University of Edinburgh schools, including the School of Social and Political Science and the School of GeoSciences, and Edinburgh University Business School.

Environmental Law is a dynamic, fast-developing and globally important area of law that requires not only specialist legal knowledge but also understanding of underpinning political, economic and scientific issues.

Our LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law has been designed to address demand for this specialist knowledge and to serve as a gateway to employment and research opportunities in environmental law, protection and regulation.

The programme is designed for recent law graduates seeking a career in this field and law professionals or anyone working in an environmental field who would like to enhance their knowledge in this field to help further their existing career.

Many of our graduates go on to make a difference in exciting and relevant roles for organisations and businesses all over the world. Here are just a handful of examples:

  • Sustainable Development Advisor, Royal Dutch Shell, The Hague
  • Transatlantic Fellow, the Ecologic Institute, Berlin
  • Foreign Services Officer, Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • Intern, Secretariat of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), Bonn
  • Research Assistant on Fossil Fuel Subsidies, Overseas Development Institute, London
  • Judicial Department of the Chilean Environmental Impact Assessment Agency

Edinburgh offers a thriving network of climate and environmental researchers and postgraduate students working and studying across many disciplines including: law, political science, geoscience, and development studies.

There are regular opportunities to engage with leading ‘environmental law practitioners’ through co-taught seminars,  professional development sessions and public lectures. The Programme Director is very happy to discuss your own interests in this respect early in the year so we can organise additional sessions if at all possible.

In partnership with Brodies LLP we also run an annual series of Environmental Law Seminars during the academic year, which we encourage you to attend. You can view past lectures by visiting our video channel on the University's media hopper platform.

Visit our Brodies Environmental Law Seminars video channel

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If you have any questions about the LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

We offer a wide range of subjects across environmental and climate change law from an international perspective, as well as options from other disciplines. This enables you to tailor the programme to meet your specific interests.

This programme can be taken full-time over one year, or part-time over two years subject to visa restrictions. It offers a wide range of subjects that deal with various aspects of private law from a comparative perspective, with the possibility of choosing additional courses so as to enable you to tailor the LLM to meet your specific interests.

View 2026-27 programme information for the LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law

Courses offered in the 2026-27 academic year can be found below. 

With the exception of the compulsory courses, and depending on demand, space on specific courses may be limited.

You must take these courses.

  • International Environmental Law (40 credits, two-semesters)

    This course explores the institutions, rules, and principles concerning the protection of the environment at the international level. The course is designed as an introductory course in order to develop students¿ knowledge of the key sources of international environmental law, their understanding of some of the most important treaties in this field, and an awareness of the challenges associated with the development and enforcement of international environmental law.

  • International Climate Change Law (20 credits, must be taken in semester 1)

    This course has two parts. The first explores the central international legal architecture addressing climate change, namely the  UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992), its Kyoto Protocol (1997), and the Paris Agreement (2015). The second part of the course critically explores select advanced issues within the climate regime, analysing these issues in transnational and interdisciplinary framings.

You must select between 20 and 60 credits of the following courses:

  • Energy Transition and the International Economic Legal Order: Governance, Challenges and Innovations (20 credits)
    The global energy transition is not just a technological or social challenge; it is deeply embedded in international legal frameworks governing trade, investment, and finance. This course examines how international economic law (as well as, to an extent, international environmental law) shapes decarbonisation efforts, from treaty-making and dispute resolution to regulatory innovations in energy markets. Students will explore legal mechanisms for attracting renewable energy investment, phasing out fossil fuels, managing critical materials, and aligning international economic law rules with climate objectives¿gaining insight into the governance challenges at the heart of the energy transition.
     
  • International Ocean Governance and the Protection of the Marine Environment (20 credits)
    The course provides an introduction to the fundamental pillars of the modern law of the sea, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, as well as the key institutions, processes and actors involved in international ocean governance. It aims to identify opportunities for developing effective and integrated policies for the sustainable development of the seas, as well the challenges and barriers associated therewith.
     
  • The Law of Carbon Management: Regulating Carbon Dioxide Removals and CCS (20 credits)
    Managing carbon dioxide, whether through removals or sequestration, is becoming a major industrial activity in advanced economies. This course explores the emerging applicable law, regulation, institutions, and values.
     
  • New Perspectives on International Law and the Environment (20 credits)
    International law and governance mechanisms have not managed to avert the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. This course will introduce students to diverse alternative perspectives that have been proposed to remedy some of these systemic failings, and critically reflect on their potential and limitations.
     
  • Transnational Waste Law and Circular Economy (20 credits)
    This course reviews the transnational, European and domestic laws organising the prevention, the recovery and the recycling of wastes, as they relate to the transition to a Circular Economy (reduce, re-use, and recycle). This course consolidates students, prior knowledge of international law by focusing on the overlapping regimes and jurisdictions governing waste-to-resources.
     
  • Issues in Law and Sustainable Development (20 credits)
    What, if anything, is sustainable development and what role does law play in its theories and practices?
    Building on the introductory course on Law and Development, this course turns to the way economic theories and legal ideas emerge in "sustainable development", one of the key modern battlegrounds over the nature and direction of development practice. The course will explore law and sustainable development from a range of perspectives, such as environmental sustainability, security, and the rule of law.
     
  • Sustainability in Food Supply Chains: Law and Policy (20 credits)
    This course considers legal, regulatory and policy questions relating to food supply chains. There will be a particular focus on food supply chain sustainability, including measures to counteract power asymmetries in the wider context of food security, supply chain regulation and food & agricultural policies.

You will have the option to take between 0 and 40 credits of the following courses from outside of the School.

  • Global Environment: Key Issues (20 credits)
  • Marine Ecosystems and Policies (20 credits)
  • Public Participation in Policy (20 credits)
  • Global Environmental Politics (20 credits)
  • Environmental Justice and Development (20 credits)
  • Values and the Environment (20 credits)
  • Global Environment and Society (20 credits)
  • Environmental Risk: Politics, Ethics, and Communication (20 credits)

You will have the option to take between 0 and 40 credits of the following courses from different subject areas offered by the Law School, depending on availability and with the express permission of the programme director.

  • Advanced Comparative Constitutional Law (20 credits)
  • Fundamental Issues in International Law (40 credits)
  • Hardware and the Law: intellectual property, safety, sustainability and sovereignty for tech devices (20 credits)
  • Global South Actors in International Relations and International Law, 1945-present (20 credits)
  • International Intellectual Property Law (20 credits)
  • International Investment Law (20 credits)
  • Law and Development (20 credits)
  • Making International Law (20 credits)
  • Sustainable Finance and the Law (20 credits)
  • WTO and International Trade Law 1 (20 credits)
  • WTO and International Trade Law 2 (20 credits)

Having successfully completed 120 credit points of courses within the LLM, you will be ready to move onto a single piece of independent and in-depth research. The 10,000 word dissertation allows you to focus on a preferred topic from within the field of environmental and climate change law, normally based on a subject you have studied in one of your courses during the programme.

You are supported with your independent research in several ways:

  • During semester 2 (Jan – March) you are provided with targeted opportunities to develop research and writing skills necessary for the successful completion of a larger research project.
  • You receive advice on formulating an appropriate research topic and feedback on developing a specific research question.
  • You are assigned an academic supervisor who will provide you with support and guidance while you undertake your research. You will have three meetings with your supervisor (in the period April – June, following the end of taught courses) in which avenues of research are discussed; a structure for the dissertation is developed; and feedback is provided on a sample of the dissertation. The dissertation is submitted in August.

This independent research project is a challenging but rewarding endeavour, allowing you to demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the relevant literature and an ability to engage critically with a range of sources, drawing on the skills and knowledge you have developed during your studies. You are encouraged to show originality and evidence of independent thinking. Indeed, the outcome of the project – your dissertation – may provide a useful platform for the next stage of your career.

Please note that due to unforeseen circumstances or lack of demand for particular courses, we may not be able to run all courses as advertised come the start of the academic year.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

Page update: Courses for the 2026-27 year were published on the 16th April 2026. 

Staff teaching on the core courses of the LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law are experts in their field and are actively involved in cutting-edge research in various areas of international, environmental and climate change law.

Dr Michael Hennessy Picard - Programme Director 2026-27

Michael Hennessy Picard holds a PhD in Law from the University of Quebec in Montreal. He teaches courses in International Environmental Law, Waste Law and the Circular Economy, and Earth-Space Sustainability Governance. Before joining the Edinburgh Law School in 2021, Michael was a research fellow at the McGill Law Faculty, Harvard Law School’s Institute for Global Law & Policy, and University College London.

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Navraj’s research and teaching address legal responses to climate change, with a focus on public and constitutional law. Current research projects include the:

  • ‘hidden’ places and spaces of climate litigation
  • climate implications of export credit agencies and their regulation
  • nature of intellectual property rights in the context of climate mitigation.

These research and practices areas come together in the LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change, integrating cutting edge legal thinking with climate research in cognate disciplines including business and geosciences.

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Dr Iona McEntee holds a PhD in Law from the University of Strathclyde. She also has a LLM in Global Environmental Law and Governance (with distinction), and an LLB in Scots and English Law (University of Strathclyde). Iona’s research explores the role of courts in the bottom-up pluralisation and decolonisation of law, through the lens of rights of Nature. Her PhD, and research interests, cover legal theory, comparative law, and global environmental law.

Iona has taught classes on environmental law at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, including, seminars on rights of Nature for the module Global Environmental Law: Issues of Equity and Sustainability, as part of the LLM in Global Environmental Law and Governance. She has also delivered guest lectures at Hertie School for Fundamental Rights (on climate justice), and at SOAS University of London (on rights of Nature).

Iona has furthermore conducted visiting research stays at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in 2022 and 2025 (DAAD funded).

 

Agata Daszko joined the Law School as an Early Career Fellow in International Economic Law in August 2024. Prior to joining the Law School, she was a Research Fellow att the University of Göttingen, where she is also completing her PhD thesis on the environmental impact assessments in international investment law and arbitration. Her research interest lie in investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS), interlinkages between international investment law and public international law, and investment arbitration under State contracts. She has previously held visiting researcher positions at the University of Bologna (March-April 2023) and Kyoto University (March-May 2024). 

In addition to her current role, Agata also serves as the Academic Assistant at the Society of International Economic Law. She is also the Assistant General Editor of the Commentaries on World Trade Law (Brill), Editor-in-Chief of the EFILA Blog, and has previously worked as a consultant at the OECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate and an international arbitration clerk at Arnold & Porter. 

Agata holds an LL.M. in Public International Law from Leiden University and a BA in Law with German and German Law (qualifying law degree) from the University of Nottingham.

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Rozemarijn Roland Holst teaches and researches in the fields of international law of the sea, environmental law, and climate change law. Research themes include the interaction between law, science and new technology; global commons; international law and critical political economy; international organisations law; and international dispute settlement. She currently holds a Leverhulme Research Project Grant for the project ‘The Making and Unmaking of Global Commons by International Organisations’.

Prior to joining Edinburgh Law School, Rozemarijn held lectureships in International Environmental Law at Durham University, and in Public International Law at Utrecht University. She was a visiting research fellow at the Graduate Institute in Geneva. Rozemarijn obtained her PhD (cum laude) from Utrecht University and holds an LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law (with distinction) from the University of Edinburgh, and an LLB (cum laude) from the University of Amsterdam.

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James will be on research leave for the 2025-26 academic year

James Harrison joined the School of Law as a member of academic staff in July 2007. He holds law degrees from the University of Edinburgh (PhD, LLM) and the University of East Anglia (LLB). James teaches on a number of international law courses, including specialist courses in the international law of the sea, international environmental law, and international law for the protection of the marine environment. His research interests span these areas, considering how the legal rules evolve and interact, as well as examining how international law and policy influences the domestic legal framework. He also has a particular interest in the contribution of international courts and tribunals to the development of international law. James is an Annual Case Review Editor (International Environmental Law) for the Journal of Environmental Law.

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The staff teaching on this programme are subject to change for 2026-27. Staff listed as on sabbatical will not be available to teach for the duration of their sabbatical.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

LLM in European Law

The LLM in European Law at Edinburgh Law School is an ideal stepping stone for anyone interested in a rewarding career in law, business, policy, or politics within the European Union (EU) and beyond.

Dr Leandro Mancano, Senior Lecturer in EU Law provides an overview of the programme and discusses the benefits of studying European Law at Edinburgh Law School.

As a world-leading centre for the study of EU law located in a former Member State, we are uniquely positioned to critically assess the Union’s past, present, and future. Our programme exposes students to a wide array of cutting-edge perspectives, with a teaching team comprised not only of leading scholars, but also legal practitioners and policymakers. 

The LLM in European Law is designed to cover the full breadth and depth of the field, with courses ranging from competition law to criminal law, and from data protection and information privacy to citizenship, immigration, and asylum. 

You will also have the chance to participate in the European Law Moot Court, one of the most prestigious mooting competitions in the world.

The EU is one of the most significant legal, political, and economic actors in the world today, making expertise in European law an invaluable asset for lawyers, businesses, and policymakers within and beyond its borders. 

As the world’s largest trading bloc and partner to 80 non-Member States, the EU exerts a global influence on issues ranging from trade and international security to transnational crime and human rights.

In recent years, the EU has also had to respond to an unprecedented set of challenges, including Brexit, the rule of law crisis, migration, the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and the rise of artificial intelligence and related digital technologies. 

Against this backdrop, the LLM in European Law at the University of Edinburgh provides an unrivalled opportunity to gain advanced knowledge of this dynamic field of law. 

Our graduates have gone on to successful careers in legal practice, policymaking, and academia in Brussels, Luxembourg, and beyond. 

The University of Edinburgh is home to the UK’s oldest research centre dedicated to the study of European integration, the Europa Institute.

Established in 1968, the Europa Institute remains a world-leading centre for research on EU law. Several members of the Institute are involved in teaching on the European Law LLM.

Find out more about the Europa Institute

As the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh is also home to the Scottish parliament, courts, and government departments. Our academic staff regularly engage with these and other public institutions across the UK and Europe, bringing their expertise to bear on cutting-edge issues of law and policy. 

Edinburgh Law School organises guest seminars and masterclasses with leading practitioners and academics working in the field of EU law. 

The Europa Institute also hosts lectures by high-profile speakers, including judges and politicians, allowing our students to hear first-hand from those shaping the future of EU law and European integration.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in European Law please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

This programme can be taken full time over one year, or part time over two years subject to visa restrictions. It offers a range of subjects across the field of corporate and commercial law from an international perspective, allowing you to tailor the programme to suit your interests.

The programme consists of 180 credits, comprising taught courses worth 120 credits (60 credits per semester) and a 10,000 word dissertation worth 60 credits. 

View 2026-27 programme information for the LLM in European Law

Courses offered in the 2026-27 academic year can be found below. 

With the exception of the compulsory courses, and depending on demand, space on specific courses may be limited.

You must select between 80 and 120 credits of the following courses:

  • Citizenship in Europe (20 credits)
    This aim of this course is to explore the multi-level governance framework for citizenship in Europe, looking at the national, sub-national and international/European levels at which law operates. The aim is to understand the classic notion of national citizenship in the context of developments such as European Union citizenship and the impact of supranational and international norms such as the ECHR, placing the law throughout in its wider political context.
     

  • EU Immigration and Asylum Law (20 credits)

    The course is aimed to provide the students with the foundations of EU Immigration Law. They will engage in discussion on primary and secondary sources, as well as analysis of the centrepieces of the area. Through the involvement of practitioners, they will be exposed to different approaches and address the topics from a theoretical, and practical, points of view.

  • Europe, Empire and the Law (20 credits)
    This course explores the past and present entanglement of law and empire in Europe. The course focuses primarily on the role of colonialism, imperialism, and decolonisation in the history of European integration and their ongoing influence on the law of the European Union and the European Convention on Human Rights.

  • Fundamentals of EU Competition Law 1 (20 credits)

    The course will examine the concept of competition in economic literature and in the structure of the EU treaties covering common concepts: 'undertaking', effect on trade' and 'appreciable' effect, Articles 101 and 102. It will also cover competition law and intellectual property rights and digital markets, artificial intelligence and the enforcement of competition law.

  • Fundamentals of EU Competition Law 2 (20 credits)

    The course examines three selected issues arising from the interplay between the rules on competition, contained in Articles 101 and 102 TFEU, and the principles governing the single market, especially the freedom of movement of goods and services. It will include:
    - From the notion of restriction of freedom to trade to the concept of restriction of competition: the evolution in the approaches to the interpretation of Article 101 TFEU in light of the evolution of the single market;
    - Parallel trade restrictions under the single market principles and under the EU competition rules;
    - Intellectual property rights and the EU Treaties: from patent exhaustion to 'abusive' refusals to license; reconciling effective competition, free movement of 'valuable' inventions and the genuine incentive to invest and innovate.

  • The Law of Integration: understanding the EU Legal System (20 credits)

    What are the basic components and features of the European Union's legal system? How does it interact with national legal systems? What makes it distinct from international law on the one hand and national law on the other? Finally, what do we mean by legal integration, what purpose does it serve and how is it achieved? This course aims to provide answers to these questions. It analyses the legal system of the European Union, understood as a system of legal integration. European Union law is something distinct from international law. It creates its own legal system with its own autonomous law-making apparatus and a relationship with national legal systems characterised by supremacy and direct effect. This course will explore this legal system, identifying what makes it distinct from international law, analysing its relations with national legal systems and how it contributes towards the process of European integration.

  • European and Transnational Criminal Law (20 credits)

    This course will provide students with foundational knowledge of European and Transnational Criminal Law. They will engage in discussion on primary and secondary sources, and work on developing different skills related to legal analysis. The conceptual discussion will go hand in hand with close consideration of the practice in this field. Therefore, students will be exposed to different approaches and address the main course themes from a theoretical, and hands-on, points of view.

You will have the option to take between 0 and 40 credits of the following courses from different subject areas offered by the Law School:

  • Contract Law in Europe (20 credits)
  • Fundamentals of Comparative Private Law (20 credits)
  • Human Rights, Democracy and Courts in Turbulent times (20 credits)
  • Innovation: Law and Policy (20 credits)
  • International and European Media Law (20 credits)
  • International Private Law: Jurisdiction and Enforcement of Judgments (20 credits)
  • Regulation of International Finance: The Law, the Economics, the Politics (40 credits)
  • Sustainability in Food Supply Chains: Law and Policy (20 credits)
  • Transnational Waste Law and Circular Economy (20 credits)

Having successfully completed 120 credit points of courses within the LLM, you will be ready to move onto a single piece of independent and in-depth research. The 10,000 word dissertation allows you to focus on a preferred topic from within the field of European law, normally based on a subject you have studied in one of your courses during the programme.

You are supported with your independent research in several ways:

  • During semester 2 (Jan – March) you are provided with targeted opportunities to develop research and writing skills necessary for the successful completion of a larger research project.
  • You receive advice on formulating an appropriate research topic and feedback on developing a specific research question.
  • You are assigned an academic supervisor who will provide you with support and guidance while you undertake your research. You will have three meetings with your supervisor (in the period April – June, following the end of taught courses) in which avenues of research are discussed; a structure for the dissertation is developed; and feedback is provided on a sample of the dissertation. The dissertation is submitted in August.

This independent research project is a challenging but rewarding endeavour, allowing you to demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the relevant literature and an ability to engage critically with a range of sources, drawing on the skills and knowledge you have developed during your studies. You are encouraged to show originality and evidence of independent thinking. Indeed, the outcome of the project – your dissertation – may provide a useful platform for the next stage of your career.

Please note that due to unforeseen circumstances or lack of demand for particular courses, we may not be able to run all courses as advertised come the start of the academic year.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in European Law please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

Page update: Courses for the 2026-27 year were published on the 16th April 2026. 

Staff teaching on the core courses of the LLM in European Law are experts in a range of legal disciplines and often engage in research-led teaching.

Dr Timothy Jacob-Owens - Programme Director 2025-26

Timothy Jacob-Owens is an Early Career Fellow in Citizenship Law and Policy and the Programme Director for the LLM in European Law. He teaches public law, EU law, and specialised courses on citizenship law. His research interests lie broadly in citizenship, migration, and human rights.

Find out more

Arianna Andreangeli's research interests lie in the area of EU and domestic competition law, both substantive and procedural. She is especially interested in exploring how the competition rules can be effectively applied so as to safeguard genuine rivalry in the market while safeguarding the concerned actors' economic freedom and incentive to innovate and invest.

Find out more

Elisenda Casanas Adam is Lecturer in Public Law and Human Rights and Associate Director of the Edinburgh Centre for Constitutional Law. Her main research interests lie in the comparative analysis of public law, focusing on plurinational constitutionalism, referendums and self-determination, devolution and federalism, and judicial review and the protection of human rights in multi-level systems. She has a special interest in the public law of Scotland and the United Kingdom, and of Catalonia and Spain.

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Stephen Coutts is a Lecturer in European Union Law. He is a member of the editorial board of European Papers and formerly on the editorial board of the Irish Journal of European Law. He is on the Advisory Board of the Irish Centre of European Law and a former President and current Council member of the Irish Association of Law Teachers. 

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Dr Leandro Mancano is Senior Lecturer in EU Law at Edinburgh Law School, Head of EU Law Subject Area and Programme Director of the LLM in European Law.

Leandro’s main research interests lie in EU constitutional Law, EU fundamental rights Law, the law and policy of the EU Area of Freedom Security and Justice. He teaches and is course organizer of courses in EU Law, EU Criminal Law, EU Asylum and Immigration Law.

Leandro’s publications focus on the interaction amongst different areas of European law and policy, such as crime, migration, and human rights. His first monograph analyses the legislative and judicial approach of the EU to deprivation of liberty in the fields of substantive and procedural criminal law, immigration, citizenship and free movement.

Before joining the University of Edinburgh, Leandro received his PhD from Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (Pisa). He has been visiting researcher at Queen Mary University of London, Université Libre de Bruxelles and the University of Copenhagen. Leandro is UK’s Deputy Contact Point for the European Criminal Law Academic Network (ECLAN).

Leandro is regularly involved in public engagement, has drafted policy papers and provided evidence to Scottish institutions.

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Bob Roth is an Early Career Fellow in European Union law. He lectures and teaches on EU law, focusing especially on its constitutional dimensions. 

Bob’s research interests include constitutional law and theory, (public) law and political economy, as well as legal and political theory more broadly. His current work critically explores the historical and conceptual evolution of the rule of law in EU law, its relationship to the political-economic and administrative dimensions of European integration, and the implications of EU constitutional discourse for democratic practice and legitimacy. He also contributes to the ‘Taming the Dark Energy of EU Law’ project funded by the Leverhulme Trust and led by Professor Niamh Nic Shuibhne.

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Niamh Nic Shuibhne is Professor of European Union Law. She is one of the Joint Editors of the Common Market Law Review. She was Joint Editor of the European Law Review from 2009-2014, and remains a member of its Editorial Board. She is a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe (Bruges), where she introduced the first compulsory course on EU citizenship law in 2013.

Her research examines questions of substantive EU law from a constitutional perspective, with a particular focus on principle-based analysis of free movement law and European Union citizenship. Themes that underpin that work include the values of coherence, fairness and integrity; the respective commitments, and responsibilities, of the Union and of the Member States; and the quality of EU legal decision-making, with particular emphasis on the role of the judiciary.

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Jo Shaw has held the Salvesen Chair of European Institutions in the School of Law since January 2005. Since 2018, she has also held a part time visiting position in the New Social Research programme of Tampere University in Finland.

Since 2017, she has been working on a set of related projects on citizenship regimes: what they are and how they work. Her work has been supported by a EURIAS Fellowship at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies (2017-2018) and a Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship (2018-2020). She is also co-Director of the Global Citizenship Observatory. Her current work builds on research previously funded by the European Research Council and the Nuffield Foundation.

Find out more

The staff teaching on this programme are subject to change for 2026-27 academic year. Staff listed as on sabbatical will not be available to teach for the duration of their sabbatical.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in European Law please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice

The MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice engages with the complex problems raised by crime, justice and the pursuit of criminal justice in our contemporary world. This programme provides you with the opportunity to study critical developments, debates and responses in the field of crime and criminal justice.

Students in discussion

Issues raised by crime and justice today present new challenges for legitimacy, security and social justice. Our MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice allows you to study those challenges in local, international and global contexts, engaging with theory and research to understand and respond to those challenges.

Emily, MSc Criminology and Criminal Justice Graduate
During my time at Edinburgh Law School, I felt supported, loved, and never alone.
Emily
MSc Criminology and Criminal Justice

Contemporary issues about crime and justice in local, international and global contexts present challenges for criminology, criminal justice, citizens, politicians, practitioners and policy makers.

Building on a distinguished history of criminological research in the School of Law, the MSc Criminology and Criminal Justice programme fosters critical thinking and analysis about those contemporary challenges, making connections with broader social and political concerns and responses. You will be taught by and engage with our academic staff whose work is both theoretical and empirical and makes a difference to the world both locally and globally.

On the MSc Criminology and Criminal Justice programme, you will be part of our active community of researchers, international scholars and local practitioners, providing you with a critical understanding of criminological theories and literature concerned with crime, criminal justice and crime control and encouraging real world insight about issues of policy and practice.

  • The programme will help prepare you for a range of careers including doctoral and other academic research, policy and government work, private and third sector organisations and institutions concerned with crime and justice, crime prevention, public and community safety.
  • A key strength of our programme is the diversity of our students, providing opportunities to engage in critical discussion and debate on issues in crime and criminal justice which are increasingly transnational in orientation. Reflecting the strong, interdisciplinary nature of criminology at Edinburgh Law School, we welcome students from a broad range of intellectual backgrounds.
  • As well as providing a comprehensive training in criminology, criminal justice and criminological research methods, you will also have the chance to undertake a small research project in collaboration with local practitioners such as the police, prosecutors, third sector organisations working in criminal justice and the Scottish Government. The research you carry out will be fed back to the organisation you work with, giving you the chance to make a difference, gain valuable experience and lay the foundations for future research or employment.
  • The programme provides an opportunity for professional development for criminal justice practitioners such as lawyers, social workers, prison governors and officers.

Applicants who are not eligible to apply directly to the PhD award can apply on a '1+3.5' basis which starts with a one-year MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice (ESRC Track) and is then followed by a three and a half year PhD.

The University of Edinburgh is a partner university of the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS). The SGSSS awards a number of studentships across Scotland each year through the student-led 'Open' competition. These studentships can be offered as MSc plus PhD (1+3.5) or PhD (3.5) awards depending on the experience of the applicant.

The aim of the programme is to provide comprehensive training in criminology, criminal justice, and the extensive training in social science research methods required by the ESRC. It offers an excellent foundation for those interested in undertaking subsequent doctoral research and those who work (or intend to work) in the criminal justice system or related areas.

Find out more about the SGSS: Student-led Open Competition

Criminology at Edinburgh Law School has a strong interdisciplinary and outward focus. This provides an exciting environment in which to develop both new and existing interests.

On the MSc Criminology and Criminal Justice Programme you will benefit from the expertise and diverse research interests of our criminology team, all of whom are active and engaged researchers and whose teaching and research has real-world impact. This is an ideal environment in which to foster your interests and develop your talent.

Current research interests of our academic staff include:

  • Penal politics
  • Youth crime and juvenile justice
  • Crime inequalities
  • Violence
  • Crime trends and patterns
  • Policing
  • Sentencing
  • Cybercrime, security and surveillance
  • Global, transnational and comparative criminology

Academic staff have collaborative networks with scholars both in the UK and abroad and strong connections with criminal justice practitioners.

Find out more about Criminology research at Edinburgh Law School

As a student on the MSc Criminology and Criminal Justice you will have numerous opportunities during your studies to attend external events and lectures delivered by leading speakers and commentators. Crime, Justice and Society seminars are hosted by the Criminal Law and Criminology subject areas of Edinburgh Law Society. You are welcome to join research presentations and discussions on a broad range of topics. You are also warmly invited to attend the vast range of seminars and events run by the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research.

Contemporary Challenges: The Global Crime, Justice and Security Journal (CCJ) is a student-led journal affiliated with the University of Edinburgh. CCJ was founded in 2020 by students from the MSc in Global Crime, Justice and Security and related programmes at Edinburgh Law School.

CCJ is global in its outlook and interdisciplinary in nature. The editorial board is made up of postgraduate students from a variety of disciplines including law, criminology and international relations. This diversity of academic backgrounds allows engagement with contemporary challenges intersectionally and comprehensively in the way that the challenges of today demand.

Find out more

Contact us

If you have any questions about the MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

The MSc Criminology and Criminal Justice can be studied full time over one year, or part time over two years subject to visa restrictions. It offers a range of subjects across the fields of criminology, criminal justice, law and social sciences, allowing you to tailor an interdisciplinary programme to suit your interests.

The programme consists of 180 credits, comprising taught courses worth 120 credits (60 credits per semester) and a 10,000 word dissertation worth 60 credits. 

Full programme for the 2026-27 academic year details are available on the University Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study website.

View 2026-27 programme and course information the MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice

View 2026-27 programme and course information for the MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice (ESRC track)

Courses shown below are scheduled for the 2026-27 academic year.

Depending on demand, space on specific courses may be limited.

You must take these courses:

  • Theoretical Criminology (20 credits, must be taken in Semester 1)

    The aim of this course is to assist you in thinking theoretically about crime, criminal justice and social control, focusing in particular on the articulation between theoretical constructs, research strategies and claims to knowledge. We thus seek to provide clarification of the ways in which the theoretical resources of the social sciences can be brought to bear upon the phenomena of crime and criminality, their occurrence and distribution, and their contested character.
    This course is particularly suitable if you are interested in learning more about the causes of crime and why societies (including the public, politicians and the media) respond to crime the way they do.

  • Criminological Research Methods (20 credits, must be taken in Semester 1)

    This course will equip you with knowledge of principles of research design and key methodological approaches towards the collection, analysis and presentation of research findings. It explicitly emphasises the key roles of theory in research and issues of politics, power, ethics and reflexivity that are so crucial to the research process. Seminars form the backbone of the course through which different research methods will be critically examined. Some of these seminars will require you to take the lead and present your emerging ideas on research to peers, invited criminal justice practitioners and academic staff.
    The course is an essential element of academic research training. Even if you do not wish to undertake further research it will equip you with the knowledge and experience to evaluate the research of others. If you do wish to undertake further research (whether in external organisations or as a PhD) the course will equip you with the kinds of knowledge, skills and experience to better undertake that work. The practical nature of the course also ensures that, regardless of your future professional aspirations, the course will be of value to you and to your personal and professional development.

You must take 20 credits of the following courses:

  • Criminal Justice and Penal Process (20 credits)
    This course aims to provide you with critical insight of the institutions of criminal justice and to introduce some of the relevant policy frameworks, dilemmas and debates. The jurisdictions of Scotland and England and Wales will serve as the primary model for discussions, but an international, comparative approach is considered throughout. The course also has the aim of providing opportunities for you to practice the research skills necessary to explore and critically assess academic and policy research which informs current criminal justice approaches. You will have the opportunity to observe criminal courts in action and to carry out their own observations on criminal justice processes. By the end of this course you should be able to describe the conceptual functioning of criminal justice and penal institutions; critically analyse these institutions and explain the rationale of key developments in policy and practice.

  • Global Crime and Insecurity (20 credits)

    The focus of the course is the definition, explanation and interpretation of global forms of crime, insecurity and injustice. This is tackled in a structure which examines issues of categorisation and definition first, before exploring a range of contexts in which crime and criminality may be researched, then examining particular forms of crime and finishing with questions of measurement and interpretation.
    The course focus is on policy and legal responses to international and global forms of crime, insecurity and injustice. This is tackled in a structure which examines issues a range of different policing, judicial and regulatory frameworks, with attention paid in each of these sessions to the underlying logic of the approach. Following this, various mechanisms through and contexts in which criminal justice policy might spread are examined. The course finishes with a case study of money laundering, but depending on the availability of staff, this could be replaced with any substantive crime issue which allows students the opportunity to draw together a number of the issues raised in earlier sessions.

You must take 60 credits of the following courses:

  • Current Issues in Criminal Law (20 credits)

    This course examines current issues, debates and trends in criminal law. It introduces important developments in criminal law and the criminal process; to the controversies and debates surrounding these developments; and to the broader changes that they represent in the criminal justice field. The course begins by exploring questions of criminalisation: the changing scope of the criminal law, and debates over what conduct should and should not be made criminal. It then turns to examine developments in the law relating to criminal procedure and evidence; and finally to sentencing and other consequences of criminal conviction. The precise content of the course will change year on year, in response to new developments. However, at least some topics from each of these areas will be covered in any given academic year.

  • Cybercrime and Cyber Security (20 credits)
    Cybercrime is becoming an increasingly important area of criminology as more social activities take place online. This course on cybercrime and cyber security will provide you with an introduction to the criminological and sociological study of crime on the internet ('cybercrime'), including its commission, motivations, patterns of occurrence, detection, policing, and prevention ('cyber security').
     

  • Police and Policing (20 credits)

    The Police and Policing course is designed to equip you with a broad, yet advanced, understanding of police organisations and key contemporary issues in policing, security and police research. The first half of the course gives some focus to understanding the 'police' organisation itself (public constabularies). The second half of the course examines 'policing' more broadly defined, with some particular focus on the expanded importance of the commercial sector and on global and transnational dimensions of contemporary policing.

  • Responding to Global Crime and Insecurity (20 credits)

    The focus of the course is on legal, political and policy responses to international and transnational forms of crime, insecurity and injustice. The course is delivered in two sections focusing first on transnational forms of organised crime and secondly on atrocity crime (broadly, those defined by international criminal law). A final session looks for contrasts and connections between these two parts.

  • Sexual Offending and the Law (20 credits)

    This course will examine contemporary approaches to the law of sexual offences in comparative perspective. Topics to be covered can include, amongst others, the definition of rape, sex trafficking, the prosecution of sexual offences, sentencing and treatment of sex offenders, sex work, the proper extent of criminalisation of consensual sexual conduct, and evidential issues in the proof of sexual offences.

  • Advanced Criminological Research in Practice (20 credits)

    This course applies theoretical issues of methodology and research design to the practice of empirical research. You will be introduced to the practice of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, which you will employ through the design and conduct of your own, original research project. You will gain experience of the possibilities and dilemmas of research in practice, and an understanding of questions of politics, power and reflexivity that are central to research in practice. Through the presentation of your work you will also practice oral, visual and written communication skills to a range of lay and practice audiences. Please note, to take this course you must have taken Criminological Research Methods (LAWS11469) or a similar postgraduate course in social research methodology.

  • Surveillance and Security (20 credits)

    This course introduces students to the study of surveillance and security. The courses draws from the fields of surveillance studies, security studies, and situational crime prevention, and examines topics such as facial recognition, Internet surveillance, airport security, counter-terrorism, AI, and privacy. The course explores how surveillance and security can and should be implemented and regulated.
    This course is primarily criminological, sociological and social scientific in approach. It is particularly suitable for students who are interested in topics such as mass surveillance, surveillance technologies, situational crime prevention, designing out crime, border security, counter-terrorism, Internet surveillance, privacy, and AI-assisted surveillance.

  • Sentencing: International Perspectives (20 credits)
    'Sentencing' is a high-profile court process whereby punishment is imposed on a convicted offender by a judicial authority. This course explores the law, philosophy, and wider implications of this most complex and contested practice of criminal justice. It is international and comparative in approach, inviting students to appraise and critique diverse approaches to sentencing on the global stage.
     

  • The State of Criminal Justice: Law, Politics and Policy (20 credits) 

    Criminal justice systems are often criticised for being in a poor state, and we regularly disagree about law, politics and policy in this area. How, then, should we use expert knowledge and research evidence about criminal justice to inform law, politics and policy? And what role should be played by 'the people', 'public opinion' and so-called 'experts by experience'? These are the central questions addressed in this course, and they will guide us through many controversial contemporary issues in the jurisdictions of the UK and beyond.

  • Visual Criminology (20 credits)
    This course introduces students to visual criminology and some of the diverse scholarship that has influenced its development (e.g. art theory, cultural studies, semiotics).
    The first part of the course provides an orientation to the field of visual criminology, the topics it covers, its theoretical and empirical sources, and to one of its primary justifications: the need to challenge the claimed or assumed 'neutrality' of images. The course then moves onto questions of method, ethics and practice: what does it mean to 'do' visual criminology, and what are the possibilities and constraints? This session will prepare students to 'do' visual criminology themselves as part of the assessment.
    The final part of the course allows for more in-depth critical analysis of areas where visual criminology is being used (an indicative list of these examples includes: law, justice and evidence; testimony, memory and atrocity crimes; police and policing; punishment and carceral spaces; video games and immersive communities). Recurrent themes in the course include: representation and authenticity; representation and identity; emotion and empathy; interpretation, hierarchies of credibility and 'ways of seeing'; ethics, consent and criminological activism.

Full programme details are available on the University Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study website.

View full programme and course information for the MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice Degree

Students on the ESRC track must take and pass all of the compulsory courses listed below:

  • Theoretical Criminology (20 credits, must be taken in Semester 1)

    The aim of this course is to assist you in thinking theoretically about crime, criminal justice and social control, focusing in particular on the articulation between theoretical constructs, research strategies and claims to knowledge. We thus seek to provide clarification of the ways in which the theoretical resources of the social sciences can be brought to bear upon the phenomena of crime and criminality, their occurrence and distribution, and their contested character.
    This course is particularly suitable if you are interested in learning more about the causes of crime and why societies (including the public, politicians and the media) respond to crime the way they do.

  • Core Quantitative Data Analysis 1 and 2 (20 credits, must be taken in Semester 1)

    The course introduces key statistical ideas and methods for social and political research. It is designed for students who have little or no previous experience or knowledge of statistics, or even a phobia for numbers, or for those who feel they need a refresher course on the subject. The emphasis is on learning and understanding by doing, using 'real' data, rather than memorising formulae or rules of procedure. Each on-line learning module is supplemented by self-tests and activities to give students practice in the exploration and analysis of quantitative data using the SPSS software package, copies of which may also be provided free of charge to students for use on their own personal computers. In line with ESRC postgraduate research training guidelines, the aim of the course is to ensure that students are able to understand and use basic quantitative methods.

  • Research Skills in the Social Sciences: Data Collection (20 credits, must be taken in Semester 1)

    Data Collection is concerned with the techniques and practices of doing empirical research. This course teaches professional competence in gathering information by talking to people, collecting documents, conducting surveys and observing social interaction. We cover a range of associated issues, including identifying and using different sources; recruiting and negotiating access to research respondents; formulating questions and managing interviews and focus groups; sampling populations and designing surveys; recording observations; research ethics, and analysing qualitative data.

  • Becoming a Confident Social Science Researcher (20 credits, must be taken in Semester 1)

    This is a unique course which brings together ESRC funded SGSSS students from throughout Scotland and across social science disciplines. Students will join together for a week long residential where they will receive tuition from research methods experts, and engage in a range of interactive activities to develop their understanding of the nature of contemporary social science research. Sessions will introduce you to perspectives of interdisciplinary research, a range of cross-cutting research approaches and data resources, and skills in topics such as research project management, open social science, ethical research practice, and research impact. Following the residential week students will take part in small group tutorial sessions to develop their understanding and prepare for their assessments.

Additionally, you must choose a further two courses (40 credits) from the options available (please note that not all of the courses listed below will necessarily be available each year; however, please also note that additional course choices may be available).

  • Cybercrime and Cyber Security (20 credits)
  • Police and Policing (20 credits)
  • Responding to Global Crime and Insecurity (20 credits)
  • Surveillance and Security (20 credits)
  • Visual Criminology (20 credits)

After successfully completing 120 credits of course you will progress onto the dissertation phase (60 credits) of the MSc.

Full programme details are available on the University Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study website.

View full programme and course information for the MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice (ESRC Track)

Having successfully completed 120 credit points of courses within the MSc, you will be ready to move onto a single piece of independent and in-depth research. The 10,000 word dissertation allows you to focus on a preferred topic from within the field of criminology and criminal justice, normally based on a subject you have studied in one of your courses during the programme.

You are supported with your independent research in several ways:

  • During semester 2 (Jan – March) you are provided with targeted opportunities to develop research and writing skills necessary for the successful completion of a larger research project.
  • You receive advice on formulating an appropriate research topic and feedback on developing a specific research question.
  • You are assigned an academic supervisor who will provide you with support and guidance while you undertake your research. You will have three meetings with your supervisor (in the period April – June, following the end of taught courses) in which avenues of research are discussed; a structure for the dissertation is developed; and feedback is provided on a sample of the dissertation. The dissertation is submitted in August.

This independent research project is a challenging but rewarding endeavour, allowing you to demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the relevant literature and an ability to engage critically with a range of sources, drawing on the skills and knowledge you have developed during your studies. You are encouraged to show originality and evidence of independent thinking. Indeed, the outcome of the project – your dissertation – may provide a useful platform for the next stage of your career.

Please note that due to unforeseen circumstances or lack of demand for particular courses, we may not be able to run all courses as advertised come the start of the academic year.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

Page update: Courses for the 2026-27 year were published on the 16th April 2026. 

The MSc Criminology and Criminal Justice degree draws on the substantial expertise and knowledge of members of academic staff.

All members of staff teaching on both the core and optional courses are experts in their field and carry out leading research in various areas of criminology and criminal justice.

Programme Director 2025-26 - Dr Alistair Henry

Alistair Henry is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology and an Associate Director of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research, where he leads the Police Community Relations Network. His main research interests currently lie in the field of policing. In particular, he is actively interested in issues of governance and accountability, local and community policing, crime prevention and community safety, and partnership working between the police, other criminal justice organisations and local government.

Find out more

Richard Jones is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology. He has published on topics including the electronic monitoring ('tagging') of offenders, access control, border controls, computer crime, penal populism, the media, airport security, the use of force in policing, and surveillance theory. His current research centres on security, surveillance, the sociology of punishment, theoretical criminology, cyber security and cybercrime.

Find out more

Susan is Chair of Quantitative Criminology within the School of Law. She has several major research roles within the School and plays a significant role with in the Scottish and UK research community. She is Director of the ESRC-funded Understanding Inequalities (UI) project which aims to create an innovative and ambitious programme of research on the causes, consequences and policy implications of social inequaltieis across different dimensions and spatial scales.  Susan is Co-Director of the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime, a prospective longitudinal study of youth offending based at the University of Edinburgh since 1998. She has responsibility for strategic management of the research programme and plays a key role in advancing statistical analysis of the data and publishing the results of the research. 

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Anna Souhami is Head of the Criminology Subject Area and Associate Director of the Scottish Centre of Crime and Justice Research.

Her research focuses on the culture and identity of criminal justice work, in particular in relation to policing, youth justice and policy making, and she specialises in ethnographic methodologies. Her current research is an ethnography of policing and social control in the remote Northern islands of Scotland.

Find out more

Milena Tripkovic joined Edinburgh Law School in 2019 as a Lecturer in Criminology, having previously taught at the University of Birmingham, University of Kent and University of Novi Sad. Milena has researched various problems associated with crime and punishment. Her current research, which examines contemporary restrictions to citizenship rights of criminal offenders, is situated at the intersection of law, criminology and normative political theory and explores the issues of punishment, citizenship and community.

Find out more

Andy will be on sabbatical for the 2025-26 academic year

Andy joined the criminology team at the Law School in 2012 having previously lectured in Social Policy, also at the University of Edinburgh. He has previously worked with the Home Office, analysing crime data on the English regions and Wales, and with Cardiff University evaluating a multi-agency robbery reduction initiative in central Bristol. He holds degrees from the University of Edinburgh and Cardiff University covering Criminology, Politics, and Modern History.

Find out more

The staff teaching on this programme are subject to change for 2026-27 academic year. Staff listed as on sabbatical will not be available to teach for the duration of their sabbatical.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

LLM in Corporate Law

The LLM in Corporate Law provides an in-depth knowledge of the legal, economic, financial, and governance matters covering the most relevant aspects in the life-cycle of a corporation.

Student in library

This innovative programme goes beyond a narrow focus on legal rules and situates the study of corporate law in a wider comparative and interdisciplinary context. As a student of this programme, you will have the opportunity to develop a critical understanding of the key matters and the most recent developments in across three main areas:

  • Comparative and international corporate governance, including topics such as shareholder activism, the role of independent non-executive directors, the representation of employees on boards, board gender diversity, corporate culture, corporate governance codes
  • Economic analysis of corporate law and finance, covering topics such as economic theories of the firm, shareholders’ rights, directors’ fiduciary duties, executive remuneration, hostile takeovers, corporate social responsibility
  • UK company law, focusing on a broad range of core company law topics, from setting up a company, to shareholders’ rights and remedies, directors’ duties, capital maintenance rules, insider dealing and market abuse

The LLM in Corporate Law will equip you with:

  • A critical understanding of the main legal, economic and financial matters spanning the entire life-cycle of a corporation, developed in an international and interdisciplinary perspective
  • A sound understanding of fundamental concepts of economics and governance which are necessary for an integrated understanding of the context in which corporate law and regulation operate
  • The ability to work with international legal materials and to grasp the legal implications of transactions involving international institutions and multinational corporations
Veronika, LLM in Corporate Law Graduate, 2020
Edinburgh University offers the perfect balance of high academic standard, beautiful surroundings and nature allowing you to delve into both.
Veronika
LLM in Corporate Law, 2020

Our diverse portfolio of courses will help you gain awareness and critical understanding of the latest developments in the corporate world, from shareholder opposition to excessive executive remuneration, the relevance of gender and racial diversity on boards, the rise of corporate social responsibility, the importance of corporate culture, or the rationales behind hostile takeovers.

We analyse some of the most recent developments in these areas in the UK, the US, and elsewhere in the world. This gives you the opportunity to identify the aspects or areas of corporate law you feel more passionate about, and help you choose your career path accordingly. Our graduates have moved on to pursue successful careers in international law firms, public institutions, NGOs, or in academia.

As a student in the LLM in Corporate Law at Edinburgh Law School, you will have access to a wide range of projects and activities developed by our research centres:

  • The Edinburgh Centre for Commercial Law fosters research in various fields of commercial law, such as company law, banking law, labour law, agency law, and consumer protection law. The members of the centre study Scots and UK commercial law in its comparative European or international context.
    Edinburgh Centre for Commercial Law
  • The Edinburgh Centre for Private Law fosters and develops a tradition of private law scholarship at Edinburgh University which goes back to 1722. The centre holds seminars, symposia and conferences, encourages research and informal discussion, and facilitates publication.
    The Edinburgh Centre for Private Law

The centre hosts numerous events throughout the academic year, including a prestigious Annual Lecture and a Fintech Lecture. Our distinguished guests include world-leading academics, policy makers, judges, and other practitioners.

In addition, the Law School hosts an exciting calendar of events, including public lectures and conferences that regularly attracts high-profile speakers and delegates.

Find out more about events at Edinburgh Law School

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in Corporate Law please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

This programme can be taken full-time over one year, or part-time over two years subject to visa restrictions. It offers a range of subjects across the field of corporate and commercial law from an international perspective, allowing you to tailor the programme to suit your interests.

The programme consists of 180 credits, comprising taught courses worth 120 credits (60 credits per semester) and a 10,000 word dissertation worth 60 credits. 

View 2026-27 programme information for the LLM in Corporate Law

Courses offered in the 2026-27 academic year can be found below. 

With the exception of the compulsory courses, and depending on demand, space on specific courses may be limited.

You must take both of these courses:

  • Corporation Law and Economics (20 credits, must be taken in Semester 1)

    The activity of business corporations cannot be fully understood without a firm grasp of the economic rationales that underpin the internal structure of such organisations and the transactions they engage in. This is why Law and Economics is rapidly becoming indispensable analytical tool for mainstream corporate law and practice.

    Throughout this course, you will acquire a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the principal theories, principles and concepts that underlie the law and economics analysis of corporations. Upon successful completion of this course, students will acquire an inter-disciplinary understanding of the relations among corporate constituencies and the economic incentives that trigger various business transactions.

    This course does not require previous knowledge of Economics or ability to understand mathematical models or calculus. The readings and discussions are tailored to a law audience.

  • Comparative Corporate Governance (20 credits, must be taken in Semester 2)

    The course focuses on the theory, law and practice of the governance of corporations across different jurisdictions. Corporate governance regulates the relationships between various corporate constituencies (directors, officers, majority and minority shareholders, employees, creditors) with a view to establishing an adequate system of controls that prevents any single corporate constituency from acquiring overriding power or influence. Because legal systems rank social priorities differently, several models of corporate governance have emerged worldwide. Consequently, comparative knowledge and understanding of corporate governance are essential tools for business lawyers and policymakers.

    Throughout this course, you will acquire a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the main theoretical approaches to governance of companies in the Anglo-American model of corporate governance, the continental European model, Asian jurisdictions and at supra-national level (such the OECD, the European Union, the UN).

You must select between 20 and 60 credits of the following courses:

  • Company Law (40 credits, full-year course)

    This course aims to give you a broad understanding of United Kingdom corporate law, including current changes; where appropriate, reference will be made to the position in Europe. The course seeks to develop awareness of the interaction between theory and practice, and the complex issues involved in balancing the needs of business and the community and encourages you to consider the problems involved.

  • Insolvency Law (20 credits)
    An examination of selected issues of insolvency law, including personal and corporate insolvency. The course will primarily focus on law within the United Kingdom and will take an advanced look at a variety of topics. Theoretical and comparative law material from a variety of systems (in Europe and the anglo-american tradition) will be used to examine the subjects studied.

  • Advanced Capital Markets Law (20 credits)

    This course will focus on the contemporary issues arising from the fast-developing modern capital markets, which have received heightened attention from scholars, practitioners and policymakers. It aims to provide students with the fundamental knowledge and leading-edge academic insights to analyse the role of UK capital markets law in addressing these contemporary issues.

You must select between 0 and 40 credits of the following courses:

  • Principles of Banking Law (20 credits)
    The course covers the fundamental and important concepts relating to banking and finance law and will focus on the following topics: the banker-customer relationship; the operation of bank accounts; banker's obligation of confidentiality; anti-money laundering and data protection/cybersecurity (financial crime); bank conduct; trusts (relevant to banking); United Kingdom corporate insolvency regime (relevant to banking); and secured lending (corporate loans and security for loans).
     
  • Principles of Financial Transactions (20 credits)
    This course examines the practical and legal aspects of the important financial transactions undertaken by financial institutions, as well as the market mechanisms and services facilitating these transactions.
     
  • Corporate Finance and Law (20 credits)
    Corporate finance law is essential for understanding how a business finances its operations and makes investment decisions in compliance with the legal and regulatory systems of its jurisdiction. This course is designed for students who wish to acquire a comprehensive understanding of the theory and practice of corporate finance and UK corporate finance law.
      
  • Sustainability in Food Supply Chains: Law and Policy (20 credits)
    This course examines the legal organization of food supply chains, through the lens of commercial law and food policy in their local regional and global settings and impact on sustainability and food security.
     
  • Sustainable Finance and the Law (20 credits)
    This course will focus on the contemporary issues arising from the market and regulatory dynamics of sustainable finance. It is tailored for students who wish to develop a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the role of sustainable finance in addressing sustainability challenges as well as the role of law in shaping sustainable finance practices.

You will have the option to take between 0 and 20 credits of the following courses from different subject areas offered by the Law School, depending on availability and with the express permission of the programme director.

  • Comparative and International Trust Law (20 credits)
  • Comparative Property Law (20 credits)
  • Competition Law, Intellectual Property & the Innovation Economy (20 credits)
  • Contract Law in Europe (20 credits)
  • Decentralised Technologies: Law, Finance and Society (20 credits)
  • Fundamentals of EU Competition Law 1 (20 credits)
  • Fundamentals of EU Competition Law 2 (20 credits)
  • Intellectual Property and Human Rights (20 credits)
  • Issues in Law and Sustainable Development (20 credits)
  • International Investment Law (20 credits)

Having successfully completed 120 credit points of courses within the LLM, you will be ready to move onto a single piece of independent and in-depth research. The 10,000 word dissertation allows you to focus on a preferred topic from within the field of corporate law, normally based on a subject you have studied in one of your courses during the programme.

You are supported with your independent research in several ways:

  • During semester 2 (Jan – March) you are provided with targeted opportunities to develop research and writing skills necessary for the successful completion of a larger research project.
  • You receive advice on formulating an appropriate research topic and feedback on developing a specific research question.
  • You are assigned an academic supervisor who will provide you with support and guidance while you undertake your research. You will have three meetings with your supervisor (in the period April – June, following the end of taught courses) in which avenues of research are discussed; a structure for the dissertation is developed; and feedback is provided on a sample of the dissertation. The dissertation is submitted in August.

This independent research project is a challenging but rewarding endeavour, allowing you to demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the relevant literature and an ability to engage critically with a range of sources, drawing on the skills and knowledge you have developed during your studies. You are encouraged to show originality and evidence of independent thinking. Indeed, the outcome of the project – your dissertation – may provide a useful platform for the next stage of your career.

Please note that due to unforeseen circumstances or lack of demand for particular courses, we may not be able to run all courses as advertised come the start of the academic year.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in Corporate Law please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

 

Page update: Courses for the 2026-27 year were published on the 16th April 2026. 

Staff teaching on the core courses of the LLM in Corporate Law in 2025-26 are experts in their field and are actively involved in cutting-edge research in various areas of commercial law.

Staff teaching on the programme may include:

Dr Remus Valsan - Programme Director 2025-26

Remus joined Edinburgh Law School in May 2011. He studied law at McGill University, Montreal (Doctor of Civil Law), University of Alberta, Edmonton (Master of Laws), and Nicolae Titulescu University, Bucharest (Bachelor of Civil Law).

Before joining academia, he worked as a corporate and commercial lawyer with a major Romanian law firm. His main research interests lie in the fields of fiduciary law, comparative corporate law and governance, law and economics, and trust law.

Find out more

Jonny was a solicitor in private practice for 10 years before starting at the Law School. Jonny’s research is conducted across a broad range of commercial law (particularly rights in security) and company law (particularly the law of private companies). Most of Jonny’s research has a law and economics methodology, which he has applied to a broad range of different subject matters.

Find out more

Scott has research interests in the area of rights in security (including floating charges), issues in property law, and legislation, the legislative process, and statutory interpretation.

He is currently working on work on the legislative history of the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, based on a period of research in the archives in the Scottish Law Commission; and is working on articles relating to the enforcement of standard securities.

Find out more

Dr. Longjie Lu joined Edinburgh Law School in September 2019. Prior to Edinburgh, Longjie taught law at the Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London, and completed her Ph.D. in law at the University of Leeds.

Longjie’s main research interests are in the areas of financial regulation, corporate governance, corporate finance and empirical legal studies.

Find out more

Dr Emilie Ghio is a Lecturer in Corporate & Insolvency Law at Edinburgh Law School, where she directs the Subject Area of Commercial Law and coordinates the Edinburgh Teaching Award. Her research explores the legal, institutional and cultural foundations of corporate rescue, spanning commercial, company and insolvency law. She is recognised for her expertise in the harmonisation of insolvency law (particularly in the EU context) and examines how cross-border coordination, legal convergence and policy design can improve access to rescue for struggling businesses. Her work links high-level harmonisation efforts with the lived realities of small and medium-sized enterprises and their directors, highlighting gaps between legal frameworks and practical uptake.

Find out more

Before joining the University of Edinburgh in 2023, Andrew was a Lecturer in Law at University College London, where he also served as Co-Director of the UCL Centre for Law, Economics and Society. Andrew holds a PhD in Law from UCL, an LLM in Law and Economics from Queen Mary University of London, and an undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Edinburgh.

Andrew’s research interests include antitrust/competition law, corporate finance and corporate governance, financial law and regulation, and the role of economics in legal and regulatory contexts. 

Find out more

The staff teaching on this programme are subject to change for the 2026-27 academic year. Staff listed as on sabbatical will not be available to teach for the duration of their sabbatical.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in Corporate Law please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

LLM in Commercial Law

The LLM in Commercial Law offers you the opportunity to study commercial law subjects at an advanced level, drawing on the latest research of our leading academics. It provides an excellent grounding for those intending to enter legal practice, pursue a career in the commercial sector, or continue on to future study and research in commercial law. 

Students in class

You will benefit from the opportunity to explore a wide range of subjects at an advanced level and study the law in the fast-paced and varied context of the commercial world.

The programme offers a wide range of subjects that deal with various aspects of commercial law enabling you to tailor the LLM to meet your specific interests. Subjects may include:

  • Company law
  • Contract law in Europe
  • Insolvency law
  • EU competition law
  • Principles of corporate finance
LLM in Commercial Law Graduate, Koen De Clercq
What I particularly enjoyed about the LLM in Commercial Law was that the emphasis was persistently put on learning from each other rather than from the professor who was leading the seminar.
Koen De Clercq
LLM in Commercial Law, 2017

The LLM in Commercial Law is relevant to lawyers and business professionals, giving you an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of commercial law.

The programme is designed for those intending to pursue a career in:

  • legal practice and wish to specialise in commercial law, tax law, or international trade law
  • the commercial sector and international commercial organisations in fields such as compliance

The LLM is also an ideal platform for advanced research and those wishing to go onto further postgraduate study, such as a PhD.

Edinburgh is an international city and Edinburgh Law School adopts an international approach to the teaching of the LLM in Commercial Law. On this programme you will benefit from connections to the legal profession and professional networks of the Edinburgh Centre for Commercial Law. The Edinburgh Centre for Commercial Law is a research community at Edinburgh Law School.

The centre was launched in 2008 and it aims to:

  • foster research in Scottish, British, and European commercial law;
  • promote excellence in the teaching of commercial law; and
  • foster links between the academic community and the legal profession.

The members of the centre conduct research in various fields of commercial law, including company law, banking law, labour law, agency law, and consumer protection law. In all these cases, we study Scots and UK commercial law in its comparative European or international context.

Visit the Edinburgh Centre for Commercial Law website

During your studies, you will benefit from the Law School’s close proximity to the Law Courts and the Faculty of Advocates (the Scots Bar).

You will also be able to attend events hosted by our research centre, the Edinburgh Centre for Commercial Law. These events have a great history of impressive guest speakers from the judiciary, practitioner world, and other leading academic institutions.

Find out more about events at the Law School

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in Commercial Law please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

This programme can be studied full-time over one year, or part-time over two years subject to visa restrictions. It offers a range of subjects across the field of commercial, corporate, and banking law from an international perspective, allowing you to tailor a programme to suit your interests.

The programme consists of 180 credits, comprising taught courses worth 120 credits (60 credits per semester) and a 10,000 word dissertation worth 60 credits. 

View 2026-27 programme information for the LLM in Commercial Law

Courses offered in the 2026-27 academic year can be found below. 

You must take this course.

  • Principles of Commercial Law (40 credits)

    This course will cover selected topics in Scots and English Commercial Law. It will provide you with an overview of the core commercial law areas. Material will be chosen from such areas as insolvency, rights in security, agency, employment and partnership. Company Law is excluded (except in so far as relevant to topics otherwise under consideration).

You can select between 20 and 60 credits of the following courses:

  • Company Law (40 credits, full-year course)

    This course aims to give you a broad understanding of United Kingdom corporate law, including current changes; where appropriate, reference will be made to the position in Europe. The course seeks to develop awareness of the interaction between theory and practice, and the complex issues involved in balancing the needs of business and the community.

  • Contract Law in Europe (20 credits)

    This course is a comparative contract law course. Its main focus is fundamental concepts of the law of contract, which arise in all systems. The course compares national systems of contract law, principally Scots, English, French and German law. The course also considers some of the harmonisation initiatives that have taken place in Europe over the last decade, principally the Draft Common Frame of Reference (Principles, Definitions and Model Rules of European Private Law).

  • Insolvency Law (20 credits)

    This course examines selected issues of insolvency law, including personal and corporate insolvency. The course will primarily focus on law within the United Kingdom and will take an advanced look at a variety of topics. Theoretical and comparative law material from a variety of systems (in Europe and the Anglo-American tradition) will be used to examine the subjects studied.

  • The Law of International Trade (20 credits)

    This course examines the legal aspects of international trade in a broad context. The course examines international sale of goods which are transported by sea. It investigates the trade terms used in international sale contracts (in the context of English common law and Incoterms in particular) and analyses the resulting obligations of the parties regarding payment methods (with emphasis on letters of credit and bills of exchange), transportation of the goods (focusing on bills of lading and waybills) and marine cargo insurance in the manner in which these relate to one another.

You can select between 20 and 40 credits of the following courses:

  • Corporate Finance and Law (20 credits)

    Corporate finance law is essential for understanding how a business finances its operations and makes investment decisions in compliance with the legal and regulatory systems of its jurisdiction. This course is tailored for students who wish to acquire a comprehensive understanding of the theory and practice of corporate finance and UK corporate finance law. 

  • Advanced Capital Markets Law (20 credits)

    Capital markets law is important for understanding how the public authority defines and governs financial activities and services in national capital markets to facilitate business growth, protect investors, maintain market order and integrity, and control financial risks. This course is tailored for students who have acquired solid and comprehensive knowledge in UK company law or corporate finance law and wish to develop an in-depth and intensive understanding of the contemporary issues in UK capital markets law.

  • Principles of Financial Transactions (20 credits)

    This course will look at the rules and practical aspects, as well as other relevant matters, relating to financial transactions, undertaken by banks/financial institutions. These transactions form a core part of a bank's/financial institution's activities, and are a major source of their profits.

  • Principles of Banking Law (20 credits)

    This course deals with fundamental concepts of banking (and finance) law. Given the varied backgrounds of students on the LLM International Banking and Finance Programme - some have a legal background, whilst others have a finance/business/economics background - this course will seek to help students to undertake the International Banking and Finance Law Programme on an equal footing. This is because the topics studied in this course are fundamental ones regarding banking and finance law, and are relevant to other courses in the programme, i.e., the course looks at concepts that those dealing with banking (and finance) law need to know and understand.

  • Fundamentals of EU Competition Law 1 (20 credits)

    The course will examine the concept of competition in economic literature and in the structure of the EU treaties covering common concepts: 'undertaking', effect on trade' and 'appreciable' effect, Articles 101 and 102. It will also cover competition law and intellectual property rights and digital markets, artificial intelligence and the enforcement of competition law.

  • Fundamentals of EU Competition Law 2 (20 credits)

    The course examines three selected issues arising from the interplay between the rules on competition, contained in Articles 101 and 102 TFEU, and the principles governing the single market, especially the freedom of movement of goods and services. It will include:
    - From the notion of restriction of freedom to trade to the concept of restriction of competition: the evolution in the approaches to the interpretation of Article 101 TFEU in light of the evolution of the single market;
    - Parallel trade restrictions under the single market principles and under the EU competition rules;
    - Intellectual property rights and the EU Treaties: from patent exhaustion to 'abusive' refusals to license; reconciling effective competition, free movement of 'valuable' inventions and the genuine incentive to invest and innovate.

  • International Commercial Arbitration (20 credits)

    The course aims to provide a firm grounding in the legal aspects of ad hoc and institutional international arbitration as well as offering practical skills on how to conduct such arbitrations.

    The course will include a range of topics including an introduction to arbitration, applicable laws, arbitration clauses, the arbitral tribunal, the jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal, the conduct of arbitral proceedings, the role of the national courts, the award, challenges to the award, and recognition and enforcement of the arbitral award. There will also be an introduction to Investment Arbitration. This course is aimed at those who are interested in acquiring a detailed understanding of how transnational disputes are resolved and knowledge of the legal environment which facilitates such a process. The primary focus will be on international commercial arbitration in practice, combining a thorough understanding of the legal rules with a practitioners' perspective.

  • Regulation of International Finance: the Law, the Economics, the Politics (40 credits, two-semester course)

    Global financial markets have gone through various stages of development since Bretton Woods. Crises, internationalisation, financialisation, technological advancement, and market and regulatory innovation have elevated financial markets to a position akin to being the heartbeat of the global economy. Especially, since 2008 the regulation of international finance has become the subject of extensive reform at the global, regional (EU), and national level.

    This course examines the workings of global finance and the institutional edifice supporting it, based on modern regulatory theory and practice, from an interdisciplinary perspective. This offers a holistic and in-depth overview of the economic, regulatory, and political framework under which financial markets operate internationally but also (supra-) nationally.

  • Principles of International Taxation (20 credits)

    This course would provide an introductory coverage of international tax law, including the international tax landscape (and the conflicts it can create bilaterally and multilaterally), as well as international efforts to tackle tax avoidance. This course covers most of the topics prescribed for the Principles of International Taxation paper in the Advanced Diploma of International Taxation (paper 1 of the ADIT qualification).

  • Competition Law, Intellectual Property and the Innovation Economy (20 credits)
    This course explores how intellectual property (IP) and competition law shape and regulate innovation in modern economies. Students will analyze how IP rights incentivize (or hinder) technological progress, while competition law fosters (or prevents) the development of a dynamic and competitive environment that encourages ongoing innovation, market entry, and the growth of new ideas.
     
  • Sustainable Finance and the Law (20 credits)
    This course will focus on the contemporary issues arising from the market and regulatory dynamics of sustainable finance. It is tailored for students who wish to develop a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the role of sustainable finance in addressing sustainability challenges as well as the role of law in shaping sustainable finance practices.
     
  • International Private Law: Jurisdiction and Enforcement of Judgments (20 credits)
    This course examiones civil jurisdiction and enforcement of judgments, issues which have been central to recent developments within International Private Law. It considers the provisions contained in EU instruments, focusing on the Brussels I Regulation and comparing with frameworks with a global potential. In particular it considers relevant Hague Private International Law Conventions, especially the 2005 Choice of Court Agreements Convention and the 2019 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments.
     
  • Sustainability in Food Supply Chains: Law and Policy (20 credits)
    This course considers legal, regulatory and policy questions relating to food supply chains. There will be a particular focus on food supply chain sustainability, including measures to counteract power asymmetries in the wider context of food security, supply chain regulation and food and agricultural policies.
     
  • Advanced Issues in Registered Trade Mark Law (20 credits)
    This course will provide in-depth coverage of registered trade mark law in the UK under the Trade Marks Act 1994 and at EU level under the EU Trade Mark Regulation 2017 (and predecessor legislation). Comparison with the trade mark laws of other jurisdictions will be introduced where of interest to particular topics of study.

You will have the option to take between 0 and 20 credits of the following courses from different subject areas offered by the Law School, depending on availability and with the express permission of the programme director.

  • Advanced Legal Reasoning (20 credits)
  • Comparative and International Trust law (20 credits)
  • Comparative Corporate Governance (20 credits)
  • Comparative Property Law (20 credits)
  • Corporation Law and Economics (20 credits)
  • Decentralised Technologies: Law, Finance and Society (20 credits)
  • Delict and Tort (20 credits)
  • Fundamentals of Comparative Private Law (20 credits)
  • Fundamentals of Legal Argument (20 credits)
  • Innovation: Law and Policy (20 credits)
  • Intellectual Property Law 2: Industrial Property (20 credits)
  • Intellectual Property and Development (20 credits)
  • International Investment Law (20 credits)
  • Introduction to Health Law (20 credits) 
  • The Law of Integration: understanding the EU Legal System (20 credits)
  • WTO and International Trade Law 1 (20 credits)

Having successfully completed 120 credit points of courses within the LLM, you will be ready to move onto a single piece of independent and in-depth research. The 10,000 word dissertation allows you to focus on a preferred topic from within the field of commercial law, normally based on a subject you have studied in one of your courses during the programme.

You are supported with your independent research in several ways:

  • During semester 2 (Jan – March) you are provided with targeted opportunities to develop research and writing skills necessary for the successful completion of a larger research project.
  • You receive advice on formulating an appropriate research topic and feedback on developing a specific research question.
  • You are assigned an academic supervisor who will provide you with support and guidance while you undertake your research. You will have three meetings with your supervisor (in the period April – June, following the end of taught courses) in which avenues of research are discussed; a structure for the dissertation is developed; and feedback is provided on a sample of the dissertation. The dissertation is submitted in August.

This independent research project is a challenging but rewarding endeavour, allowing you to demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the relevant literature and an ability to engage critically with a range of sources, drawing on the skills and knowledge you have developed during your studies. You are encouraged to show originality and evidence of independent thinking. Indeed, the outcome of the project – your dissertation – may provide a useful platform for the next stage of your career.

We cannot guarantee that all courses will run each year, and will provide adequate notice of any changes to the programme structure and courses.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in Commercial Law please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

 

Page update: Courses for the 2026-27 year were published on the 16th April 2026. 

Academic staff teaching on the core courses of the LLM in Commercial Law in 2025/26 are experts in their field and are actively involved in cutting-edge research in various areas of commercial law.

Academic staff teaching courses offered on this programme may include:

Dr Longjie Lu - Programme Director 2025-26

Dr. Longjie Lu joined Edinburgh Law School in September 2019. Prior to Edinburgh, Longjie taught law at the Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London, and completed her Ph.D. in law at the University of Leeds.

Longjie’s main research interests are in the areas of financial regulation, corporate governance, corporate finance and empirical legal studies.

Find out more

 

Professor Braun completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Genoa and received a PhD in Comparative Private Law from the University of Trento. Prior to coming to Edinburgh, she was Professor of Comparative Private Law at the University of Oxford, as well as a Fellow and Tutor in Law at Lady Margaret Hall.

Professor Braun is an elected Associate Member of the International Academy of Comparative Law as well as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of European and Comparative Law in Oxford and an Honorary Research Fellow at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford.

Find out more

David Cabrelli has been a lecturer in law since 2003 after having practised commercial law and corporate law for six years. His research interests lie in the fields of commercial law, labour law/employment law, company law, and private law.

Find out more

Dr Emilie Ghio is a Lecturer in Corporate and Insolvency Law. 

Find out more

Jonny was a solicitor in private practice for 10 years before starting at the Law School. Jonny’s research is conducted across a broad range of commercial law (particularly rights in security) and company law (particularly the law of private companies). Most of Jonny’s research has a law and economics methodology, which he has applied to a broad range of different subject matters.

Find out more

Amy Lawton is a Lecturer in Tax Law at Edinburgh Law School. Prior to joining the School in 2021, she was a Lecturer in Law at Lancaster University where she founded the first UK-based Tax Clinic.

Amy’s research interests broadly lie in tax and the environment. She is particularly interested in environmental taxation; clinical tax education and how tax is understood and perceived in the UK. Her recent work has explored how university students engage with a clinical education in tax, value creation in the UK, and how environmental taxation can be used to drive behavioral change in businesses in relation to energy consumption.

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Laura Macgregor currently holds the chair of Commercial Contract Law. She was recently appointed to the Law School's prestigious Chair of Scots Law, her appointment beginning on 1 July 2020. She will be the first woman since the Chair's inception 297 years ago to hold the Chair. Before becoming an academic Laura spent several years as a solicitor in practice with a major Scottish law firm in Edinburgh. She began her academic career as a lecturer at Glasgow Law School, joining Edinburgh Law School in 2002.

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Szymon Osmola is a Lecturer in Commercial Law at Edinburgh Law School. Before joining the University of Edinburgh, Szymon was a Fellow in Law at LSE Law School and a Fellow at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Tel Aviv University. He holds a PhD and LLM in law from the European University Institute in Florence, and a Master’s degree in Law (with distinction) from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. 

Szymon’s research interests include contract and consumer law, commercial law more broadly, EU law, and legal theory. He is currently working on a book that explores the underlying principles of EU consumer law, as well as several projects on contemporary challenges in commercial law, related to digitalisation, globalisation, and social inequality. The book is based on Szymon’s PhD research, which has been awarded the first prize in the 'Państwo i Prawo' ('Law and State') competition for best PhD dissertations. His research has also received recognition and support from the Foundation for Polish Science, the Common Market Law Review, the Bloomfield International Post-Doctoral Fellowship Fund, and the National Science Centre, Poland.
 

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Dr. Evgenia Ralli joined Edinburgh Law School in September 2023. Prior to Edinburgh, Evgenia was a lecturer at Coventry University after obtaining a PhD from the European University Institute in Florence (Italy).

Evgenia's current research focuses on shadow banking and on the interrelation and interplay between law and the socio-economic context through the lens of banking and financial law and regulation and its historical evolution.

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Lorna Richardson joined the Law School after seven years practising as a commercial litigator with major Scottish law firms. Her particular interests include contract law, particularly in relation to formation, interpretation and breach. In her time in practice Lorna acted in a number of contract dispute cases which generated significant comment. Lorna is also interested in contract law in a comparative context.

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Scott has research interests in the area of rights in security (including floating charges), issues in property law, and legislation, the legislative process, and statutory interpretation.

He is currently working on work on the legislative history of the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, based on a period of research in the archives in the Scottish Law Commission; and is working on articles relating to the enforcement of standard securities.

Find out more

Ruiqiao Zhang has a comprehensive education background, extensive academic training in law, and rich experience of research in various legal systems in Asia, Europe, and North America. She holds two bachelor’s degrees of Law and Science (Biotechnology), three master’s degrees of Civil and Commercial Law, International Commercial and Trade Law, and Comparative Law respectively in China, the Netherlands, and Canada, and one doctoral degree of law at McGill University. 

Find out more

Andrew is on sabbatical in semester 2 of the 2025-26 academic year. 

Dr Andrew McLean is a Lecturer in Law & Political Economy at Edinburgh Law School and Programme Director of the LLM in International Commercial Law. Before joining the University of Edinburgh in 2023, Andrew was a Lecturer in Law at University College London, where he also served as Co-Director of the UCL Centre for Law, Economics and Society.

Andrew holds a PhD in Law from UCL, an LLM in Law and Economics from Queen Mary University of London, and an undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Edinburgh.

Andrew’s research interests include antitrust/competition law, corporate finance and corporate governance, financial law and regulation, and the role of economics in legal and regulatory contexts. His research has received recognition and support from the Academic Society for Competition Law, the Antitrust Law Section of the American Bar Association, and the Modern Law Review.

Verónica will be on sabbatical in the 2025-26 academic year.

Dr Verónica Ruiz Abou-Nigm specialises in private international law and shipping law. She has a great deal of experience in these fields both in practice in Uruguay and as an academic in the UK.

Her main areas of research and teaching are private international law and shipping law. Other research interests include international commercial litigation, international commercial arbitration, air law, oil and gas law, comparative law, and the interaction between public and private international law.

Find out more

Simone will be on sabbatical in the 2025-26 academic year

Simone Lamont-Black (née Schnitzer) qualified as a civil lawyer in Germany where she practised law as Rechtsanwältin for several years. She specialises and researches in the (private) law of international trade and carriage of goods and has a keen interest in international commercial dispute resolution. She also established the Edinburgh Willem Vis Moot Team and Moot Module and the annual Edinburgh Willem Vis Pre-Moot.

Find out more

Johanna is on sabbatical in semester 2 of the 2025-26 academic year

Johanna Hoekstra is a lecturer in commercial law at the University of Edinburgh. Previously, she worked as a lecturer at the University of Essex and the University of Greenwich. She teaches international commercial arbitration, business & human rights, and international commercial law.

Johanna’s research interests are in business & human rights and in international contract law with a focus on the harmonisation of international commercial law and dispute resolution. She has published on the legal authority and the use of non-state rules in international contracts as well as on non-financial reporting, human rights and contract law, and international arbitration.

Johanna is a member of the Global Business & Human Rights Association and a member of the ESRAN Network. She co-organises the ‘interrogating the corporation’ stream for the Socio-Legal Studies Association annual conference.

Johanna holds a PhD from the University of Essex, an MSc in European Public Policy from Birkbeck College and a Master’s in international law from the University of Bordeaux.

Find out more

The staff teaching on this programme are subject to change for the 2026-27 academic year. Staff listed as on sabbatical will not be available to teach for the duration of their sabbatical.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in Commercial Law please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

How to apply

Edinburgh Law School welcomes outstanding applications from individuals wishing to join the PhD programme. You may apply to commence the PhD programme in September or January.

The PhD programme is available to study full time over three years or part time over six years. For further information please contact the PhD office at phd.law@ed.ac.uk

Before applying you should ensure that you meet our entry requirements and have all the relevant documentation ready to submit in support of your application. Please note that missing documentation will delay the application process.

Apply now

The minimum admission requirement for the PhD programme is a UK 2:1 honours degree in law, arts or social sciences, and a UK Masters degree with at least 60% in the taught section and 65% or more in the dissertation, or their international equivalents.

Entry to this programmes is competitive. Meeting minimum requirements for consideration does not guarantee an offer of study.

If you have a non-UK degree, please check whether your degree qualification is equivalent to the minimum standard before applying.

Check your degree

The majority of our applicants have studied law, but we are a comprehensive Law School covering a range of approaches to legal topics including social science, historical and philosophical enquiry; applications from non-law students with relevant studies and experience will be considered and if you require further guidance please contact us.

phd.law@ed.ac.uk

Postgraduate study in the field of law requires a thorough, complex and demanding knowledge of English, so we ask that the communication skills of all students are at the same minimum standard.

You must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies, regardless of your nationality or country of residence.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

Two year expiry

  • IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 7.0 in writing and 6.5 in all other components. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition) before 21 January 2026: total 100 with at least 25 in writing and 23 in all other components. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition) from 21 January 2026: total 5.0 with at least 5.0 in writing and 4.5 in all other components. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
  • Trinity ISE: ISE III with a pass in all four components
  • Oxford ELLT (Global and Digital): 8 overall with at least 8 in the writing component and 7 in each other component
  • Oxford Test of English Advanced: total 155 with at least 155 in writing and 145 in all other components.

Three and a half year expiry

  • C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 185 with at least 185 in writing and 176 in all other components.

Your English language qualification must be no more than two years old from the start of the month in which the programme you are applying to study begins, unless you are using CAE/CPE, in which case it must be no more than three and a half years old on the first of the month in which the degree begins.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree, that was taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country as defined by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). The UK Government's website provides a list of majority English speaking countries.

View the UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree, or equivalent, that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries.

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old at the beginning of your programme of study.

Find out more about the University's English language requirements

Your application may not be successful if you do not currently satisfy any of these requirements; alternatively, you may be offered a place conditional on your reaching the satisfactory standard by the time you start the degree.

English language support

The University runs a series of programmes for English Language Education, including a pre-sessional English Language Programme intended to strengthen your English Language skills before you start your programme of study.

Find out more about English language support offered by the University

  • The deadline for applying to commence a PhD in January 2026 was 30 September 2025 (4pm UK time).
  • The deadline for applying to commence a PhD in September 2026 is 29 May 2026 (4pm UK time).
  • The deadline for applying to commence a PhD in January 2027 is 30 September 2026 (4pm UK time).

Our applications are dealt with in a two-step process. Once all your documents are correctly submitted we aim to make a decision within 6 - 8 weeks.

Step one

Once you have submitted your application with all your supporting documentation, your application will be reviewed by an academic within the field in which you wish to study. Your written application will be evaluated against our rigorous admissions standards, and with a view to matching you to a suitable supervisor.

Step two

If we feel that your application is strong and if there is supervisory capacity in the field to which you have applied, your potential supervisor may arrange to discuss your application and your research proposal with you further by Microsoft Teams. This is also an opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have about studying for a PhD at Edinburgh Law School.

It is usually only after this stage that you will be made an offer.

All applicants should supply the following supporting documentation:

  • Previous academic transcripts for all past degree programmes (please upload the full transcript showing results from all years of study). If you are currently studying and awaiting a result, please ensure that your current interim transcript is included.
  • Degree certificates (for all awards to date) showing award of undergraduate degree at a level equivalent to 2:1 or higher
  • Degree certificate and transcript from your postgraduate study
  • Two academic references which need to be signed, dated (within the last two years) and on institutional letter headed paper. We cannot accept references from personal email addresses.
  • An English language proficiency test (if required - see below)
  • A research proposal – this should be no more than 2,000 (see below for further guidance)

Please note that applications (with all relevant undergraduate and postgraduate documentation uploaded) must be received by the deadline in order to be considered for entry. If you have not completed your postgraduate degree, you should provide interim transcripts at this stage.

Your research proposal should include:

Working title
What title, or title and subtitle, succinctly encapsulates your whole research topic?

Research questions
What are the key questions that you will ask that will enable your writing (or practice and writing) to be appropriately reflexive and interrogative?

Critical Framework and Theoretical Model
What is the context of your research proposal? What are your key concepts? How will you theorise, and position yourself in relation to, your primary sources? What secondary literature are you already aware of? Provide references to books, articles, websites, etc. 

Methodology
How do you intend to go about your research? Is your research predominantly doctrinal, theoretical, empirical? Do you need to engage initially in some form of field research, such as observing and interviewing practitioners or conducting practical experiments? What, if any, critical and expositional methods do you then intend to employ for the development, documentation and production of your written work and in the exploration of your research questions?

Research training
Above and beyond training that we will provide in generic research methods, do you need specialised training in practical and/or theoretical skills in order to carry out your research? For instance, do you need training in methods of qualitative analysis, or in the use of digital technologies? Also, will you need to travel to receive this training? For instance, will you need to intermittently attend workshops elsewhere?

Resources and implications
Do you need access to specialist literature? Do you need to engage in archival research or field work, and if so where, for how long and at what cost? If you cannot study without a scholarship or bursary, what sources of funding have you identified where you might be successful?

Bibliography
What, in alphabetical order, are the full bibliographical details of any references you have made above? 

We have a downloadable model form which you will find helpful.

If your supporting information is not in English, you need to provide a certified translated version of all documentation.

We aim to have a response for you within eight weeks of complete submission of evidence.

We expect our doctoral candidates to be living in Edinburgh during their studies, in order to fully participate in our dynamic training programme and to reap as much benefit as you can from our thriving research culture. 

The University’s terms and conditions form part of your contract with the University, and you should read them, and our data protection policy, carefully before applying.

University of Edinburgh admissions terms and conditions

Apply now

Contact us

Please contact us if you have any questions about applying to study a PhD at Edinburgh Law School.

phd.law@ed.ac.uk

We recommend that you apply as early as possible. This is particularly important for students holding conditional offers (for example, you may need to allow sufficient time to take an English language test) and for overseas students who may need time to satisfy necessary visa requirements (for further, country-specific information, please consult the website of the University's Edinburgh Global) and/or to apply for University accommodation.

The LLM by Research is available to study full time over one year or part time over two years. For further information please contact the PhD office at phd.law@ed.ac.uk

Before applying you should ensure that you meet our entry requirements and have all the relevant documentation ready to submit in support of your application. Please note that missing documentation will delay the application process.

Apply now

The minimum basic admission requirement for the LLM by research degrees is UK 2:1 honours degree or its international equivalent, in law or a social sciences subject.

Entry to this programme is competitive. Meeting minimum requirements for consideration does not guarantee an offer of study.

If you have a non-UK degree, please check whether your degree qualification is equivalent to the minimum standard before applying.

Click here to check your degree

You may not always need a prior qualification in law to apply for this programme.

Postgraduate study in the field of law requires a thorough, complex and demanding knowledge of English, so we ask that the communication skills of all students are at the same minimum standard.

You must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies, regardless of your nationality or country of residence.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

Two year expiry

  • IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 7.0 in writing and 6.5 in all other components. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition) before 21 January 2026: total 100 with at least 25 in writing and 23 in all other components. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition) from 21 January 2026: total 5.0 with at least 5.0 in writing and 4.5 in all other components. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
  • Trinity ISE: ISE III with a pass in all four components
  • Oxford ELLT (Global and Digital): 8 overall with at least 8 in the writing component and 7 in each other component
  • Oxford Test of English Advanced: total 155 with at least 155 in writing and 145 in all other components.

Three and a half year expiry

  • C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 185 with at least 185 in writing and 176 in all other components.

Your English language qualification must be no more than two years old from the start of the month in which the programme you are applying to study begins, unless you are using CAE/CPE, in which case it must be no more than three and a half years old on the first of the month in which the degree begins.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree, that was taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country as defined by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). The UK Government's website provides a list of majority English speaking countries.

View the UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree, or equivalent, that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries.

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old at the beginning of your programme of study.

Find out more about the University's English language requirements

Your application may not be successful if you do not currently satisfy any of these requirements; alternatively, you may be offered a place conditional on your reaching the satisfactory standard by the time you start the degree.

English language support

The University runs a series of programmes for English Language Education, including a pre-sessional English Language Programme intended to strengthen your English Language skills before you start your programme of study.

Find out more about English language support offered by the University

  • The deadline for applying to commence a PhD in January 2026 was 30 September 2025 (4pm UK time).
  • The deadline for applying to commence a PhD in September 2026 is 29 May 2026 (4pm UK time).
  • The deadline for applying to commence a PhD in January 2027 is 30 September 2026 (4pm UK time).

We aim to review applications and make selection decisions throughout the cycle and we monitor application numbers carefully to ensure we are able to accommodate all those who receive offers. It may therefore be necessary to close a programme earlier than the published deadline and if this is the case we will place a four-week warning notice on the relevant programme page.

Applications are made online via the University Application Service, EUCLID.

Please follow the instructions carefully and make sure that you have included the following with your application:

  • You must submit a reference with your application.
  • A research proposal
    Find out how to write a good research proposal
  • Previous academic transcripts for all past degree programmes (please upload the full transcript showing results from all years of study)
  • Degree certificates showing award of degree
  • An English language proficiency test (if required).

Your research proposal should include:

Working title
What title, or title and subtitle, succinctly encapsulates your whole research topic?

Research questions
What are the key questions that you will ask that will enable your writing (or practice and writing) to be appropriately reflexive and interrogative?

Critical Framework and Theoretical Model
What is the context of your research proposal? What are your key concepts? How will you theorise, and position yourself in relation to, your primary sources? What secondary literature are you already aware of? Provide references to books, articles, websites, etc. 

Methodology
How do you intend to go about your research? Is your research predominantly doctrinal, theoretical, empirical? Do you need to engage initially in some form of field research, such as observing and interviewing practitioners or conducting practical experiments? What, if any, critical and expositional methods do you then intend to employ for the development, documentation and production of your written work and in the exploration of your research questions?

Research training
Above and beyond training that we will provide in generic research methods, do you need specialised training in practical and/or theoretical skills in order to carry out your research? For instance, do you need training in methods of qualitative analysis, or in the use of digital technologies? Also, will you need to travel to receive this training? For instance, will you need to intermittently attend workshops elsewhere?

Resources and implications
Do you need access to specialist literature? Do you need to engage in archival research or field work, and if so where, for how long and at what cost? If you cannot study without a scholarship or bursary, what sources of funding have you identified where you might be successful?

Bibliography
What, in alphabetical order, are the full bibliographical details of any references you have made above? 

We have a downloadable model form which you will find helpful.

If your supporting information is not in English, you need to provide a certified translated version of all documentation.

We aim to have a response for you within eight weeks of complete submission of evidence.

We expect our LLM by Research candidates to be living in Edinburgh during their studies, in order to fully participate in our dynamic training programme and to reap as much benefit as you can from our thriving research culture. 

Once your completed application form has been received, together with supporting statements from your academic referees and other relevant documentation (including where relevant proof of proficiency in English), the School is committed to processing and considering your application speedily and efficiently.

You will be informed as soon as possible of the decision taken. Three outcomes are possible:

  1. You may be offered a place unconditionally
  2. You may be offered a conditional place, which means that you must fulfill certain conditions that will be specified in the offer letter. Where a conditional offer is made, it is your responsibility to inform the College Postgraduate Office when you have fulfilled the requirements set out.
  3. Your application may be unsuccessful.

Candidates who do not fulfill the conditions specified, including our language requirements, cannot be admitted.

The University’s terms and conditions form part of your contract with the University, and you should read them, and our data protection policy, carefully before applying.

University of Edinburgh admissions terms and conditions

Apply now

Contact us

Please contact us if you have any questions about applying to study an LLM by Research at Edinburgh Law School.

phd.law@ed.ac.uk

LLM in International Commercial Law and Practice (online learning)

This programme is now closed for new applications.

The LLM in International Commercial Law and Practice (online) aims to provide students with an advanced knowledge and understanding of international commercial law.

The programme focuses on legal responses to the developments shaping international commerce today, as lawyers and business professionals are increasingly required to look beyond domestic law to find solutions appropriate to their international business needs and opportunities.

Plum Ip, LLM in International Commercial Law and Practice Graduate, 2020
Edinburgh Law School gives me strength, hope and courage to prepare myself thoroughly for the challenging times ahead.
Plum Ip
LLM in International Commercial Law and Practice by Online Learning, 2020

Globalisation and technological developments have led to a marked growth in international trade, investment, and financial activity. Correspondingly, there has been an increase in the regulation of commercial activity at a national and international level, as well as in international litigation and arbitration. Lawyers and business professionals are increasingly required to look beyond domestic law to find solutions to their international business needs and opportunities. The programme helps students to understand the context in which businesses operate, focusing on the legal responses to the developments shaping international commerce. As a student on the programme, you will become familiar with the complex framework of international legal instruments that apply within international commerce, including international conventions and regulatory instruments, as well as relevant ‘soft law’.

The courses within the LLM examine contemporary issues in commercial law across a broad range of topics, which aim to equip you with a thorough understanding of law, theory, policy, and practice. The programme balances academic rigour with a focus on professional practice. 

The LLM in International Commercial Law and Practice offers several core courses which cover the regulatory and policy-based aspects of international commercial law. You will choose from core courses in the areas of:

  • Arbitration and dispute resolution
  • Corporate compliance
  • Corporate governance
  • Corporate accountability and human rights
  • Banking and financial law

You can also choose up to two courses from a range of optional courses within the fields of information technology, innovation, media and medical law.

The LLM in International Commercial Law and Practice will equip lawyers and business professionals with a deeper understanding of how international commercial law operates in practice today.

The programme is therefore designed for you if you are:

  • a lawyer who wants to internationalise your practice, or deepen your knowledge in a specialist area;
  • an in-house lawyer with an interest in expanding your legal knowledge and industry focus;
  • a business professional working for (or intending to work for) international commercial organisations, who needs to operate in heavily regulated industries, such as oil or shipping;
  • a compliance officer, or a legal or commercial manager, who must constantly update your legal awareness.

International commerce requires people to make difficult decisions every day, with legally binding consequences. These actions cannot be taken without regard to the legal context. The LLM programme in International Commercial Law and Practice will complement existing experience and skills, and enable you to react to issues and events decisively and knowledgeably.

Edinburgh Law School has a centuries-long tradition in private law, and much of our research in private law and contract law has a comparative and/or international focus. The School also has great strength in international law.

Teaching on the programme therefore draws on significant expertise in private law and in international law - exploring how countries interact together under international treaties, and analysing how commerce is regulated around the world.

The programme will also give you exposure to guest tutors and experts outside academia: practitioners involved in leading cases, negotiating deals, and working with major clients. This will illustrate some of the theory you will learn, giving you insight into, for example, on-going litigation in courts, or the status of contract negotiations between governments.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in International Commercial Law and Practice by online learning please don't hesitate to contact us.

llm.online@ed.ac.uk

The LLM in International Commercial Law and Practice by online learning gives you the opportunity to study a wide range of courses covering regulatory and policy-based aspects of international commercial law.

The programme consists of 180 credits, comprising taught courses worth 120 credits (60 credits per semester) and a 10,000 word dissertation worth 60 credits. Full programme details are available on the University Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study website.

View the full LLM in International Commercial Law and Practice degree structure for 2025/26

Courses shown below are scheduled to run in the 2025/26 academic year.

You must study between 80 and 120 credits from the following courses:

  • Banking and Financial Law: Case Studies (20 credits)

    This course will examine banking and financial law and regulation since the 2008 financial crisis. Each week legal and ethical issues will be discussed, focusing on both macro-prudential and micro-prudential policies. Regulations and cases will be considered to help develop a fuller understanding of the regulatory environment since 2008 and to analyse non-compliant behaviour as well as best practices.

    The course will focus on the regulatory regimes in the UK, EU, and the US as well as international initiatives for reform. Topic areas to be covered will include regulatory and policy developments over the last decade, money laundering, terrorist financing, insider trading, financial market manipulation, bank mergers and acquisitions, and FinTech.

    This course will give students a broad practical understanding of the purpose, requirements, and application of banking laws and policies. The case studies will provide a real-world view of the benefits and challenges of compliance and enforcement.

  • Contract Law in Europe (20 credits)
    This course is a comparative contract law course. Contract law is part of each country's national law. The main focus of the course is fundamental concepts of the law of contract, which arise in all systems. The course compares national systems of contract law, principally Scots, English, French and German law. The course also considers some of the harmonisation initiatives that have taken place in Europe over the last decade, principally the Draft Common Frame of Reference (Principles, Definitions and Model Rules of European Private Law).
    One of the themes of the course is whether there is, indeed, a split between the common law and the civil law tradition in the field of contract law within European countries. Is there, in fact, a gulf between the two traditions? Are harmonising initiatives likely to succeed? The debate on these issues will be informed by the analysis of the national legal systems which form the focus of this course.

  • Corporate Compliance: Case Studies in Law & Ethics (20 credits)

    This course will examine the legal, ethical, and social compliance issues that arise in an international business setting. Each week will consider regulations from different countries, international standards, and guidance documents that address issues from bribery to working conditions in factories. Case study analysis will be used to not only identify non-compliant practices, the consequences of violations, and the lack of leadership accountability, but also to highlight successful codes of conduct, transparent compliance programs, and ethical corporate cultures. This course focuses on real-world legal issues, legal accountability, and the interconnections between multi-national corporations and governments around the world.

  • Comparative and International Corporate Governance (20 credits)

    The course focuses on the theory, law and practice of the governance of corporations across different jurisdictions. Corporate governance regulates the relationships between various corporate constituencies (directors, officers, majority and minority shareholders, employees, creditors) with a view to establishing an adequate system of controls that prevents any single corporate constituency from acquiring overriding power or influence. Because legal systems rank social priorities differently, several models of corporate governance have emerged worldwide. Corporate governance has become a key topic for legislators, practitioners, and academics in all modern industrial states. It has been increasingly recognised as an important element of sustainable development. Consequently, comparative knowledge and understanding of corporate governance are essential tools for business lawyers and policy makers, especially after the recent financial crisis which highlighted some shortcomings of the corporate governance systems.

  • Dispute Resolution Methods (20 credits)

    This course will offer a unique and practical introduction to dispute resolution methods and will equip students with both theoretical and practical understandings of a topic of growing domestic and international significance.
    In an increasingly globalised world resorting to courts is not always experienced as a fast and effective way of resolving disputes. The parties may wish to maintain a good working relationship over many years to come, or they may simply not want to commit to a potentially costly, time and resource intensive litigation process with an uncertain outcome. Even more so, if their counter party is based abroad, the questions of international jurisdiction and enforcement arise and add another layer of difficulty. Alternatively they may be interested in long term projects to preserve cash-flow by finding a fast resolution, even if interim.
    In response to the need for cost-efficient, timely and appropriate dispute resolution, several methods have been developed taking proceedings outside the usual setting of the courtroom. Parties and their advisers ought to be aware of the array of dispute resolution mechanisms, their potential application and features in order to be able to select the tool best suited to their needs. Certain industries, such as the construction industry, use tools, specifically developed to cater for the particularities and needs of the industry. Online dispute resolution has been developed both for the unique online setting but also to aid a speedy and cheap resolution of off-line disputes.
    This course offers an introduction to a range of dispute resolution mechanisms, their potential application and features and their domestic and international legal framework.

    CIArb Recognised Course Provider status
    The University of Edinburgh Law School is a Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Recognised Course Provider (Ciarb RCP) and is provisionally approved for Associate level exemption in Alternative Dispute Resolution. This means we have demonstrated that this course meets the requirements set out in Ciarb’s competence frameworks.  

    Students who successfully complete the Dispute Resolution Methods course, with a minimum overall mark of 55%, are eligible to apply to become a Ciarb Associate. Please note that your application for Ciarb membership must be submitted within two years of course completion.

    During your studies you can apply for free Ciarb Student membership.

    The award of Ciarb RCP status is currently for the 2024-25 academic year.  
    Visit the CIArb website

  • European Competition and Innovation (20 credits)
    This course examines the principal issues arising from the application of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU to practices aimed at furthering innovation and investment. It will include a consideration of the following topics:
    - Article 101 TFEU: current approaches to prima facie anti-competitive agreements in general; legal implications of joint venture arrangements and other practices aimed at encouraging innovation and development; Article101 and licensing, especially in the context of media and e-commerce.
    - Article 102 TFEU: current approaches to abuses of dominant position generally the 2009 Enforcement Priorities document; the problem of network effects in innovative industries and platform markets; recent legislative developments relating to platform markets; issues arising from the application of Article 102 to industry leaders' refusals to deal and to license; the impact of artificial intelligence and algorithms on competition law enforcement.
     
  • International Law, Human Rights and Corporate Accountability (20 credits)
    This course will examine the history of human rights beginning with a discussion of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948 through to contemporary issues generated by globalisation.
    In addition to analysing International Human Rights Law and the rights and duties of multinational corporations and state actors regarding human rights, the course will consider the contributions of institutions, NGOs and the international human rights movement.
    Throughout the weeks we will evaluate aspects of accountability, enforcement and legal liability. Case study analysis will be used to examine human rights abuses, litigation, the role of states to protect human rights and the culpability of corporate actions. We will discuss the controversial issues surrounding corporations as subjects of international law while considering trends for future remedies including the concept of legally binding requirements.

  • International Commercial Arbitration (20 credits)

    This course will offer a unique and practical introduction to international commercial arbitration and will equip students with both theoretical and practical understandings of a topic of growing international significance.
    In response to the need for cost-efficient, timely and appropriate dispute resolution, several methods have been developed taking proceedings outside the usual setting of the courtroom. Perhaps the most popular and successful of these (in the field of international trade) is international commercial arbitration.
    The law and practice of international commercial arbitration seeks to find solutions which fit the needs of international business. The aim is to provide a neutral process acceptable to both parties to a transaction, one which minimises the risks of forum shopping and avoids the problems of conflicts over legal forum and applicable law, one which is commercial and sensitive to commercial needs.
    International commercial arbitration is a creature of agreement and cannot operate without the consent of the parties. Nonetheless the system cannot operate without legal regulation and a considerable body of law has developed as the process becomes more popular.
    The law in question deals with issues such as how national legal systems regulate arbitration, give effect to arbitration agreements and enforce the decisions of arbitrators. Additionally there is a considerable amount of 'soft' law, dealing with matters of how the process should operate and best practice for parties, counsel and arbitrators.
    The course will focus on this body of law and how it operates in practical situations. The course will focus largely on international law and practice, with domestic and national solutions used mainly as examples of a developing international practice.

You can choose between 0 and 40 credits of the following courses:

  • EU Data Protection Law (20 credits)
  • International and European Law of the Media (20 credits)
  • Mental Health Law (20 credits)
  • Regulation of Autonomous Systems: the Law of Robotics (20 credits)
  • Space Law and Policy (20 credits)
  • Software and the Law (20 credits) 

You can choose between 0 and 20 credits of the following courses:

  • The Fundamentals of Law and Medical Ethics (20 credits)
  • Fundamentals in Bioethics (20 credits)
  • Law and Ethics at the Start and End of Life (20 credits)
  • Ethics of Health Technologies (20 credits)
  • Electronic Commerce Law (20 credits)
  • Public Health Ethics (20 credits)

A course from this collection can only be taken with the approval of your Programme Director.

Having successfully completed 120 credit points of courses within the LLM, you will be ready to move onto a single piece of independent and in-depth research. The 10,000 word dissertation allows you to focus on a preferred topic from within the field of international commercial law, normally based on a subject you have studied in one of your courses during the programme.

You are supported with your independent research in several ways:

  • During semester 2 (Jan – March) you are provided with targeted opportunities to develop research and writing skills necessary for the successful completion of a larger research project.
  • You receive advice on formulating an appropriate research topic and feedback on developing a specific research question.
  • You are assigned an academic supervisor who will provide you with support and guidance while you undertake your research. You will have three meetings with your supervisor (in the period April – June, following the end of taught courses) in which avenues of research are discussed; a structure for the dissertation is developed; and feedback is provided on a sample of the dissertation. The dissertation is submitted in August.

This independent research project is a challenging but rewarding endeavour, allowing you to demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the relevant literature and an ability to engage critically with a range of sources, drawing on the skills and knowledge you have developed during your studies. You are encouraged to show originality and evidence of independent thinking. Indeed, the outcome of the project – your dissertation – may provide a useful platform for the next stage of your career.

Courses are offered once in an academic year. Each semester you will choose the course(s) you wish to study in that particular semester. Courses are then allocated. Details of the courses available will be provided in advance.  Courses are then allocated.

The allocation process is intended to support student choices as much as possible, while taking account of optimum class sizes for specific courses.

Class sizes

Class sizes have typically ranged from 15 to 25 students in the past. If more students request a course than can be allocated, students who need to take the course in order to fulfil core programme requirements will have priority and others may be asked to defer that course choice to a later year of study.

Terms and conditions

Please note the University reserves the right to make variations to the contents of programmes, including the range of courses offered, and the available choice of courses in any given year may change.

Find out more about the University's terms and conditions

Please note that due to unforeseen circumstances or lack of demand for particular courses, we may not be able to run all courses as advertised come the start of the academic year.

If you have any questions about the LLM in International Commercial Law and Practice by online learning please don't hesitate to contact us.

llm.online@ed.ac.uk

Staff teaching on the core courses of the LLM in International Commercial Law and Practice in 2025-26 are experts in their field and are actively involved in cutting-edge research in various areas of commercial law. Academic staff teaching courses offered on this programme will include:

Dr Szymon Osmola  - Programme Director 2025-26

Szymon Osmola is a Lecturer in Commercial Law at Edinburgh Law School. Before joining the University of Edinburgh, Szymon was a Fellow in Law at LSE Law School and a Fellow at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Tel Aviv University. He holds a PhD and LLM in law from the European University Institute in Florence, and a Master’s degree in Law (with distinction) from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. 

Szymon’s research interests include contract and consumer law, commercial law more broadly, EU law, and legal theory. His research has received recognition and support from the Foundation for Polish Science, the Common Market Law Review, the Bloomfield International Post-Doctoral Fellowship Fund, and the National Science Centre, Poland.

Szymon teaches commercial law, primarily insurance law, rights in security, commercial remedies, and agency.

Find out more
 

Remus joined Edinburgh Law School in May 2011. He studied law at McGill University, Montreal (Doctor of Civil Law), University of Alberta, Edmonton (Master of Laws) and Nicolae Titulescu University, Bucharest (Bachelor of Civil Law). Before joining academia, he worked as a corporate and commercial lawyer with a major Romanian law firm. His main research interests lie in the fields of fiduciary law, comparative corporate law and governance, law and economics, and trust law.

Remus will be on sabbatical in semester 1 of the 2022-23 academic year.

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Jonny was a solicitor in private practice for 10 years before starting at the Law School. Jonny’s research is conducted across a broad range of commercial law (particularly rights in security) and company law (particularly the law of private companies). Most of Jonny’s research has a law and economics methodology, which he has applied to a broad range of different subject matters.

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Lorna Richardson joined the Law School after seven years practising as a commercial litigator, with major Scottish law firms. Her particular interests include contract law, particularly in relation to formation, interpretation and breach. In her time in practice Lorna acted in a number of contract dispute cases which generated significant comment. Lorna is also interested in contract law in a comparative context.

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Simone Lamont-Black (née Schnitzer) qualified as civil lawyer in Germany where she practised law as Rechtsanwältin for several years.  She specialises and researches in the (private) law of international trade and carriage of goods and has a keen interest in international commercial dispute resolution. She also established the Edinburgh Willem Vis Moot Team and Moot Module and the annual Edinburgh Willem Vis Pre-Moot.

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Johanna Hoekstra is a lecturer in commercial law at the University of Edinburgh. Previously, she worked as a lecturer at the University of Essex and the University of Greenwich. She teaches international commercial arbitration, business & human rights, and international commercial law.

Johanna’s research interests are in business & human rights and in international contract law with a focus on the harmonisation of international commercial law and dispute resolution. She has published on the legal authority and the use of non-state rules in international contracts as well as on non-financial reporting, human rights and contract law, and international arbitration.

Johanna is a member of the Global Business & Human Rights Association and a member of the ESRAN Network. She co-organises the ‘interrogating the corporation’ stream for the Socio-Legal Studies Association annual conference.

Johanna holds a PhD from the University of Essex, an MSc in European Public Policy from Birkbeck College and a Master’s in international law from the University of Bordeaux.

The staff teaching on this programme are subject to change for 2025-26 academic year. Staff listed as on sabbatical will not be available to teach for the duration of their sabbatical.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in International Commercial Law and Practice by online learning please don't hesitate to contact us.

llm.online@ed.ac.uk

LLM in Information Technology Law (online learning)

The LLM in Information Technology Law by online learning focuses on the regulatory framework that governs information technology within international, European and domestic settings.

Want to find out more about our online LLM in Information Technology Law? Book onto our Postgraduate Online Learning Open Days taking place between the 19th and 21st May 2026:

Book onto our Open Days
Jelena, LLM in Information technology Law by online learning
The University of Edinburgh's academic staff are not only globally recognised experts in their own fields, but equally empathic mentors.
Jelena Kljujic
LLM in Information Technology Law, 2021

The programme is highly topical, exploring different strategies for regulating information technologies, considering how current strategies have emerged and changed since the early days of the Internet. New developments in technology are a key focus, as these force us to constantly review the very concept of ‘information technology’, how it shapes society and what appropriate regulatory responses look like.

Information technology regulation operates across jurisdictions, and a cross-fertilisation of regulatory responses occurs at the interface between domestic, regional and international law. Our aim is to enable you to understand this cross-fertilisation, to be able to contextualise it and place yourself within it. Given the fast-paced nature of IT law, we aim to give you the skills so that you are able to understand current and historic regulatory approaches, to better engage with emerging and future issues too.

In a constantly evolving programme dynamic, you will encounter a range of topics which will change over time but could include:

  • regulatory approaches to information technology
  • cloud computing
  • information rights
  • online privacy
  • media law
  • e-commerce
  • communications law.

By the end of your studies you should emerge with an understanding of information technology law not just in its legal but also its social, ethical, cultural and commercial contexts.

This is an exciting time to study the law and regulation of information technology. Recent years have seen an enormous expansion in e-commerce, and the development of new and increasingly participatory services on the internet, such as social media platforms.

The pace and scale of technological development in recent years has been incredible. Robots, artificial intelligence, virtual realities and neurotechnology are no longer science fiction and, in many parts of the world, technology is completely embedded into everyday life.

The programme is relevant to anyone who has an interest in studying the law of information technology.

Students join us from all round the world bringing invaluable perspectives to the online learning community – not least their professional experience, and knowledge of technologies and business methods. We welcome applications from a variety of professionals including:

  • lawyers who want to specialise in IT
  • information professionals
  • computer scientists
  • IT professionals
  • professionals working in technology and telecommunications companies
  • researchers considering a PhD in this area.

You will benefit from the unique opportunity to engage in an active online learning community, guided by academic lawyers from Edinburgh Law School.

Learning and teaching on the programme is highly interactive, informed by academics’ current research interests. Staff regularly work on different (often multidisciplinary) research projects, publications and speak at international conferences and events. This research culture helps them to keep pace with important changes in IT law, which in turn feeds into the teaching you receive.

As you would expect, the programme will enable you to develop the essential legal skills of analysing texts and statutes, drawing conclusions from current developments, reading cases and being able to consider. Furthermore, as IT lawyers, in addition to legal concerns, we increasingly need to consider the societal, technical and ethical dimensions of computing. Thus, we also need to understand how technology works, the risks it poses to society and how technology itself could even be made differently to address these problems. Accordingly, the programme draws on a range of perspectives and areas of expertise from staff to provide you with the tools needed to understand legal and wider aspects of living in the digital society.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in Information Technology Law by online learning please don't hesitate to contact us.

llm.online@ed.ac.uk

The LLM in Information Technology Law offers an extensive collection of information technology law courses for you to choose from and the option to engage with a range of different subject areas, including commercial law and medical law.

The programme consists of 180 credits, comprising taught courses worth 120 credits (60 credits per semester) and a 10,000 word dissertation worth 60 credits. Full programme details for the 2026-27 academic year are available on the University Degree Programme Tables website.

View the LLM in Information Technology Law Degree Programme Table for 2026-27

Courses shown below are scheduled to run in the 2026-27 academic year. 

You must select between 80 and 120 credits from the following courses:

  • E-Commerce Law (20 credits)

    This course aims to provide an in-depth look at the legal issues surrounding electronic commerce and European regulation. Throughout the course we will review (a) fundamental issues surrounding eCommerce business, particularly contractual concerns around identification of jurisdiction, the formal validity of electronic transactions, security and authentication, contract formation and electronic payment systems, and online consumer protection issues; (b) digital convergence and content regulation, the impact of online advertising on privacy and governance of search engines; (c) contemporary issues such as cryptocurrencies and the impact of the Digital Services Act.

  • Information Technology (20 credits)
    This course introduces students to key issues in the fast-paced area of technology law. We will consider a wide variety of hard regulatory questions posed by impacts of emerging information technologies. These systems are often changing, adapting, and shifting, meaning regulation in this domain does too. This creates a policy and legal landscape that is often in a state of flux but also gives us a wide range of case studies, examples, and legal frameworks to consider in this course.
     
  • Intellectual Property Law (20 credits)
    This course will provide students with a strong legal and critical understanding of the principal intellectual property (IP) rights and related policy debates. After a general introductory week covering foundational themes relevant across the course, the course will cover patents, copyright and registered trade marks, all with a focus on UK and European law. The course is suitable for students looking to explore IP law for the first time and for students with prior IP knowledge gained through previous IP study or professional experience..
     
  • International and European Law of the Media (20 credits)
    This course will examine the impact of International and European law on, firstly, the structure of media markets and, secondly, the content of media services. The course will start with a discussion of the nature of the media, the media 'value chain', and the relationship between media freedom, freedom of expression and other human rights. It will examine the various international organisations competent in the media field and the regulatory strategies that are being adopted to deal with media convergence and globalisation. In relation to structural matters, consideration will be given to consolidation of media ownership and state funding of the media, in particular public service broadcasting. In relation to content controls, the course will examine attempts to create a more equitable flow of media content and concerns over 'media imperialism', the regulatory problems posed by pornography and hate speech and the balance to be struck between freedom of the media and privacy.
    Students will attain a good understanding of the interplay between domestic and international law in this field, as well as the role of soft law and self or private regulation. They will be encouraged to think about the future role of law and regulation in a rapidly changing media environment.
     
  • Software and the Law (20 credits)
    This course will examine how software is generated, protected and commercialised. It will explore the intellectual property protection afforded to software via copyright, patents or trade secrets. It will also explore more complex issues of ownership, such as in the employment context or when AI is used to generate software. The course will explore the requirements imposed on software development with respect to data protection and information security. It will also look at liability issues for software providers and risk assessments and classification of software using AI. Lastly, the course will explore competition law issues relevant to software marketplaces, the definition and compliance with interoperability requirements as well as technical standardisation.
     
  • Regulation of autonomous systems: the law of robotics (20 credits)
    The course introduces students to the legal and wider regulatory issues raised by the increasing use of automated and autonomous devices in all fields of life. As we increasingly allow machines to make decisions for us, this raises significant problems for our legal concepts of liability, responsibility and legal personhood. Since robots rely on sensors to perform their tasks, they also raise issues of data protection and privacy.
    The course discusses amongst other applications the regulatory issues of care/companion robots in a medical setting, self-driving cars and the automated city; and military applications such as drones. The course covers both embodied artificial intelligent systems ("robots") and non-embodied devices ("autonomous agents"). Legal ramifications of these technologies are studied also with a view on their political, economic and ethical implications. To address the legal issues raised by robot mobility, special attention will be given to efforts to create an international legal regime or at least to harmonise existing national approaches. In this context, students will be particularly encouraged to contribute their experience with their home jurisdiction to the debate.
    In addition to gaining a deeper understanding of the specific legal issues that are created by a number of particularly important applications of robotics and autonomous agent technology, students will also acquire a generic understanding of the types of problems that are raised by autonomous technologies for the theory of regulation. They will gain an understanding of the limits of regulation by law and the ability to evaluate comparatively other modes of regulation for a given problem.

You can choose to study between 0 and 40 credits from the following courses:

  • European Competition and Innovation (20 credits)
  • Global Health: Law and Policy (20 credits)
  • Medico-Legal Issues in Clinical Negligence and Regulation (20 credits)

You may study 0 and 20 credits from the following courses:

  • Banking and Financial Law: Case Studies (20 credits)
  • Corporate Compliance: Case Studies in Law & Ethics (20 credits)
  • Comparative & International Corporate Governance (20 credits)
  • Dispute Resolution Methods (20 credits)
  • International Commercial Arbitration (20 credits)
  • International Law, Human Rights & Corporate Accountability (20 credits)
  • The Fundamentals of Law and Medical Ethics (20 credits)
  • Fundamentals in Bioethics (20 credits)
  • Law and Ethics at the Start and End of Life (20 credits)
  • Public Health Ethics (20 credits)

Please note that a course from this group can only be taken with the approval of your Programme Director.

Having successfully completed 120 credit points of courses within the LLM, you will be ready to move onto a single piece of independent and in-depth research. The 10,000 word dissertation allows you to focus on a preferred topic from within the field of information technology law, normally based on a subject you have studied in one of your courses during the programme.

You are supported with your independent research in several ways:

  • During semester 2 (Jan – March) you are provided with targeted opportunities to develop research and writing skills necessary for the successful completion of a larger research project.
  • You receive advice on formulating an appropriate research topic and feedback on developing a specific research question.
  • You are assigned an academic supervisor who will provide you with support and guidance while you undertake your research. You will have three meetings with your supervisor (in the period April – June, following the end of taught courses) in which avenues of research are discussed; a structure for the dissertation is developed; and feedback is provided on a sample of the dissertation. The dissertation is submitted in August.

This independent research project is a challenging but rewarding endeavour, allowing you to demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the relevant literature and an ability to engage critically with a range of sources, drawing on the skills and knowledge you have developed during your studies. You are encouraged to show originality and evidence of independent thinking. Indeed, the outcome of the project – your dissertation – may provide a useful platform for the next stage of your career.

Courses are offered once in an academic year. Each semester you will choose the course(s) you wish to study in that particular semester. Courses are then allocated. Details of the courses available will be provided in advance.  Courses are then allocated.

The allocation process is intended to support student choices as much as possible, while taking account of optimum class sizes for specific courses.

Class sizes

Class sizes have typically ranged from 15 to 25 students in the past. If more students request a course than can be allocated, students who need to take the course in order to fulfil core programme requirements will have priority and others may be asked to defer that course choice to a later year of study.

Terms and conditions

Please note the University reserves the right to make variations to the contents of programmes, including the range of courses offered, and the available choice of courses in any given year may change.

Find out more about the University's terms and conditions

Please note that due to unforeseen circumstances or lack of demand for particular courses, we may not be able to run all courses as advertised come the start of the academic year.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in Information Technology Law by online learning please don't hesitate to contact us.

llm.online@ed.ac.uk

 

Page update: Courses for the 2026-27 year were published on the 16th April 2026. 

Staff teaching on the core courses for the LLM in Information Technology Law for 2025-26 are experts in their field and are actively involved in cutting-edge research in various legal fields including media law, regulation of new technologies and IT law.

Mr Nicolas Jondet - Programme Director 2025-26

Nicolas Jondet is a teaching fellow in Information Technology law. He holds law degrees from the University of Edinburgh (LLM) and the Paris-Saclay University (Honors) as well as a degree in legal translation from ISIT Paris (Honors). Nicolas is a legal academic with a keen interest in the legal regulation of technology and innovation, including various aspects of IP law and IT law.  His main research is focussed on digital copyright, drawing upon international, European and comparative legal materials. Current research projects include the applicability of blockchain technology to copyright protected works and the interaction between data mining and copyright.  Nicolas teaches across a range of IT and IP law subjects, including, at present, courses relating to data protection, privacy and surveillance.

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Judith Rauhofer is a Lecturer in IT Law and an Associate Director of the Centre for Studies of Intellectual Property and Technology Law (SCRIPT). Her research interests include the commercial and fundamental rights aspects of online privacy and electronic surveillance, data protection, information security and all areas of e-commerce and internet law and policy. Judith is particularly interested in exploring the tensions between privacy as an individual right and as a common good.

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Burkhard is Professor of Computational Legal Theory and Director of the SCRIPT Centre for IT and IP law. His main field of interest is the interaction between law, science and computer technology, especially computer linguistics. How can law, understood as a system, communicate with systems external to it, be it the law of other countries (comparative law and its methodology) or science (evidence, proof and trial process). He is currently working mainly on issues such as privacy compliant software architecture and more generally the scope and limits of representing legal concepts directly in the internet infrastructure.

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Jane Cornwell joined the University of Edinburgh as a lecturer in intellectual property law in October 2010. After graduating from the University of Cambridge, she qualified and practised as a solicitor in the intellectual property team at Linklaters LLP in London. Thereafter she spent several years practising at McGrigors LLP in Scotland, latterly as Director in the Edinburgh litigation team specialising in contentious intellectual property.

Jane's expertise covers a wide range of IP rights. Her particular interests include trade marks, design law and IP remedies, with a particular focus of the impact of European harmonisation in these fields, including trade marks, designs, patents and breach of confidence. Her present teaching and research interests focus on trade marks, designs and enforcement of IP rights, among other topics. 

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Lachlan is a Lecturer in Technology Law at the University of Edinburgh. He is also a visiting researcher at the Horizon Digital Economy Research Institute, where he was a Research Fellow in Information Technology Law from 2016-2018.

Lachlan's primarily works at the boundaries of computer science (human-computer interaction), information technology law (mainly privacy and information security), and computer ethics. He focusses extensively on the technical, socio-legal, sociological, and ethical implications of living with interactive computing (e.g. Ubicomp/Internet of Things, robotics, smart homes & cities, social media etc.).

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Paolo Cavaliere joined the Law School from September 2014 as a lecturer in Digital Media and IT Law. Prior to joining the School, Paolo has been a researcher at the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policies of the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies of the University of Oxford where he has also helped to coordinate the Monroe Price Media Law Moot Court Competition. His main interests in research include the discipline of pluralism and diversity in the media, e-democracy and the relationship between new media and politics, regulation of audiovisual industries and digital media. He has written about different aspects of Media law, including “mediacracy” and the democratic deficit of the EU; media pluralism in the European sphere; digital technologies and the political debate in the public sphere.

Find out more

The staff teaching on this programme are subject to change for 2026-27. Staff listed as on sabbatical will not be available to teach for the duration of their sabbatical.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in Information Technology Law by online learning please don't hesitate to contact us.

llm.online@ed.ac.uk

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