Masters Degrees (Medical Jurisprudence)

Programme description

This general LLM programme is the ideal choice for students wishing to expose themselves to diverse areas of advanced legal scholarship.

Edinburgh Law School offers a very wide range of specialist courses, many taught by internationally recognised experts in their fields.

At present, key areas of research and teaching include:

international law

commercial and corporate law

criminal law

international economic law

international banking and finance

medical ethics

criminology

intellectual property

information technology law

European law

private law

comparative law

human rights

public law.

This allows students on the general LLM to take courses which make up a diverse and challenging curriculum and through which they will be able to develop a broad expertise in cutting-edge legal scholarship.

Programme structure

To ensure a programme of general interest there are no mandatory courses, however you may only select a certain number of credits (60 per semester) from particular fields. This is indicated in the course options list below. Please note that courses in bold are mandatory courses for other programmes and therefore may have waiting lists in operation.

Commercial Law

Choose a maximum of 40 credits:

Company Law (40 credits, full year course)

Contract Law in Europe (40 credits, full year course)

The Law of International Trade (40 credits, full year course)

Corporation Law and Economics (20 credits, semester 1)

International Commercial Arbitration (20 credits, semester 1)

Principles of Corporate Finance Law (20 credits, semester 1)

The Law of Secured Finance (20 credits, semester 1)

Comparative Corporate Governance (20 credits, semester 2)

Corporate Social Responsibility and the Law (20 credits, semester 2)

European Labour Law (20 credits, semester 2)

Insolvency Law (20 credits, semester 2)

Principles of Insurance Law (20 credits, semester 2)

Criminal Law and Evidence

Choose a maximum of 60 credits:

General Principles of Criminal Law (20 credits, semester 1)

Current Issues in Criminal Law (20 credits, semester 2)

Sexual Offending and the Law (20 credits, semester 2)

Criminology

Choose a maximum of 60 credits:

Criminological Research Methods (40 credits, full year course)

Theoretical Criminology (20 credits, semester 1)

Criminal Justice and Penal Process (20 credits, semester 1)

Global Crime and Insecurity (20 credits, semester 1)

Cybercrime (20 credits, semester 2)

Mental Health and Crime (20 credits, semester 2)

Responding to Global Crime and Insecurity (20 credits, semester 2)

Surveillance and Security (20 credits, semester 2)

EU Law

Choose a maximum of 60 credits:

EU Competition Law (40 credits, full year course)

EU Constitutional Law (20 credits, semester 1)

EU Fundamental Rights Law (20 credits, semester 2)

IP, Media and Technology Law

Choose a maximum of 40 credits:

Intellectual Property Law 1: Copyright and Related Rights (20 credits, semester 1)

International Intellectual Property System (20 credits, semester 1)

The Legal Challenges of Information Technologies (20 credits, semester 1)

Robotics and the Law (20 credits, semester 1)

Contemporary Issues in the Law and Policy of e-Commerce, the Digital Economy and International Information Governance (20 credits, semester 2)

Data Protection and Information Privacy (20 credits, semester 2)

Information: Control and Power (20 credits, semester 2)

Intellectual Property - Law and Society (20 credits, semester 2)

International and European Media Law (20 credits, semester 2)

Law and New Technologies: Artificial Intelligence, Risk and the Law (20 credits, semester 2)

Law of E-Commerce (20 credits, semester 2)

Managing Intellectual Property (20 credits, semester 2)

International Law

Choose a maximum of 40 credits:

Fundamental Issues in International Law (40 credits, full year course)

International Criminal Law (40 credits, full year course)

International Environmental Law (40 credits, full year course)

WTO Law (40 credits, full year course)

History and Theory of International Law (20 credits, semester 1)

International Climate Change Law (20 credits, semester 1)

International Human Rights Law (20 credits, semester 1)

International Investment Law (20 credits, semester 1)

International Law of the Sea (20 credits, semester 1)

Advanced Issues in International Economic Law (20 credits, semester 2)

Diplomatic Law (20 credits, semester 2)

EU Climate Change and Energy Law (20 credits, semester 2)

Inter-State Conflict and Humanitarian Law (20 credits, semester 2)

Legal History and Legal Theory

Choose a maximum of 60 credits:

Traditions of Legal Inquiry (20 credits, semester 1)

Reasoning with Precedent (20 credits, semester 1)

Law and the Enlightenment (20 credits, semester 2)

The Anatomy of Public Law (20 credits, semester 2)

Medical Law

Choose a maximum of 60 credits:

Fundamental Issues in Medical Jurisprudence (20 credits, semester 1)

Risk and Regulation: Health and the Environment (20 credits, semester 1)

Contemporary Issues in Medical Jurisprudence (20 credits, semester 2)

Life Sciences, Society and Law (10 credits, semester 2)

Medical Negligence (10 credits, semester 2)

Private Law

Choose a maximum of 60 credits:

Comparative Property Law (20 credits, semester 1)

Delict and Tort (20 credits, semester 1)

Principles of International Tax Law (20 credits, semester 1)

Comparative and International Trust Law (20 credits, semester 2)

EUCOTAX Wintercourse (20 credits, semester 2)

Family Law in Comparative Perspectives (20 credits, semester 2)

International Private Law: Jurisdiction and Enforcement of Judgments (20 credits, semester 2)

Principles of European Tax Law (20 credits, semester 2)

Public Law

Choose a maximum of 60 credits:

Human Rights and Conflict Resolution (20 credits, semester 2)

Human Rights Law in Europe (20 credits, semester 2)

The Anatomy of Public Law (20 credits, semester 2)

Learning outcomes

By the end of this programme, you should have acquired a more sophisticated understanding of your chosen subjects, including the diverse functions of law in contemporary society, differing approaches to the subject and a greater familiarity with research materials and methods.

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Individual and population health is a matter of growing social concern. Achieving good health and delivering effective healthcare demands innovation. A variety of fields have a role to play, including law.

This programme examines topics that reflect some of the main contemporary legal and ethical challenges faced by those working in medicine, and places them in their social and historical context.

These include issues that arise in the context of genetics, assisted reproduction, abortion, standards of medical treatment, transplantation medicine, mental health, advance decisions, assisted suicide, medical research, and the allocation of scarce resources.

We offer students the opportunity to study the fundamentals of medical law and ethics, both international and domestic, at an advanced level, and the opportunity to take more specialised courses on issues of contemporary significance, encouraging and supporting the development of research skills necessary for a career in medical law or ethics.

The legal and ethical experts who deliver this programme come from a wide range of disciplines from across the University, and they benefit from a close association with the J Kenyon Mason Institute for Medicine, Life Sciences and Law.

Programme structure

This programme offers a range of subjects that covers a broad spectrum of contemporary issues in medical law, jurisprudence and ethics, from an international and interdisciplinary perspective, allowing you to tailor a programme to suit your interests.

For 2017/18 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.

The 120 credits of taught courses for 2017/18 are made up of the following mandatory and option courses.

Mandatory courses (100 credits)

20 credit courses in semester 1

• Fundamental Issues in Medical Jurisprudence
• Governance of Innovative Medicine - New for 2017!
• Risk and Regulation: Health and the Environment

20 credit courses in semester 2

• Contemporary Issues in Medical Jurisprudence
• Biotechnology, Bioethics and Society* (10 credits)
• Medical Negligence* (10 credits)

*These programmes are co-requisite.

Option Courses

The remaining 20-credits can be taken from the list of Law School courses and courses offered by other Schools in the University of Edinburgh from the list below.

Courses from the School of Law

• Human Rights Law in Europe
• Mental Health and Crime
• Inter-State Conflict and Humanitarian Law

Courses from outside the School of Law

• Controversies in Science and Technology (School of Social and Political Science - 20 credits, semester 2)
• Cultures of Human Rights & Humanitarianism (School of Social and Political Science - 20 credits, semester 2)
• Climate Change, Justice and Responsibility (School of Social and Political Science - 20 credits, semester 2)
• Gender and Development (School of Social and Political Science - 20 credits, semester 2)
• Gender and Sexuality in Global Politics (School of Social and Political Science - 20 credits, semester 2)
• Social Determinants of Health and Public Policy (School of Social and Political Science - 20 credits, semester 2)

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

• Read more about the programme structure and courses

Learning outcomes

By the end of the programme, you will be able to:

• identify areas of law relevant to contemporary issues in the broad healthcare setting
• identify gaps, inconsistencies, or instances of inappropriate or over-regulation in healthcare and nascent fields
• build on your understanding of key values in medical law and ethics, such as autonomy, solidarity, justice, reciprocity
• build on your understanding of key mechanisms in medical law and ethics, such as consent, confidentiality, human rights, etc
• appreciate the international dimensions of medicine and its regulation, including the growing importance of European regulation and international agreements
• appreciate the limits of law in discerning appropriate social responses to new medical and technical advances
• develop critical thinking informed by legal, ethical, and social science analysis, and apply that thinking to comment upon the law’s role and appropriate responses to contemporary issues
• experience the benefits of undertaking study in different learning environments (both on-campus and online)

You will engage with different learning environments and modes of class participation, and will draw upon and develop a range of skills. The programme will foster imaginative ways of unpacking and responding to contemporary issues in ways that do not necessarily follow or merely apply existing paradigms or legal constructs.

You will demonstrate a sound grasp of the foundational elements of medical law and ethics, including the role of the law and its various mechanisms (eg: consent, confidentiality, reasonableness, negligence) and the cross-cutting human rights dimensions.

You will develop critical thinking informed by ethical analysis, and apply that thinking to comment on and critique the law’s role in regulating medicine, healthcare services, research, and nascent fields.

Other skills you will develop include:

• general intellectual skills, such as independent critical analysis, interdisciplinary understandings of common problems, problem-solving through reasoned and well-justified ethical and legal discourse, synthesis of complex information and ability to subject to informed critique
• personal skills, such as written and oral skills, group working and interaction skills, intellectual development through interdisciplinary engagement and blended learning environment
• study-derived personal virtues, such as autonomy, critical self-reflection, consideration of others and academic integrity

Career opportunities

This programme can lead to a range of employment opportunities and specialised academic work, including: specialised training for solicitor or advocate work with an emphasis on health related issues; professional care providers; ethics review panel members; health policy and/or patient advocates (e.g. NGOs); or health policy designers (e.g. governmental legal advisers, consultants, etc).

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The LLM in Legal Theory programme draws on the expertise of Queen Mary to offer advanced training in legal theory. The modules offered allow students the chance to explore a variety of theoretical approaches to law.

Your fellow students will come from the UK and more than 80 other countries, each able to draw on prior academic and in many cases professional experiences from different jurisdictions to enrich discussion and debate in class.

Centre for Law and Society in a Global Context (CLSGC)

The Centre for Law and Society in a Global Context (CLSGC) at Queen Mary is a home for multidisciplinary research into the global dimensions of law and society. The CLSGC aims to work towards a better theorisation of law in its changing social contexts, exploring the challenges posed for this endeavour by law’s increasingly important global dimensions. As well as undertaking collaborative research, we supervise postgraduate research, and regularly host workshops, seminars and conferences.

Modules:

To specialise in this area, you must select 90 credits of modules from this list and do your compulsory dissertation in the field of Legal Theory (45 credits). The additional 45 credits of taught modules can be in this area or can be unrelated and therefore selected from the full list of LLM modules.

All modules are 22.5 credits unless otherwise stated.

Note: Not all of the modules listed will be available in any one year and semesters listed can be subject to change. Any modules not available in the forthcoming academic session will be marked as soon as this information is confirmed by teaching academics.

The updated module list below represents the result of our ongoing modularisation of the LLM which is intended to offer students greater flexibility and choice of module options.

◦ QLLM023 Courts in Comparative Perspective (45 credits) (Not running 2016-17)
◦ QLLM035 Gender, Law and the State: Current Legal Issues (45 credits) (Not running 2016-17)
◦ QLLM038 Human Rights of Women (45 credits)
◦ QLLM047 International and Comparative Social Justice (45 credits)
◦ QLLM077 Medical Jurisprudence (45 credits)
◦ QLLM112 Jurisprudence A (Sem 1)
◦ QLLM113 Jurisprudence B (Sem 2)
◦ QLLM127 International Human Rights Law (45 credits)
◦ QLLM155 Principles of Regulation (Sem1)
◦ QLLM167 Indigenous Rights: Selected Issues in Practice and Theory (Sem 1) (Not running 2016-17)
◦ QLLM169 Punishment in England 1750-1950 (Sem 1)
◦ QLLM170 Cultural Diversity and Law (Sem 1)
◦ QLLM171 Asian and African Legal Systems (Sem 1)
◦ QLLM314 Transnational Law and Governance (Sem 1)
◦ QLLM315 Transnational Law and Governance in Practice (Sem 2)
◦ QLLM325 Visual Cognition and Legal Theory (sem 2)
◦ QLLM399 Imagination and Legal Cognition (Sem 1)

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Overview
The LLM in Medical Law is one of 20 LLM programmes of study at Queen Mary.

Overview

The LLM in Medical Law programme engages with a new and expanding field which offers considerable scope for interdisciplinary study and collaboration. The responsibilities of those providing health care and the expectations of those receiving it are legally defined, and as a consequence the law is increasingly involved in dispute resolution.

The programme offers a comprehensive examination of the role of law within the contemporary healthcare environment. It provides a sound knowledge and understanding of the institutions and organisations associated with medical law and the interrelationships between them.

The LLM in Medical Law is suitable for you, if you are a law graduate or a practising lawyer, or legal executive, with an interest in developing your knowledge of medical law and health policy.

Your fellow students will come from the UK and more than 80 other countries, each able to draw on prior academic and in many cases professional experiences from different jurisdictions to enrich discussion and debate in class.

Taught Modules

To specialise in this area, you must select 90 credits of modules from this list and do your compulsory dissertation in the field of Medical Law (45 credits). The additional 45 credits of taught modules can be in this area or can be unrelated and therefore selected from the full list of LLM modules.

All modules are 45 credits unless otherwise stated.

Note: Not all of the modules listed will be available in any one year. Any modules not available in the forthcoming academic session will be marked as soon as this information is confirmed.


◦ QLLM005 Advanced Medical Negligence
◦ QLLM041 Intellectual Property Aspects of Medicine
◦ QLLM077 Medical Jurisprudence
◦ QLLM078 Mental Health Law
◦ QLLM081 New Medical Technologies and the Law
◦ QLLM125 Medical Law and the Family (Not running in 2014-15)
◦ QLLM189 European Healthcare Law
◦ QLLM190 EU Healthcare law: Rights, Policies and Instruments (22.5 credits Semester 1)
◦ QLLM191 Competition and Regulation in EU Healthcare Markets (22.5 credits Semester 2)
QLLM319 The Regulation of the Health Professions in the UK (22.5 credits Sem 1) New for 2015
QLLM320 The Regulation of the Health Systems in the UK (22.5 credits Sem 2) New for 2015

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