Constitutional Law I: (LAU12501) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week and 4 hour of seminars in the 1st semester
Assessment:	Written Assignment - 20%, Discussion Board - 5% Examination - 75% (1 x 2 hour paper)
Module Coordinator:	Dr.David Kenny

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this module, students should be able to:

• Map the basic structure of government in Ireland
• Identify, evaluate and critique the role of constitutional law in ensuring respect for human rights and democratic governance
• Apply constitutional law concepts and doctrines for the purpose of solving concrete practical problems
• Identify the role which judicial interpretation plays in the development of constitutional law
• Critically analyse the case law interpreting Articles 38, 40 and 43 of the Constitution, articulating a coherent position on the ways in which constitutional law should develop in the future
• Apply critical analysis and problem-solving skills and techniques to different essay and problem-based questions on the implications of the above constitutional provisions
• Write convincingly on basic issues in the development of Irish constitutional law, grounding analysis in the constitutional text and decided case.

Module Content:

Constitutional law I introduces students to the study of constitutional law and theory, addressing a number of key doctrines and significant points of debate. The first part of the module addresses a number of constitutional rights, including rights relating to the criminal trial, property and unenumerated rights. The second part of the module addresses the separation of powers under the Irish Constitution, focusing on the limits of and interaction between the legislative, judicial and executive powers of government. The third part of the module addresses the overarching issues of constitutional litigation and constitutional interpretation.

Constitutional Law II: (LAU22501) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week and 4 hours of seminars in the 1st Semester
Assessment:	Essay (2,000 words) – 30%, exam (1 x 2 hour paper) – 70%
Module Coordinator:	Prof Gerry Whyte

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Analyse critically the case law interpreting Articles 40 to 45 of the Constitution, articulating a coherent position on the ways in which constitutional law should develop in the future.
• Assess the role of the courts in the protection of constitutional rights.
• Discuss the philosophical influences on the fundamental rights provisions of the Constitution.
• Apply critical analysis and problem-solving skills and techniques to different essay and problem-based questions on the implications of the above constitutional provisions.

Module Content:

This module examines the following aspects of constitutional law - the guarantees relating to the family and education; freedom of religion; freedom of expression; freedom of association; freedom of assembly; the guarantee of personal rights; the guarantee of equality; inviolability of the dwelling.

Foundations of Law I: (LAU11511) 5 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	2 hours of lectures and 1 hour of seminars per week (except in week 1) in the first six weeks of the 1st Semester.
Assessment:	Essay 100%
Module Coordinator:	Dr James Rooney

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Identify and critically analyse the various sources of law in the Irish system and the relationship between them, and in particular the role of the superior courts in the creation of binding precedent
• Engage in effective legal research both in the Library and online
• Demonstrate the effective use of practical techniques for solving legal problems
• Apply basic legal writing skills when completing assignments
• Critically evaluate access to justice within the Irish legal system

Module Content:

This module introduces junior freshman students to the key features of the Irish legal system and to aspects of legal skills. The module considers various aspects of the legal system including the sources of law, the Irish court system and the principles of stare decisis (rules of precedent) within the common law. It also seeks to locate the Irish legal system more broadly within the system of legal families. Finally, it seeks to consider some of the overarching values of the Irish legal system, with specific reference to the role of international human rights in this regard. Overall, it aims to attune students to the political, social and economic context of the Irish legal system, and to that end, particular emphasis is placed on current developments that may affect its operation. The module also seeks to equip students with the basic skills required for the study of law. It introduces students to legal research and reasoning and provides practical training in essay writing and legal problem solving. The module provides students with an opportunity for structured reflection on learning. It aims to orient students to third level education by heightening awareness of approaches to learning and fostering effective strategies for the study of law.

Jurisprudence: (LAU10522) 5 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	2 hours of lectures per week and 4 hours of seminars in the 1st Semester.
Assessment:	Examination (1 x 2 hour paper) 100%
Module Coordinator:	Prof Aileen Kavanagh

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Identify the nature, purpose and limits of law
• Identify and analyse the key principles underlying democratic legal systems
• Articulate the multiple relationships between law and morality
• Analyse the tensions between democracy and rights
• Identify and analyse applications of moral philosophy to aspects of both public and private law, and Engage in theoretical analysis and argumentation.

Module Content:

The purpose of this module is to provide students with an overview of some key issues in contemporary jurisprudence and moral and political philosophy, encouraging them to engage critically and analytically with current debates. This module covers issues concerning the nature of law and adjudication, situated against the broader backdrop of the links between law and morality. The theme of linkages between law and morality is further explored through an analysis of the concept of the rule of law, the interaction between entrenched legal rights and democracy, and the application of moral philosophy to the legal concept of strict liability in both tort and criminal law. Not only will this course provide students with a solid foundation in jurisprudence, it is also designed to illuminate and deepen understanding of other aspects of law by introducing students to relevant philosophical concepts at the very outset of their law degree at Trinity College Dublin.

Land Law: (LAU22511) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lecture per week and 4 seminars in the 1st semester.
Assessment:	Examination (1 hour paper) – 60%, Essay – 40%
Module Coordinator:	Dr. Rachael Walsh

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Critically reflect on the tensions that underpin and affect land law from theoretical and policy perspectives
• Engage with the interaction between public and private law rules and standards in the context of land
• Identify and analyse the evolution of land law and the complexities of the system in Ireland
• Outline the body of common law, equitable principles and legislation governing the ways in which land may be acquired, held and alienated
• Analyse and apply substantive areas in land law.

Module Content:

This module introduces the student to the considerable body of common law, equitable principles and legislation which governs the various ways in which land may be acquired, held and alienated. It commences with an analysis of the public law protections for rights in land in the Irish legal system, through the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. It engages in critical reflection on the theoretical rationales for private ownership that underpin and affect land law, and on other perspectives from economics and politics that influence the shape of land law. It considers the evolution of land law through both common law and statute, an understanding of which is fundamental to an appreciation of the complex system in operation in Ireland today. A key focus throughout is the changes wrought to Irish land law by the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009. The substantive areas dealt with include the nature of the freehold and leasehold estates in land, co-ownership, the use of land as security, and rights over land (easements and covenants).

Torts: (LAU11531) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week and 4 hours of seminars in the 1st Semester.
Assessment:	Examination (1 x 2 hour paper) - 75%, Essay - (3,000 words) - 25%
Module Coordinator:	Dr. Desmond Ryan

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Identify and analyse the key principles underlying the law of tort
• Use appropriate legal concepts, relevant judicial precedents and statutory law to solve concrete practical problems
• Explain how tort law seeks to give effect to social policies as well as address issues of personal responsibility
• Differentiate between liability for intentional wrongs, negligence and strict liability
• Discuss the principles of compensation and their practical application in specific contexts.

Module Content:

This is a standard course designed to provide Freshman students with an introduction to the law of torts. Topics covered include the major torts such as negligence, defamation and nuisance, but also issues such as defences, limitation periods and the interaction between the law of torts and the Constitution.

Contract Law: (LAU11542) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week and 4 seminars in the 2nd Semester.
Assessment:	2 Essays, 50% each
Module Coordinator:	Prof Blanaid Clarke and Dr Eoin O’Dell

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Engage in sophisticated, creative and critical discussion of common law concepts, both orally and in writing
• Analyse and apply the substantive principles of the law of contract
• Appreciate and explain the role of the law of contract in society
• Identify contractual issues in disputes, and advise accordingly
• Interpret and draft key contractual provisions

Module Content:

Contract is one of the core subjects of the common law of obligations. It involves analysis of the legal principles behind the rules relating to the formulation of contracts and the circumstances in which they will not come into existence or in which they cease to be effective.

Criminal Law: (LAU12552) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week and 4 seminars in the 2nd Semester.
Assessment:	Examination – 100% (1 x 2.5 hour paper)
Module Coordinator:	Dr Liz Heffernan

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Identify and critically analyse the basic principles of criminal liability and substantive criminal law
• Appraise and evaluate general rules governing criminal defences
• Appraise and evaluate specific principles relating to particular categories of offences
• Appraise and evaluate rules and principles regulating different modes of criminal liability
• Apply critical analysis and problem-solving skills and techniques to different essay and problem-based criminal law questions

Module Content:

The focus of this module is on substantive criminal law: defining crimes, basic concepts in criminal law, the general principles of criminal liability, different defences and types of criminal offence. By the end of the module students should be familiar with the basic principles underlying the Irish system of criminal law and with the basic aspects of the criminal court process. Students are encouraged to think critically and analytically about the rules, judgments and legislation that are studied over the course of the module.

Equity: (LAU22522) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week and four hours of seminars in the 2nd Semester.
Assessment:	Examination (2 hour paper) – 100%
Module Coordinator:	Prof Hilary Biehler

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Evaluate the relationship between law and equity
• Identify the contribution made by equity and the law of trusts to legal relationships and commercial situations
• Discuss and debate different perspectives on various aspects of the law relating to trusts of a private and public nature
• Use appropriate legal concepts, case law and statute law to analyse and solve legal problems relating to the use of equitable remedies

Module Learning Aims:

The aim of this module is to familiarise students with the principles which govern the exercise of equitable jurisdiction and to explore the nature of trusts of a private and public nature and how these trusts are administered. The module also examines the discretionary nature of equitable remedies by focusing on injunctions and aims to equip students with the skills to understand and advise on the circumstances in which remedies of this nature may be granted.

Module Content:

Equity may be described as that body of rules and principles which was developed by the Court of Chancery in order to mitigate the rigours of the common law. This course examines general principles, the law relating to private and public or charitable trusts and the administration of trusts, focusing on the powers and duties of trustees. It also covers some aspects of equitable remedies such as injunctions and examines the principles relating to proprietary estoppel.The focus of this module is on substantive criminal law: defining crimes, basic concepts in criminal law, the general principles of criminal liability, different defences and types of criminal offence. By the end of the module students should be familiar with the basic principles underlying the Irish system of criminal law and with the basic aspects of the criminal court process. Students are encouraged to think critically and analytically about the rules, judgments and legislation that are studied over the course of the module.

Foundations of Law II: (LAU11561) 5 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	2 hours of lectures and 1 hour of seminars per week (except in week 1) in the first six weeks of the 2nd Semester.
Assessment:	Assessed Coursework (2,000 word EU law problem question) – 100%
Module Coordinator:	Dr David Fennelly

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Identify and critically analyse sources of law in the Irish system and the relationship between them
• Apply appropriate techniques of statutory interpretation
• Demonstrate an understanding of international and European law as well as the impact of these legal orders on the Irish legal system
• Apply basic principles and doctrines of European law in light of practical problems
• Show an appreciation for the judicial procedures foreseen in EU law
• Demonstrate the effective use of practical techniques for solving legal problems
• Apply basic legal writing skills when completing assignments
• Engage in effective legal research both in the Library and online.

Module Content:

This module builds on Foundations of Law I and continues to introduce junior fresh students to further key features of the Irish and European legal system and to aspects of legal skills. The module considers first the rules and principles governing statutory interpretation before going on to provide an overview of public international law (incl. Council of Europe) and the impact this has on the Irish legal system. Due to its considerable impact on Irish law, a significant portion of the module is devoted to acquiring a basic understanding of the law of the European Union. Topics covered include the composition and roles of the EU institutions, fundamental legal doctrines such as primacy, direct and indirect effect and State liability as well as the judicial oversight and enforcement of EU law.

Legislation and Regulation: (LAU11571) 5 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	2 hours of lectures per week and 1 hour of seminars per week in the second half of 2nd semester (after reading week).
Assessment:	Take-home Assignment/Drafting/Review – 70% & Mock Parliament/Continuous Assessment – 30%
Module Coordinator:	Dr Surya Roy

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Appreciate the interaction between self-regulation and statutory regulation
• Get a feel of how Rule of Law is different from specific laws
• Appreciate the legislative process and how government is held accountable
• Appreciate how the judiciary shapes law through interpretation, oversight and review; specifically
• Appreciate pragmatic and political concerns that animate policy-making

Module Content:

This module complements Foundations of Law II and Jurisprudence, focuses on the Rule of Law, judicial scrutiny of statutory regulation, and concerns that animate policy-making. Students will be guided to reason their way into what statutory regulation is, the need for it, and its limits. With respect to judicial interpretation, oversight and review, the module focuses on: • Constitutionality of Statutory Regulation and Delegated Legislation • Grounds and standards of reviewing regulation • Internal and External Aids to Statutory Interpretation • Approaches to Statutory Interpretation The module also discusses pragmatic concerns in policy-making, concentrating on cost-benefit analysis, and political concerns, focusing on public choice theory and critical legal studies.

Private Law Remedies: (LAU22532) 5 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	18 hours of lectures and 2 hours of seminars in the first half of the 2nd Semester.
Assessment:	Assignment: 1,500 word individual essay – 80%; group question – 20%.Take-home Assignment/Drafting/Review – 70% & Mock Parliament/Continuous Assessment – 30%
Module Coordinator:	Dr Eoin O’Dell

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Evaluate remedial strategies from a range of theoretical and comparative perspectives
• Analyse private law claims at law and in equity to determine the appropriate remedy or remedies
• Display command of the interplay between rights and remedies, and their location within the wider body of the private law of obligations.

Module Content:

Students will already have encountered private law obligations in the Tort (JF), Contract (JF), and Equity (SF) modules, and it is very strongly recommended that students retain their textbooks from those modules for this one. A conceptual understanding of the remedies available to a plaintiff in civil proceedings at Common Law and in Equity to vindicate those obligations is the capstone of private law analysis. This course analyses the remedial goals (such as compensation for loss, punishment for wrongdoing, or restitution of unjust enrichment) underpinning various personal and proprietary remedies available for private law claims arising from tort, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, equitable wrongs, and so on. The substantive issues (such as causation, remotes, damages, proprietary remedies, and so on) will be considered in their own terms, and compared and contrasted across various subject-areas (such as Contract, Tort, Unjust Enrichment, Equity, and so on).

Mooting: (LAU22002) 5 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	Class contact: 20 hours Independent study, class preparation: 50 hours Independent study, mooting presentation and assessment preparation: 60 hours .
Assessment:	Written Submission (Memorial) The memorial is the written submissions prepared by the relevant pair. Each group of four students is divided into two groups of two which will represent the two sides in the case. The memorial has a strict 3,000 word limit (exclusive of the bibliography/book of authorities). Oral Presentation - Each student will present oral arguments in respect of their side of the case in a court setting.
Re-ssessment:	In the event of an student not passing the course, they will be required to prepare written submissions (memorial) in relation to a different hypothetical case within an assigned timeline. In such circumstances, the written submissions will count for 100% of the mark.
Module Coordinator:	Neville Cox

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Research legal materials effectively
• Critically evaluate the arguments made in legal cases
• Advocate effectively in support of a legal argument
• Present arguments coherently in both written and oral submissions
• Work effectively in group contexts in pursuit of common objectives

Module Content:

This programme gives students the opportunity to develop the written and oral advocacy skills which are a central component of any lawyer's training. The class group is divided into groups of four students and, within this group of four, are subdivided into groups of two, and informed which two will represent the plaintiff/appellant/applicant in the case and which will represent the defendant/respondent. The four person group choose which, of a range of hypothetical legal actions they will engage with. The groups then prepare the written and oral submissions in relation to their chosen legal action and, subsequently, present the oral submissions in the context of a court hearing.

Students receive instruction throughout the course in relation to mooting generally, and in relation to the preparation of legal arguments and advocacy skills. They work together, in groups, in the preparation and presentation of both forms of legal submission. The course is graded on a pass/fail basis, and, in assessing this, 60% of the evaluation is awarded for the memorial, written in the pair, (with each member of the pair receiving the same mark save in extraordinary circumstances) and 40% for the oral submissions (with each student receiving an individual mark for their presentation).

Administrative Law: (LAU34001) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week and 4 hour of seminars in the 1st semester
Assessment:	Essay (3,000 words) - 50%; Examination (1 x 1 hour paper) - 50%
Module Coordinator:	Dr. Catherine Donnelly /Prof Hilary Biehler

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Describe and assess the rationale for judicial supervision of administrative action.
• Discuss the substantive case law in a manner that incorporates the principles and theory of administrative law.
• Classify and compare the grounds for judicial review.
• Synthesise and evaluate case law on each of the main grounds of review.
• Apply the relevant principles and predict legal outcomes in factual situations

Modules Learning Aims:

Administrative law in Ireland is primarily judge-made. It is a public law subject and is often concerned with issues that are politically contentious and raise separation of powers concerns. Students will need to develop the ability to navigate the complex tapestry of public law principles that have developed in Irish administrative law jurisprudence.

Module Content:

This module examines public administration and the role of judicial review of administrative action. The module addresses the position of the administration in separation of powers. The bulk of the module is concerned with the control of administrative action through judicial review. It will consider in depth the reach of judicial review and in particular, the main grounds of judicial review. The module will also address judicial review procedures and remedies. Throughout this module, comparisons will be made between the English and Irish case law.

Recommended Texts:

• Hogan & Morgan, Administrative Law in Ireland (5th ed., 2019) Morgan, Hogan & Morgan’s Administrative Law (Student Edition, 2012)
• Biehler, Judicial Review of Administrative Action (3rd ed., 2013) Woolf, Jowell, le Sueur, Donnelly & Hare, De Smith’s Judicial Review (8th ed, 2018)
• Craig, Administrative Law (7th ed., 2016)
• Endicott, Administrative Law (4th ed., 2018)

Collective Labour Law: (LAU44022) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week in the 1st Semester
Assessment:	Essay (4,000 words) - 40%, exam (1 x 2 hour paper) – 60%.
Module Coordinator:	Prof Gerry Whyte

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Critically assess how the law regulates the relationship between employers and workers operating through trade unions, in particular, in relation to collective bargaining and industrial conflict.
• Explain the salient elements of Irish industrial relations.
• Apply critical analysis and problem-solving skills and techniques to different essay and problem questions based on material covered in the module.
• Research topics in law regulating the relationship between employers and trade unions.

Module Content:

Collective Labour law examines the legal relationship between a) employers and workers acting collectively through unions and b) unions and their members. In relation to the employer/union relationship, we will examine the law relating to collective bargaining, including statutory regulation of collective bargaining and the legal status of collective agreements, and the law on trade disputes, including liability for engaging in industrial action and legal immunities available to participants in such action. In relation to the union/member relationship, we will examine how the law regulates the formation of this relationship, the legal incidents of the relationship and the termination of the relationship.

Constitutional Law II: (LAU22501) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week and 4 hours of seminars in the 1st Semester
Assessment:	Essay (2,000 words) – 30%, exam (1 x 2 hour paper) – 70%
Module Coordinator:	Prof Gerry Whyte

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Analyse critically the case law interpreting Articles 40 to 45 of the Constitution, articulating a coherent position on the ways in which constitutional law should develop in the future.
• Assess the role of the courts in the protection of constitutional rights.
• Discuss the philosophical influences on the fundamental rights provisions of the Constitution.
• Apply critical analysis and problem-solving skills and techniques to different essay and problem-based questions on the implications of the above constitutional provisions.

Module Content:

This module examines the following aspects of constitutional law - the guarantees relating to the family and education; freedom of religion; freedom of expression; freedom of association; freedom of assembly; the guarantee of personal rights; the guarantee of equality; inviolability of the dwelling.

Critical Perspectives on Law: (LAU44120) 5 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	2 hours of lectures per week in the 1st Semester
Assessment:	Response paper 1 (1,500 words) – 47% Response paper 2 (1,500 words) – 48% Participation – 5%
Module Coordinator:	Dr David Kenny/Dr Alan Brady

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Identify and categorize political and ideological assumptions that have been subsumed into legal doctrine.
• Describe and evaluate the appropriateness of grounding principles in the contemporary socio-economic context.
• Differentiate the sectoral interest groups that benefit and do not benefit from the legal status quo.
• Justify and defend principles with which they agree based on full evaluation of their applicability in the practical legal context.
• Appraise the extent to which the existing corpus of Irish law serves its ostensible goals.

Module Content:

Doctrinal approaches to law are generally based on certain assumptions about human motivations and behaviour and the structure of society. Many of these grounding assumptions are rooted heavily in particular socio-political ideologies, most commonly those of 19th Century liberalism. Ideas about individual legal rights, justice and public policy have a strong tendency to assume a level of equality of power and opportunity that is wholly absent from the status quo in most developed economies. The purpose of this module is to equip students to identify and critique the sacred cows of legal doctrine. By examining social context, economic realities and power relationships, the fallacies of many of the founding principles of core legal subjects will be deconstructed and evaluated. Students may ultimately conclude that these founding principles are sound or meritorious; however, whatever their conclusion, the process of critique and defence of fundamental elements of the legal order adds significantly to students’ understanding of the law. The critique is primarily aimed at the core subjects that students will have studies during their Freshman modules. This ensures that students have sufficient background material. These subjects have also been chosen as they are the basis for the legal education of all professional lawyers in the state in that they are also the core subjects of the FE1 exams and the King’s Inns’ Diploma in Legal Studies. Attendance at the weekly class is mandatory. 0.5% of the overall final grade will be deducted for any week missed (after the introductory week) without sufficient excuse being provided to the lecturers.

English Land Law: (LAU34121) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week in the 1st Semester
Assessment:	Examination (1 x 2 hour paper) – 100%
Module Coordinator:	Dr Sarah Hamill

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Deconstruct reforms in English land law to understand their policy goals and their strengths/weaknesses in achieving such goals.
• Identify and assess the principal differences between English and Irish land law.
• Apply the rules of English land law to solve complex problems in relation to both registered and unregistered land.
• Analyse the pros and cons of a comprehensive land registration system and evaluate its impact on dealings with land.
• Analyse the effect of human rights on English land law.
• Identify and evaluate the range of remedies available in land law disputes.
• Apply critical analysis and problem-solving skills and techniques to different essay and problem-based questions on English land law.

Module Learning Aims:

This module grounds students in the major principles of English land law. It builds upon the foundational work done in Land Law by deepening students’ conceptual understanding of property as an institution, and of the competing policy goals that affect its development, particularly through statutory reform. It also seeks to improve students’ critical understanding of land law, and in particular of the interface between public and private law in the context of land.

Module Content:

The module beings with an examination of the major reforms to English land law seen in the 1920s, namely the Law of Property Act 1925 and the Land Registration Act 1925. The module discusses how these reforms changed the understanding of ownership seen in English land law and why they were introduced. The module moves on to study how subsequent legislative reforms have addressed deficiencies in the earlier statutes as well as how they reflect societal change. Emphasis is given to co-ownership and interests in the family home and how the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 affected these interests. The changes made by the Land Registration Act 2002 are also discussed.

The module examines the various estates which English land law recognises, including the option of holding freehold estates as commonhold. It also covers mortgages, easements, restrictive covenants, proprietary estoppel, and the doctrine of adverse possession. Where relevant the module discusses the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 as well as the jurisprudence from the European Court of Human Rights. The module also examines the land registration system in England and the priority rules arising out of that system as well as to the different rules which apply to registered and unregistered land.

EU Competition Law: (LAU44170) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week in the 1st Semester
Assessment:	Essay (5,000 words) - 35%, Examination (1 x 2 hour paper) - 65%
Module Coordinator:	Mr Alex Schuster

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Identify and critique the different rationales underpinning EU Competition Law.
• Gain an in depth understanding of the substantive rules governing anti-competitive agreements and practices, market abuses perpetrated by dominant players, and merger control (the ‘three pillars’), together with a detailed appreciation of the procedural framework within which they operate.
• Apply research and problem solving skills to complex factual scenarios arising in the field of EU Competition Law.
• Develop a keen appreciation of the unique challenges posed for regulators in respect of the overweening market power – allegedly enjoyed by the ‘Big 5’ (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft) - in the digital economy.
• Map the relationship between EU Competition Law and the business world, as well as understand how the effective implementation of such a legal regime can reap major benefits for consumers in the marketplace.

Module Learning Aims:

To teach students how to apply the regulatory principles governing competition to the commercial world, and to develop students’ ability to appraise the operative principles critically. To facilitate and encourage students in producing a 5000 word piece of research of a high calibre, replete with original and innovative insights, which cuts to the nub of legal, economic and factual problems incisively and with a minimum of verbiage. To enable students to hone their analytical skills in the competition field to a cutting edge, thereby enabling them to thrive subsequently in challenging academic, business or regulatory environments and/or as commercial practitioners. So, for example, the LL.M. at LSE (with a specialism in Competition, Innovation and Trade Law) has, in recent years, been a popular port of call for TCD students of - amongst other commercially oriented subjects - EU Competition Law.

Module Content:

Competition has been described as a “process of rivalry between firms.... seeking to win customers’ business over time.” This module engages with competition law rules which prohibit business concerns from entering into anti-competitive agreements, and which prevent dominant market players from abusing their market power at the expense of weaker competitors. It begins by explaining key legal and economic concepts which are central to EU competition policy. Two of the three main pillars of EU competition law are then examined, including the prohibition on anti-competitive agreements (including cartels) in Article 101 TFEU and the prohibition on abuse of a dominant position in Article 102 TFEU, as well as the enforcement measures applicable in respect of both prohibitions. The module concludes with an exploration of the third pillar, the Merger Control Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No. 139/2004), and the extent to which it regulates market structure and behaviour in business settings in which two or more formerly independent companies/entities wish to unite.

Recommended Reading List:

• Jones and Sufrin’s, EU Competition Law: Text, Cases and Materials (OUP, 7th edn, 2019).
• Whish and Bailey, Competition Law (OUP, 9th edn, 2018).
• Chillin’ Competition blog: https://chillingcompetition.com

Module Prerequisite:

Students must have completed either the EU Law module (LAU 23462) in TCD or an equivalent module in one of our partner universities in the EU Erasmus Exchange Programme. Students who have already completed LAU34051, Competition Policy may not enrol in this module.

European Human Rights Law: (LAU34061) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week in the 1st Semester
Assessment:	Blog Post (1,000 words or 7 minute podcast) 25%, Essay (3,000 words) 75%
Module Coordinator:	Dr Norah Burns

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Conduct effective and targeted research in case law and academic legal commentary regarding the protection of human rights pursuant to the European Convention on Human Rights.
• Identify, evaluate and critique the evolution of human rights pursuant to the European Convention on Human Rights.
• Discuss and debate the moral, theoretical and ethical assumptions underpinning human rights.
• Apply the law and theory of human rights to concrete practical problems and to the challenge of ensuring effective implementation and protection of human rights.

Module Content:

This course is divided in two parts. The first part of the course will focus on the regional human rights regime established by European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. In addition to a general discussion of practice and procedure under the ECHR, case law concerning substantive rights, such as the prohibition against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the right to respect for private and family life, the right to freedom of religion, and the right to freedom of expression, will be analysed in-depth. In the second part of the course, specific questions related to the protection of human rights in Europe will be addressed, such as protection of socio-economic rights and protection of human rights in the context of terrorism. This part of the course will draw upon experience outside Europe to analyse European responses.

Evidence: (LAU34011) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week and additional seminars in the 1st Semester
Assessment:	Examination - 100%
Module Coordinator:	Dr David Prendergast

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Outline the role of evidence in the trial process.
• Identify and critically analyse evidentiary rules and principles.
• Engage in effective research and writing in the law of evidence.
• Apply evidentiary rules and principles in hypothetical fact scenarios.
• Debate evidentiary law and policy and formulate proposals for reform.

Modules Learning Aims:

This module is designed to provide sophister students with a foundation in the law of evidence in Ireland with particular emphasis on evidence in criminal proceedings.

Module Content:

Topics covered include the examination of witnesses, hearsay, and evidentiary privileges. The concept of proof and the significance of evidentiary rights are among the themes explored in the module.

Family and Child Law A: (LAU34140) 5 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week from weeks 1-6
Assessment:	Individual 3,500 word essay due in Week 7
Module Coordinator:	Dr Patricia Brazil

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• an understanding of the law relating to families in Ireland in the light of the Constitution, the domestic legal framework as well as international human rights law.
• a critical awareness of the policy behind family law in Ireland.
• a practical appreciation of the implications of family law in this jurisdiction.

Module Content:

The course will cover the family as a legal entity, the law governing family formation (marriage, civil partnership and cohabitants), the law recognising family breakdown (nullity, separation and divorce) and the law regulating family breakdown (preliminary and ancillary orders).

Family and Child Law: (LAU34141) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week
Assessment:	Group project (policy report 3,500 words) 50%, Individual Essay (3,500 words) 50%
Module Coordinator:	Dr Patricia Brazil

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• an understanding of the law relating to families in Ireland in the light of the Constitution, the domestic legal framework as well as international human rights law.
• a critical awareness of the policy behind family law in Ireland.
• a practical appreciation of the implications of family law in this jurisdiction.

Module Content:

This course will cover the legal status of the family and the child, the law relating to family formation (including marriage, civil partnership, cohabitants and non-marital families) and the law recognising family breakdown (including nullity, separation and divorce) as well as the law regulating family breakdown (to include preliminary/ancillary orders in separation/divorce/dissolution of civil partnership). We will also examine the child’s right to a family (including guardianship, custody and access as well as adoption) and the protection of vulnerable family members (including child protection and domestic violence).

Food Law: (LAU44032) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week in the 1st Semester
Assessment:	Essay (4,000 words, incl. footnotes) 50%, Essay (4,000 words, incl. footnotes) 50%
Module Coordinator:	Dr Caoimhín MacMaoláin

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Identify the key sources of Irish Food Law.
• Categorise the main areas of Food Law and assess the most significant rules and regulations in each.
• Appraise the manner in which the production and marketing of food is regulated.
• Analyse the interaction between Food Law and human activity.
• Assess the impact of other disciplines on the formulation of Food Law.

Module Learning Aims

To develop a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of Irish and European Union food law.

Module Content:

Food safety has become a priority for the EU lawmaker, in particular following a series of scares such as those about ‘mad cow disease’ (BSE), dioxin poisoning and genetic modification. There are ongoing concerns about the relationship between diet and health. This module examines the ways in which the law can be, and is, used to address these problems. The focus is primarily on European Union rules in this area, as it is from here that most of our food law in Member States like Ireland now originates. The course will commence with a re-examination of EU rules on free movement for goods, with emphasis on the movement of food. Other topics covered by this module include organic food regulation, food safety, food quality, aspects of intellectual property rights, animal welfare, food labelling and claims and novel foods.

Recommended Reading List:

• MacMaoláin, ‘Irish Food Law’, Hart Publishing: Bloomsbury, 2019, ISBN: 978-1-5099-0779-3.

Intellectual Property Law: (LAU44072) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week in the 1st Semester
Assessment:	Take Home Exam – 100%
Module Coordinator:	Dr Giuseppe Mazziotti

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Appraise and evaluate the social and economic justifications for intellectual property rights.
• Identify and analyse how intellectual property rights are protected and commercially exploited, in both offline and online environments.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the implications of international conventions and the most important EU legislative measures, from both a trade-related and non-market perspective.
• Evaluate Ireland’s obligations in this field.
• Identify legal issues in complex cases and argue either side of the arguments raised by the parties involved.
• Demonstrate familiarity with research tools and materials through which they can deepen their knowledge of specific aspects of intellectual property law.

Module Content:

Intellectual property law is an increasingly important and wide bundle of rules aimed at fostering and rewarding human creativity and technological innovation and at protecting investments and goodwill in business-related activities. Intellectual property has traditionally encompassed copyright, trademarks and patents. This area of law has grown exponentially in the last few decades through the extension of the scope of existing rights to protect new assets, works and technologies (e.g. trade secrets, Internet domain names, computer programs, biotechnologies) and the creation of new types of rights (e.g. industrial designs, database rights, access rights for digital content). The module examines the social and economic justifications for intellectual property rights, as well as their multi-layered regulation.

The module draws upon a selection of domestic intellectual property regimes to show the impact of international and European law and decision-making on EU Member States and to critically evaluate some of the policies and goals that underlie intellectual property today. Although the idea of multi-level regulation of patent and copyright laws goes back to the end of the 19th century, intellectual property rights and their enforcement have been globalised more effectively since the establishment of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1994 and the related adoption of an international agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (known as the ‘TRIPS’ Agreement). The module examines the most important provisions of this and other international intellectual property laws as well as the EU regulations and directives that have harmonized (or in certain cases even unified, as in the case of trademarks and designs) national legal systems such as the Irish one.

Information Technology Law: (LAU34052) 5 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	16.5 hours (either 16 lectures or 11 lectures, depending on timetable allocation) in the 1st semester
Assessment:	Response Paper (2,000) words – 50% Case Note (2,000 words) – 50%
Module Coordinator:	Dr Maria Grazia Porcedda

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Identify and comprehend sources of primary and secondary law of relevance to IT law.
• Understand the way how IT is interwoven with different areas of law and regulation.
• Discuss the key theoretical and practical approaches to regulation in the field.
• Critically appraise the impact of multiple factors on the relationship between law and technology.
• Construct well-sourced arguments relating to IT law and write critically about the subject.

Module Content:

In the space of two decades, information technologies such as computers and the Internet have become part of the fabric of our society. They pervade virtually every field of life and are increasingly embedded in goods and services. Not only does this disrupt the law as we know it, but the fast development of IT also challenges the ability of the law to keep pace with innovation. During the course, we will examine the complex relationship between law and information technology: can the law rule code? What other actors and factors carry legal weight in determining the answer? We will look into how information technologies work and are governed by a range of institutions and laws.

The module will examine the legal ramifications of information technologies and cyberspace in the private and public spheres. For the former, we will look into, for instance, e-commerce and intermediary liability, for the latter, surveillance and access to e-evidence. We will also explore the way how digitization has shaped the nature of fundamental rights, notably the protection of personal data and privacy, as well as crime in the form of cybercrime. The module will feature high-profile cases as well as present-day topics; potential topics for discussion include artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain and legal tech. In so doing, we will discuss cross-cutting themes such as business models, globalization, politics, modes of regulation, enforcement and philosophy. Legal sources will be mainly drawn from the European Union and the Council of Europe. The module will feature 16.5 hours of lectures.

Legal Philosophy: (LAU34071) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week and additional seminars in the 1st semester
Assessment:	Response paper (25%); Exam (75%)
Module Coordinator:	Dr David Prendergast

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Formulate their own, critically aware, position on jurisprudential issues.
• Critically analyse primary texts of a philosophical character.
• Interrogate various connections between law and morality.
• Appraise the value of philosophical reflection about law for the practice of law.
• Explore connections between jurisprudential theories and legal doctrinal issues.

Module Content:

This module facilitates students in the formulation of their own, critically aware, understanding of the nature of law and its features. Students develop their ability to articulate a reasoned position on distinctive features of law and a legal system and on questions such as the relationship between law and morality, law’s legitimacy and function in a social order. Among topics that may be explored are the concept of law, the rule of law, authority, and connections between law and morality. This module meets the requirement of the Honorable Society of Kings Inns that candidates entering the Barrister-at-Law degree programme would have studied Jurisprudence as part of their qualifying law degree.

Media Law: (LAU44082) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week in 1st semester
Assessment:	Essay (7,000 words) - 90%, Essay Plan - 10%
Module Coordinator:	Dr Ailbhe O’Neill

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Critically assess how the law regulates the operation of the media in Ireland and across Europe.
• Explain the salient elements of Irish media law.
• Evaluate the emerging developments in media law and regulation, including the use of non-legal governance.
• Apply critical analysis and problem-solving skills and techniques to different essay and problem questions based on material covered in the module
• Conduct research into developing areas of media law and practice.

Module Content:

This course will consider both the theoretical and practical questions which arise in this evolving area of the law. Initially, the course will examine the role of the media in a constitutional democracy. The constitutional protection of the media in Ireland will be compared with similar regimes in other jurisdictions with particular emphasis on the jurisprudence of the European Convention of Human Rights. The course will then address a number of specific areas of media law. Lectures will deal with topics such as privacy, contempt of court, the protection of journalistic sources, obscenity, blasphemy, and the regulatory regimes in Ireland and in the EU. Throughout the course, lectures will explore the issues raised by the rise of new media forms like the internet.

Medical Law and Ethics: (LAU44152) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week in 1st semester
Assessment:	Discussion Board 5%, Legal Opinion (3,000 words) 45%, Policy Report (3,500 words) 50%.
Module Coordinator:	Prof Neville Cox

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Accurately describe and apply law to novel situations that arise in medical practice.
• Explain medical technologies and procedures to a non-specialist audience.
• Debate ethical and philosophical issues that arise in healthcare in a thorough but sensitive manner, while responding to questions and comments.
• Identify the principles, values and rights at play in medical practice.
• Situate Irish law in the international context and draw relevant comparisons between schemes of regulation in different jurisdictions.
• Research and write on complex medico-legal topics.

Module Content:

Medical Law and Ethics will give students the opportunity to tackle contemporary legal issues in medicine and healthcare. The module will deal both with the black-letter law that governs medical practice and with the broader philosophical, ethical and social questions that are raised by medical advances. Students will be guided through the range of legal and quasi-legal instruments that regulate medical practice, including the Constitution, Tort Law, and professional guidelines, and encouraged to consider the advantages and disadvantages of these regulatory tools.

As well as providing students with a thorough grasp of Irish Law, the module will be substantially comparative in nature. Comparative legal study will be especially valuable on topics that are unregulated, or under-regulated by Irish Law. This module aims both to prepare students for practice in the field of medical law, and to encourage critical thinking and exploration of the theoretical challenges presented by the subject.

Students will be required to read certain materials ahead of class. To this end, the reading list will be divided into required reading and further reading. Students will be expected to analyse the topics in class, and to participate in class discussions. As well as using traditional legal materials the course will draw on relevant work from the fields of science, philosophy, sociology and politics.

Public International Law: (LAU34081) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week in 1st semester, Seminars TBC
Assessment:	Examination - 100% (1 x 2 hour paper)
Module Coordinator:	Dr. David Fennelly BL / Mr. Mike Becker

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Identify the main concepts, principles and processes in the field of public international law.
• Demonstrate a sound knowledge of the rules applicable in core areas of the law, such as state sovereignty, the peaceful settlement of international disputes, the use of force, international organisations and self-determination.
• Analyse international affairs from the perspective of public international law.
• Describe in some detail the place of the individual within the international legal system
• Explain the nature of public international law and the role it plays in the conduct of world affairs.

Module Content:

This module is designed to provide students with knowledge of the main concepts, principles, processes and rules of public international law as well as a more in-depth knowledge of selected areas of the law. Topics are considered under two broad headings. Part 1 deals with fundamental legal concepts and process, including the sources of international law, statehood and international legal personality, state responsibility, and dispute settlement. Part 2 examines more specialized areas of public international law, with a focus on jurisdiction, immunities, use of force, and human rights. Practical examples of the operation of the law, many of them relating to contemporary events, are given throughout.

Advanced EU Law: (LAU44102) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week in the 2nd semester and additional seminars may be available
Assessment:	Coursework: 2 x 2500 word essays, 50% each
Module Coordinator:	Dr Diarmuid Rossa Phelan

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Identify and understand core EU law structures.
• Analyze, breakdown, and interpret primary EU law materials.
• Create independent authoritative argument and exposition on the basis of primary materials.
• Conduct effective and targeted research in EU primary materials.
• Learn complimentary learning techniques.
• Orient oneself through EU materials.
• Grasp how the structures, principles, institutions, and substantive law mesh together.
• Gain confidence in lawyering in EU materials.
• Improve targeted legal writing.

Module Learning Aims:

The point is to cover primary materials in some depth, to learn how to work with primary materials, to see in operation fundamental structures of EU law, and EU – Member State institutional interaction, and how it all meshes together. It is part training in being an EU lawyer and part an exploration in a concrete contexts of themes in EU constitutionalism, notably federalism. None of this is done in the abstract. It is done with a substantive focus on primary materials in EU competition law, the most federal of EU law areas, the Treaties and some core doctrines. Competition law is the vehicle and focus to show systemic nature of EU constitutionalism and how EU law “thinks”. This course does not cover competition law in a way similar to Economic and Legal Aspects of Competition Policy and students need no prior acquaintance with competition law, nor will students with prior competition law experience be doubling up. Independent thinking based on rational argument from close reading of primary materials is encouraged and prized, as is making connections between different primary instruments, and instruments at different levels (Treaties and Regulations, for example).

Module Content:

Learning. Students must have with them prescribed (freely available) primary materials such as the treaties. Advance reading is required. The information is in the primary materials and students aim for understanding and self-organisation of the knowledge in them. Almost all material is posted on Blackboard. Regular (not absolute) class attendance and advance reading is required and a roll call may be made. Certain short research and writing exercises may also be assigned throughout the semester, to assist student learning. These are not corrected, they are to direct your engagement with the materials and practice how you might approach the essays or exam. It is not possible to cram successfully for this course at the end of the semester without having done the reading in advance of class and attended regularly. There are no lecture notes in the sense of the transfer of information.

Consider your own experiences, one the one hand, of the difference between text books, cases and materials books, reading cases themselves, and reading statutes, and on the other of attending programmatic power point lectures with notes transferring an academic’s road map of a substantive area, and a seminar on a text. This course is closer, from the point of view of student preparation, to reading statutes, and from the point of view of presentation in class, to seminars on texts. In broad approximation, students who take this course (a) report a somewhat higher work load and difficulty during the semester, and (b) achieve somewhat higher results, than in other classes on average. The method of assessment varies from year to year. Until further notice it will be by two essays, one returnable immediately after Study Week.

Recommended Reading List:

• EU Treaties, core primary Regulations, Directives, and Commission Notices on Blackboard, some EU case law

Module Prerequisites:

EU Law; Competition law is advisable (but not required) either in the JS year or in Michaelmas term in the SS year

Commercial Law: (LAU34091) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week in the 2nd semester
Assessment:	Blogpost (1,000 words) 25%, Essay (3,000 words) 75%.
Module Coordinator:	Prof. Deirdre Ahern

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Identify the relationship between law and the commercial world.
• Use appropriate legal concepts, case law and statute law to analyse and solve legal problems within the world of commerce.
• Evaluate the contribution made by default rules provided by the law as opposed to choices made by parties using freedom of contract.
• Map the relationship between law and society in a commercial context, including the role of law in promoting and responding to social change.

Module Learning Aims:

The objective of this module is to provide students with a good knowledge of key areas of commercial law.

Module Content:

Commercial Law is taught with a practical emphasis on what occurs in business life and will be of benefit to students who intend to go into professional practice in this area. The module begins with the history and nature of commercial law and moves on to consider legal regulation of a range of areas which are significant in the business world. These include the law of agency, insurance law and the banker-customer relationship. A particular emphasis is on the regulation of the sale of goods and supply of services.

Company Law: (LAU34022) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week in the 2nd semester, 4 hours of Seminars
Assessment:	Essay (3,000 words) - 25%, Examination (1 x 2 hour paper) - 75%
Module Coordinator:	Prof. Blanaid Clarke / Prof. Deirdre Ahern

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Identify and evaluate the interplay between the legal entity that is the company and the shareholders and directors, as the other organs of the company, in a wide range of situations.
• Apply relevant statutory rules and case law to companies in order to analyse and solve legal issues relating to companies.
• Discuss and debate different perspectives on various aspects of the law relating to companies including the change in legal approach which occurs when a company runs into financial difficulties.

Module Content:

This module deals with the law relating to companies. The subjects covered include the incorporation of companies and the legal consequences of incorporation, the constitutional documents of a company, the law relating to corporate capacity, directors' duties and their enforcement; shareholder and creditor protection.

Conflicts of Law: (LAU44112) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week in the 2nd semester
Assessment:	Take Home Exam - 100%
Module Coordinator:	Dr. David Kenny

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Locate contentious issues within national and international legal contexts.
• Identify and evaluate the role of EU law in the development of rules and standards applied in the Irish courts.
• Identify and critically analyse rules governing jurisdiction, choice of law and the recognition and enforcement of judgments both orally and in writing.
• Compare and contrast the application of those rules in different substantive legal contexts.
• Discuss and debate different theoretical and practical perspectives on the conflict of laws and formulate proposals for reform.
• Apply Irish and European conflicts regimes in practical settings to resolve hypothetical fact scenarios.
• Conduct effective research of contentious issues at national and international levels.

Module Content:

Conflict of Laws (also known as Private International Law) is the body of rules whose purpose is to assist the Irish court in deciding a case containing a foreign element. It consists of three main elements: (1) the jurisdiction of the Irish court (whether the Irish courts is competent to hear the dispute); (2) the selection of the appropriate rules of a system of law, Irish or foreign, which it is to apply in deciding a case before it (choice of law); and (3) the recognition and enforcement of judgments given by foreign courts. A particular focus of the course is the development of distinctive conflict of law rules within the European Union in the areas of tort, contract and commercial litigation.

Corporate Governance: (LAU44010) 5 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	2 hours of lectures per week in the 2nd semester
Assessment:	Coursework - 100%
Module Coordinator:	Dr Ailbhe O’Neill

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Identify and analyse the agency problems that arise in the modern corporation.
• Evaluate the various solutions that have been proposed to these problems
• Map the connection between the regulatory, legal and economic environment and corporate governance in different jurisdictions and at different points in history.
• Discuss and debate issues of corporate social responsibility and the interests of stakeholders.

Module Learning Aims:

To understand the issues that arise in the modern corporation and to have a framework for analysing same.

Module Content:

The objective of this module is to develop an understanding of the development of corporate governance and its importance to companies and their stakeholders. The module will investigate the processes of supervision and control within companies (including board composition, board committees and board remuneration) and it will determine the primary aims of these processes. The theory and the reality of shareholder democracy and corporate social responsibility will be analysed. Students will be referred to multidisciplinary academic material particularly from the fields of law and economics, behavioural economics and management theory. The theory will be contextualized and there will be discussions of high profile governance scandals and the corporate governance failings in credit institutions revealed in the wake of financial crises.

Modules Prerequisites:

Company Law

Current Issues in Constitutional Law: (LAU44161) 5 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	1-2 hours of lectures per week in the 2nd Semester
Assessment:	Two papers and one presentation - equally weighted. Attendance is mandatory and 0.5% will be deducted for any week missed
Module Coordinator:	Prof Aileen Kavanagh / Dr Rachael Walsh

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Critically and contextually analyse in detail leading cases in Irish constitutional law.
• Competently distil differing judicial positions in contentious judgments, and identify the broader context of those positions.
• Present complex constitutional law issues, and judicial reasoning relating to those issues, in a clear and compelling manner.
• Coordinate effectively with classmates in preparing presentations.
• Discuss current constitutional law issues in their political and social context.
• Critically analyse contextual issues in constitutional law on a thematic basis, tracking trends and developments over time.
• Make independent and original contributions to constitutional law discourse.
• Develop an awareness of the political and broader practical implications of constitutional litigation.
• Understand the role of the constitutional litigant and litigator in legal practice.

Module Learning Aims:

Current Issues in Constitutional Law is a skills based course, designed to promote critical engagement by Sophister students with constitutional issues through close reading of major cases. Such cases, and complementary academic materials, will serve as a vehicle for exploring themes that run through constitutional law. The aim of this course is to deepen students’ knowledge and legal skills in constitutional law.

Module Content:

This course will adopt the reading group format, which focuses on collective text analysis and student-led discussion of principles, themes, and impacts of major constitutional decisions. Students are assigned advanced reading, including cases and academic commentaries, with one or two students chosen to deliver a springboard presentation each week, which will catalyse a class discussion on the issues raised by the assigned readings. The lecturers will act as facilitators, contributing opinions and posing questions to tease out additional issues and deeper analysis, but will eschew the ordinary lecture format. Essential to this format is a small group of students. As a result, student numbers will be capped at c. 20 students.

The key materials for the course will be prescribed decisions of the Irish Superior Courts, as well as academic materials on Irish and comparative constitutional law. The course will concentrate on topical issues, incorporating major developments in constitutional law on an on-going basis. The focus of the course will be on thorough individual reading of major cases and group discussion and analysis, through which the class can collectively explore major themes in constitutional law. The course will enhance students’ research abilities, their critical analysis of legal materials, their legal writing, and their communication skills. It will challenge them to think about constitutional law at both the detailed micro level of discrete problems and the broader macro level of cross-cutting thematic issues.

Employment Law A: (LAU34110) 5 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week in the first half of 2nd Semester
Assessment:	Response paper (3,000 words) - 100%
Module Coordinator:	Dr Desmond Ryan

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Identify and analyse the relationship between the different sources of Irish employment law and the various fora in which employment disputes are litigated.
• Appraise and evaluate the substantive legal principles in a number of distinct areas of employment law.
• Locate employment law within current societal developments, particularly having regard to the gig economy, COVID-19, remote working, social media and work-life balance considerations.

Module Content:

This module offers an introduction to employment law in Ireland in 2022, introducing students both to the variety of overlapping sources of employment law and to the multiplicity of different ways in which employment disputes may be litigated. It analyses the nature of the employment relationship, the contract of employment, the gig economy and the impact of COVID-19 on the employment relationship.

Employment Law: (LAU34111) 5 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week in the 2nd Semester
Assessment:	Essay (3,000 words) - 50%, Response paper (3,000 words) - 50%
Module Coordinator:	Dr Desmond Ryan

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Identify and analyse the relationship between the different sources of Irish employment law and the various fora in which employment disputes are litigated.
• Appraise and evaluate the substantive legal principles in a number of distinct areas of employment law.
• Locate employment law within current societal developments, particularly having regard to COVID-19, remote working, social media and work-life balance considerations.
• Analyse and explain specific statutory regimes and their application in practice.
• Identify and evaluate the range of remedies available in employment litigation.
• Apply critical analysis skills and techniques to different essay and response-based employment law questions.

Module Content:

This module offers an introduction to employment law in Ireland in 2022, introducing students both to the variety of overlapping sources of employment law and to the multiplicity of different ways in which employment disputes may be litigated. It analyses the nature of the employment relationship, the contract of employment, the gig economy and the impact of COVID-19 on the employment relationship. A thorough analysis is undertaken of employers’ statutory and common law obligations to their employees, including the study of the liability of employers for workplace harassment, bullying and stress, and the potential for vicarious liability being imposed upon employers in this context. Employment equality law also receives detailed treatment in this module, as does the termination of employment under both common law and statute. The module concludes with a detailed analysis of remedies in employment law, with special emphasis on the distinctive body of law that continues to grow in the context of employment injunctions.

Environmental Law A: (LAU34130) 5 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week during weeks 1-6 in the 2nd Semester
Assessment:	TBC
Module Coordinator:	Dr Surya Roy

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Appraise the prevalence of environmental law in individual, commercial and governmental activities.
• Interrogate core concepts that inform environmental law.
• Identify relevant approaches to environmental concerns and remedies offered by other fields of public and private law such as constitutional law, human rights law, property law and tort law.
• Critically evaluate similarities and differences in environmental law within and between legal systems.

Module Content:

Environmental law expertise is traditionally considered useful if it helps a manager manoeuvre myriad rules and regulations, or if it helps an environmentalist combat industrialisation. Further, there is a concentration on either local or international or regional law. This module rejects an either or approach, and wishes to convey that environmental law cuts across and within legal systems, fields of law, vested interests and disciplinary boundaries. At the same time, it aims to assist students with negotiating this complexity by concentrating on common principles, illustrated through case studies. Notably, the precautionary principle and the polluter-pays principle are examined. Such principles, in turn, prompt an analysis of the use of property rights in managing and dealing with environmental problems. Property rights doubles up as a useful lens in appreciating questions pertaining to land use. The module requires students to discuss and debate theoretical nuance and practical application.

Given that climate change has become a distinct and inescapable legal concern, special attention is given to the practice and theory of climate law. This includes understanding the unique nature of international climate law, existing instruments of mitigation such as the European Union Emissions Trading System and climate battles fought in courts.

Environmental Law: (LAU34131) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week in the 2nd Semester
Assessment:	TBC
Module Coordinator:	Dr Surya Roy

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Interrogate core concepts that inform international, EU and Irish environmental law.

Module Content:

Environmental law expertise is traditionally considered useful if it helps a manager manoeuvre myriad rules and regulations, or if it helps an environmentalist combat industrialisation. Further, there is a concentration on either local or international or regional law. This module rejects an either or approach, and wishes to convey that environmental law cuts across and within legal systems, fields of law, vested interests and disciplinary boundaries. At the same time, it aims to assist students with negotiating this complexity by concentrating on common principles, illustrated through case studies. Notably, the precautionary principle and the polluter-pays principle are examined. Such principles, in turn, prompt an analysis of the use of property rights in managing and dealing with environmental problems. Property rights doubles up as a useful lens in appreciating questions pertaining to land use. The module requires students to discuss and debate theoretical nuance and practical application.

Equity: (LAU22522) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week and 4 hours of seminars in the 2nd Semester
Assessment:	Examination (2 hour paper) – 100%
Module Coordinator:	Prof Hilary Biehler

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Evaluate the relationship between law and equity.
• Identify the contribution made by equity and the law of trusts to legal relationships and commercial situations
• Discuss and debate different perspectives on various aspects of the law relating to trusts of a private and public nature
• Use appropriate legal concepts, case law and statute law to analyse and solve legal problems relating to the use of equitable remedies.

Module Learning Aims:

The aim of this module is to familiarise students with the principles which govern the exercise of equitable jurisdiction and to explore the nature of trusts of a private and public nature and how these trusts are administered. The module also examines the discretionary nature of equitable remedies by focusing on injunctions and aims to equip students with the skills to understand and advise on the circumstances in which remedies of this nature may be granted.

Module Content:

Equity may be described as that body of rules and principles which was developed by the Court of Chancery in order to mitigate the rigours of the common law. This course examines general principles, the law relating to private and public or charitable trusts and the administration of trusts, focusing on the powers and duties of trustees. It also covers some aspects of equitable remedies such as injunctions and examines the principles relating to proprietary estoppel.

European Union Law: (LAU34032) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week in the 2nd semester, 4 x 1 hours of seminars in the 2nd semester
Assessment:	1 x unseen exam (2 hours)
Module Coordinator:	Dr. Caoimhín MacMaoláin

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Identify and explain key concepts in European Union Law.
• Critically evaluate the role of the EU Courts in the evolution of European Union law.
• Critically evaluate the relationship between European Union Law and the national law of the EU Member States.
• Discuss and appraise key aspects of European Union substantive law.

Modules Aims:

To develop a comprehensive knowledge about, and understanding of, the role of European Union law in the functioning of the Member States and their people.

Module Content:

The aim of this course is to provide an introduction to the law and institutions of the European Union, in particular to examine their origins and development. The first part of the course concentrates on constitutional issues, including the workings of the institutions and legal system. The second part of the course examines selected aspects of substantive law, including free movement of goods and persons and the principles of proportionality, equality and non-discrimination.

Financial Services Law: (LAU44132) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week in the 2nd semester
Assessment:	Research Paper (5,000 words) – 80% Group Presentation - 10% Class Attendance and Participation - 10%
Module Coordinator:	Dr Alexandros Seretakis / Dr Felix Mezzanotte

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Identify and critically evaluate the events which led to the overhaul of financial regulation.
• Develop an understanding of the functioning of modern financial markets.
• Demonstrate a sound knowledge of financial regulation.
• Appraise the impact of EU law on domestic financial regulation.
• Develop an awareness of developments in financial regulation at a European level.
• Identify the political and economic forces shaping financial services regulation.

Module Learning Aims:

This course will introduce students to financial services and their regulation. Since Ireland’s accession to the EU, Irish financial regulation has been heavily influenced by EU legislation. The financial and sovereign debt crisis have led to greater harmonization of financial regulation. As a result, the course will focus on European legislation and developments.

Module Content:

The course will deal with banking and financial market supervision and regulation, such as the recent establishment of the European Banking Union. Furthermore, we will discuss the events which led to the radical overhaul of financial regulation, such as the financial crisis, the sovereign debt crisis and the Irish banking crisis. Finally, we will also analyze recent developments which will likely alter the structure of Irish and EU financial markets in the coming years, such as the sustainable finance initiatives of the European Commission. The course will examine EU financial services law focusing on major pieces of legislation, such as MIFID II and the European Banking Union. Furthermore, the course will also examine the structure of the regulatory system in Ireland. The focus of the course will be on thorough individual reading of major pieces of legislation and initiatives in the financial services field and group discussion and analysis, through which the class can collectively explore major themes in EU and Irish financial services law. The course will enhance students’ research abilities, their critical analysis of legal materials, their legal writing, and their communication skills. It will challenge them to think about financial regulation at both the detailed micro level of discrete problems and the broader macro level of the financial system.

Recommended Reading List:

For an overview of the theoretical underpinings of financial regulation see J. Armour, D. Awrey, P. Davies, L. Enriques, J. N. Gordon, C. Mayer, and J. Payne, Principles of Financial Regulation, Oxford University Press, 2016 For an overview of financial services law in the EU see Niamh Moloney, EU Securities and Financial Markets Regulation. Third Edition, Oxford University Press

Insolvency Law: (LAU44060) 5 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	1.5 hours of lectures per week in the 2nd semester
Assessment:	Take Home Exam (80%), In-Class Group Problem Solving Exercise (20%)
Module Coordinator:	Dr Felix Mezzanotte

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Describe and understand relevant concepts, substantive law and procedures in corporate insolvency law in Ireland.
• Apply relevant legal rules and court decisions to resolve problems of insolvency law.
• Critically analyse key issues and questions of insolvency law.
• Conduct legal research independently in order to respond questions and/or resolve problems of insolvency law.
• Work collaboratively to analyse and resolve problems involving insolvency law.

Module Content:

This module examines the law of corporate insolvency in Ireland. Key topics of study include examinership, receivership and liquidation. These topics are addressed comprehensively, covering both theoretical and practical aspects. Legal issues and problems are identified and analysed critically in class. An introduction to the rules governing personal insolvency in Ireland is also provided. The module is assessed via a collaborative group exercise, and by a take home exam which will take the form of a legal opinion.

Module Prerequisites:

Company Law

International Human Rights Law: (LAU44060) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week in the 2nd semester
Assessment:	Paper/Group Presentation 40%, Exam 60%
Module Coordinator:	Mr Michael Becker

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Identify and describe the essential characteristics of the international human rights regime.
• Debate different theoretical and cultural perspectives on the foundations of international human rights.
• Discuss and evaluate the interaction between different international mechanisms for the enforcement of human rights.
• Apply concepts, doctrines and rules to practical human rights challenges to resolve hypothetical fact scenarios.
• Successfully complete substantial independent research into a particular aspect of international human rights.

Module Content:

This course examines the foundations and development of international human rights law. It considers the historical, political and legal context from which the current framework for human rights has emerged and analyses the international and regional instruments and mechanisms for monitoring and enforcing human rights. Select case studies explore the complex interplay between law and policy and the role of international and national actors in responding to human rights violations. Lectures will highlight the central debates surrounding, and shaping, the evolution of international human rights norms, legal instruments and state and non-governmental practices, as well as the current trends and challenges in advancing human rights protection in a diverse and dynamic community of nations.

Penlogy: (LAU44172) 5 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	1.5 hours of lectures per week in the 2nd semester
Assessment:	Coursework (3,500 words) - 100%
Module Coordinator:	Dr. Mary Rogan

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Critically appraise social and political ideas relating to state punishment of offenders.
• Construct well-sourced arguments relating to sentencing and prison using a multi-disciplinary approach, as appropriate.
• Analyse and evaluate the workings of the penal system.
• Critically analyse an aspect of the penal system and/or penology in-depth, using appropriate sources.
• Present findings in a logical and clear manner.

Module Learning Aims:

To support the ability to think critically about punishment and to engage in a piece of independent research on a topic relating to the penal system and/or penology and present findings.

Module Content:

Penology involves the study of how the state punishes those who have been convicted of offences. The subject covers the interlocking issues of sentencing, prison and non-custodial punishments. The module will equip students to take an in-depth look at the penal system and evaluate why when and how and it is legitimate for the state to punish its citizens. The module will also take a practical look at the administration of punishment, with a particular focus on prisons. Students will examine the contemporary issues and problems concerning these institutions and evaluate possibilities for reform. Analysis of penal policy and how it is formed will also be involved. Penology involves a broad multi-disciplinary approach which includes aspects of sociology, political theory and philosophy as well as law and human rights. It is closely related to criminology. Students are not required to take the module in criminology, however, penology and criminology are natural partner-courses and students who study both will find that they inform one another.

Public Interest Law: (LAU34151) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week in the 2nd semester
Assessment:	Essay (4,00 words) - 40%, Exam (1 x 2 hour paper) - 60%
Module Coordinator:	Prof. Gerry Whyte

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Critically assess how the legal system may promote social and political reform, having regard, in particular, to the relationship between the political and legal systems.
• Describe how the Irish courts have dealt with legal claims pursued by people with learning difficulties, children from dysfunctional families, members of the Traveller community and social welfare claimants.
• Describe the different models for delivering legal services to marginalised communities and the different types of service provided.
• Conduct research into substantive and adjectival areas of the law relating to social exclusion.

Module Content:

Public Interest Law can be defined as 'the use of litigation and public advocacy to advance the cause of minority or disadvantaged groups and individuals.' The course examines the use of litigation to promote social inclusion. In Part A, we consider the definition and history of Public Interest Law and the issue of access to legal services; In Part B, we consider a number of issues relating specifically to the use of litigation, namely, the constitutional and political legitimacy of public interest litigation; the implications of Public Interest Law for court practice and procedures; and the merits and demerits of litigation strategy. In Part C, we consider selected areas of substantive law such as social welfare law, Travellers' rights, and children's rights in an evaluation of the role of the Irish courts in promoting social inclusion.

Refugee and Immigration Law: (LAU44162) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	3 hours of lectures per week in the 2nd semester
Assessment:	Essay (3,500 words) - 50% Group project (3,500 words) 50%
Module Coordinator:	Dr. Patricia Brazil

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Identify and evaluate the law relating to refugees and migrants in light of international human rights law, membership of the European Union and the domestic legal framework.
• Critically analyse the policy behind refugee and immigration law in the domestic and international spheres.
• Apply critical analysis and problem-solving skills and techniques to different essay and problem-based refugee and immigration law questions.

Module Content:

The aims of this course are to outline the law relating to refugee and immigration in Ireland in the light of EU membership and international human rights law, to develop a critical understanding of the policy behind refugee and immigration law, and to develop a practical understanding of the implications of refugee and immigration law. The course is divided in to three parts, Part I dealing with the International Framework for Refugee Protection, Part II addresses the European dimension and Part III considers the Irish framework on Refugee and Immigration law. Topics covered include Principles and Key Concepts in Refugee Protection, the Convention relating to Status of Refugees 1951, Alternative Forms and Instruments of Protecting, the Evolving EU Acquis on Asylum, European Refugee Protection: Practices and Policies, the Refugee in Irish Law, Citizenship and Naturalisation in Irish law and Immigration Law in Ireland.

Independent Research Requirement

Compulsory Independent Research Requirement Rules

• There is a College requirement of an independent research project/dissertation in the Sophister years for all degree programme entrants from 2014 onwards.
• The Law School’s aim is to facilitate all law students, including those who will study abroad, and students on joint degree programmes, to be able to complete their degree having covered all professional body requirements (if they wish to do so), and as such the arrangements vary slightly across the five degree programmes.
• TEP CAPSTONE PROJECT - From the 2019/2020 academic year onwards, following the introduction of the Trinity Education Project, a 20 credit Capstone Project in the SS year will apply to all new entrants in 2019/2020 and thereafter. The 20 ECTS TEP Capstone Project does not apply to current Senior Sophister students.

• Law - 10 ECTS Research Project in the SS year.
• Law and Business - 10 ECTS Research Project in the SS year OR Fulfill the requirement set out by Business.
• Law and Political Science - 10 ECTS Research Project in the SS year OR Fulfill the requirement set out by Political Science.
• Law and German - 10 ECTS Research Project.
• Law and French - 10 ECTS Research Project

Learning Outcomes

Having completed this module, students should be able to:

• Effectively demonstrate specialised, self-directed knowledge of an area of law through examination of a ‘real-life’ legal research problem or a theme within a research group.
• Collaborate with peers and act in leadership roles.
• Constructively evaluate and the work of others.
• Synthesise and evaluate a variety of legal research methods, legal sources, findings and analysis.
• Critically analyse of an area of law through independent research
• Consult with and respond to the needs of research users.
• Effectively communicate research findings.

Assessment

• Thematic Learning Strand: Dissertation – 70%, Group Presentation – 20%, Participation – 5%, Reflective Learning Journal – 5%.
• Community Based Strand: Group Project 65% (all members of the group receive a single mark), Group Presentation 25%, Reflective Journal 5%, Participation 5%.

Strands and Academic Leaders

Contact Hours - 14 hours workshops & Self-study and preparation for formative and summative assignments, including group work – approximately 186 hours.

ECTS Value: 10

Rationale and Aims:

This research project module is designed to allow students to develop research, teamwork and communication skills, and to engage in meta-learning (learning about learning). It seeks to provide students with an opportunity to engage in self-directed, independent research with the support of an academic leader and peers. It will facilitate students to engage in a critical and in- depth analysis of a legal issue, and to communicate their findings to specialist and non- specialist audiences. Students will also be supported to work with their peers and to take responsibility for various tasks within a group setting. A core rationale of the module is to facilitate students in the development of skills of life-long learning, to apply research skills to various contexts and to reflect on their learning, both individually and as a group. Through engaging in an in-depth piece of research, working collaboratively, taking responsibility for tasks, communicating effectively and responding to the needs of research-users, students will be facilitated to develop the graduate attributes promoted throughout the School’s programmes.

Module Content:

The module involves two strands. Within each strand, a number of projects will be conducted. The first strand is animated by community-based learning approaches. In this strand, students will work as a group with an academic leader (faculty member). Each group will collectively prepare a research project in response to a request from a community organisation.

The second strand is animated by the concept of thematic learning. Each group will be organised around a broad research theme, with each student preparing a research project on a particular topic within that theme under the supervision of an academic leader (faculty member).

The topics for research will vary from year to year, but the skills employed will be similar. Students in both strands will complete research methods workshops at the beginning of the module.

Community-based method strand:

The module coordinator and academic leader will work with community-based organisations to select suitable topics for students to work on. The research brief will be prepared by the community-based organisation, the module coordinator and academic leader jointly.

Students will then meet in a workshop format over the course of the module. During these workshops, students will agree, together with the academic leader, the division of responsibilities for completing the research brief. Roles within the group will include: project manager; production manager; and lead liaison with the community-based organisation. Students will also decide, with the academic leader, on the allocation of responsibilities for research, writing and presentation tasks. Students will engage in regular contact with the community partner and respond to its needs as appropriate. Progress and challenges will be discussed and acted upon at each workshop. Each group will sign a ‘group contract’, which will agree timelines, division of responsibilities, methods of communication and contain provision for challenges which may arise. A key feature of the module will be independent learning, with students required to complete many of their assigned tasks outside the workshop format.

The group will produce a single report of their findings for the community-based organisation. The group will also provide a presentation on their findings to the community-based organisation. Students will also engage in reflection throughout the process, and create an individual reflective learning journal. Students will be supported in the creation of this journal. Groups will comprise no more than ten students. The number and nature of projects run each year will depend on the number of community-based organisations available to provide research briefs and available staff resources.

Thematic learning strand:

The module coordinator will work with the academic leaders to select suitable topics which will allow students to work on an individual piece of research which fits within a theme common to the strand. This process of discussion and selection will happen during the timetabled workshops period. All supervision will be conducted during the timetabled workshops. Each student will work with the academic leader to select a topic which is both suitable for a dissertation and which aligns with the common theme.

Students will work on their dissertation individually, but will meet with other students and the academic leader and postgraduate students in a group setting for a series of workshops. These workshops will provide an opportunity for students to discuss their progress, explore emerging themes in their work, examine the structure of their work, present their research, engage in reflection on their learning, and offer and receive feedback from the academic leader, postgraduate students, as well as their peers. Students will also use time in the workshops to prepare a group presentation on the research they have conducted.

Each group will sign a ‘group contract’, which will agree timelines, division of responsibilities, methods of communication and contain provision for challenges which may arise. Students will also keep a reflective learning journal and be supported in reflective writing. Groups will comprise no more than ten students. The number and nature of research themes available each year will depend on available staff resources.

Role of postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers: It is envisaged that, where possible, postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers working on themes relevant to the strands will participate in the workshops. This may include: delivering elements of the research skills workshops; providing feedback on students’ written work and presentations; and attending workshops.

Indicative Resources:

The resources required will depend on the themes and topics chosen each year. However, the following resource will be generally useful: Cahillane and Schweppe, ed., Legal Research Methods (Clarus, 2016)

Learning Outcomes:

Having completed this module, students should be able to:

• Effectively demonstrate specialised, self-directed knowledge of an area of law through examination of a ‘real-life’ legal research problem or a theme within a research group.
• Collaborate with peers and act in leadership roles.
• Constructively evaluate and the work of others.
• Synthesise and evaluate a variety of legal research methods, legal sources, findings and analysis.
• Critically analyse of an area of law through independent research.
• Consult with and respond to the needs of research users
• Effectively communicate research findings.

Methods of Teaching and Student Learning

The research requests and research themes will be settled by January prior to the academic year in which the students take the dissertation module. Students will have to identify several research requests or themes, in order of preference, to which they could be assigned, at the same as their module selection in February. The assignment of students within the module to research groups will take place in April.

The series of workshops would commence at the start of Michaelmas Term. Within each strand, students will first complete research methods workshops. Subsequent workshops with research/project groups will take place every second week for each group. Each workshop will last up to two hours. Students will be encouraged to meet outside of the workshop format on a more regular basis; these meetings will not be supervised by the academic leader. The deadline for submission of all research projects will be the week after reading week in Hilary Term. A large portion of the work will conducted by students working independently, outside of the workshops. Online facilities may be used for this purpose.

Methods of Assessment

Community based learning:

Students will be assigned a group mark for the report on the research conducted for the community-based organisation. This will be worth 65% of the overall mark. Students will be assigned a group mark for the presentation of the research to the community- based organisation. This will be worth 25% of the overall mark.

Students will be assigned an individual mark for their reflective learning journal and ongoing participation. Ongoing participation will be worth 5% of the overall mark and reflection will be worth 5% of the overall mark. Reflection will be by means of submitting 300 words after every class through Blackboard, using the ‘My journal’ facility. The participation mark will be reduced commensurate to any unexcused absences from classes. The reflection mark will be reduced commensurate to any unexcused missed My journal entries. The word limit for the research report will be 8,000 words. The academic leader will assess students’ work.

Thematic based learning:

Students will be assigned an individual mark for their dissertation. This will be worth 70% of the overall mark. Students will be assigned a group mark for the group presentation on the common themes emerging from the research conducted within the group. This will be worth 20% of the overall mark.

Students will be assigned an individual mark for their reflective learning journal and ongoing participation. Ongoing participation will be worth 5% of the overall mark and reflection will be worth 5% of the overall mark. Reflection will be by means of submitting 300 words after every class through Blackboard. The participation mark will be reduced commensurate to any unexcused absences from classes. The reflection mark will be reduced commensurate to any unexcused missed My journal entries.The word limit for the dissertation will be 8,000 words. The academic leader will assess students’ work.

Re-assessment

As both modules require a group element, re-assessment will be decided on a case by case basis.

Evaluation

The module will be subject to ongoing within semester and end of semester feedback, using the Law School forms and additional measures where appropriate. Feedback on the administration of the module will also be sought from the community partner in the community-based learning strand.

Conceptualising Constitutional Relationships: (LAU44409) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas / Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	8 X 2 hour sessions over 2 semesters
Assessment:	Individual Project 70% Group Presentation 20% Reflective Journal 5% Participation 5%
Module Coordinator:	Prof. Aileen Kavanagh

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate specialised, self-directed knowledge of an area of law through examination of a ‘real-life’ legal research problem or a theme within a research group.
• Collaborate with peers and act in leadership roles.
• Constructively evaluate the work of others
• Synthesise and evaluate a variety of legal research methods, legal sources, findings and analysis.
• Critically analyse an area of law through independent research.
• Consult with and respond to the needs of research users.
• Effectively communicate research findings.

Module Content:

In any constitutional democracy, the three branches of government carry out distinct roles whilst interacting with each other in various ways. One form of interaction is a matter of maintaining checks and balances e.g. where the courts review legislation for compliance with the constitution, or the legislature checks the executive’s powers by holding it to account in the Oireachtas. But there are other types of interaction too. For example, when the Oireachtas enacts laws, it needs the courts to interpret that law, filling in gaps where necessary. By the same token, when the courts strike down a law or make a ‘suspended declaration’, this often requires the legislature to remedy the defect in the law or fill a constitutional lacuna.

In this research group, we will explore how to conceptualise the roles of the three branches of government and the relationships between them. Are the courts and the political branches each pulling in different constitutional directions or rivals locked in combat to get ‘the last word’ on what the constitution requires? Or are they involved in a more respectful constitutional ‘dialogue’ where each branch shares its view on constitutional requirements, whereupon the other responds with a considered counter-argument? Alternatively, can we detect a deeper type of collaborative dynamic at play when the courts, executive and legislature act and interact within the constitutional framework? And, if so, do we need to revisit and refine the traditional understandings of the separation of powers, or can that traditional doctrine accommodate a more relational understanding of constitutional governance?

Constitutional Change: (LAU44423) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas / Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	8 X 2 hour sessions over 2 semesters
Assessment:	Individual Project 70% Group Presentation 20% Reflective Journal 5% Participation 5%
Module Coordinator:	Prof. Oran Doyle

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate specialised, self-directed knowledge of an area of law through examination of a ‘real-life’ legal research problem or a theme within a research group.
• Demonstrate specialised, self-directed knowledge of an area of law through examination of a ‘real-life’ legal research problem or a theme within a research group.
• Collaborate with peers and act in leadership roles.
• Constructively evaluate the work of others.
• Synthesise and evaluate a variety of legal research methods, legal sources, findings and analysis.
• Critically analyse an area of law through independent research.
• Consult with and respond to the needs of research users
• Effectively communicate research findings.

Module Content:

Constitutional change lies at the intersection of law and politics. A constitution’s amendment procedure underpins the balance of power between other constitutional actors: the legislature, the executive, and the courts. Studying constitutional change over time provides insights into shifting ideologies in a political community. In recent years, constitutional amendment in Ireland has attracted much political and academic attention from around the world. In particular, the use of citizens assemblies to discuss constitutional amendment processes has been widely scrutinised. Equally important is the dog that didn’t bark. Democratic backsliding in many countries has occurred when temporary majorities gain control of the constitutional amendment procedure and pass amendments that preserve their own power.

There is a vigorous debate in the comparative constitutional law world from which Ireland can learn and to which Ireland can contribute. In this module, students will work on projects related to constitutional change, broadly understood. Students are free to choose specific topics that are focused on Ireland, that are comparative in character or that are theoretical in character. Equally, students can combine Irish, comparative and theoretical perspectives in their projects. Among the broad topics that could be addressed are the following:

• The purpose and value of constitutional change
• Constitutional amendment as a mechanism of democratic backsliding
• De facto unamendability
• Unconstitutional constitutional amendments
• The use of referendums to ratify constitutional amendment
• Populism
• Deliberative democracy and citizens’ assemblies
• Social movements and constitutional change
• Informal amendment (i.e. achieving the effect of an amendment without amending the constitutional text).

This list is intended as illustrative of broad areas that could be addressed rather than as restrictive.

Recommended Readings List

Refer to Book of Modules

Content Regulation and Democracy: Rethinking Freedom of Expression: (LAU44421) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas / Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	8 X 2 hour sessions over 2 semesters
Assessment:	Individual Project 70% Group Presentation 20% Reflective Journal 5% Participation 5%
Module Coordinator:	Dr. Ailbhe O'Neill

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate specialised, self-directed knowledge of an area of law through examination of a ‘real-life’ legal research problem or a theme within a research group.
• Collaborate with peers and act in leadership roles
• Constructively evaluate the work of others
• Synthesise and evaluate a variety of legal research methods, legal sources, findings and analysis.
• Critically analyse an area of law through independent research
• Consult with and respond to the needs of research users
• Effectively communicate research findings.

Module Content:

Modern legal conceptions of freedom of expression have typically eschewed regulation of content save in certain contexts. The commitment to a liberal conception of freedom of expression is largely premised on the contribution that the media make to democracy: through their education of the public and scrutiny of current affairs, they support participatory democracy. The evolution of web based media, in particular the growth of social media as a source of news and current affairs content, poses new challenges for this legal treatment and understanding of freedom of expression. Recent developments have highlighted the significant challenges that new media pose to traditional liberal thinking about expression and its role in supporting participatory democracy.

Current Issues in Tort Law Theory and Practice: (LAU44404) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas / Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	8 X 2 hour sessions over 2 semesters
Assessment:	Individual Project 70% Group Presentation 20% Reflective Journal 5% Participation 5%
Module Coordinator:	Dr. Des Ryan

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate specialised, self-directed knowledge of an area of law through examination of a ‘real-life’ legal research problem or a theme within a research group.
• Collaborate with peers and act in leadership roles
• Constructively evaluate the work of others
• Synthesise and evaluate a variety of legal research methods, legal sources, findings and analysis.
• Critically analyse an area of law through independent research
• Consult with and respond to the needs of research users
• Effectively communicate research findings.

Module Content:

This theme seeks to build on students' learning in Tort Law and related private law areas at the Junior/Senior Freshman level so as to enable them to explore in an in-depth manner more advanced and sophisticated research questions in tort law.

Emergency Law: (LAU44413) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas / Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	8 X 2 hour sessions over 2 semesters
Assessment:	Individual Project 70% Group Presentation 20% Reflective Journal 5% Participation 5%
Module Coordinator:	Dr. Surya Roy

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate specialised, self-directed knowledge of an area of law through examination of a ‘real-life’ legal research problem or a theme within a research group.
• Collaborate with peers and act in leadership roles.
• Constructively evaluate the work of others.
• Synthesise and evaluate a variety of legal research methods, legal sources, findings and analysis.
• Critically analyse an area of law through independent research.
• Consult with and respond to the needs of research users.
• Effectively communicate research findings.

Module Content:

The words ‘emergency’ and ‘crisis’ seem to go against the rule of law, or where decision-making is shaped by situational rather than legal prerogatives. If there are pressing concerns of national safety or security, immediate decisive action appears to compromise the pace and nature of reasoned constitutional rule. Both democratic processes and human rights seem to be relaxed during an event billed as an emergency or crisis, giving way to the discretion of legal institutions, primarily the national executive branch. State and government appear to define law rather than be subject to it. Here one question is whether constitutional emergency powers are necessary or sufficient. A more structural question may also be asked – could an event be a constitutional moment that warrants a substantial shift in constitutional and political arrangements? Legal, political and social theorists working around the time of the world wars grappled with what might explain political events such as revolutions and dramatic legal change including the formation of constitutions. Further, they sought to demonstrate how radical beginnings have an intimate relationship with ordinary politics.

Other than a particular event that might warrant a relaxation in procedural and substantive rule of law, it is possible to be in a more continuous state of emergency. For instance, it may be asked whether the concern of climate change means that all human activity now operates within a state of emergency. Scholars have also inquired whether the ‘new normalcy’ of an economic crisis can be understood in an emergency paradigm. The discourse of emergency shapes and at the same time renders invisible ‘normal’ continuous struggles and political choices. This explains attempts to ‘de-exceptionalise’ emergencies to reveal the realities that made them possible, as well as have a hold on what is to follow. Economic disparity, budgetary choices on healthcare, race relations, exclusion through identity documents deserve the attention of the emergency scholar. Another line of inquiry is whether an emergency could be understood as an accident-like situation or one that can be understood through the framework of responsibility.

Students seeking to explore questions on shifts in separation of powers, central v state responses to emergencies, human rights derogations within domestic or international legal systems, distributional effects of crises will find the module interesting.

Judicial Review of Administrative Action: (LAU44422) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas / Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	8 X 2 hour sessions over 2 semesters
Assessment:	Individual Project 70% Group Presentation 20% Reflective Journal 5% Participation 5%
Module Coordinator:	Prof Hilary Biehler

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate specialised, self-directed knowledge of an area of law through examination of a ‘real-life’ legal research problem or a theme within a research group.
• Collaborate with peers and act in leadership roles.
• Constructively evaluate the work of others.
• Synthesise and evaluate a variety of legal research methods, legal sources, findings and analysis.
• Critically analyse an area of law through independent research.
• Consult with and respond to the needs of research users.
• Effectively communicate research findings.

Module Learning Aims:

The aim of this module is to facilitate in-depth research of a self-directed and collaborative nature in the area of judicial review of administrative action. It aims to foster the ability to engage in critical analysis of legal doctrine and principles by reference to a dynamic area of law.

Module Content:

This research theme provides an opportunity for in-depth research and analysis of various aspects of judicial review of administrative action. The underlying theme in the research module is to analyse the extent to which the courts have achieved an appropriate balance between protecting the rights of individuals and safeguarding the interests of public authorities in judicial review proceedings, particularly in this jurisdiction. Another overarching theme is the extent to which administrative law delivers an appropriate level of accountability for the decisions made by administrative and quasi-judicial decision-makers. Research projects may draw on a range of perspectives doctrinal, theoretical and/or comparative. Some of the research topics in this area may be formulated in broad terms whereas others may be focussed more on specific grounds for judicial review. However, the common factor is that they are underpinned by the rationale of exploring the relationship between protecting the rights and interests of individuals on the one hand and public authorities on the other hand.

Modules Prerequisite:

Administrative Law

Law and Literature: (LAU44414) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas / Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	8 X 2 hour sessions over 2 semesters
Assessment:	Individual Project 70% Group Presentation 20% Reflective Journal 5% Participation 5%
Module Coordinator:	Dr. David Kenny

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate specialised, self-directed knowledge of an area of law through examination of a ‘real-life’ legal research problem or a theme within a research group.
• Collaborate with peers and act in leadership roles.
• Constructively evaluate the work of others.
• Synthesise and evaluate a variety of legal research methods, legal sources, findings and analysis.
• Critically analyse an area of law through independent research.
• Consult with and respond to the needs of research users.
• Effectively communicate research findings.

Module Learning Aims:

• To encourage deep engagement with the field of law and literature.
• To engage in in-depth analysis of a text of texts.
• To take a law and humanities/law and literature approach to analysing that text or the law by reference that text.
• To engage in substantial independent research around your topic.
• To learn extensively from the topics and approaches of your peers.

Module Content:

In this research group, you will have the opportunity to explore the intersection of law and literature, an exciting field that looks at the merging of law and the humanities. In the pre-reading for the module and early discussion, we will explore the different approaches to Law and Literature:

• law in literature, the portrayal or role of law in a work of fiction, or an author’s work, or a genre.
• law as literature, looking at legal writing as genre, the rhetoric of law, or law as fiction.
• literature in law, how literature has influenced or been used by courts or lawmakers
• literature as law, how stories or narratives can function as rules and guides for action
• law and literature, how the two disciplines come together and diverge in shared areas of interests such as censorship or interpretation.

In our preparatory reading, we will look at law and literature methodology, and look at some case studies of law and literature scholarship to give you examples of the field. You will be able to pick your own topic, subject to my approval. I will work closely with you in selecting methodologies and readings to guide your research. The following are illustrative only and I encourage you to find your own topic based on your particular interests.

• Atticus Finch as the archetypal lawyer
• Punishment in Paradise Lost
• Authority and power in Shakespeare (e.g. Macbeth/Richard II/Richard III)
• The lawyer as protagonist in popular fiction
• Legally blonde as critique of feminist accounts of law
• Customs, Norms and Law: Law as collective conformity in Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery
• Intentionalism in legal and literary interpretation
• The rhetoric of “fairness” in Irish tort law
• In Cold Blood and the Narrative of Crime
• Deals with the devil: faustian bargains in fiction and technicality in contract law
• Antigone and the Natural Law
• Censorship of literature in Ireland, 1930-1950

Modules Prerequisite:

Administrative Law

Law and Technology: (LAU44418) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas / Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	8 X 2 hour sessions over 2 semesters
Assessment:	Individual Project 70% Group Presentation 20% Reflective Journal 5% Participation 5%
Module Coordinator:	Dr. Maria Grazia Porcedda

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate specialised, self-directed knowledge of an area of law through examination of a ‘real-life’ legal research problem or a theme within a research group.
• Collaborate with peers and act in leadership roles.
• Constructively evaluate the work of others.
• Synthesise and evaluate a variety of legal research methods, legal sources, findings and analysis.
• Critically analyse an area of law through independent research.
• Consult with and respond to the needs of research users.
• Effectively communicate research findings.

Module Content:

Modern computers are almost 90 years old, and the Internet is approaching its 50th birthday. The time passed since the creation of computers and the Internet has not been conducive to resolving the many legal issues raised by their adoption and the information and communication technologies (ICTs) they support. Part of the reason is that those legal issues relate to the interplay between law and technology, which predates and, to an extent transcends, digital technologies as we know them. For instance, in 1975, a year after Internet core protocols were first proposed, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a Declaration on the ‘Use of Scientific and Technological Progress in the interest of Peace and for the benefit of Mankind’. The Declaration is one of many documents that acknowledge the benefits of technology but also their potential for damage and that express the desire to take an active stance in shaping technology and its use. That desire has longstanding roots and raises fundamental questions that are yet to be answered. For instance, is there consensus on the meaning of ‘serving’ humanity? How exactly can humanity be best served? And are there circumstances under which decision-makers should abstain from shaping technologies?

In this research group you will have the opportunity to explore the interplay between law and technology, with a focus on digital technologies. You will explore not only how the law regulates technology, but also how technology – and its architects– can have a regulatory effect. You will investigate the legal techniques typically used to direct and mould ICTs, and the way how the development of new technologies puts to the test existing legal definitions and concepts, including fundamental rights. Examples of topics falling within the remit of this group include:

1. Legal techniques to regulate technology:

The techniques used to regulate technology are not uncontroversial and raise many questions. An example is design-based legislation. The question whether code is law, and whether public law values can be embedded in technology ‘by design’ is the object of lively debates. Other commonly debated techniques are functional equivalence, risk management and technology neutrality.

2. The use of metaphors and analogies:

The question of functional equivalence - whether digital technologies should be subjected to the same rules that discipline non-digital technologies performing similar functions – puts to a test our reasoning by analogy. Rather then being inanimate tools, metaphors create worlds capable of conditioning legal responses. A longstanding debate is whether cyberspace is a space: how has this taken hold of and affected legal debates and responses?

3. New (disruptive) technologies: legal issues and answers:

The introduction of new technologies or uses thereof creates much hype as well as the need to assess the ability of the law to withstand change. Technologies of hype are Artificial Intelligence, data pods, Edge Computing, 5G, Quantum Computing; the list is bound to grow and change. Each new technology unleashes a series of unique questions. How can we assess the impact of new technologies? Can technologies help us perform the assessment? And what should we do with the findings?

4. How technologies challenge legal categories and human rights

Alongside legal frameworks, digital technologies constantly put to the test legal categories and the principles developed to interpret them. Examples include consent, data, information, personality, property, speech, as well as the rights and entitlements they inform. Are digital technologies emptying legal categories and rights of their contents? Or do they act as beacons leading the way?

In our preparatory readings, we will look at law and technology theory, some case studies of legislation, case law and new technologies to give you examples of the field. The examples above are illustrative; you will be able to pick your own topic within the remit of ICTs, subject to my approval. I will work closely with you in selecting the topic, the appropriate methodology and readings to guide your research.

Law and Happiness: (LAU44424) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas / Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	8 X 2 hour sessions over 2 semesters
Assessment:	Individual Project 70% Group Presentation 20% Reflective Journal 5% Participation 5%
Module Coordinator:	Dr Sarah Arduin

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate specialised, self-directed knowledge of an area of law through examination of a ‘real-life’ legal research problem or a theme within a research group.
• Collaborate with peers and act in leadership roles.
• Constructively evaluate the work of others.
• Synthesise and evaluate a variety of legal research methods, legal sources, findings and analysis.
• Critically analyse an area of law through independent research.
• Consult with and respond to the needs of research users.
• Effectively communicate research findings.

Module Content:

Should law promote happiness? Should it prioritize it over other values such as fairness, justice, or rights? To what extent should law intervene in individuals’ life? For instance, should law override an individual’s choice when that choice is not conducive to her happiness? More generally, what is the relationship between law, choice, and happiness? These questions constitute the core focus of this research group. Going back to Bentham and Mill, the theme traces the lineage of these normative questions to better understand contemporary legal issues associated with state intervention. In particular, the theme provides an opportunity for advanced learning and in-depth research on legal paternalism. Projects can draw on a range of dimensions such as philosophical, economic, regulatory, and/or practical.

Sub-topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The debate between a consequentialist approach to law and its deontological or expressivist counterpart.
• Defining happiness.
• Measuring happiness.
• The relationship between law, welfare, and rights.
• Issues surrounding state paternalism and uncertainty.
• The (il)legitimate use of behavioural sciences in promoting happiness by means of, for instance, nudges.

Recommended Reading List

Refer to Book of Modules




New Trends in Intellectual Property Law: (LAU44424) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas / Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	8 X 2 hour sessions over 2 semesters
Assessment:	Individual Project 70% Group Presentation 20% Reflective Journal 5% Participation 5%
Module Coordinator:	Dr Giuseppe Mazziotti

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate specialised, self-directed knowledge of an area of law through examination of a ‘real-life’ legal research problem or a theme within a research group.
• Collaborate with peers and act in leadership roles.
• Constructively evaluate the work of others.
• Synthesise and evaluate a variety of legal research methods, legal sources, findings and analysis.
• Critically analyse an area of law through independent research.
• Consult with and respond to the needs of research users.
• Effectively communicate research findings.

Module Content:

The idea of multi-level, supranational legislation on industrial, literary and artistic property goes back to the end of the 19th century. At that time, international agreements were a natural response to the consequences and challenges posed by the industrial revolution in Western Europe. When individual creators, inventors and enterprises started being increasingly able to distribute and commercially exploit copies of their works and products embodying new technologies and distinctive marks on a cross-border basis, their governments started establishing common standards of protection for such intangible goods. From then onwards, the definition of minimum standards regarding the scope and enforcement of intellectual property rights has progressively expanded to the entire world. This phenomenon significantly accelerated from 1994 onwards, with the creation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the adoption of a sort of global “constitution” for intellectual property (‘Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights’ or ‘TRIPS’ Agreement, 1994).

Members of this research group will be encouraged to examine the socio-economic, commercial and legal implications of the TRIPS Agreement and of other international agreements including the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Internet treaties (1996). In particular, students will advance their knowledge on issues that evidence the influence of WTO law on jurisdictions which barely had a system of copyright, patent or trademark protection before 1994. Research group activities will allow students to better understand pros and cons of EU regulations and directives which sought to facilitate the goal of a ‘Single Market’ by harmonizing or unifying intellectual property systems on the grounds of international standards.

Drawing on the Intellectual Property Law module (LAU 44072), students will be able to explore new trends related to topics and issues which evidence goals, priorities but also contradictions and problems that national lawmakers and courts, such as the Irish ones, can no longer solve by themselves in light of obligations and limits created under international and EU laws.

Sub-topics may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Access to medicines, patent protection and the right to health.
• Biotechnological inventions, patent protection and their impact on morals.
• Digital copyright protection and its consequences for Internet freedom and free speech.
• Online intermediary liability regimes and their impact on remuneration of content creators.
• Overlapping intellectual property rights and their consequences for competition policy
• Copyright implications of artificial intelligence.
• Patent law, innovation and artificial intelligence.
• Expansion of trademarks’ scope and its consequences for competition policy and freedom of speech.
• Trade secrecy as an alternative to intellectual property.
• Intellectual property rights in data.



Property and Constitutions: Regulating People and Places (LAU44420) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas / Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	8 X 2 hour sessions over 2 semesters
Assessment:	Individual Project 70% Group Presentation 20% Reflective Journal 5% Participation 5%
Module Coordinator:	Dr Rachael Walsh

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate specialised, self-directed knowledge of an area of law through examination of a ‘real-life’ legal research problem or a theme within a research group.
• Collaborate with peers and act in leadership roles.
• Constructively evaluate the work of others.
• Synthesise and evaluate a variety of legal research methods, legal sources, findings and analysis.
• Critically analyse an area of law through independent research.
• Consult with and respond to the needs of research users.
• Effectively communicate research findings.

Module Content:

Constitutional property law and property theory are two related, burgeoning fields of academic and professional interest amongst lawyers internationally. Guarantees for private property rights, in both domestic constitutions and international conventions and treaties (most notably, the European Convention on Human Rights), are increasingly the focus of litigation in common law jurisdictions, including the UK, responding to the rapid expansion that has occurred in regulatory control of private ownership in contexts as diverse as land-use, financial services, public infrastructure development and industrial licensing. This trend has further accelerated as a result of the global economic crisis, which forced governments throughout the world to introduce various measures that restrict the exercise of property rights, or deprive owners of property rights, sometimes in dramatic and far-reaching ways.

However, the function of constitutional property rights guarantees in controlling such regulatory interventions is often ambiguous, at least beyond paradigm cases such as compulsory acquisition of real property. Moreover, the values that constitutional or human rights protection of private ownership seeks to realise are various, complex, and at times conflicting. That complexity is heightened by the fact that in common law jurisdictions, such public law guarantees for private ownership interact with a long-standing private law tradition of protecting property rights. Within such jurisdictions, scholars continue to debate the relative merits of a focus on individual or social values within property law, which is a debate with heightened stakes in the context of an economic crisis.

This research project module will explore a number of themes at the interface between property law and constitutional law comparatively, as well as through the prism of European Human Rights Law, including but not limited to:

• Property Rights and Climate Mitigation: Partners or Adversaries?
• Constitutionalising Housing Rights.
• Institutional Goals – Property Rights as an Economic Agenda.
• Property Rights and Social Policy – the Interface of the Directive Principles.
• “New Property” in the European Court of Human Rights.
• “New Property” in the Irish Courts.
• Assessing the Potential of Citizen Deliberation in Mediating Property Rights and the Public Interest.
• COVID-19 and the Public/Private Balance in Property.
• Property, Austerity, and the Impact of Constitutionalisation.

Prison Law: (Penal Reform Trust) (LAU44420) 10 ECTS

Semester:	Michaelmas / Hilary Term
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload:	8 X 2 hour sessions over 2 semesters
Assessment:	Group Project 65% (all group member receive individual mark), Group Presentation 25%, Reflective Journal 5% Participation 5%
Module Coordinator:	Dr Mary Rogan

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate specialised, self-directed knowledge of an area of law through examination of a ‘real-life’ legal research problem or a theme within a research group.
• Collaborate with peers and act in leadership roles.
• Constructively evaluate the work of others.
• Synthesise and evaluate a variety of legal research methods, legal sources, findings and analysis.
• Critically analyse an area of law through independent research.
• Consult with and respond to the needs of research users.
• Effectively communicate research findings.

Module Learning Aims:

• To support the development of independent research skills.
• To support the development of skills in group work.
• To support the development of presentation skills.
• To support the development of understanding about the real world application of law.
• To provide an opportunity to collaborate with an NGO partner.

Module Content:

This module comprises a series of workshops. An NGO partner provides a research brief on a topic with which it requires support. The topic changes each year, depending on the NGO involved and its needs. In 2021/22 students will work with the Irish Penal Reform Trust on a topic in the area of imprisonment, with the precise area to be agreed with the NGO partner by the beginning of the module.

During these workshops, students will agree, together with the academic leader, the division of responsibilities for completing the research brief. Roles within the group will include: project manager; production manager; and lead liaison with the community-based organisation. Students will also decide, with the academic leader, on the allocation of responsibilities for research, writing and presentation tasks. Students will engage in regular contact with the community partner and respond to its needs as appropriate. Progress and challenges will be discussed and acted upon at each workshop.

The workshops involve students working together to develop a plan to respond to this brief, sharing out research, writing and presentation tasks. A research report will be created along with a presentation to the NGO partner. This is a community-based research project. Group work is a central feature of the module, with a single mark for the group project and group presentation being applied to each member of the group.

Each group will sign a ‘group contract’, which will agree timelines, division of responsibilities, methods of communication and contain provision for challenges which may arise. The group will produce a single report of their findings for the community-based organisation. The group will also provide a presentation on their findings to the community-based organisation. Students will also engage in reflection throughout the process, and create an individual reflective learning journal. Students will be supported in the creation of this journal. Students will be encouraged to meet outside of the workshop format on a more regular basis; these meetings will not be supervised by the academic leader. One-on-one supervision is not provided in this module.

Modules available to Law Visiting Students - (Academic Year 2021/22)

Please refer to module descriptors listed earlier above.

	Semester 1 - Michaelmas Term
Code	Module Name
LAU34001	Administrative Law
LAU44022	Collective Labour Law
LAU12501	Constitutional Law I
LAU22501	Constitutional Law II
LAU44170	EU Competition Law (visiting students must have studied EU law in home university in order to take this module)
LAU44032	Food Law
LAU44072	Intellectual Property Law
LAU23001	Ireland's Changing Constitution
LAU22511	Land Law
LAU44152	Medical Law and Ethics
LAU11531	Torts
	Students may choose 1 module from:
LAU10522	Jurisprudence
LAU34071	Legal Philosophy
LAU34052	Information and Technology Law (5 ECTS)
	Students may choose 1 module from:
LAU34081	Public International Law OR
LAU34052	Information and Technology Law (5 ECTS)
	Students may choose 1 module from:
LAU34121	English and Land Law
LAU34140	Family and Child Law A (5 ECTS)
LAU34141	Family and Child Law

	Semester 2 - Hilary Term
Code	Module Name
LAU44102	Advanced EU Law (students who have studied EU law may take this)
LAU44112	Conflicts of Law
LAU11542	Contract Law
LAU12522	Criminal Law
LAU22522	Equity
LAU34032	EU Law (Students who have studied this or similar in their home university may not take this module)
LAU44132	Financial Services Law
LAU44142	International Human Rights Law
LAU12571	Legislation and Regulation
LAU44172	Penology
LAU22001	Private Law Remedies (5 ECTS) (restricted to visiting students from US, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand partner universities, where students have a common law background.
LAU44092	Refugee and Immigration Law
	Students may choose 1 module from:
LAU34022	Company Law
LAU34130	Environmental Law A (5 ECTS)
LAU34131	Environmental Law
	Students may choose 1 module from:
LAU34091	Commercial Law
LAU34110	Employment Law A (5 ECTS)
LAU34111	Employment Law
LAU34161	Public Interest Law

Modules available to Non-Law Visiting Students

Please refer to module descriptors listed earlier in this document.

	YEAR LONG
CODE	MODULE
LAU12412	Introduction to Law I
LAU12402	Introduction to Law II
LAU22412	Irish Private Law I
LAU22402	Irish Private Law II

	SEMESTER 1
CODE	MODULE
LAU12501	Constitutional law I
LAU23451	Constitutional law II*
LAU34041	Criminology (only if Social Sciences/Humanities background)
LAU34051	Competition Policy (only if coming from Economics background)
LAU34140	Family and Child Law A* (5 ECTS)
LAU34141	Family and Child Law* (10 ECTS)
LAU44032	Food Law (open to law visiting students)
LAU44072	Intellectual Property*
LAU44050	International Trade Law (5 ECTS)
LAU12412	Introduction to Law I
LAU22412	Irish Private Law I (5 ECTS)
LAU34071	Legal Philosophy**
LAU44082	Media Law*

	SEMESTER 2
CODE	MODULE
LAU34131	Environmental Law*
LAU34032	EU Law* (students who have studied this or similar in their home universities may not take this module)
LAU12402	Introduction to Law II (5 ECTS)
LAU22402	Irish Private Law II (5 ECTS)
LAU44052	IT Law** (5 ECTS)
LAU11571	Legislation and Regulation
LAU44152	Medical Law and Ethics*
LAU34161	Public Interest Law
LAU44092	Refugee and Immigration Law*

*Subject to review on a case-by-case basis.

**generally suitable for some students who have taken law modules or discipline related programmes.

Modules available to Non-Law Students

Introduction to Law I: (LAU12412) 5 ECTS, Michaelmas Term.

This module, intended for non-law students, introduces junior fresh students to the key features of the Irish legal system and to aspects of legal skills. The module considers various aspects of the legal system including the sources of law, the Irish court system and the principles of stare decisis (rules of precedent) within the common law. It also seeks to locate the Irish legal system more broadly within the system of legal families. To this end, the module will provide an introduction to the law of the European Union, with a focus on the role that EU law plays in domestic law and before domestic courts. Finally, the module will equip students with the basic skills required for the study of law. It will introduce students to legal reasoning and provide practical training in legal problem-solving.

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

Identify and analyse the main sources of law in the Irish legal system and the relationship between them.

Display an understanding of the common law nature of the Irish legal system.

Describe the Irish courts system.

Critically analyse the doctrine of stare decisis and the system of judicial precedent.

Explain and critically evaluate the role of EU law within the Irish legal system.

Apply legal principles and case law in order to solve a variety of legal problems.

Recommended Reading List:

R Byrne et al, Byrne and McCutcheon on the Irish Legal System (6th edition, Bloomsbury Professional, Dublin, 2014)

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Teaching:	2 hours of lectures per week in the first semester
Assessment:	1 MCQ test - 30%, Examination - 70%
Lecturers:	Dr Sarah Arduin

Introduction to Law II: (LAU12402) 5 ECTS, Hilary Term.

This module, intended for non-law students, builds on Introduction to Law I and continues to introduce junior fresh students to further key features of the Irish legal system and to aspects of legal skills. The module considers first some key issues in contemporary jurisprudence, encouraging students to engage critically and analytically with current debates. It covers, for instance, issues concerning the nature of law and adjudication, situated against the broader backdrop of the links between law and morality. The module then provides an overview of public international law (incl. the WTO and the Council of Europe) with specific reference to the role of international human rights.

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

Identify the nature, purpose, and limits of law.

Articulate the multiple relationships between law and morality.

Engage in theoretical analysis and argumentation.

Explain the key features of the Council of Europe and the World Trade Organization.

Critically assess the regulation of human rights, in particular the right to privacy and its interaction with freedom of expression.

Apply legal principles and case law in order to solve a variety of legal problems.

Recommended Reading List:

R Byrne et al, Byrne and McCutcheon on the Irish Legal System (6th edition, Bloomsbury Professional, Dublin, 2014)

Semester:	Hilary Term
Teaching:	2 hours of lectures per week in the second semester
Module Prerequisite:	Introduction to Law I
Assessment:	1 MCQ test - 30%, Examination - 70%
Lecturers:	Dr Sarah Arduin

Irish Private Law I: (LAU22412) 5 ECTS, Michaelmas Term.

This module, intended for non-law students, provides an introduction to the study of Irish private law, in particular the law of Torts. Topics covered include the major torts such as negligence, defamation, and nuisance. Finally, the module takes into account of the impacts of European Law on Irish Law.

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module, students should be able to describe and explain basic features of the law of torts in Ireland, including:

Negligence

Defences

Nuisance

Defamation

Use appropriate legal concepts, relevant judicial precedents, and statutory law to solve concrete practical problems.

Engage in sophisticated, creative, and critical discussion of common law concepts, both orally and in writing.

Semester:	Michaelmas Term
Teaching:	2 hours of lectures per week in the first Semester
Prerequisite:	Introduction to Law I & II
Assessment:	1 MCQ tests -30%, Examination - 70%
Lecturers:	Dr Sarah Arduin

Irish Private Law II: (LAU22402) 5 ECTS, Hilary Term.

This module, intended for non-law students, builds on Irish Private Law I and continues to introduce senior fresh students to key features of Irish Private Law. In particular, it provides an introduction to the study of contract in Irish law. It involves analysis of the legal principles behind the rules relating to the formulation of contracts and the circumstances in which they will not come into existence or in which they cease to be effective.

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

On completion of this module, students should be able to describe and explain basic features of the law of contract in Ireland, including:

Formation of contract

Remedies for breaches of contract

Use appropriate legal concepts, relevant judicial precedents, and statutory law to solve concrete practical problems.

Engage in sophisticated, creative, and critical discussion of common law concepts, both orally and in writing.

Semester:	Hilary Term
Teaching:	2 hours of lectures per week in the second Semester
Prerequisite:	Irish Private Law I
Assessment:	1 MCQ tests -30%, Examination - 70%
Lecturers:	Dr Sarah Arduin