Course Catalogue

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Introduction to International Investment Law provides participants with a general overview and introduction into the complex subject of investment law. It foreshadows many of the themes and issues explored in the specialised 15 credit courses of the programme.

15 seminars of 2 hours each, to be delivered through a mix of online and classroom teaching.

Please refer to generic LLM entry requirements http://www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate/taught/law/#/entryrequirements 

None

Not applicable

Summative assessment through a combination of coursework: 5,000 word essay (50%) and a 2 hour exam (50%)

In the framework of the LLM in International Investment Law and Arbitration, this course is offered as an introduction to the key themes and challenges. It provides an overview of the legal regime of investment protection, and equips students to appreciate the practical relevance, dynamic nature, and controversial character of international investment law.

As the introducutory course of the masters programme, the Course will establish the basis for students to

1. extend their critical understanding and knowledge of the workings of contemporary international investment protection in its legal and political context with a view to applying this knowledge to solving specific investment-related disputes and engaging in debates about a reform of the law;

2. enhance and deepen their professional skills through undertaking problem-focused enquiries and critical analyses relating to the role and place of international law in (a) protecting companies engaged in cross-border investment, and (b) ensuring the necessary regulatory space for States in relation to investment activities

3. advance and improve their employability capacity as international lawyers by developing their legal research, writing, and communication skills.

By the end of this course students

will have begun to develop an understanding and to demonstrate knowledge and understanding, skills and other attributes as described below.

Knowledge and Understanding

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1. critically reflect, explain, and evaluate various areas of international investment law, its historical trends, and its role and place in the promotion and regulation of cross-border economic activity;

Subject-specific/practical skills

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1. critically evaluate relevant law and doctrine applicable in different areas of international investment law;

2. apply their knowledge of international investment law to concrete cases and situations;

3. effectively communicate research outcomes.

Intellectual skills

1. analyse and synthesise information from a number of primary and secondary legal sources to appreciate their relative value and to achieve a more critically-informed and policy-oriented knowledge and understanding of international investment law, its historical trends, and structure;

2. identify and conceptualise the various relationships between international law, domestic law, economic policy and governance, and their implications for the practice of international investment law.

Transferable/key skills

1. communicate effectively in writing and orally;

2. take responsibility for their independent learning and continuing professional development;

3. work independently and in teams.

4. employ research and information literacy skills at an advanced level, notably using IT applications and a range of primary and secondary sources