MA Legal Studies

The purpose of this module is to provide students wishing to study law at postgraduate level in the University of London with an introduction to law, legal method and associated skills and techniques. It is designed primarily for those who do not already possess a law degree but may also be of interest to those who feel they want to get used to studying law in a UK institution.

The purpose of the dissertation is to enable students to demonstrate their capacity to carry out a substantial piece of independent academic research on a selected topic.

In this module we examine theories about the relationship between law, rights and social change, using country and thematic case studies to illuminate and deepen our understanding of both the potential and the limits of what may be achieved through the language and architecture of law and rights. With a special focus on some of the countries in the SOAS mandate, we explore the possibilities for human agency for change through law and rights, identifying national and international constraints, in relation to issues and situations that pose some of the greatest challenges to the concept of rights as a valuable tool for social change.

This module offers an introduction to law on armed conflict, including collective security, the use of force, international humanitarian law and counter-terrorism. These are studied alongside legal reforms in response to contemporary understandings of the relationship between war and gender.

In this module, the international legal instruments for the guarantee of women's civil and political and economic and social rights will be examined for students to acquire knowledge and understanding of the basic texts and the international monitoring mechanisms.

This module critically explores the different theoretical perspectives of the relationship between Human Rights and Islamic law and examines the practices of some relevant Muslim-majority States in that regard.

This module introduces students to the range of international laws which govern war and armed conflict. International law on the use of force forms the core content. Each seminar will introduce students to mainstream approaches and debates on the use of force before contrasting these with topical and controversial views on the law on the use of force. Students will be encouraged to follow current developments and practice while being introduced to the Charter system for collective security and the role of state justifications on the use of force.

This course aims to provide a critical introduction to the building blocks of public international law – its nature and sources, international personality, statehood and recognition, jurisdiction and immunities, the law of responsibility, international organisations, and enforcement. Throughout the course, you will be introduced to different theoretical perspectives– including feminist and 'third world approaches to international law' (TWAIL)– and encouraged to think critically about the rule and role of law in the international order.

This module provides a critical introduction to the law of armed conflict ( also known as international humanitarian law). We will explore its history and sources, its relationship to the law on the use of force, and the basic principles that have governed its development. We then examine a range of historical and contemporary challenges to the law of armed conflict including colonial warfare and wars of national liberation, the classification of conflicts, lawful and unlawful combatants, the protection of the civilian population, weaponry, and human rights. Throughout the course we will think critically about the legal regulation of violence and the history of legal efforts to humanise war.

This module explores historical and contemporary dimensions of the relationship between International Law and colonialism/ imperialism.

In the first part of the course, we will consider the historical mappings of the colonial endeavour within international law as well as theoretical debates concerning colonialism, post-colonialism and neo-colonialism. In the second half, we will focus on a variety of contemporary international law issues – e.g., statehood and recognition; self-determination of peoples; failed states; administration of territory; racialisation and capitalism; and reparations- in light of the historical and theoretical perspectives introduced in the earlier part of the term.

This module examines ‘water justice’ in the global South from a combined Law and Development Studies perspective. The three main themes in the course are water rights/right to water, the modalities of access to water, and social movements on water issues. The course discusses examples from Asia, Africa and Latin America, and selected examples from the global North. It seeks to provide students with a broad understanding of the multi-faceted issues arising in the water sector from the local to the international level.

Students will be able to demonstrate the ability to understand and analyse issues concerning water law and policy, conflicts and governance from a broad perspective encompassing their economic, social and environmental dimensions. Students will acquire knowledge of basic concepts and principles underlying the regulation, management and conservation of water, focusing on national, regional examples in the international context in which governance evolves and the increasing importance of conflicts in the water sector.

This module “de-colonizes” comparative constitutional law: It introduces students to critical approaches to comparative law; it de-centres the “role model” constitutions; it critiques mainstream liberal theories that idealise these constitutions; and it sheds light on often marginalised constitutional histories and systems.

This subject will provide an overview of the discipline of international criminal law. First, the course will examine the origins of the fundamental principle of international criminal law – individual criminal responsibility – and its operations through a variety of international crimes. Second, the course will explain the core theoretical assumptions of the law - focusing in particular on the rationales for criminalisation and for the creation of international criminal tribunals – and take a critical look at these core theoretical assumptions. Third, the course will look at the operation of international criminal law through national jurisdictions and international tribunals.

This module provides a continuation of interdisciplinary critical explorations relative to the field of feminist, queer and trans legal theories and methodologies, as they pertain to law, initiated in our Term 1 module Gender, Sexuality and Law: Theories and Methodologies (which you need to take in order to be able to attend this module). We introduce a series of in-depth studies on a range of topics relative to gender, sexuality and law, which will provide you with an opportunity to study various specialised issues and apply the knowledge of theories and methodologies covered by the above-mentioned Term 1 module.

The objective of this module is to enable students to become well versed in the field of feminist, queer and trans legal theory, and the study of gender and sexuality in relation to law, with a particular focus on Global Southern experiences and methodological directions. Critical approaches to colonialism, imperialism and capitalism, and their entanglements with law and the state, are particularly emphasised. However, no prior knowledge of law is required to attend the module. You will be taught by diverse experts in the field and gain an interdisciplinary, critical introduction to this ever-evolving field.

This module examines the nature of international investment and its legal regimes; the impact of foreign and domestic investment on the economic development of states; the protections afforded investors and their interpretations, the role of states and the impact of investment law on their regulatory powers; and the ICSID dispute resolution mechanism for investment related disputes between foreign investors and states. This module aims to equip students with a clear understanding and critical engagement of these issues from a legal perspective and particularly as it relates to developing and capital importing states.

This course examines and interrogates the relationship law and literature, using themes and theoretical interventions related to race. The course invites participants to engage with the productive ruptures that exist when articulating the place and form of (a) race at the intersection of law and literature, (b) state and legal rationales in creative writing on race, and (c) the particular types of unveiling and co-production of race and law that is possible through literature. During the course, students will critically analyse and appraise the ways race and racism are constructed in various genres of literature (including fiction, non-fiction essays, memoir, poetry and epistolary works) as well as legal texts and scholarship. Ultimately, students will reflect on the limits of both legal and literary genres as modes of reaching intended audiences and advancing larger social and political debates around power, social reform and societal transformation; they will also formulate reasoned analysis regarding how genres of writing and disciplines of study within law and literature aim to discipline our thinking around institutional power, legitimacy, authenticity identity, and the ability to produce knowledge.

This course is an introductory module to environmental law that aims at giving students a solid and comprehensive foundation of key concepts of environmental law and a grounding in some of the most topical and foundational debates. These include the role of justice frameworks in relation to environmental law, as well as key debates in environmental legal regulation. The aim is to provide a platform from which to better appreciate some of the central tensions and dynamics in the study of environmental law generally. The course will introduce environmental law in its North-South context, in historical perspective, in a domestic, comparative and regional context. It will cover the context for environmental regulation, principles and regulatory techniques from a theoretical and practical perspective.

The course will provide an in-depth introduction to international migration law. It covers key areas forming part of the broader field of what has been referred to as international migration law. This includes core concepts, such as sovereignty, nationality and statelessness; regional arrangements; migration control; trafficking and smuggling; the rights of migrants, with a particular focus on migrant workers; and broader questions of global migration law and policy. It also explores cross-cutting issues, such as race, gender, age, and intersectionality that are of increasing importance in the field of international migration law. The course builds on a range of theoretical perspectives that enable students to critically interrogate the genesis of, and current developments in international migration law.

The course will provide an in-depth introduction to international refugee law. It covers core concepts, the historical development of international refugee law, the Refugee Convention, particularly its definition, regional refugee treaties, particularly in Africa, refugee law and practice worldwide, the relationship between refugee law and human rights law, and broader questions of global refugee law and policy. It also explores cross-cutting issues, such as race, gender, age, and intersectionality, which have been of increasing importance in the field of international refugee law. The course builds on a range of theoretical perspectives that enable students to critically interrogate the genesis of, and current developments in international refugee law. Students will engage with case law and policy documents, as well as key academic texts to acquire both sound knowledge of the law and critical awareness of the biases, gaps and challenges in the current system.

This course focuses on global commons, in other words all the resources that are beyond state sovereignty either because they do not fall under their jurisdiction or because they have not been appropriated for legal or other reasons. Certain global commons like the high seas have been the object of significant attention for decades and innovative legal regimes have arisen, for instance, concerning deep seabed mineral resources governed by the principle of common heritage of humankind. Other global commons, such as the global atmosphere and the global water cycle are recognised as issues of global importance but suffer from incomplete or insufficient regulation. In the case of outer-space, the existing legal regime is premised on a principle of non-appropriation but rapid changes are visible in the context of new opportunities for natural resource exploitation, while at the same time the negative environmental consequences of outer-space use are becoming increasingly visible. This course course addresses some of the main global commons that are recognised and regulated, explores issues concerning global commons whose regulation is lacking and reflects on the consequences of appropriation, as happened in the case of seeds that were recognised as a common heritage of humankind until the 1980s.

This module introduces the foundations of international environmental law, including its subjects, sources, principles and measures of implementation, compliance and dispute settlement. It explores the range of laws and norms that impact on global environmental problems. This module is built around the understanding that international environmental law is about both conservation and use (captured in the notion of sustainable development). It is also structured around an understanding that it is the North-South dimension of environmental issues that explains a large part of existing international environmental law

It provides an introduction to the principles of international environmental law (such as the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and the precautionary principle), environmental justice (human rights, participatory rights), examines questions related to compliance, effectiveness and enforcement of international environmental law; the governance and institutional framework governing the environment at the international level; and links with other branches of international law, such as human rights.

This module is concerned in the broadest sense with nature protection and concerns around the sixth mass extinction. It addresses specifically law and policy around the broad themes of biodiversity, wildlife & habitats. It examines theoretical and practical dimensions of international and national legal and institutional arrangements concerning some of the most crucial environmental issues of our time. This includes the various dimensions of the biodiversity regime, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, its protocols, related legal instruments and related developments at the national level. These cover a wide variety of issues ranging from conservation and use of biodiversity in general to specific implementation mechanisms like ‘access and benefit sharing’, measures addressing environmental safety in the context of the release of genetically modified organisms (biosafety), and proposed measures to take into account social and cultural dimensions of biodiversity conservation and use. This module also addresses law and policy focused on the protection of nature and animals (wildlife), including a focus on the protection of migratory species and specific conservation techniques, such as the regulation of trade (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). The course also covers measures for the protection of specific habitats, ecosystems and biomes, including forests and polar areas, where distinct legal regimes have made a significant contribution to the development of environmental law.

The course provides an anatomy of torture as a human rights violation and the prohibition of torture in international and national law.  It combines an interdisciplinary, critical, intersectional approach on the history, nature, methods and impact of torture situated within the broader human rights framework with an in-depth legal analysis and an examination of institutional mechanisms and strategies employed to prevent and combat torture.

This course offers an introduction and critical exploration of ‘Harmony with Nature’ and the emerging legal doctrine of ‘Rights of Nature’ as potential alternatives to sustainable development. It delves into the philosophical roots and evolution of the idea of granting legal rights to the natural world, all within the larger framework of Environmental Law, Earth Law, and the Anthropocene era. Harmony with Nature", in the context of this module, refers to developments at the international and domestic level that promote a paradigmatic shift away from human-centred environmental law, towards a more ecologically-centred legal system. Relatedly, "Rights of Nature" is a legal concept that recognises nature's intrinsic value and grants certain legal rights to elements of the environment. For instance, the recent rise in granting legal personhood to certain natural entities, like rivers, forests, or specific ecosystems, in different parts of the world, allowing them to be protected and represented, on their own account. These developments have arisen as responses to the shortcomings of sustainable development and traditional environmental law in addressing environmental degradation at local, national, and global levels. The course will examine case studies of rights of nature laws, in their political, social, and legal contexts in various regions, engaging with different developments, such as the granting or river rights in the Global North and Global South. Throughout the course, students will critically assess the structure and key features of these laws, accounting for this broader context .The course examines case studies of rights of nature laws, in their political, social, and legal contexts in various regions, engaging with different developments, such as the granting or river rights in the Global North and Global South. Throughout the course, students will critically assess the structure and key features of these laws, accounting for this broader context."

This module provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary study of the business and legal organisation of multi-national enterprises (MNEs), as well as the regulatory framework within which they exist and operate.

This module provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary study of the business and legal organisation of multi-national enterprises (MNEs), as well as the regulatory framework within which they exist and operate.

This module considers the emergence of Business and Human Rights as field of practice and academic inquiry. Constituted by jurists (broadly defined) who aim to ensure both that corporations respect human rights and victims secure remedies for corporate human rights abuses, Business and Human Rights poses both a challenge and an opportunity.

This module will examine legal aspects of an English company, including its formation, management, financing and if insolvent, its rescue and/or liquidation. The similarities and differences of the same aspects of a company formed in Germany, being a civil law jurisdiction, will be explored.

This course aims to offer a critical appraisal of the role of International Law in the Israel-Palestine conflict. In the first part, we explore the international legal history of the conflict. In Part 2, we build the international legal architecture with a particular focus on the right of self-determination, statehood, and the law of occupation. In the third part we analyse the defunct Oslo peace process in the light of international legal norms especially in relation to settlements and refugees. We conclude by considering alternatives framings of the conflict, including apartheid and genocide, and the recent turn to international courts. Throughout the course we will employ a reflective and critical approach to international law, exploring its constraints as well as it benefits as a normative framework.

What is the relation between law and resistance in colonial contexts? This course takes the question of Palestine as an emblematic case study for the examination of the potentialities and limitations of human rights and legal discourse in empowering the oppressed and constraining the powerful in situations of gross asymmetry of power. It thus examines the question of Palestine from the perspective of legal discourse and examines law from the vantage point of the question of Palestine. In particular, the module considers the role of violence, both of the law and of the resistance to British and Israeli colonial legality, including the British pacification of the 1936 Revolt, the violence of partition and preemptive war, the right to violent resistance of Palestinian national liberation movements, and the right to resistance in the intifadas.

The course approaches the development of ADR (principally mediation) from both a practical and comparative perspective, examining the processes of negotiation and mediation. The course begins with a critical examination of the tenets on which ADR is based, its relationship to civil law, and how it is applied in different contexts. It discusses the various areas in which ADR operates including community, civil and family mediation, and includes a discussion of ADR in an international context.

This course complements the existing offering in environmental law and offers a more focused module on one of the most sensitive environmental issues of our time. It seeks to provide a broad analytical view of the problem of climate change law and policy in its broader context. The course examines the main international legal instruments that constitute international climate law and policy within their broader context. This includes an examination of the underlying principles of climate change law and policy, an introduction to the UN Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, a focus on specific legal issues arising the context of the UN regime, such as carbon trading, as well as an analysis of more specific problems such as regional approaches and relations between climate change law and other areas of law such as trade law. The module also examines specific problems arising in the context of the law and policy response to climate change both concerning mitigation and adaptation, such as human rights implications, land-use, forests and biodiversity. Particular attention is given to climate justice dimensions examining the disproportionate burdens of climate change, including response measures on peoples in the Global South.

The module will be a foundational module for students on the MA/LLM human rights programme who have no prior experience in international human rights law. It will provide an in-depth introduction to international human rights law, particularly its historical development, major theoretical debates, the main legal framework within the broader international law setting, the global and regional (especially the African, Inter-American and European system) institutional machinery for enforcement, as well as an introduction to the main bodies of rights (civil and political, economic, social and cultural rights, collective rights). The module also explores cross-cutting issues, such as race, gender, age and intersectionality, and their salience in the field of human rights law.

This module provides a detailed examination of Islamic family law, covering the laws of marriage, dissolution of marriages, guardianship and child custody. These are examined in light of classical rules of Islamic jurisprudence and recent family law reforms in different parts of the Muslim world and also with relevant examples from UK cases. Taking the different areas of family law in turn, we examine the development of positions in the different jurisprudential schools (including the sources on which the classical schools relied) before considering later (colonial and post colonial) treatment of and approaches to these areas of law in states' courts and codes. A focus on codification and the modern state's identity as legislator is highlighted. Approaches to reform of particular areas of law by different social actors are considered, including the use they make of classical and post-classical sources.

This module presents, from a comparative legal perspective, an overview of Islamic law in its theoretical, historical and jurisprudential evolution. Islamic legal theory (Usul al-Fiqh) is considered from a comparative perspective with a critical analysis of its history, development and application in contemporary jurisdictions. An overview of the historical and jurisprudential themes includes the relationship between sacred texts and human reason in the development of the law, dissent and consensus in the articulation of the law, law and morality and normative pluralism.

The module deals with the Actors, Norms, Institutions, Market-led Processes and Legal Conflicts in transnational law. Case studies, taken out of legal practice in financial, technological, and socio-legal contexts, provide an opportunity to explore complex, border-crossing problems that involve jurisdictions and transnational legal developments originating in the Global South and beyond (the Middle East, Afghanistan, Africa and the United Kingdom). Case studies illustrate concrete legal problems, patterns or trends in transnational law such as: the degree to which established legal fields have begun to change or develop under the influence of hybrid norm creation and the private law conflicts which can arise; the intersection of public and private law; global regulatory dynamics and distributional trade-offs; technological diffusion and regulation; the transnational legal implications of non-state actors such as international standard setting organisations as well as multinational corporations; the offshoring/onshoring of law; the transnational normative orders which facilitate informal value transfer systems (informal finance).

This groundbreaking module explores the relationship between international law and materiality, specifically in the context of the geography and history of the city of London in which SOAS is based. The module begins in the classroom, with an introduction to the cutting-edge, burgeoning literature on the material representation of international law. After developing students' theoretical understanding, the class moves to a series of weekly walking tours at different locations in London. Whilst the locations will vary from year to year, likely sites include memorials, archives, museums, docklands and embassies. These tours will provide students with the opportunity to experience first-hand the manner in which international law is embedded in the geography and history of London and to explore for themselves how international law exists in the every- day places of the city. Drawing on SOAS scholars' rich research in history, geography, gender studies, and post-colonial theory, the module will deploy an innovative method of teaching that breaks with the lecture hall and, like modern day international legal situationists, encourages students to shape their own learning by mapping how international law is made material in the city of London.

This module critically explores the different theoretical perspectives of the relationship between Human Rights and Islamic law and examines the practices of some relevant Muslim-majority States in that regard.

This module critically explores the different theoretical perspectives of the relationship between Human Rights and Islamic law and examines the practices of some relevant Muslim-majority States in that regard. Following on from Part 1, this module focuses on substantive issues, States practices and application of the law.

The international legal instruments for the guarantee of women's civil, political, economic and social rights will be examined for students to acquire knowledge and understanding of the basic texts and the international monitoring mechanisms. Detailed attention will be paid to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 1979.

The impact of certain conceptual assumptions within international law, and human rights law in particular, that militate against the adequate protection of women's rights will be considered. After an examination of the general framework, more detailed attention will be given to certain topics including the family, reproductive rights, violence against women, including in armed conflict, refugees, children's rights and development policies.

The module will finally consider the question of whether international human rights law is an appropriate vehicle for the furtherance of women's interests.

Intellectual property is a collective noun for an aggregate of individual disciplines of law. The only common theme among them is that all are concerned with intangible creation. In a recent decision, the Supreme Court stated {h}ere there is no particular potency about the expression intellectual property because there is a general consensus as to its core content . . . , but no general consensus as to its limits", Phillips v Mulcaire [2013] 1 A.C. 1, para. 20. Accordingly, this Module focuses solely on the core disciplines within intellectual property law in the UK and thus covers: copyright, sui generis databases right, patents, breach of confidence and trade secrets. "

Intellectual property is a collective noun for an aggregate of individual disciplines of law. The only common theme among them is that all are concerned with intangible creation. In a recent decision, the Supreme Court stated {h}ere there is no particular potency about the expression intellectual property because there is a general consensus as to its core content . . . , but no general consensus as to its limits", Phillips v Mulcaire [2013] 1 A.C. 1, para. 20. Accordingly, this Module focuses solely on the core disciplines within intellectual property law in the UK and thus covers: copyright, sui generis databases right, patents, breach of confidence and trade secrets. "

This module uses diverse legal, historical, anthropological and sociological literature to introduce the dynamic region of Southeast Asia to SOAS postgraduate students. We are guided by a law and society approach, which places an emphasis on empirical, interdisciplinary understandings of the historical and present-day Southeast Asian polities; their social, religious and legal regimes; and the ways they have interacted with one another. You are not required to possess any prior knowledge of legal studies or, indeed, of Southeast Asia. Your weekly classes will be led by experts in the field of Southeast Asian Studies, and you will be able to learn a great deal about the historical, social and legal dimensions of life across Southeast Asia.

This module offers an investigation into the theories and key texts that inform the dynamic field(s) of postcolonial, decolonial and anticolonial studies, with a specific focus on law. Whilst anticolonial uprisings are as old as the global project of Euro-American colonialism and imperialism itself, the long twentieth century saw the emergence of a body of thought that critically addressed the realities of both an enduring ‘coloniality of being’ around the world and the prospects of a Third Worldist approach to social, political and legal justice claims. This body of thought is the core preoccupation of the module, taught by a diverse team of experts in the field. No prior knowledge of law is required to attend the module.

The module examines the substantive bodies of law and procedure and the legal systems in operation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in modern times, including in their relationship with regional and international normative systems.

This module aims at conceptualising a new law and development initiative for Africa by critically engaging with the traditional “law and development movement” and identifying its methodological shortcomings with respect to Africa. It examines the scope and limitations of law as an instrument of development and explores what contributions law, legal theory and legal institutions can make towards the realisation of human, economic and socio-political development in Africa.

This module explores old and new theories of law and development relevant to Africa through thematic topics that fall within the three key aspects related to development: Human Development, Socio-political development and economic development. The module applies the successes and limitations of law as an instrument of development identified in LDA I, and determines what contributions law, legal theory and legal institutions can make towards the realisation of human, economic and socio-political development in Africa.

The module has a comparative approach, examining national, regional and international perspectives of highlighted issues within an African context.

As the most heavily populated region in the world, the Indian subcontinent has always played an important role in world affairs. From being one of the most successful trading nations of the world, to becoming the heart of the British Empire, and now sitting adjacent to the newly world-dominant China, South Asia has always been a region of strategic, cultural, political and economic importance.
This module aims to introduce students to the many ways in which law, religion and the state interact in the subcontinent. We seek to do so by using, as far as possible, authors from the region, and focus on issues that continue to hold contemporary relevance. We begin by briefly examining the construction of the colonial legal system in South Asia and its lasting legacies today. We analyse the role of religion in the legal systems of the region in two ways: Firstly, we examine the increasing rise of religious intolerance and religious nationalism in South Asia and the legislative and judicial responses to these challenges before analysing whether ‘secularism’ can ever truly be at home in the subcontinent. We also study the impact of religion on personal law, and especially the ways in which this affects women. Within the field of personal and family law we discuss themes such as child marriage and polygamy, dowry problems and violence against women, divorce and maintenance and the much-debated issue of uniform civil codes.

This module aims to introduce students to the many ways in which law, religion and the state interact in the subcontinent. We seek to do so by using, as far as possible, authors from the region, and focus on issues that continue to hold contemporary relevance.