Law - Marine & Maritime Law - LLM

Course Outline
Our LLM in Marine and Maritime Law is offered by the College of Business & Law at University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland. It is a new programme that brings together the best legal expertise in Marine Law in Ireland. It covers a range of legal topics including shipping and maritime law, marine environmental protection, and international law of the sea.

This programme gives students the chance to work with the best maritime and marine lawyers in the country, under the academic overview of the globally-recognised UCC School of Law. Our LLM (Marine and Maritime Law) programme integrates theoretical and practical learning of relevant law modules with marine and maritime activities taking place in Cork, such as marine environmental research, marine renewables, law enforcement at sea, fisheries management, shipping and port activities. This programme is based on flexible workload arrangements and is suitable for both law graduates and marine and maritime professionals alike.

Whether you are a law graduate or a marine/maritime professional, this programme provides an in-depth theoretical and practical knowledge, and analysis, of Marine and Maritime Law.

Course Practicalities
The course involves a combination of lectures, directed study, and clinical learning. Programme modules are scheduled on Fridays and Saturdays in order to facilitate a flexible workload programme for students, particularly those with a professional career. Non-programme modules are available throughout the week, and sometimes through digital recording.

The part-time option is taught during weekday working hours over 2 years.

Programme Content
We offer a wide choice of module options, allowing students to either specialise in their preferred area of marine or maritime law or take a broad range of diverse modules.

A clinical module on Law of the Sea allows students the opportunity to understand the practice of law enforcement at sea, and includes access to the Naval Service at Cork. The practical aspect of marine law is also available through science-based, non-law modules such as GIS and Remote Sensing.

Full-time
Students take 90 credits.

Part-time
Students take 90 credits, completing a total of 40 credits in Year 1 and 50 credits (including LW6630) in Year 2.

Core Modules
LW6620 Introduction to the Law of the Sea (10 credits)
LW6621 Admiralty Law (10 credits)
LW6630 LLM (Marine and Maritime Law) Dissertation (30 credits)
LW6645 Marine Environmental and Natural Resources Law (10 credits)

Elective Modules
Students take modules to the value of 30 credits from the lists of elective modules set out below; with at least 20 credits from List A and up to 10 credits from List B.

List A
LW6566 Contemporary Issues in International Law (5 credits)
LW6581 Method in Environmental Law (5 credits)
LW6606 International Human Rights Law (10 credits)
LW6617 International Biodiversity and Ecosystems Law and Policy (5 credits)
LW6618 Climate Change Law and Policy (5 credits)
LW6619 Alternative Dispute Resolution: Processes and Practice (5 credits)
LW6622 Sale, Insurance and Carriage of Goods at Sea (5 credits)
LW6623 Global Maritime Security (5 credits)
LW6624 Port Law (5 credits)
LW6625 Law of the Sea (Clinical) (5 credits) *
LW6627 International Environmental Law (5 credits)
LW6633 Public International Law (5 credits)
LW6644 Managing Complex Disputes (10 credits)
LW6649 Environmental Law in Practice (10 credits)

List B: Undergraduate Modules*

LW3371 Sources and Foundations of Environmental Law (5 credits)
LW3372 Environmental Law: Contemporary Issues in Governance, Regulation and Enforcement (5 credits)

* Registration for these modules requires the permission of the Programme Director. Where appropriate, the Programme Director will identify, in consultation with the candidate, whether any undergraduate modules must be taken.

Examinations

Presentation of Dissertation/Submission Dates:
The dissertation must be submitted for examination at the Winter Board, on a date in September to be specified by the School of Law at the commencement of the programme.

Exit award: Postgraduate Diploma in Law (Marine and Maritime Law) (NFQ Level 9, Major Award)

Upon successful completion of modules to the value of 60 credits, registered LLM (Marine and Maritime Law) students may opt not to proceed with the programme and exit with a Postgraduate Diploma in Law (Marine and Maritime Law).

Full details may be found in the College Calendar (LLM Marine & Maritime). See the Book of Modules for a detailed description of programme modules.

Postgraduate Diploma in Law
Applicants for the LLM (Marine and Maritime Law) Degree also have the option of registering for a Postgraduate Diploma in Marine and Maritime Law. Students take 60 credits of taught masters' modules from those on offer for the LLM (Marine and Maritime Law) programme. The Postgraduate Diploma can be completed over 9 months full-time or 18 months part-time.

This shorter programme may be attractive to legal professionals and others who may prefer not to make an initial commitment to a full-time masters' level programme. It is possible for graduates of the Postgraduate Diploma to progress their studies by completing a 15,000-word research dissertation qualifying them for a Masters in Law (LLM).

Modules

Further details on the modules listed above can be found in our Book of Modules. Any modules listed above are indicative of the current set of modules for this course but are subject to change from year to year.

University Calendar

You can find the full academic content for the current year of any given course in our University Calendar.

Candidates must be approved by the School of Law. They must normally hold a Second Class Honours Grade I in a primary honours Law degree (NFQ Level 8). Candidates with other third-level qualifications and/or relevant professional experience are also encouraged to apply.

Applications from overseas candidates are welcome, and their qualifications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Non-EU applicants should contact the International Education Office by email at internationalpostgrad@ucc.ie for application details. The number of places available in any given year is dependent on resources and all qualified candidates may not be admitted.

English Language Requirements
Applicants that are non-native speakers of the English language must meet the university-approved English language requirements. Please visit our PG English Language Requirements page for more information.

For applicants with qualifications completed outside of Ireland
Applicants must meet the required entry academic grade, equivalent to Irish requirements. For more information see our Qualification Comparison page.

International/Non-EU Applicants
For full details of the non-EU application procedure visit our how to apply pages for international students.

In UCC, we use the term programme and course interchangeably to describe what a person has registered to study in UCC and its constituent colleges, schools, and departments.

Note that not all courses are open to international/non-EU applicants, please check the fact file above. For more information contact the International Office.

The closing date for non-EU applications is 30 June 2023

How Do I Apply
1. Check Dates: Check the opening and closing dates for the application process in the fact file boxes at the top of the page.

For Irish and EU applicants we operate a rounds system and you can check the rounds closing dates here.
Note that not all our programmes are subject to the rounds system so check the opening and closing dates for your specific programme in the fact file boxes above.

2. Gather Documents: Scanned copies of supporting documents have to be uploaded to the UCC online application portal and include:

Original qualification documents listed on your application including transcripts of results from institutions other than UCC.
Any supplementary items requested for your course if required.

3. Apply Online: Apply online via the UCC online application portal. Note the majority of our courses have a non-refundable €50 application fee.

Any questions? Use our web enquiry form to contact us.

Additional Requirements (All Applicants)
Please note you will be required to provide additional information as part of the online application process for this programme. We strongly encourage you to complete all sections as this will support your application. The additional information request includes:

Please enter all details of professional or voluntary positions held.

Please outline any additional academic courses, self-learning, and professional training relevant to this programme.

Please describe your motivation and readiness for this programme.

Please enter the names and email addresses of two referees.

Generally students are examined by continuous assessment throughout the year and the dissertation must be submitted in September. Individual module assessments can be viewed in the Book of Modules

1 year full-time, 2 years part-time.

The Diploma Fee is €5,300 Full-time €2,650 part-time

Start Date 7 September 2020

Skills and Careers Information
As this course allows students to acquire an education in Marine Law, or in purely commercial Maritime Law it allows access to a broad swath of professions including:

academia
governmental and regulatory agencies
industry
infrastructure developers
international organisations / secretariats
legal professions
local government
marine, maritime and environmental consultancy
non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
utilities sector