HLS Dissertations, Theses, and JD Papers

S.j.d. dissertations, ll.m. papers, ll.m. theses, j.d. papers, submitting your paper to an online collection, other sources for student papers beyond harvard, getting help, introduction.

This is a guide to finding Harvard Law School (“HLS”) student-authored works held by the Library and in online collections. This guide covers HLS S.J.D Dissertations, LL.M. papers, J.D. third-year papers, seminar papers, and prize papers.

There have been changes in the HLS degree requirements for written work. The library’s collection practices and catalog descriptions for these works has varied. Please note that there are gaps in the library’s collection and for J.D. papers, few of these works are being collected any longer.

If we have an S.J.D. dissertation or LL.M. thesis, we have two copies. One is kept in the general collection and one in the Red Set, an archival collection of works authored by HLS affiliates. If we have a J.D. paper, we have only one copy, kept in the Red Set. Red Set copies are last resort copies available only by advance appointment in Historical and Special Collections .

Some papers have not been processed by library staff. If HOLLIS indicates a paper is “ordered-received” please use this form to have library processing completed.

The HLS Doctor of Juridical Science (“S.J.D.”) program began in 1910.  The library collection of these works is not comprehensive. Exceptions are usually due to scholars’ requests to withhold Library deposit. 

  • HLS S.J.D. Dissertations in HOLLIS To refine these search results by topic or faculty advisor, or limit by date, click Add a New Line.
  • Hein’s Legal Theses and Dissertations Microfiche Mic K556.H45x Drawers 947-949 This microfiche set includes legal theses and dissertations from HLS and other premier law schools. It currently includes about 300 HLS dissertations and theses.
  • Hein's Legal Theses and Dissertations Contents List This content list is in order by school only, not by date, subject or author. It references microfiche numbers within the set housed in the Microforms room on the entry level of the library, drawers 947-949. The fiche are a different color for each institution.
  • ProQuest Dissertations and Theses @ Harvard University (Harvard login) Copy this search syntax: dg(S.J.D.) You will find about 130 SJD Dissertations dated from 1972 to 2004. They are not available in full text.
  • DASH Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard Sponsored by Harvard University’s Office for Scholarly Communication, DASH is an open repository for research papers by members of the Harvard community. There are currently about 600 HLS student papers included. Unfortunately it is not possible to search by type of paper or degree awarded.

The Master of Laws (“LL.M.”) degree has been awarded since 1923. Originally, the degree required completion of a major research paper, akin to a thesis. Since 1993, most students have the option of writing the LL.M. "short paper."  This is a 25-page (or longer) paper advised by a faculty supervisor or completed in conjunction with a seminar.  Fewer LL.M. candidates continue to write the more extensive "long-paper." LL.M. candidates holding J.D.s from the U.S. must write the long paper.

  • HLS Written Work Requirements for LL.M. Degree The current explanation of the LL.M. written work requirement for the master of laws.

The library generally holds HLS LL.M. long papers and short papers. In recent years, we require author release in order to do so. In HOLLIS, no distinction is made between types of written work created in satisfaction of the LL.M. degree; all are described as LL.M. thesis. Though we describe them as thesis, the law school refers to them solely as papers or in earlier years, essays. HOLLIS records indicate the number of pages, so at the record level, it is possible to distinguish long papers.

  • HLS LL.M. Papers in HOLLIS To refine these search results by topic, faculty advisor, seminar or date, click Add a New Line.

Note that beginning with papers from the 2023-24 academic year, papers will be available in digital format only. The workflow for this new process is underway.

HLS LL.M. Papers are sometimes available in DASH and Hein's Legal Dissertations and Theses. See descriptions above .

The HLS J.D. written work requirement has changed over time. The degree formerly required a substantial research paper comparable in scope to a law review article written under faculty supervision, the "third year paper." Since 2008, J.D. students have the option of using two shorter works instead.

Of all those written, the library holds relatively few third-year papers. They were not actively collected but accepted by submission from faculty advisors who deemed a paper worthy of institutional retention. The papers are described in HOLLIS as third year papers, seminar papers, and student papers. Sometimes this distinction was valid, but not always. The faculty deposit tradition more or less ended in 2006, though the possibility of deposit still exists. 

  • J.D. Written Work Requirement
  • Faculty Deposit of Student Papers with the Library

HLS Third Year Papers in HOLLIS

To refine these search results by topic, faculty advisor, seminar or date, click Add a New Line.

  • HLS Student Papers Some third-year papers and LL.M. papers were described in HOLLIS simply as student papers. To refine these search results, click "Add a New Line" and add topic, faculty advisor, or course title.
  • HLS Seminar Papers Note that these include legal research pathfinders produced for the Advanced Legal Research course when taught by Virginia Wise.

Prize Papers

HLS has many endowed prizes for student papers and essays. There are currently 16 different writing prizes. See this complete descriptive list with links to lists of winners from 2009 to present. Note that there is not always a winner each year for each award. Prize winners are announced each year in the commencement pamphlet.

The Library has not specifically collected prize papers over the years but has added copies when possible. The HOLLIS record for the paper will usually indicate its status as a prize paper. The most recent prize paper was added to the collection in 2006.

Addison Brown Prize Animal Law & Policy Program Writing Prize Victor Brudney Prize Davis Polk Legal Profession Paper Prize Roger Fisher and Frank E.A. Sander Prize Yong K. Kim ’95 Memorial Prize Islamic Legal Studies Program Prize on Islamic Law Laylin Prize LGBTQ Writing Prize Mancini Prize Irving Oberman Memorial Awards John M. Olin Prize in Law and Economics Project on the Foundations of Private Law Prize Sidney I. Roberts Prize Fund Klemens von Klemperer Prize Stephen L. Werner Prize

  • Harvard Law School Prize Essays (1850-1868) A historical collection of handwritten prize essays covering the range of topics covered at that time. See this finding aid for a collection description.

The following information about online repositories is not a recommendation or endorsement to participate.

  • ProQuest Dissertations and Theses HLS is not an institutional participant to this collection. If you are interested in submitting your work, refer to these instructions and note that there is a fee required, which varies depending on the format of submission.
  • EBSCO Open Dissertations Relatively new, this is an open repository of metadata for dissertations. It is an outgrowth of the index American Doctoral Dissertations. The aim is to cover 1933 to present and, for modern works, to link to full text available in institutional repositories. Harvard is not one of the institutional participants.
  • DASH Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard

Sponsored by Harvard University’s Office for Scholarly Communication, this is an open repository for research papers by members of the Harvard community. See more information about the project. 

Some HLS students have submitted their degree paper to DASH.  If you would like to submit your paper, you may use this authorization form  or contact June Casey , Librarian for Open Access Initiatives and Scholarly Communication at Harvard Law School.

  • ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (Harvard Login) Covers dissertations and masters' theses from North American graduate schools and many worldwide. Provides full text for many since the 1990s and has descriptive data for older works.
  • NDLTD Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations Union Catalog Worldwide in scope, NDLTD contains millions of records of electronic theses and dissertations from the early 1900s to the present.
  • Law Commons of the Digital Commons Network The Law Commons has dissertations and theses, as well as many other types of scholarly research such as book chapters and conference proceedings. They aim to collect free, full-text scholarly work from hundreds of academic institutions worldwide.
  • EBSCO Open Dissertations Doctoral dissertations from many institutions. Free, open repository.
  • Dissertations from Center for Research Libraries Dissertations found in this resource are available to the Harvard University Community through Interlibrary Loan.
  • British Library EThOS Dissertation source from the British Library listing doctoral theses awarded in the UK. Some available for immediate download and some others may be requested for scanning.
  • BASE from Bielefeld University Library Index of the open repositoris of most academic institutions. Includes many types of documents including doctoral and masters theses.

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  • Last Updated: Aug 20, 2024 8:59 AM
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Legal Dissertation: Research and Writing Guide

About this guide, video on choosing a topic, tools on westlaw, lexis and bloomberg, circuit splits, research methodologies, additional methodology resources, conducting a literature review, beginning research, writing style guides, citation guides, ask a librarian.

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About This Page

Choosing a topic can be one of the most challenging aspects of writing an extensive paper. This page has resources to help you find topics and inspiration, before you get started on the in-depth research process.

Related Guides

Citation and Writing Resources

Legal Research Tutorials

Secondary Sources for Legal Research

Methods of Finding Cases

Methods of Finding Statutes

Current Awareness and Alerting Resources

Compiling State Legislative Histories

Locating International and Foreign Law Journals

This guide contains resources to help students researching and writing a legal dissertation or other upper-level writing project. Some of the resources in this guide are directed at researching and writing in general, not specifically on legal topics, but the strategies and tips can still be applied.

The Law Library maintains a number of other guides on related skills and topics that may be of interest:

The Wells Library also maintains guides. A few that may be helpful for managing research can be found here:

Choosing a Topic

This video discusses tips and strategies for choosing a dissertation topic.

Note: this video is not specific to legal dissertation topics, but it may still be of interest as an overview generally.

The Bloomberg/BNA publication United States Law Week can be a helpful resource for tracking down the major legal stories of the day.  Log into Bloomberg Law, in the big search box, start typing United States Law Week and the title will appear in the drop down menu beneath the box. This publication provides coverage of top legal news stories, and in-depth "insight" features.

If you have a general idea of the area of law you wish to write about, check out the Practice Centers on Bloomberg. From the homepage, click the Browse link in the top left-hand corner. Then select Practice Centers and look for your area of law. Practice Centers are helpful because they gather cases, statutes, administrative proceedings, news, and more on the selected legal area.

Bloomberg has other news sources available as well. From the homepage, click the Browse link in the top left-hand corner. Then select News and Analysis, then select News or Analysis, and browse the available topics.

If you know what area of law you'd like to write about, you may find the Browse Topics feature in Lexis Advance helpful for narrowing down your topic. 

Log into Lexis Advance, click the Browse Topics tab, and select a topic.  If you don't see your topic listed, try using the provided search bar to see whether your topic is categorized as a sub-topic within this list. 

Once you click on a topic, a box pops up with several options.  If you click on Get Topic Document, you'll see results listed in a number of categories, including Cases, Legislation, and more.  The News and Legal News categories at the right end of the list may help you identify current developments of interest for your note.  Don't forget about the filtering options on the left that will allow you to search within your results, narrow your jurisdiction, and more.

Similar to Lexis Advance, Westlaw Edge has a Topics tab that may be helpful if you know what area of law you'd like to write about.

Log onto Westlaw Edge, and click on the Topics tab.  This time, you won't be able to search within this list, so if you're area is not listed, you should either run a regular search from the main search bar at the top or try out some of the topics listed under this tab - once you click on a topic, you can search within its contents.

What is great about the Topics in Westlaw Edge is the Practitioner Insights page you access by clicking on a topic.  This is an information portal that allows you quick access to cases, legislation, top news, and more on your selected topic.

In United States federal courts, a circuit split occurs whenever two or more circuit courts of appeals issue conflicting rulings on the same legal question. Circuit splits are ripe for legal analysis and commentary because they present a situation in which federal law is being applied in different ways in different parts of the country, even if the underlying litigants themselves are otherwise similarly situated. The Supreme Court also frequently accepts cases on appeal that involve these types of conflicted rulings from various sister circuits.

To find a circuit split on a topic of interest to you, try searching on Lexis and Westlaw using this method:

in the search box, enter the following: (circuit or court w/s split) AND [insert terms or phrases to narrow the search]

You can also browse for circuit splits on Bloomberg. On the Bloomberg homepage, in the "Law School Success" box, Circuit Splits Charts appear listed under Secondary Sources.

Other sources for circuit splits are American Law Reports (ALR) and American Jurisprudence (AmJur). These publications provide summaries of the law, point out circuit splits, and provide references for further research.

"Blawgs" or law-related blogs are often written by scholars or practitioners in the legal field.  Ordinarily covering current events and developments in law, these posts can provide inspiration for note topics.  To help you find blawgs on a specific topic, consider perusing the ABA's Blawg Directory or Justia's Blawg Search .

Research Methodology

Types of research methodologies.

There are different types of research methodologies. Methodology refers to the strategy employed in conducting research. The following methodologies are some of the most commonly used in legal and social science research.

Doctrinal legal research methodology, also called "black letter" methodology, focuses on the letter of the law rather than the law in action. Using this method, a researcher composes a descriptive and detailed analysis of legal rules found in primary sources (cases, statutes, or regulations). The purpose of this method is to gather, organize, and describe the law; provide commentary on the sources used; then, identify and describe the underlying theme or system and how each source of law is connected.

Doctrinal methodology is good for areas of law that are largely black letter law, such as contract or property law. Under this approach, the researcher conducts a critical, qualitative analysis of legal materials to support a hypothesis. The researcher must identify specific legal rules, then discuss the legal meaning of the rule, its underlying principles, and decision-making under the rule (whether cases interpreting the rule fit together in a coherent system or not). The researcher must also identify ambiguities and criticisms of the law, and offer solutions. Sources of data in doctrinal research include the rule itself, cases generated under the rule, legislative history where applicable, and commentaries and literature on the rule.

This approach is beneficial by providing a solid structure for crafting a thesis, organizing the paper, and enabling a thorough definition and explanation of the rule. The drawbacks of this approach are that it may be too formalistic, and may lead to oversimplifying the legal doctrine.

Comparative

Comparative legal research methodology involves critical analysis of different bodies of law to examine how the outcome of a legal issue could be different under each set of laws. Comparisons could be made between different jurisdictions, such as comparing analysis of a legal issue under American law and the laws of another country, or researchers may conduct historical comparisons.

When using a comparative approach be sure to define the reasons for choosing this approach, and identify the benefits of comparing laws from different jurisdictions or time periods, such as finding common ground or determining best practices and solutions. The comparative method can be used by a researcher to better understand their home jurisdiction by analyzing how other jurisdictions handle the same issue. This method can also be used as a critical analytical tool to distinguish particular features of a law. The drawback of this method is that it can be difficult to find material from other jurisdictions. Also, researchers should be sure that the comparisons are relevant to the thesis and not just used for description.

This type of research uses data analysis to study legal systems. A detailed guide on empirical methods can be found here . The process of empirical research involves four steps: design the project, collect and code the data, analyze the data, determine best method of presenting the results. The first step, designing the project, is when researchers define their hypothesis and concepts in concrete terms that can be observed. Next, researchers must collect and code the data by determining the possible sources of information and available collection methods, and then putting the data into a format that can be analyzed. When researchers analyze the data, they are comparing the data to their hypothesis. If the overlap between the two is significant, then their hypothesis is confirmed, but if there is little to no overlap, then their hypothesis is incorrect. Analysis involves summarizing the data and drawing inferences. There are two types of statistical inference in empirical research, descriptive and causal. Descriptive inference is close to summary, but the researcher uses the known data from the sample to draw conclusions about the whole population. Causal inference is the difference between two descriptive inferences.

Two main types of empirical legal research are qualitative and quantitative.

Quantitative, or numerical, empirical legal research involves taking information about cases and courts, translating that information into numbers, and then analyzing those numbers with statistical tools.

Qualitative, or non-numerical, empirical legal research involves extracting  information from the text of court documents, then interpreting and organizing the text into categories, and using that information to identify patterns.

Drafting The Methodology Section

This is the part of your paper that describes the research methodology, or methodologies if you used more than one. This section will contain a detailed description of how the research was conducted and why it was conducted in that way. First, draft an outline of what you must include in this section and gather the information needed.

Generally, a methodology section will contain the following:

  • Statement of research objectives
  • Reasons for the research methodology used
  • Description and rationale of the data collection tools, sampling techniques, and data sources used, including a description of how the data collection tools were administered
  • Discussion of the limitations
  • Discussion of the data analysis tools used

Be sure that you have clearly defined the reasoning behind the chosen methodology and sources.

  • Legal Reasoning, Research, and Writing for International Graduate Students Nadia E. Nedzel Aspen (2004) A guide to American legal research and the federal system, written for international students. Includes information on the research process, and tips for writing. Located in the Law Library, 3rd Floor: KF 240 .N43 2004.
  • Methodologies of Legal Research: Which Kind of Method for What Kind of Discipline? Mark van Hoecke Oxford (2013) This book examines different methods of legal research including doctrinal, comparative, and interdisciplinary. Located at Lilly Law Library, Indianapolis, 2nd Floor: K 235 .M476 2013. IU students may request item via IUCAT.
  • An Introduction to Empirical Legal Research Lee Epstein and Andrew D. Martin Oxford University Press (2014) This book includes information on designing research, collecting and coding data, analyzing data, and drafting the final paper. Located at Lilly Law Library, Indianapolis, 2nd Floor: K 85 .E678 2014. IU students may request item via IUCAT.
  • Emplirical Legal Studies Blog The ELS blog was created by several law professors, and focuses on using empirical methods in legal research, theory, and scholarship. Search or browse the blog to find entries on methodology, data sources, software, and other tips and techniques.

Literature Review

The literature review provides an examination of existing pieces of research, and serves as a foundation for further research. It allows the researcher to critically evaluate existing scholarship and research practices, and puts the new thesis in context. When conducting a literature review, one should consider the following: who are the leading scholars in the subject area; what has been published on the subject; what factors or subtopics have these scholars identified as important for further examination; what research methods have others used; what were the pros and cons of using those methods; what other theories have been explored.

The literature review should include a description of coverage. The researcher should describe what material was selected and why, and how those selections are relevant to the thesis. Discuss what has been written on the topic and where the thesis fits in the context of existing scholarship. The researcher should evaluate the sources and methodologies used by other researchers, and describe how the thesis different.

The following video gives an overview of conducting a literature review.

Note: this video is not specific to legal literature, however it may be helpful as a general overview.

Not sure where to start? Here are a few suggestions for digging into sources once you have selected a topic.

Research Guides

Research guides are discovery tools, or gateways of information. They pull together lists of sources on a topic. Some guides even offer brief overviews and additional research steps specifically for that topic. Many law libraries offer guides on a variety of subjects. You can locate guides by visiting library websites, such as this Library's site , the Law Library of Congress , or other schools like Georgetown . Some organizations also compile research guides, such as the American Society of International Law . Utilizing a research guide on your topic to generate an introductory source list can save you valuable time.

Secondary Sources

It is often a good idea to begin research with secondary sources. These resources summarize, explain, and analyze the law. They also provide references to primary sources and other secondary sources. This saves you time and effort, and can help you quickly identify major themes under your topic and help you place your thesis in context.

Encyclopedias provide broad coverage of all areas of the law, but do not go in-depth on narrow topics, or discuss differences by jurisdiction, or  include all of the pertinent cases. American Jurisprudence ( AmJur ) and Corpus Juris Secundum ( CJS ) have nationwide coverage, while the Indiana Law Encyclopedia focuses on Indiana state law. A number of other states also have their own state-specific encyclopedias.

American Law Reports ( ALR ) are annotations that synopsize various cases on narrow legal topics. Each annotation covers a different topic, and provides a leading or typical case on the topic, plus cases from different jurisdictions that follow different rules, or cases where different facts applying the same rule led to different outcomes. The annotations also refer to other secondary sources.  

Legal periodicals include several different types of publications such as law reviews from academic institutions or organizations, bar journals, and commercial journals/newspapers/newsletters. Legal periodicals feature articles that describe the current state of the law and often explore underlying policies. They also critique laws, court decisions, and policies, and often advocate for changes. Articles also discuss emerging issues and notify the profession of new developments. Law reviews can be useful for in-depth coverage on narrow topics, and references to primary and other secondary sources. However, content can become outdated and researchers must be mindful of biases in articles. 

Treatises/Hornbooks/Practice Guides are a type of secondary source that provides comprehensive coverage of a legal subject. It could be broad, such as a treatise covering all of contract law, or very narrow such as a treatise focused only on search and seizure cases. These sources are good when you have some general background on the topic, but you need more in-depth coverage of the legal rules and policies. Treatises are generally well organized, and provide you with finding aids (index, table of contents, etc.) and extensive footnotes or endnotes that will lead you to primary sources like cases, statutes, and regulations. They may also include appendices with supporting material like forms. However, treatises may not be updated as frequently as other sources and may not cover your specific issue or jurisdiction.

Citation and Writing Style

  • Legal Writing in Plain English Bryan A. Garner University of Chicago Press, 2001. Call # KF 250 .G373 2001 Location: Law Library, 3rd Floor Provides lawyers, judges, paralegals, law students, and legal scholars with sound advice and practical tools for improving their written work. The leading guide to clear writing in the field, this book offers valuable insights into the writing process: how to organize ideas, create and refine prose, and improve editing skills. This guide uses real-life writing samples that Garner has gathered through decades of teaching experience. Includes sets of basic, intermediate, and advanced exercises in each section.
  • The Elements of Legal Style Bryan A. Garner Oxford University Press, 2002. Call # KF 250 .G37 2002 Location: Law Library, 1st Floor, Reference This book explains the full range of what legal writers need to know: mechanics, word choice, structure, and rhetoric, as well as all the special conventions that legal writers should follow in using headings, defined terms, quotations, and many other devices. Garner also provides examples from highly regarded legal writers, including Oliver Wendell Holmes, Clarence Darrow, Frank Easterbrook, and Antonin Scalia.
  • Grammarly Blog Blog featuring helpful information about quirks of the English language, for example when to use "affect" or "effect" and other tips. Use the search feature to locate an article relevant to your grammar query.
  • Plain English for Lawyers Richard C. Wydick Carolina Academic Press, 2005. Call # KF 250 .W9 2005 Location: Law Library, 3rd Floor Award-winning book that contains guidance to improve the writing of lawyers and law students and to promote the modern trend toward a clear, plain style of legal writing. Includes exercises at the end of each chapter.
  • The Chicago Manual of Style University of Chicago Press, 2010. Call # Z 253 .U69 2010 Location: Law Library, 2nd Floor While not addressing legal writing specifically, The Chicago Manual of Style is one of the most widely used and respected style guides in the United States. It focuses on American English and deals with aspects of editorial practice, including grammar and usage, as well as document preparation and formatting.
  • The Chicago Manual of Style (Online) Bryan A. Garner and William S. Strong The University of Chicago Press, 2017. Online edition: use the link above to view record in IUCAT, then click the Access link (for IU students only).
  • The Bluebook Compiled by the editors of the Columbia Law Review, the Harvard Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and the Yale Law Journal. Harvard Law Review Association, 2015. Call # KF245 .B58 2015 Location: Law Library, 1st Floor, Circulation Desk The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation is a style guide that prescribes the most widely used legal citation system in the United States. The Bluebook is taught and used at a majority of U.S. law schools, law reviews and journals, and used in a majority of U.S. federal courts.
  • User's Guide to the Bluebook Alan L. Dworsky William S. Hein & Co., Inc., 2015. Call # KF 245 .D853 2015 Location: Law Library, Circulation Desk "This User's Guide is written for practitioners (law students, law clerks, lawyers, legal secretaries and paralegals), and is designed to make the task of mastering citation form as easy and painless as possible. To help alleviate the obstacles faced when using proper citation form, this text is set up as a how-to manual with a step-by-step approach to learning the basic skills of citation and includes the numbers of the relevant Bluebook rules under most chapter subheadings for easy reference when more information is needed"--Provided by the publisher.
  • Legal Citation in a Nutshell Larry L. Teply West Academic Publishing, 2016. Call # KF 245 .T47 2016 Location: Law Library, 1st Floor, Circulation Desk This book is designed to ease the task of learning legal citation. It initially focuses on conventions that underlie all accepted forms and systems of legal citation. Building on that understanding and an explanation of the “process” of using citations in legal writing, the book then discusses and illustrates the basic rules.
  • Introduction to Basic Legal Citation (Online) Peter W. Martin Cornell Legal Information Institute, 2017. Free online resource. Includes a thorough review of the relevant rules of appellate practice of federal and state courts. It takes account of the latest edition of The Bluebook, published in 2015, and provides a correlation table between this free online citation guide and the Bluebook.
  • Last Updated: Oct 24, 2019 11:00 AM
  • URL: https://law.indiana.libguides.com/dissertationguide

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Home > Dean Rusk Center > LLM Theses and Essays

Dean Rusk International Law Center

LLM Theses and Essays

Submissions from 2013 2013.

Some Important Causes for Settlement in American Civil Litigation , Felipe Forte Cobo

Submissions from 2011 2011

TO REVEAL OR CONCEAL?—AN ISP’S DILEMMA, Presenting a New “Anonymous Public Concern Test” for Evaluating ISP Subpoenas in Online Defamation Suits , Cayce Myers

Submissions from 2008 2008

Infrastructure Development in Emerging Economies and the Roles Played by Multilateral Institutions , Amjad Ahasan Basheer

Universal Human Rights and Threat to International Peace and Security: The United Nations' Obligation to Intervene , Godfrey Mhlanga

Submissions from 2007 2007

Applicable Law Provisions in International Uniform Commercial Law Conventions , Paolo E. Conci

Licenses, Leases and Other Contractual Arrangements for the Exploration and Production of Petroleum A Comparative Study Between Nigeria and the United States , Omolara Elumelu

Judicial Review of International Commercial Arbitral Awards by National Courts in the United States and India , Aparna D. JUJJAVARAPU

Ethiopia's Sovereign Right of Access to the Sea under International Law , Abebe T. Kahsay

Comfort Women: Human Rights of Women from Then to Present , Jinyang Koh

Imports or Made-in-China: Comparison of Two Constitutional Cases in China and the United States , Xiao Li

Taxing Emotional Distress Recoveries: Does Murphy Show the Way? , Kaushal P. Mahaseth

The Land of the Free: Human Rights Violations at Immigration Detention Facilities in America , Caitlin J. Mitchel

International Legal Standards Governing the Use of Child Soldiers , Dorcas B. Mulira

Corporate Restrictions in Mexico and the United States , Dennis Rios

Regulating Transnational Corporation for Environmental Damage , Sonal Sahu

The Need for a Transnational Appellate Arbitral Review Body , Priya Sampath

A Consumption Tax versus a Federal Income Tax in the United States , Shelly-Ann R. Tomlinson

Financial Holding Company System and Relevant Legislation , Ye Wang

Submissions from 2006 2006

The Hamburg Rules , Kweku G. Ainuson

Tourism in Antarctica: History, Current Challenges and Proposals for Regulation , Juan Y. Harcha

Reconsidering the Medical Expert Witness System , Yunwei Jiang

A Comparative Study of the Legal Responses to Domestic Violence in the United States and Hungary , Adam Keri

Enforcement of Human Rights under Regional Mechanisms: a Comparative Analysis , Fekadeselassie F. Kidanemariam

Shareholders' Agreements in Close Corporations and Their Enforcement , Ricardo Molano Leon

A Comparative Study on the Trade Barriers Regulation and Foreign Trade Barriers Investigation Rules , Junrong Song

How to Deal with Multi-party Nominations of Arbitrators in International Commercial Arbitration - a Comparative Study of Appointment Procedures with Emphasis on U.S.-European Commerce between Private Entities , Marie-Beatrix Tupy

Balancing Regulations and Incentives for Foreign Direct Investment: a Case Study of Mexico and Kazakhstan , Dauren B. Tynybekov

Submissions from 2005 2005

The Legality of Humanitarian Intervention , Eric Adjei

A Comparative Assessment of U.S. Direct Investment in China and India , Kalpana Arjunan

Pre-contractual Obligations in France and the United States , Florence Caterini

Comparative Law: Alcohol, Drug Abuse & Jurisprudence from the United States to Korea , Hyun J. Cho

Commercial Speech in the United States and Europe , Oxana Valeryevna Gassy-Wright

Accountability of Transnational Corporations under International Standards , Lea Hanakova

Protection of "Persona" in the EU and in the US: a Comparative Analysis , Anna E. Helling

Income Tax Preferences to Foreign Investment in China since the Late 1970s , Xiaoyang Hou

Role of the World Bank and IMF in Issuing Loans to Russia: Responsibility, Tricks, Corruption, Mafia, and Important Use of Legal Enforcement , Elmira A. Makova

Governance and Responsibility of Multinational Enterprises: the Use of Codes of Conduct and Litigation to Change Multinational Enterprises' Behavior , Maria Fernanda Matach

Free Movement of Goods: a Comparative Analysis of the European Community Treaty and the North American Free Trade Agreement , Pedro A. Perichart

The Drafting Process For a Hague Convention on Jurisdiction and Judgements with Special Consideration of Intellectual Property and E-Commerce , Knut Woestehoff

The Drafting Process for a Hague Convention on Jurisdiction and Judgments with Special Consideration of Intellectual Property and E-commerce , Knut Woestehoff

Trade-related Environmental Measures and GATT: the Conflict between Trade Libralization and Environmental Protection , Fang Zheng

Submissions from 2004 2004

The Question of Non-trade Issues in the WTO from a Developing Country Perspective , Cecilia Alzamora

Cybercrime , Karissa Ayala

Protection of Children from Exploitation in West Africa: Illusion or Reality? , Afua Brown-Eyeson

Legal Structures of European Security and Defense Policy and War Powers under the U.S. Constitution , Heiko Buesing

U.S. Antidumping Law and Practices against Korean Exports , Jinwook Choi

Regulation of Hate Speech , Haiping Deng

The Institutional Framework of the European Union for the Conduct of Foreign Affairs , Frederic Eggermont

Comparison of New Zealand and United States Securities Markets through the Looking Glass of the Efficient Market Hypothesis , Carla Natalia Gargiulo

Private Party Participation in the World Trade Organizations , Taehyung Im

Issues Regarding the Most Effective Tool of U.S. Bankruptcy Law , Zeenat Kera

Contracts and Electronic Agents , Sabrina Kis

Historical Aspects of State Arbitration Policy , Elton R. Lanier

Regulating Non-territorial Commercial Environments in Territorial-based Legal Systems , Pedro Martin G. Less Andrade

Unilateral Refusals to Deal in Intellectual Property as Monopolistic Conduct , Bolanle Meshida

Comparative Analysis of Federal Income Tax Imposed on U.S. C Corporations and Russian Joint Stock Companies , Alina Y. Mitskevich

Legislation and Implementation of International Environmental Law by African Countries: a Case Study of Ghana , Brigitte L. Okley

The Challenges of Tax Collection in Developing Economies (with Special Reference to India) , Pramod K. Rai

Family Businesses, Choices of Legal Entity , Martina L. Rojo

Sound Record Producers' Rights and the Problem of Sound Recording Piracy , Stanislava N. Staykova

The Change of Corporate Governance Structure in the United States and Taiwan , Yifan Tseng

Fiduciary Duties of Directors in the Context of Going-private Transactions to the Minority Shareholders under Delaware Law , Yuan Wang

Recognition and Enforcement of International Commercial Arbitration Awards , Shouhua Yu

Submissions from 2003 2003

Interim Measures in International Commercial Arbitration: Past, Present and Future , Sandeep Adhipathi

Reservations, Human Rights Treaties in the 21st century: from Universality to Integrity , Pierrick Devidal

Technological Advances Leading to the Diminishing of Privacy Rights , Anabelle Maria D'Souza

Protection of Consumer Privacy in E-commerce , Choong L. Ha

Mergers and Acquisitions in Europe: Analysis of EC Competition Regulations , YoungJun Lee

Security Interests in Intellectual Property Rights: the Time Has Come for the Enactment of New Laws , Esteban Mazzucco

The Convergence of Trade and Environment and the Relative Role of WTO , Xiaoxi Meng

The Main Characteristics of State's Jurisdiction to Tax in International Dimension , Alfred Nizamiev

U.S. Foreign Direct Investment in Developing Countries: a Case Study of Malaysia, Mexico and South Africa , Abenaa A. Oti-Prempeh

Free movement of goods: A comparative analysis of the European community treaty and the north American free trade agreement , Pedro A. Perichart

A Historical View of Intellectual Property Rights in the Palestinian Territories , Ihab G. Samaan

Submissions from 2002 2002

An Analysis of the Duty to Negotiate in Good Faith: Precontractual Liability and Preliminary Agreement , Aarti Arunachalam

Multinational Corporations Facing the Varying Concepts of Jurisdiction : "forum non-conveniens", Contrasts between the Anglo-American and the European Law Systems , Sandrine Buttin

Minority Shareholders and Oppression in Close Corporations: Contracting as an Effective Protection Device , Marcella Machado Carneiro

Freedom of Speech, Cinema and Censorship: a Comparative Analysis of Issues of Freedom of Speech Violations as a Result of the Rating Regulation Authorities in the Motion Picture Industry in France and the United States , Stephanie Grenier

International Corporate Governance Practices and Their Implications on Investors , Namwandi Hamanyanga

Current Problems of International Taxation of Electronic Commerce , Nuran G. Kerimov

An End to the Political Question Doctrine in Korea?: A Comparative Analysis , Myeong-Sik Kim

The Evolution of the Law's Treatment of the Confessions of Mentally Disabled Criminal Suspects , John E. Knight

Public and Private Interests in Copyright Law: Creativity, Science and Democracy vs. Property and Market , Daryana I. Kotzeva

The Intra-enterprise Conspiracy Doctrine as Applied to Affiliated Corporations under Section 1 of the Sherman Act , Michael B. Menz

Privacy and Personal Data Protection in the Information Age: A Comparative Evaluation , Emeka B. Obasi

The Right to Freedom of Religion vis a vis Religious Intolerance in the New Millennium , Buihe P. Okenu

Conflict of Laws in the Enforcement of Foreign Awards and Foreign Judgments: the Public Policy Defense and Practice in U.S. Courts , Anupama Parameshwaran

Balancing Interests: Statute of Limitations and Repose in Medical Malpractice Cases , Laurie L. Paterson

A Comparison of Environmental Impact Assessment Process between the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) and the Basic Environmental Protection Act (BEPA) , V An Rhee

Offshore Investments , Ana Maura M. Safrin

Lawyers' Value in Mergers and Acquisitions under the New World of Multidisciplinary Practices , Yunling Wu

Submissions from 2001 2001

FAIR USE AND THE DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION OF MUSIC - RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA v. NAPSTER, INC. (A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF A RESTRAINT ON COPYRIGHT IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO) , MICHELLE LISA ALEXANDER

THE IMPACT OF MODERNIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT ON MUSLIM WOMEN IN EGYPT: A LEGAL PERSPECTIVE , MAZAHIR MUHAMMED ATA EL-SID

David vs. Goliath (2001): An Analysis of the OECD Harmful Tax Competition Policy , Truman Butler

Transfer Pricing: A Comparative Study of the French and U.S. Legal Systems , Valerie Ciancia

REFORMING CHINA'S PARTNERSHIP LAW: ACHIEVEMENTS, PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS , HONGBING FAN

SHOULD AN EFFECTIVE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT HAVE PRIMACY OR BE COMPLEMENTARY TO NATIONAL COURTS? AN ANALYSIS OF CONCURRENT JURISDICTION IN THE AD HOC TRIBUNALS AND THE ROME STATUTE , GODWIN YENIKA FONYE

Foreign Direct Investment in Colombia , Juliana Gomez

LEGALIZE IT? -OSP AND PEER-TO-PEER NETWORK LIABILITY FOR ONLINE MUSIC COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENTS IN THE UNITED STATES AND GERMANY , CHRISTIAN NILS JOCHEN ENGELHARDT

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Stanford Law School | Robert Crown Law Library

Stanford Law School's Theses and Dissertations Collection

  • Early Thesis and Dissertation of Stanford Law School, 1929 to 1956
  • Theses and Dissertations of Stanford Law School,1970-1995
  • Stanford Program in International Legal Studies’ Theses, 1996 to 2010
  • Stanford Law School’s Dissertations, 1996 to 2010
  • Stanford Program in International Legal Studies Theses, 2011 to 2025

Title: Stanford Law School’s Dissertations, 1996 to 2010

Title: Stanford Law School’s Dissertations Inclusive Dates: 1996 to 2010

Access Restrictions: None Copyright Restriction:  Property rights reside with Robert Crown Law Library Special Collection.  Copyrights are retained by the creator of the records or their heirs.

Series Description:

This series consists of dissertations produced by Stanford Law School’s candidates in the Doctor of the Science of Law or the Doctor of Jurisprudence programs during the years of 1996 to 2010.  Each dissertation is original research that each individual submit to a committee of Stanford law professors to prove that they add substantial original scholarly works.  Subject matter that Dissertation covers is diverse in nature. This series is arranged by call number and author's last name. 

Extent: 3 linear feet (textual) Location(s) : GS-SU-06-02-01 to GS-SU-06-01-06

3781 1996 C - Environmental Protection Under and After Socialism: A Study of Poland  3781 1996 C - Riverrun: Three Essays about the Uses of History in Legal Problems Concerning Native Americans  3781 1996 D - Do you Speak Genomics?: Patenting Biotechnology "Translation" Inventions and Other Macromolecules  3781 1996 S - Corporate Governance in Quasi Public Corporations: A New Perspective in Cameroon   3781 1997 B - Innovation Market Concept: A Model for European Merger Control?  3781 1997 E - The Dispute Settlement System in the Egyptian Capital Market and Economic Development  3781 1997 H - Private Property, Culture, and Ideology: Israel's Supreme Court and the Jurisprudence of Land Expropriation 3781 1997 Y - Medical Malpractice in Taiwan: Myth and Reality  3781 1997 Z - A Critical Analysis of the Ethical Duty of Confidentiality in the American law 3781 1998 B - The accommodation of Interests in Freedom of the Press and Protection of Reputation in the Constitutional Doctrine of the United States and Spain   3781 1998 C - Differential Treatment in International Law: A New Framework for the Realisation of Sustainable Development   3781 1998 C - International Tax Policy Under NAFTA: The Impact of National Tax Differences on Capital Flows under Regional Trade and Investment Integration   3781 1998 C - Telecommunications Reform in Mexico: Challenges for Entering the Global Digital Economy  3781 1998 H - Rethinking the Legal Structure of Bank Securities Powers: "Universal Banking" vs. the "Glass-Steagall Act" in Taiwan   3781 1998 K - Property Rights and Biodiversity Management in Kenya: The Case of Land Tenure Regimes and Wildlife Management 3781 1998 L - Economic and Sociological Theories of Contingent Employment: Critique and Implications for Law Reform   3781 1998 N - Copyright and a Democratic Civil Society   3781 1998 R - Constitutional Gravity and Alternative Dispute Resolution: A Unitary Theory of Public Civil Dispute Resolution 3781 1998 Y - Embedded Strategies, Corporate Partners, and Markets in the Digital Age  3781 1999 C - Assessing the Impacts of Trade Liberalization on Forests  3781 1999 D - The Impact of Plant Intellectual Property Rights on Thailand's Agriculture: Implications of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)  3781 1999 Y - International Strategic Alliances in High Technology Industries: A Law and Economic Analysis From an Antitrust Perspective  3781 2000 D - Volume 1 Sexual Harassment Law: History, Cases, and Theory  3781 2000 D - Volume 2 Sexual Harassment Law: History, Cases, and Theory  3781 2000 K - Restructuring the Liability Regime in the Oil Pollution Act of 1990  3781 2000 L - Minimal State and Distributive Justice: An Essay on Nozick's Theory with Some Comparative Aspects to Rawls' 3781 2000 O - Law, Gender Relations and Social Change in Nigeria 3781 2000 W - Environmental Pollution in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria: A Case for Direct Equity Participation

3 781 2001 C - Self-Censorship and the Struggle for Press Freedom in Hong Kong 3781 2001 H - Administrative Litigation and Court Reform in the People's Republic of China  3781 2001 H - Critical Eating: Genetically Engineered Foods in International Relations: Designing International Bodies on Risk Management in Evolving Science & Technology with Global Impact  3781 2001 R - Counsel for the Indigent Accused in the United States and the Republic of Korea: Constitutional Reflections and Suggestions for Changes in the South Korean Criminal Justice System  3781 2001 R - Strategic Alliances in the United States Microelectronics Industry 3781 2001 W - Four Traces of Michelman and Sunstein's Legal Republicanism: Republican Historiography, Communitarianism, Habermasian Philosophy and Rawlsian Liberalism   3781 2001 W - The Comparison of Prosecutorial Functions in the U.S.A. and in Taiwan 3781 2001 Z - Human Rights Law and Public Interest Lawyering: A Study on the Interdependence of Jurisprudence and the Legal Profession in Israel 3781 2002 C - Environmental Cooperation Institution Building in Northeast Asia 3781 2002 E - Personal Bankruptcy in Israel  3781 2002 L - Custody Decisions in Social and Cultural contexts: The Best Interests of the Child Standard and Judges' Custody Decisions in Taiwan  3781 2002 L - Legal Culture and Social Change: The Case of Taiwanese Family Law Development  3781 2002 M - A Tale of Two Networks: Interconnection in Early Telephony and the Comme[r]cial Internet  3781 2002 M - A Tale of Two Networks: Interconnection in Early Telephony and the Comme[r]cial Internet  3781 2002 R - 2001: A Space Odyssey: Law, Space, and Society in Contemporary Israel  3781 2002 T - The Political Economy of Regulatory Competition: A Diachronic Institutional Theory of Legal Change in an Era of Globalization  3781 2002 W - Crypto Policy and Online Public Forums  3781 2003 B - The Puzzle of Mass Torts: A Comparative Study of Asbestos Litigation  3781 2003 J - Pharmaceutical Differential Pricing: Reality or Wishful Thinking?  3781 2003 S - Constructing Copyright and Literary Creativity in Kenya Cultural Politics and the Political Economy of Transnational Intellectual Property  3781 2003 X - Mediation in China and the United States: Toward Common Outcome  3781 2004 H - Why Do They Not Obey the Law?: A Case Study of a Rural-Urban Migrant Enclave in China  3781 2004 L - Unfinished Business: Challenging Microsoft in Taiwan 3781 2004 M - Kiamas: Rethinking Access to Justice in Domestic Violence Cases in Kenya  3781 2004 N - Commercializing Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings Through the Internet: Copyright Law and Technological Change  3781 2004 P - Balancing in Constitutional Law: A Suggested Analytical Framework Applied to American Constitutional Law  3781 2004 S - An Analysis of the Political Economy of Japanese Fisheries: The Dynamics of Bureaucratic Policymaking in Domestic and International Fisheries 3781 2005 A - An Attempt to Mediate Immigrant Integration: Intercultural Mediators in Catalonia  3781 2005 C - Paying for Nature Conservation with Tax Dollars?: An Evaluation of the Role of Fiscal Policy Reform in Promoting Biodiversity Conservation in Canada through Legal, Economic, Ecological, Fiscal and Political Lenses   3781 2006 A - Banking System in Islamic Countries: Saudi Arabia and Egypt  3781 2006 A - Democratic Deliberation of Trade Legislation in Ghana: Institutions, Interests and Accountability 3781 2006 A - The Legal Culture of the European Court of Human Rights  3781 2006 H - Women's Experience in Court: The Implementation of Feminist Law Reforms in Civil Proceedings Concerning Domestic Violence  3781 2006 L - Divorce and Annulment in San Mateo County, California 1950-1957  3781 2006 N - Toward Better-Balanced Copyright Regulations in the Digital and Network Era: Law, Technology, and the Market in the U.S. and Japan 3781 2006 P - Criminal Investigation and Prosecution in Mexico City: A Case Study of Miguel Hidalgo County and its Ministerio Público  3781 2006 Y - Legal Risk and Investment in India: A Case Study of the Dabhol Power Project  3781 2007 C - Unbundling Path Dependence: A Case Study of Telecommunications Reform in Mexico (1990-2006)  3781 2007 G - All in the Family: The Influence of Social Networks on Dispute Processing: A Case Study of a Developing Economy 3781 2007 H - Social Symmetry: A Theory of Altruism and Cooperation 3781 2007 L - From Imitation to Innovation: The Role of Patent in China's Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industries  3781 2007 M - Clientelism, Competition and Corruption: Informal Institutions and Telecommunications Reform in Kenya 3781 2007 W - Legal Framework for the Development of Venture Capital in China: Policy Recommendations for the Establishment of a Growth Enterprise Market ("GEM")        3781 2008 M - Rules and Engagement: A Comparative Qualitative Evaluation of European Union Rule-of-law Promotion in Romania, Turkey, Serbia, and Ukraine  3781 2008 N - The Role of Competition Law and Policy in the Economic Development of Korea 3781 2008 P - "In the Public Interest": Threats to Self-regulation of the Legal Profession in Ontario, 1998-2006   3781 2008 P - The Next Generation of Mexican Lawyers: A Study of Mexico's System of Legal Education and its Law Students  3781 2008 S - Beyond Legalism: The Mexican Supreme Court in the Democratic Era  3781 2009 L - The Neglected Role of Non-Profit Organizations in the Intellectual-Commons Environment  3781 2009 P - The Political-Economy and the Causes of Compliance of Trade and Investment Agreements: NAFTA and the Sweeteners Sector  3781 2009 S - "Outside the Pale of the Law": The Processing of Disputes in Buduburam Refugee Camp in Ghana  3781 2009 S - Recalcitrant Victims and Refractory Systems: An Exploratory Study of Attrition During the Investigation of rape Complaints in Post-Apartheid South Africa 3781 2009 T - The Design of Micro Credit Contracts and Costs of Credit: A Case Study of Micro Enterprise Finance in Uganda  3781 2010 C - Improving the Business Climate Under the Hot Sun: Do Small Business Associations Make a Difference?: A Study of Four Districts in Nyanza Province, Kenya 3781 2010 F - From Gender Based-Violence to Women's Violence in Haiti  3781 2010 F - From State Street to Bilski: Patent Protection in the Financial Industry 3781 2010 L - Weak Independent Directors, Strong Controlling Shareholders: Do Independent Directors Constrain Tunneling in Taiwan? 3781 2010 M - Access to Justice and Resolution of Criminal Cases at Informal Chiefs' Courts: The Ewe of Ghana 3781 2010 O - Measuring Japan's Nursery Quality Within the UNCRC Framework: International Standards for Young Children's Social Services and Their Implications for Japan   3781 2010 S - How do Principals Deal with Underperforming Teachers?: A Study of How Principals from Secondary Schools in Mexico City Manage Underperforming Teachers   3781 2010 T - Cross-border Enforcement of Patents

  • Last Updated: Jun 4, 2024 10:36 AM
  • URL: https://guides.law.stanford.edu/c.php?g=1087208

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Theses And Dissertations

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Contents Note

This collection contains theses and dissertations produced by students attending Georgetown Law School and Georgetown Law Center. They represent three law degree programs (J.D., LL.M., S.J.D.), and some that only specify Georgetown University. Most of the J.D. and LL.M papers date from 1913-1953. The only current papers are from the S.J.D. Program. The papers exist either in paper, microfiche, or digital form, and some may be available in more than one format. There are two separate listings containing the same entries - the first is a listing by degree type and then by author name, and the second is a listing by date and then author name.

  • 1913 - 2022
  • Georgetown University. Law Center (Collector, Organization)
  • Georgetown University. School of Law (Collector, Organization)

Location of Digital Files

View Theses and Dissertations in Digital Georgetown at https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/1056655

Description of Degree Programs

The Juris Doctor (J.D.) is the first degree in law, as well as the terminal degree for the practice of law. It is required for those who plan to become attorneys, is usually earned in three years, and requires a bachelor's degree for admission. Until 1966, the first degree in law was the LL.B. (Bachelor of Laws) and during the 1930s and 1940s, the J.D. was awarded as a graduate level degree. In 1967 the J.D. became the first law degree. The Master of Laws (LL.M.) is the second level professional law degree after the J.D. It is a one-year advanced post-graduate degree program that specializes in a specific area of the law, and requires a J.D. as a prerequisite. The Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) is the highest degree offered by Georgetown Law. It is a Ph.D-level research and academic-based degree primarily designed for those who are interested in becoming law professors, scholars, jurists or public intellectuals.

1.5 linear feet (3 Hollinger boxes)

605 digital file(s)

Language of Materials

  • Dissertations, Academic

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Repository details.

Part of the Law Center Archives Repository

Collection organization

Theses And Dissertations, LCA-06-07. Law Center Archives.

Cite Item Description

Theses And Dissertations, LCA-06-07. Law Center Archives. https://aspace.ll.georgetown.edu/public/repositories/4/resources/138 Accessed August 28, 2024.

Writing a Postgraduate Dissertation in Law at Masters Level

29 Pages Posted: 26 Mar 2021 Last revised: 22 Apr 2021

Rory O'Connell

Ulster University - Transitional Justice Institute

Date Written: March 3, 2021

This paper offers guidance to law students about to write a postgraduate dissertation on a taught Masters programme. This complements the webpage on writing law essays on conlawfiles.org but is intended more for postgraduate law students on a Masters programme who are writing a substantial 10-20,000 word dissertation.

JEL Classification: K10

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Rory O'Connell (Contact Author)

Ulster university - transitional justice institute ( email ).

Shore Road Newtownabbey, County Antrim BT37 OQB Northern Ireland

HOME PAGE: http://www.transitionaljustice.ulster.ac.uk/

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Law dissertations : a step-by-step guide

Lammasniemi, Laura (2021) Law dissertations : a step-by-step guide. London: Routledge. ISBN 9780367568771

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Law Dissertations: A Step-by-Step Guide provides you with all the guidance and information you need to complete and succeed in your LLB, LLM or law-related dissertation. Written in a simple, clear format and with plenty of tools to help you to put the theory into practice, Laura Lammasniemi will show you how to make writing your law dissertation easy, without compromising intellectual rigour.

As well as explaining the process of research and outlining the various legal methodologies, the book also provides practical, step-by-step guidance on how to formulate a proposal, research plan, and literature review. Unlike other law research skills books, it includes a section on empirical research methodology and ethics for the benefit of students who are studying for a law-related degree.

Packed full of exercises, worked examples and tools for self-evaluation, this book is sure to become your essential guide, supporting you on every step of your journey in writing your law dissertation.

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Publisher: Routledge
Place of Publication: London
ISBN: 9780367568771
Official Date: 14 December 2021
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Number of Pages: 198
Status: Not Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
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2nd edition

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Law thesis and dissertation collection

master of law dissertation

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Presented here is a selection of theses and dissertations from the School of Law. Please note that this is not a complete record of all degrees awarded by the School.

This material is presented to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work. Copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors or by other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. In most cases, these works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.

Recent Submissions

Isolation in scottish prisons: what does it mean to be alone inside a socio-legal analysis , taking legal change seriously: examining calls for modernising the rules providing for seller's liability for defective goods in the chilean civil code , conceptualisation and implementation of res judicata in the transnational arbitral legal order , out of place and out of time: older prisoners in chile , mind the gap: an empirical study of terrorism offences, law-making, and discretion , challenges and limitations of granting legal personality to distributed/decentralized autonomous organizations , development of international shipping standards under the auspices of the imo and their implementation in practice: a case study of thailand , adequacy of the ex post armed attack framework of the jus ad bellum in relation to the evolving means and methods of warfare , governing disputed maritime areas , what we say when we criminalise: a metanormative inquiry , testamentary law in england, c. 1450-1540 , sovereign immunity from execution of foreign arbitral awards in the 21st century , conceptualizations of addiction in harm reduction strategies for effective and ethical uk drug policy , liminality and the lived experience of law in medicine: the legal consciousness of physicians in encounters with people living as undocumented migrants , contested citizenship and statelessness in question: an anlysis of cases of overseas taiwanese people and tibetan exiles in taiwan , eternity and the constitution: the promise and limits of eternity clauses , hate speech in the british press: a theoretical and practical assessment of the case for broader regulation , liberty versus security under illiberal constitutionalism: the legality of criminalising humanitarian assistance in hungary and greece , operationalising ‘publicness’ in data-intensive health research regulation: an examination of the public interest as a regulatory device , worldmaking powers of law and performance: queer politics beyond/against neoliberal legalism .

master of law dissertation

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The law dissertation

The law dissertation is the final module in our Master of Laws (LLM). The content of the module has been designed to support you in developing and completing your own research project. This must be based on a legal topic related to one of the individual LLM law modules and linked to one of the themes (international, comparative, regulation, human rights). Alongside the time spent in conducting your own legal research, you'll learn about the role and purpose of a literature review, how to identify a suitable research method for a legal research project, how to develop research questions and how to evaluate the ethical implications of your research. Throughout the module, the complexities and challenges of the research process are explored. The writing-up process forms an important aspect of research, and guidance is provided on this process. You'll also consider sources of information, including legal databases, and explore how information is critically analysed and evaluated to draw valid and evidenced conclusions.

Vocational relevance

There is growing professional and commercial demand for highly qualified graduates who have a range of transferable skills. In particular, skills gained from postgraduate legal study are highly valued for their relevance and application. This module is particularly useful preparation for environments in which research and the ability to develop persuasive arguments form a significant part of the work It will also be helpful for any profession that requires skilled graduates who have a demonstrable ability in developing and managing an independent research project.

Universities are keen to admit doctoral research students who have completed most of their research training, finding them better prepared to begin and better able to complete their theses in the required time. This module provides some of that training in research methods and skills.

Qualifications

In certain circumstances, this module can count towards F64, which is no longer available to new students.

  • Credits measure the student workload required for the successful completion of a module or qualification.
  • One credit represents about 10 hours of study over the duration of the course.
  • You are awarded credits after you have successfully completed a module.
  • For example, if you study a 60-credit module and successfully pass it, you will be awarded 60 credits.
OU Postgraduate
SCQF 11
FHEQ 7

Find out more about entry requirements .

What you will study

The module builds on the work undertaken in your previous LLM modules and equips you to undertake a significant piece of independent legal research. You'll learn how to:

  • conduct a literature review
  • select an appropriate research method
  • define a clear purpose for your research project
  • plan, organise, manage and carry out an extended independent research project
  • develop written communication skills suitable for masters level
  • write clearly and imaginatively, and with a sense of authority
  • create a persuasive argument drawing on evidence and an analysis of a range of primary and secondary legal sources
  • consider the ethical implications of your planned research and how to manage these
  • use an appropriate referencing system with consistency and accuracy.

The module materials are specifically designed to support you in six key areas: developing your research proposal, undertaking your literature review, choosing an appropriate research method(s), undertaking and analysing your research to form your own conclusions and the process of writing up your research.

Your choice of legal research topic will depend on your interests. The only stipulation regarding the research topic you choose for your law dissertation is that it must be related to one of the LLM law modules you have studied at the OU and be linked to one (or more) of the themes of the LLM (international, comparative, regulation, human rights). Your tutor will help you to decide what is feasible for a legal research project and will provide feedback on your draft research proposal.

Your studies and research will require the use of online sources, including the OU library legal databases. Your work on this module requires an exploration of relevant existing literature and law in your chosen topic area. You're expected to be as up to date as far as possible with recent literature, law, commentary and developments in your chosen research topic. You are expected to make effective use of OU library legal databases and other appropriate resources as you plan and conduct your research. Your law dissertation must include primary and secondary sources of law.

A tutor will support you throughout your studies. They will provide advice on the appropriateness of your research plans, choice of method, literature review and support you through the writing-up process. Your tutor's comments on your written work form a key part of the teaching on the module and provide a way of monitoring your progress.

During the module, you are required to produce four pieces of assessed written work before submitting the law dissertation itself. Each of these is designed to support you as you work towards writing up your law dissertation. The first piece of assessed written work is a draft of your initial research proposal, on which you will receive feedback from your tutor. The second enables you to explore different research methods and identify one which meets the needs of your own research project. Again, you receive feedback from your tutor. The third is your final research proposal which must be approved by the W800 Board. The fourth piece of work is a draft chapter of your dissertation. The fifth and final piece of work is your law dissertation itself. This is marked by two tutors, and their recommendations will help to determine the result awarded by the Examination and Assessment Board.

The work you produce for your law dissertation is not expected to be entirely original (originality is a requirement for a PhD). The work you submit for your law dissertation should include an analysis of the existing literature and law in the topic area covered by your dissertation.

Teaching and assessment

Support from your tutor.

You will have a tutor, who you can contact by email or telephone, who will help you with the study material and mark and comment on three of the five pieces of assessed work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance. Your tutor will also run online tutorials that you are encouraged, but not obliged, to take part in.

Contact us  if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.

The assessment details for this module can be found in the facts box.

Course work includes

Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs)

Future availability

The law dissertation  starts once a year – in November. This page describes the module that will start in November 2024. We expect it to start for the last time in November 2026.

Regulations

Entry requirements.

As the final module in the LLM, you must have completed 120 credits towards this qualification to register on W800 (or have completed 90 credits and be awaiting the results from the fourth and final 30-credit module).

The module is taught in English, and your spoken and written English must be of an adequate standard for postgraduate study. If English is not your first language, we recommend that you seek assessment under the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Please see their website for details.

If you have any doubt about the suitability of the module, please speak to an  adviser .

Start End England fee Register
02 Nov 2024 Oct 2025 £3410.00

Registration closes 10/10/24 (places subject to availability)

This module is expected to start for the last time in November 2026.

Additional costs

Study costs.

There may be extra costs on top of the tuition fee, such as set books, a computer and internet access.

Ways to pay for this module

We know there’s a lot to think about when choosing to study, not least how much it’s going to cost and how you can pay.

That’s why we keep our fees as low as possible and offer a range of flexible payment and funding options, including a postgraduate loan, if you study this module as part of an eligible qualification. To find out more, see Fees and funding .

Study materials

What's included.

You will have access to a dedicated module website which includes:

  • online university library access (including access to legal databases)
  • specially written study materials designed exclusively for this module
  • an assessment section
  • audio material
  • Law Postgraduate Home (which contains a range of study resources and advice)
  • online tutorials and forums

Computing requirements

You’ll need broadband internet access and a desktop or laptop computer with an up-to-date version of Windows (10 or 11) or macOS Ventura or higher.

Any additional software will be provided or is generally freely available.

To join in spoken conversations in tutorials, we recommend a wired headset (headphones/earphones with a built-in microphone).

Our module websites comply with web standards, and any modern browser is suitable for most activities.

Our OU Study mobile app will operate on all current, supported versions of Android and iOS. It’s not available on Kindle.

It’s also possible to access some module materials on a mobile phone, tablet device or Chromebook. However, as you may be asked to install additional software or use certain applications, you’ll also require a desktop or laptop, as described above.

If you have a disability

Written transcripts of any audio components and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of printed material are available. Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader. Other alternative formats of the module materials may be available in the future.

To find out more about what kind of support and adjustments might be available, contact us or visit our disability support pages .

Request your prospectus

Our prospectuses help you choose your course, understand what it's like to be an OU student and register for study.

Request prospectus    

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Thesis-intensive llm.

The thesis-intensive LLM offers law graduates the opportunity to demonstrate advanced legal scholarship, through the writing of a long or short masters-level dissertation. Students can write a thesis of between four (45 pages or 13,000 words) and 16 credits (175 pages or 52,000 words), see the thesis-intensive LLM Degree Requirement webpage for more information.

The LLM program is designed as a twelve-month program commencing in September, involving a course of studies and a thesis which, combined, are valued at 24 credit hours.  Students in the thesis-intensive LLM program can design a program in almost any area of law and legal theory that will meet that student's interests and needs.

All LLM candidates participate in the LLM seminar, which will have substantive and skills based classes. As well, all LLM candidates in the thesis stream will participate in the Alternative Approaches to Legal Scholarship, which is designed to expose students to various approaches to legal scholarship, including law and philosophy, law and economics, feminism and the law, legal history, law and society, analytical jurisprudence and critical legal theory.  

Graduate students choose their other courses from those available in the JD program, which are posted on-line in the summer. Graduate students are expected to choose upper-level and seminar courses.

This program is only offered on a full-time basis. We can only open an exception to this rule in rare cases in which special circumstances prevent the student from being able to attend the program full-time. Working full-time is NOT a circumstance that would allow a student to study part-time. If you would like to request an accommodation to study part-time, please make sure to indicate that in your application and provide supporting documentation. If your request is approved, a part-time thesis-intensive LLM program will be taken over a period of two years. Part-time candidates must successfully complete the course requirements (as above) by May 31 of the first academic year of attendance, and complete and present a satisfactory thesis by July 31 of the second academic year of attendance. Please note that requesting part-time status in your application and providing documentation to support the special circumstances upon which you are making the request to study part-time does not guarantee that your request will be granted. 

Note : an LLM does not qualify foreign-trained candidates to practise law in Ontario, and LLM students are not permitted to take courses from the first year JD program. Contact the National Commitee on Accreditation  for information on practising law in Ontario. See also information on NCA-related offerings at the Faculty of Law .

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Ugochuckwu Udogu

Ugochuckwu Udogu, LLM student

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Law Dissertation Topics

Published by Owen Ingram at January 9th, 2023 , Revised On May 29, 2024

Law dissertations can be demanding because of the need to find relevant regulations, cases, and data to address the research problem successfully. It is of utmost importance to critically examine facts before framing the  research questions .

Selection of the most appropriate legal terms and legal authorities, whether online or in print, can be challenging, especially if you have not tackled a law dissertation project before.

To help you select an intriguing law  dissertation  topic,  our expert writers have suggested some issues in various areas of law, including trust law, EU law, family law, employment and equality law, public law, tort law, intellectual property rights, commercial law, evidence, and criminal law, and human rights and immigration law.

These topics have been developed by PhD-qualified writers of our team , so you can trust to use these topics for drafting your dissertation.

Review the step-by-step guide on how to write your own dissertation  here.

You may also want to start your dissertation by requesting  a brief research proposal  from our writers on any of these topics, which includes an  introduction  to the topic,  research question , aim and objectives ,  literature review  along the proposed  methodology  of research to be conducted.  Let us know  if you need any help in getting started.

Check our  dissertation examples to get an idea of  how to structure your dissertation .

Review the full list of dissertation topics for 2024 here.

Law Dissertation Topics & Ideas

Topic 1: the role of international criminal laws in reducing global genocide.

Research Aim: This study aims to find the role of international criminal laws in reducing global genocide. It will be an exploratory study identifying the explicit and implicit effects of international criminal laws on the worldwide genocide. It will analyse different incidents of international genocide and find out how international criminal laws played a positive role in reducing these incidents. Lastly, it will recommend possible changes in international criminal laws to effectively mitigate global genocide. And it will be done by comparing criminal laws of world-leading powers to reduce genocide.

Topic 2: Impact of Anti-Racism Employment Laws on Organisational Culture- A Comparative Study on the Anti-Racism Employment Laws in the US and Canada

Research Aim: This research aims to find the impact of anti-racism employment laws on the organisational culture in the US and Canada in a comparative analysis. It will identify the change in employees’ behaviour after implementing anti-racism laws. Moreover, it will find whether employees gleefully welcomed these laws or showed resistance. And how do these laws affect the organisations’ performance that strictly implemented them?

Topic 3: Globalisation, international business transactions, and commercial law- A perspective from literature.

Research Aim: Students and practitioners can find the law of international business transactions as a subfield within a broader field of international commercial law to be somewhat amorphous.

This study will explain the impact of globalisation on international business transactions and commercial law by establishing some necessary links between the study of transnational business law and related fields of international studies. This study also aims to address theories about foreign business regulation, such as the idea that it is free of power politics. For the collection of data existing literature will be studied. The methodology of this research will rely on existing previous literature.

Topic 4: Investigating the impact of competition law on the businesses in the UK- Post Brexit

Research Aim: This study aims to investigate the impact of competition laws on businesses in the post-Brexit UK. The proposed study will not only analyse the performance of the businesses with the current competition laws. But also analyse the impact of possible changes in competition laws on the businesses in the post-Brexit UK. It will also incorporate the possible difference of changes in competition laws in deal, no-deal, hard deal, and soft deal scenarios. This way of individually analysing the difference in competition laws due to the status of the UK’s deal with the EU will give better insights into how businesses will be affected by these laws in the post-Brexit UK.

Topic 5: A comparison between Islamic and contemporary laws against rape. Which law is the most effective in preventing this horrific crime?

Research Aim: For several years, marital and non-marital relations in Muslim-majority countries have been a source of controversy. Under Islamic law, it is strictly forbidden for a Muslim, or even non-Muslim, to engage in illicit sexual relations with the opposite gender under any situation. The current study will help us understand the concepts presented in Islamic laws about rape cases. In this context, a comparative analysis of Islamic and contemporary law will be explained. It will also identify efficient and effective strategies to prevent this horrific crime.

Law Dissertation Topics for the COVID Crisis

Topic 1: the legal implications of the covid-19 pandemic on canadian immigration and the way forward..

Research Aim: This study will focus on how the Canadian government benefits from resources accrued from immigration, the impact of COVID-19 on Canadian Immigration, the current legislation on immigration, the effects of COVID-19 on the immigration law, the possible amendments that could help cushion the impact and the way forward.

Topic 2: Effect of COVID-19 on the United States Immigration policies; an assessment of International Legal agreements governing pandemic disease control and the way forward.

Research Aim: This research will focus on the pandemic’s effect on immigration policies in the United States. It also suggests the required steps based on the laws that regulate government acts during an outbreak of a pandemic.

Topic 3: Creating legal policies in preparedness for the global pandemic; lessons from COVID-19 on Canadian immigration policies.

Research Aim: This research will focus on how the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world and how most countries seemed unprepared. Historical background of the flu pandemic can also be made to assess how the world overcame the pandemic. And the need for the Canadian government or any other country you wish to choose can prepare for a global pandemic by creating legal policies that could help prepare ahead for such a period, such as policies on scientific research and funding.

Topic 4: The need for uniformity of competition law and policy in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries; An approach to the European Union standard.

Research Aim: This research will focus on the Gulf Cooperation Countries and their current legislation on competition law and its implications. Countries under the European Union’s competition law, the legal implications, and the need to consider such a part.

Topic 5: The need for competition law and policy enforcement; An analysis of the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries.

Research Aim: This research focuses on the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries’ competition laws and their enforceability. It analyses the benefits of enforcing the competition law and looks at the European Union’s uniformed laws and their benefits. It looks into the various countries, how the competition law currently works, and how it can affect each country’s economy in a better way or adequately enforced.

Topic 6: Provisions of the law on rape, the need to expand its coverage on the misuse of its provisions, and false accusations.

Research Aim: This research will focus on the law’s present provisions on rape and rape victims and the recent false accusations.

Topic 7: Summary dismissal of workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the legal implications under the labour law, and the way forward. The Case Study of Nigeria

Research Aim: This research will focus on the statistics of people who were summarily dismissed during the COVID-19 pandemic based on natural occurrences, provisions of the law against summary dismissal, and its enforcement, and how this can be cushioned against future events. The labour law needs to be expanded to cover similar situations to protect workers.

Topic 8: A legal assessment of the settlement of international disputes through the peaceful process and its effectiveness

Research Aim: This research focuses on the mode of dispute settlement in the international community, assessment of international laws and treaties on peaceful settlement of conflicts among countries of member states, the methods of dispute settlements, its strengths and weaknesses, and the need to improve the current mechanisms of peaceful settlement in the international community.

Topic 9: The protection of minority shareholders and the majority shareholders' power in Companies, a critical analysis of the Nigerian Companies and Allied Matters Act provisions.

Research Aim: This research will focus on the law’s provisions for protecting minority shareholders in companies and the majority shareholders’ power. How effective are these provisions in protecting the minorities against the management of the majority shareholders, and what is the way forward

More Law Dissertation Topics

Topic 1: world bank developmental projects and greater accountability.

Research Aim: Examine communities impacted by development operations under the World Bank Development project schemes using the project law model to understand the lack of participation and successful influence of these communities to improve accountability and good governance.

Topic 2: The right to bear arms: Rethinking the second amendment

Research Aim: Gun control and the right to bear arms has been an ever-evolving web discourse in the United States. The research aims to analyse how gun control laws have changed in the USA since specifically focusing on the 2nd Amendment and its original framework.

Topic 3: Rethinking the international legal framework protecting journalists in war and conflict zones.

Research Question: Is the current legal framework still appropriate for protecting journalists in today’s conflict zones? Research Aim: The primary body of law that is set out to protect journalists includes the Geneva Conventions and their additional Protocols. However, since the time they were drafted and decades after, there have been conspicuous changes to the way warfare is conducted. It is imperative to examine this body of law in order to improve it, as journalists have now become prime targets in war zones and conflict areas because of their profession.

Topic 4: A critical analysis of the employment law of disabled individuals in the UK and what new policies can be integrated to increase its efficiency.

Research Aim: Employment or labour law has always been under the limelight. Many critiques and researchers have proposed different amendments to the existing law pertaining to labour and employees. The main aim of the research is to critically analyse the employment law of disabled individuals in the UK along with effective recommendations that need to be made in order to make the existing law more efficient and effective.

Topic 5: A critical evaluation of racial discrimination laws in developed countries and how they impact the workplace environment

Research Aim: Racial discrimination has always been a controversial issue in almost every part of the World. However, many developed countries (companies) face severe racial discrimination issues that directly impact their name and brand value. Therefore, this research provides a critical evaluation of racial discrimination laws, particularly in developed countries. Moreover, the research will focus on how racial discrimination laws are impacting the workplace environment.

Topic 6: A comparative analysis of legislation, policy, and guidelines of domestic abuse between the UK and the USA.

Research Aim: Domestic laws basically deal with and provide criminal rules for punishing individuals who have physically or emotionally harmed their own family members. It has been found that many domestic cases of abuse are not reported to the concerned authority. Due to this reason, the main focus of the research is to conduct a comparative analysis of legislation, policy, and guidelines of domestic abuse between the UK and the USA and how effective both countries have been in minimising domestic abuse.

Topic 7: Analysing the negative impact of technology in protecting the intellectual property rights of corporations.

Research Aim: Intellectual property has gained significant importance after the emergence of counterfeit products coming from different parts of the world. It has been found that many factors have motivated the sale of counterfeit products. Therefore, this research aims to analyse the negative impact of technology in protecting the intellectual property rights of products and corporations.

Topic 8: A critical assessment of the terrorism act of 2010 and its impact on Muslims living around the globe.

Research Aim: Since the incident of 9/11, the entire world has been under the pressure of terrorism activities, especially Muslims living around the world. Therefore, this research intends to critically assess the terrorism act of 2010 and its impact on Muslims living around the globe.

Trust Law Dissertation Topics

The trust law requires the settler to meet the three certainties, including the object, intention, and subject matter. As posted to a moral obligation or mere gift, confidence of choice can be best described as clarity of purpose. Some interesting dissertation topics in the field of trust law  are listed below:

  • To investigate the attitude of the courts to trusts supporting political agendas.
  • To identify and discuss principles on which half-secret and full-secret trusts are enforced. Does a literature review highlight circumstances where it is essential to consider whether such beliefs are constructive and expressive?
  • The role and impact of trust law as asset portioning and fiduciary governance
  • From law to faith: Letting go of secret trusts
  • Critical analysis of the statement “Traditionally, equity and the law of trusts have been concerned with providing justice to balance out the rigour of the common law” regarding modern equity development/operation.
  • Should the assumption of resulting trusts and progression be abolished in this modern age? A critical review of the literature
  • A critical examination of the courts’ concern of financial reward in the context of “trustee powers of investment.”
  • Does the doctrine of cypress do justice to the intentions of the testator?
  • The impact of the decision of Harrison v Gibson on the law of the clarity of intention.
  • The approval of trustees in the Zimbabwean law of trusts

Want more?   Read this.

How Can ResearchProspect Help?

ResearchProspect writers can send several custom topic ideas to your email address. Once you have chosen a topic that suits your needs and interests, you can order for our dissertation outline service which will include a brief introduction to the topic, research questions , literature review , methodology , expected results , and conclusion . The dissertation outline will enable you to review the quality of our work before placing the order for our full dissertation writing service!

European Law Dissertation Topics

European law has recently attracted wide attention from the academic world, thanks to the growing influence of European Law on administrative law in EU members. It should be noted that every aspect of life in European states is significantly affected by European law, and therefore, this area of research has gained tremendous popularity. Some exciting and specific research areas are given below:

  • A critical review of the European anti-discrimination Law
  • To investigate the economics and history of European Law.
  • An investigation of the European human rights law
  • Investigating the impact of “Freedom of Speech” on the German economy
  • Investigating the impact of immigration laws on the German economy
  • How the French parliamentary sovereignty has been affected by the European Union
  • Uniform interpretation of European patent law with a unique view on the creation of a standard patent court
  • The impact of European consensus in the jurisprudence of the European court of Human Rights.
  • The impact of the European convention on human rights on international human rights law
  • A critical analysis of the tensions between European trade and social policy
  • To investigate the European Union’s enforcement actions and policies against member countries.
  • European Laws amidst the Brexit process

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Family Law Dissertation Topics

A wide range of topics are covered under the field of family law and the law of children. Essentially, this area of law takes into consideration the registration of marriages, statutory rights concerning marriage, the effects of a decree, void and voidable marriages, the impact of the Human Rights Act, the legal stature of unmarried and married individuals, and the case for reform of UK family law . Other research areas include enforcing financial responsibilities in the Magistrates court, enforcing the arrears of maintenance payments, the award of maintenance, enforcing financial obligations to children or a child, financial orders for children, and the Child Support Act. An extremely intriguing area of law that has gained tremendous popularity in the modern era, some specific  dissertation topics  in this area of law studies are listed below:

  • Investigating therapeutic and theoretical approaches to deal with spouse abuse in light of the UK government’s latest research on domestic violence
  • Unmarried fathers’ access to parental responsibility – Does the current law enforce rights and responsibilities towards children?
  • To study the criminal justice process involving a child witness.
  • The children’s right to participation – Rhetoric or Reality? – A critical review of literature from the past two decades
  • To study the position of unmarried fathers in the UK.
  • Does the UK Family law need a major reform?
  • A critical review of the rights of married women in real estate
  • Child welfare and the role of local authorities
  • To study the legal and social foundations of parenting, civil partnership, and marriage.
  • To examine whether the Child Support Act has positively influenced child maintenance.

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Employment Law Dissertation Topics

Employment and equality law governs the relationship between the government, trade unions, employers, and employees.  Employment and equality law in the UK is a body of law that prevents bias and negative attitudes towards someone based on their ethnicity or race rather than work skills and experience. Some interesting dissertation topics  in this area of law are below:

  • A critical investigation of the right to fair labour practices in the United Kingdom
  • To determine the job’s inherent requirements as a defence to unfair discrimination or a claim – A comparison between the United Kingdom and Canada.
  • The role of the South African Labour Relations Act in providing unhappy staff sufficient protection against unfair dismissals and discrimination at the workplace
  • To investigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on employees’ lives with a focus on unfair dismissal and discrimination.
  • To assess ethnic discrimination in the European Union: Derogations from the ban on discrimination – Sexual harassment – Equal pay for equal value work.
  • To study the international employment contract – Regulation, perception, and reality.
  • To identify and discuss challenges associated with equality at work.
  • A study of the legal aspects of the relationship between employer and employee
  • How influential is the role of trade unions in English employment law?
  • A critical review of discrimination policies in the UK

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Commercial Law Dissertation Topics

Commercial law, also known as business law, is the whole body of substantive jurisprudence applicable to the conduct, relations, and rights of sales, trade, merchandising, and businesses and persons associated with commerce. Important issues of law covered by commercial law include real estate, secured transactions, credit transactions, bankruptcy, banking, and contracts. An intriguing area of law within the UK, specific topics for your law dissertation are listed below:

  • The impact of legislation for the regulation of investment services with EU economic area on the EU financial services market
  • Handling regulatory involvement incorporates organisational structure and strategy.
  • A study of convergence and complementarities concerning international corporate governance
  • How drafting and diffusion of uniform norms can help to harmonise the law of international commercial arbitration?
  • Convergence and adaption in corporate governance to transnational standards in India
  • A critical review of the international commercial arbitration system
  • Analysing the international commercial law on risk transfer
  • The role of the tripartite financial system in the UK on economic development
  • A comparative analysis of European contract law, international commercial contracts law, and English commercial contracts law
  • Is the European contracts law meeting the needs of the commercial community?
  • A critical review of anti-corruption legislation in the UK
  • The problems of director accountability in the UK and the impact of soft and hard law on corporate governance

Criminal and Evidence Law Dissertation Topics

Criminal law  can be defined as a system of law dealing with the punishment of criminals. Criminal evidence, on the other hand, concerns evidence/testimony presented in relation to criminal charges. Evidence can be presented in various forms in order to prove and establish crimes. A wide array of topics can be covered in this subject area. To help you narrow down your research focus, some  interesting topics  are suggested below:

  • The politics of criminal law reform with a focus on lower-court decision-making
  • To understand and establish the historical relationship between human rights and Islamic criminal law
  • Investigating the rights of victims in internal criminal courts
  • The efficacy of the law of rape in order to prevent misuse by bogus victims and to protect rightful victims
  • To assess the criminal law’s approach to Omissions
  • To investigate the issues associated with the identification of the distribution, extent, and nature of the crime
  • A critical review of the Bad Samaritan laws and the law of omission liability
  • How international criminal law has been significantly influenced by the “war on terrors”?
  • The efficacy of modern approaches to the definition of intention in International criminal law
  • The efficacy of the law of corporate manslaughter

Company Law Dissertation Topics

Company law, also known as the  law of business associations , is the body of law that deals with business organisations and their formation, registration, incorporation, governance, dissolution, and administration. Some suggestions for company law dissertation topics are listed below:

  • Developing equity markets in growing economies and the importance of corporate law
  • A critical review of English company law and its effects on member workers and creditors
  • To investigate the essential aspects of corporate law.
  • To study business responsibilities for human rights.
  • Identifying disparities in corporate governance – Theories and Realities
  • The external relations of company groups in Zambian Corporate law
  • To study corporate governance practices concerning minority stakeholders.
  • Establishing and evaluating arguments for and against “stakeholder theory.”
  • The importance of non-executive directors in the British corporate legal system
  • Investigating the regulation of the UK public company

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Intellectual Property and Tort Law Dissertation topics

All forms of legal injury are dealt with under the subject area of tort law. Essentially, tort law helps to establish the circumstances whereby a person may be held responsible for another person’s injury caused by either accident or intentional acts. On the other hand, intellectual property covers areas of law such as copyright, patents, and trademarks. Trademark dissertation topics trademark directive, trademarks act, infringement of trademarks such as revocation, invalidity, and the use of similar marks. Some interesting dissertation ideas and topics  of tort law and intellectual property are suggested below to help your law studies.

  • The efficacy of intellectual property rights in the UK under the influence of European Law
  • The efficacy of UK copyright law concerning the needs of rights users and holders
  • The impact of intellectual property rights on economic development.
  • To investigate the right of confidence in the UK
  • Does the trademark law ensure sufficient protection in England?
  • The impact of European Law on intellectual property rights in the UK
  • The end of the road for loss of a chance?
  • To assess the success ratio of psychiatric injury claims in the UK
  • Should a no-fault system be implemented into UK law, or should the law of negligence apply to personal injury claims?
  • A critical review of economic loss in 21st-century tort law

Human Rights and Immigration Law

The primary objective of human rights and immigration law is to ensure and protect human rights at domestic, regional, and international levels. With the world becoming a global village, human rights and immigration laws have attracted significant attention from academicians and policymakers. Some interesting law dissertation topics in this subject area are suggested below:

  • To assess the efficacy of the common European Asylum system in terms of immigration detention.
  • A historical analysis of Britain’s immigration and asylum policies
  • A critical analysis of immigration policy in Britain since 1990
  • A critical analysis of the right of the police and the public right to protest under PACE 1984
  • The right of prisoners to vote under the European law of human rights
  • Arguments for and against the death penalty in English Law with a focus on human rights treatise
  • A critical analysis of the right to private life and family for failed asylum seekers
  • The impact of UK immigration policies on the current education industry
  • How beneficial the points system has really been in regards to creating a cap in the British immigration system
  • To study the impact of privatisation on immigration detention and related functions in the UK.

More Human Rights Law Dissertation Topics

Pandemic Law Dissertation Topics

Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has become the most trending topic in the world since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic that started in China. Here are some interesting Coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic Law topics that you can consider for your law dissertation.

  • Co-parenting in the coronavirus pandemic: A family law scholar’s advice
  • How San Diego law enforcement operated amid Coronavirus pandemic
  • Pandemic preparedness in the workplace and the British with disabilities act
  • Why, In a pandemic, rumours of martial Law fly despite reassurances
  • Investigating About the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and COVID-19
  • Resources to support workers in the UK during the Coronavirus pandemic
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic:
  • A legal perspective
  • Navigating the Coronavirus Pandemic
  • Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) and employment laws in the UK going forward
  • Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) and employment laws in the US going forward
  • Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) and employment laws in Australia going forward

More Examples of Law Dissertation Topics

  • A critical analysis of the employment law of disabled individuals in the UK and what new policies can be integrated to increase its efficiency
  • A critical evaluation of racial discrimination laws in developed countries and how it impacts the workplace environment
  • A comparative analysis of domestic abuse with the legislation, policy, and domestic abuse guidelines between the UK and USA.
  • Analysing the negative impact of technology in protecting the intellectual property rights of corporations.
  • A critical assessment of the terrorism act of 2010 and its impact on Muslims living around the Globe.
  • Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Legal Practice
  • The Rise of Blockchain Technology in Contract Law
  • The Legal Implications of Gene Editing Technology
  • Data Privacy in the Age of Social Media Surveillance
  • The Impact of Automation on Employment Law
  • The Regulation of Cryptocurrency and its Legal Challenges
  • Cybercrime Investigations and International Cooperation
  • Ethical Concerns of The Use of Big Data in Criminal Profiling
  • The Effectiveness of Rehabilitation Programs for Young Offenders
  • The Legal Challenges of Policing Protests and Demonstrations
  • The Rise of Hate Speech and the Limits of Free Expression
  • The Protection of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in a Globalised World
  • Climate Change Litigation and the Rise of Eco-Justice
  • The Regulation of Microplastics and its Environmental Impact
  • The Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Environmental Protection
  • Marine Protected Areas: Balancing Conservation and Economic Interests
  • The Legal Challenges of Sustainable Development
  • The Role of International Environmental Law in Addressing Climate Change
  • The Regulation of Fintech and its Disruptive Potential
  • The Rise of Mergers and Acquisitions in a Globalised Economy
  • The Legal Challenges of Cross-Border Business Transactions
  • Intellectual Property Rights in the Digital Age
  • The Regulation of Artificial Intelligence in Businesses
  • The Legal Implications of Same-Sex Marriage and Adoption Rights
  • Surrogacy Arrangements and the Rights of All Parties Involved
  • The Changing Face of Family Structures and the Law
  • Child Custody Agreements in International Parental Disputes
  • The Use of Mediation in Family Law Disputes
  • The Rise of Populism and its Challenges to Democratic Institutions
  • The Role of Judicial Review in Holding Governments Accountable
  • The Regulation of Lobbying and its Influence on Policymaking
  • National Security Laws and the Balance Between Security and Liberty

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As a law dissertation student looking to get good grades, it is essential to develop new ideas and experiment with existing law dissertation theories – i.e., to add value and interest to the topic of your research.

The field of law dissertation is vast and interrelated to many other academic disciplines like civil engineering ,  construction ,  project management , engineering management , healthcare , mental health , artificial intelligence , tourism , physiotherapy , sociology , management , project management , and nursing . That is why it is imperative to create a project management dissertation topic that is articular, sound, and actually solves a practical problem that may be rampant in the field.

We can’t stress how important it is to develop a logical research topic based on your fundamental research. There are several significant downfalls to getting your case wrong: your supervisor may not be interested in working on it, the topic has no academic creditability, the research may not make logical sense, and there is a possibility that the study is not viable.

This impacts your time and efforts in writing your dissertation as you may end up in a cycle of rejection at the initial stage of the dissertation. That is why we recommend reviewing existing research to develop a topic, taking advice from your supervisor, and even asking for help in this particular stage of your dissertation.

While developing a research topic, keeping our advice in mind will allow you to pick one of the best law dissertation topics that fulfils your requirement of writing a research paper and add to the body of knowledge.

Therefore, it is recommended that when finalising your dissertation topic, you read recently published literature to identify gaps in the research that you may help fill.

Remember- dissertation topics need to be unique, solve an identified problem, be logical, and be practically implemented. Please look at some of our sample law dissertation topics to get an idea for your dissertation.

How to Structure Your Law Dissertation

A well-structured dissertation can help students to achieve a high overall academic grade.

  • A Title Page
  • Acknowledgements
  • Declaration
  • Abstract: A summary of the research completed
  • Table of Contents
  • Introduction : This chapter includes the project rationale, research background, key research aims and objectives, and the research problems. An outline of the structure of a dissertation can also be added to this chapter.
  • Literature Review : This chapter presents relevant theories and frameworks by analysing published and unpublished literature available on the chosen research topic to address research questions . The purpose is to highlight and discuss the selected research area’s relative weaknesses and strengths while identifying any research gaps. Break down the topic, and binding terms can positively impact your dissertation and your tutor.
  • Methodology : The data collection and analysis methods and techniques employed by the researcher are presented in the Methodology chapter, which usually includes research design , research philosophy, research limitations, code of conduct, ethical consideration, data collection methods and data analysis strategy .
  • Findings and Analysis : Findings of the research are analysed in detail under the Findings and Analysis chapter. All key findings/results are outlined in this chapter without interpreting the data or drawing any conclusions. It can be useful to include graphs, charts and tables in this chapter to identify meaningful trends and relationships.
  • Discussion and Conclusion : The researcher presents his interpretation of the results in this chapter, and states whether the research hypothesis has been verified or not. An essential aspect of this section is establishing the link between the products and evidence from the literature. Recommendations with regard to the implications of the findings and directions for the future may also be provided. Finally, a summary of the overall research, along with final judgments, opinions, and comments, must be included in the form of suggestions for improvement.
  • References : Make sure to complete this according to your University’s requirements
  • Bibliography
  • Appendices : Any additional information, diagrams, and graphs used to complete the dissertation but not part of the dissertation should be included in the Appendices chapter. Essentially, the purpose is to expand the information/data.

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How to find law dissertation topics.

To find law dissertation topics:

  • Research recent legal developments.
  • Explore unresolved issues or debates.
  • Analyse gaps in existing literature.
  • Consider societal or technological influences.
  • Consult professors and peers.
  • Select a topic aligning with your passion and career aspirations.

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Need interesting and manageable tourism and hospitality dissertation topics? Here are the trending tourism and hospitality dissertation titles so you can choose the most suitable one.

Disasters can potentially be quite dangerous to the continued existence of humans on Earth. Therefore, it is crucial to develop fresh, cutting-edge approaches to managing the damage caused by natural disasters.

Today’s healthcare industry requires highly skilled nurses who specialize in critical care. Critical care nurses have a great chance of success as the demand for skilled nurses continues to grow.

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Law: theses & dissertations.

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Access to theses and dissertations from other institutions and from the University of Cambridge

theses

This guide provides information on searching for theses of Cambridge PhDs and for theses of UK universities and universities abroad. 

For information and guidance on depositing your thesis as a cambridge phd, visit the cambridge office of scholarly communication pages on theses here ., this guide gives essential information on how to obtain theses using the british library's ethos service. .

On the last weekend of October, the British Library became the victim of a major cyber-attack. Essential digital services including the BL catalogue, website and online learning resources went dark, with research services like the EThOS collection of more than 600,000 doctoral theses suddenly unavailable. The BL state that they anticipate restoring more services in the next few weeks, but disruption to certain services is now expected to persist for several months. For the latest news on the attack and information on the restoration of services, please follow the BL blog here:  Knowledge Matters blog  and access the LibGuide page here:  British Library Outage Update - Electronic Legal Deposit - LibGuides at University of Cambridge Subject Libraries

A full list of resources for searching theses online is provided by the Cambridge A-Z, available here .

University of Cambridge theses

Finding a cambridge phd thesis online via the institutional repository.

The University's institutional repository, Apollo , holds full-text digital versions of over 11,000 Cambridge PhD theses and is a rapidly growing collection deposited by Cambridge Ph.D. graduates. Theses in Apollo can be browsed via this link . More information on how to access theses by University of Cambridge students can be found on the access to Cambridge theses webpage.   The requirement for impending PhD graduates to deposit a digital version in order to graduate means the repository will be increasing at a rate of approximately 1,000 per year from this source.   About 200 theses are added annually through requests to make theses Open Access or via requests to digitize a thesis in printed format.

Locating and obtaining a copy of a Cambridge PhD thesis (not yet available via the repository)

Theses can be searched in iDiscover .  Guidance on searching for theses in iDiscover can be found here .   Requests for consultation of printed theses, not available online, should be made at the Manuscripts Reading Room (Email:  [email protected] Telephone: +44 (0)1223 333143).   Further information on the University Library's theses, dissertations and prize essays collections can be consulted at this link .

Researchers can order a copy of an unpublished thesis which was deposited in print form either through the Library’s  Digital Content Unit via the image request form , or, if the thesis has been digitised, it may be available in the Apollo repository. Copies of theses may be provided to researchers in accordance with the  law  and in a manner that is common across UK libraries.  The law allows us to provide whole copies of unpublished theses to individuals as long as they sign a declaration saying that it is for non-commercial research or private study.

How to make your thesis available online through Cambridge's institutional repository

Are you a Cambridge alumni and wish to make your Ph.D. thesis available online? You can do this by depositing it in Apollo the University's institutional repository. Click here for further information on how to proceed.    Current Ph.D students at the University of Cambridge can find further information about the requirements to deposit theses on the Office of Scholarly Communication theses webpages.

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UK Theses and Dissertations

Electronic copies of Ph.D. theses submitted at over 100 UK universities are obtainable from EThOS , a service set up to provide access to all theses from participating institutions. It achieves this by harvesting e-theses from Institutional Repositories and by digitising print theses as they are ordered by researchers using the system. Over 250,000 theses are already available in this way. Please note that it does not supply theses submitted at the universities of Cambridge or Oxford although they are listed on EThOS.

Registration with EThOS is not required to search for a thesis but is necessary to download or order one unless it is stored in the university repository rather than the British Library (in which case a link to the repository will be displayed). Many theses are available without charge on an Open Access basis but in all other cases, if you are requesting a thesis that has not yet been digitised you will be asked to meet the cost. Once a thesis has been digitised it is available for free download thereafter.

When you order a thesis it will either be immediately available for download or writing to hard copy or it will need to be digitised. If you order a thesis for digitisation, the system will manage the process and you will be informed when the thesis is available for download/preparation to hard copy.

master of law dissertation

See the Search results section of the  help page for full information on interpreting search results in EThOS.

EThOS is managed by the British Library and can be found at http://ethos.bl.uk . For more information see About EThOS .

World-wide (incl. UK) theses and dissertations

Electronic versions of non-UK theses may be available from the institution at which they were submitted, sometimes on an open access basis from the institutional repository. A good starting point for discovering freely available electronic theses and dissertations beyond the UK is the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) , which facilitates searching across institutions. Information can also usually be found on the library web pages of the relevant institution.

The DART Europe etheses portal lists several thousand full-text theses from a group of European universities.

The University Library subscribes to the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses  (PQDT) database which from August 31 2023 is accessed on the Web of Science platform.  To search this index select it from the Web of Science "Search in" drop-down list of databases (available on the Documents tab on WoS home page)

PQDT includes 2.4 million dissertation and theses citations, representing 700 leading academic institutions worldwide from 1861 to the present day. The database offers full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997 and strong retrospective full text coverage for older graduate works. Each dissertation published since July 1980 includes a 350-word abstract written by the author. Master's theses published since 1988 include 150-word abstracts.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The University Library only subscribes to the abstracting & indexing version of the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database and NOT the full text version.  A fee is payable for ordering a dissertation from this source.   To obtain the full text of a dissertation as a downloadable PDF you can submit your request via the University Library Inter-Library Loans department (see contact details below). NB this service is only available to full and current members of the University of Cambridge.

Alternatively you can pay yourself for the dissertation PDF on the PQDT platform. Link from Web of Science record display of any thesis to PQDT by clicking on "View Details on ProQuest".  On the "Preview" page you will see an option "Order a copy" top right.  This will allow you to order your own copy from ProQuest directly.

Dissertations and theses submitted at non-UK universities may also be requested on Inter-Library Loan through the Inter-Library Loans department (01223 333039 or 333080, [email protected] )

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School of Law

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Choosing a Thesis Topic

Apart from completing course work, LL.M. students are required to prepare and defend a thesis on a subject of law, which is considered novel and requires extensive discussion and analysis of laws, legal principles, and jurisprudence.  The LL.M. thesis must demonstrate the candidate’s original research and scholarship in his or her chosen LL.M. track.    Thesis Requirements

  • Formal Requirements

The LL.M. thesis must be based on a previously approved study proposal, and must contain at least 25,000 words, excluding footnotes. A candidate for the LL.M degree must submit four copies of the completed work to the thesis center on or before the given deadline.

  • Adviser Supervision

LL.M. candidates are required to have their thesis supervised by an adviser from the ALS faculty. Eligible advisers from the faculty must hold post-graduate degrees in law. Students may refer to the thesis center for a list of available faculty members for their chosen concentration.

  •  Thesis Defense

Once the thesis is completed, students are required to defend it before a panel of three (3) persons considered experts in the relevant field of law. The thesis center is responsible for scheduling the defense and arranging the panel, which may be composed of both ALS faculty or outside experts or academics.

The 2018 Revised Thesis Rules can be downloaded  here.  

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Home > T_D > LLM_THESES

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

Redressing the Past to Repair the Present: The Role of Property Law in Creating and Exacerbating Racial Disparities in Wealth and Poverty in Nova Scotia , Melissa Marsman

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

Pushing the First Domino: Freeing the Whales in Canada , Luc Paul Bourgeois

Responsible Business Conduct in The Extractive Industries: Prospect of Respecting Women's Human Rights in Ghana , Veronica Dossah

Putting the Constitutional Horse Before the Cart: Federal Jurisdiction over Next Generation Environmental Assessment , Anna Johnston

Fiscal Decolonization-Indigenous Fiscal Autonomy and Tax Jurisdiction , Riad Kherallah

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

Biosimilars: The Quest for a Rational Regulatory and Intellectual Property Approach in Canada , Elizabeth S. Dipchand

Metaphysics & Morals in Canadian Criminal Justice: A Pragmatic Analysis of The Conflict Between Neuroscience and Retributive Folk Psychology , Sarah Greenwood

Business and Human Rights in the Context of Sanctions: A Road to Filling the Governance Gap , Bahareh Jafarian

Using Canadian Law to Prevent, Respond to and Remedy Maltreatment in Sport: Listening to and Learning from Athletes , Wendy MacGregor

The Province of (Substantive) Legitimate Expectation in Nigeria's Tax Administration: A Law and Policy Evaluation , Okanga Ogbu Okanga

Proposing a Constructivist Approach to Resolving Trade Conflicts Under the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA): A Cross-Jurisdictional Analysis , Oluwayesi Sanni

The Canadian Anti-Doping Program and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms , Kate Scallion

An Analysis of the Human Rights Approach to Climate Change: The Right to a Healthy Environment, Intergenerational Equity and Climate Litigation , Unwana Emmanuel Udo

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

Climate Change in Canadian Environmental Assessment Legislation: Review and Recommendations for Further Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions , Émilie Godbout-Beaulieu

Lest Law Forget: Locke's Toleration and Religious Freedom , Stephen Holt

Sentencing Persons Convicted of Minor Offences in Ghana: Reducing Judicial Over-Reliance on Imprisonment , Nenyo Kwasitsu

Tax Incentives for Attracting Foreign Direct Investment in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Comparative Study of Ghana and Kenya , Patrick Ofori

Just Care: A Relational Approach to Autonomy and Decision Making of Parents Committed to Religious or Indigenous Traditional Practices , Tu-Quynh Trinh

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

Improving the Criminal Justice System in Nigeria Through Restorative Justice: Lessons From Canada and New Zealand , Olaniran Akintunde

Smart Devices in Criminal Investigations: How Section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Can Better Protect Privacy in the Search of Technology and Seizure of Information , Lee-Ann Conrod

Protecting Women's Rights? Prospects Under the UN Human Rights Treaty System: A Case Study on India 2005-2017 , Deepali

The Theoretical Case Against Criminalized Copyright Infringement in Canada , Maria Dugas

Language's Empire: A Counter-Telling of Administrative Law in Canada , Nicholas Hooper

Responsible Investing: Access Denied , Keith MacMaster

Recent Developments in Marine Insurance Law and Consequences for Iran , Mohammad Ali Majd

Game of Tones: A Twail-Analysis of the Evolution and Impacts of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Technology Transfer Regime in Africa , Adebayo Majekolagbe

The Scope of Party Autonomy in International Commercial Contracts: A New Dawn? , Akinwumi Olawuyi Ogunranti

Designing a Robust Tax System for Nigeria: Lessons from an International Perspective , Olukemi Tawoju

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

The Global Fight against Base Erosion and Profit Shifting under the OECD’s Country-by-Country Reporting Rules: A Possible Solution? , Oladiwura Ayeyemi Eyitayo-Oyesode

Towards an Effective Regime Against Online Copyright Infringement in India , Ashwin Ramakrishnan

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

Justified Outbreak: Bringing Together Law, Public Health, and Ethics During an Infectious Disease Emergency , Clark Colwell

A Future For a Forgotten Predator: Assessment of the Global and Regional Legal Frameworks For Protection and Recovery of the Caribbean Sawfishes Pristis Pristis and Pristis Pectinata and Recommendations For the Course Forward , Olga Koubrak

Conformity or Contradiction: International Health Rights in Canadian Courts , Claire McNeil

Modernizing Pakistan's Blasphemy Law as Hate Speech , Farhan Raouf

The Bill of Lading in an Era of Electronic Commerce: Legal Developments and the Reform Options for Nigeria , Kenneth Ugwuokpe

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

The Proportionality Standard and Constitutional Culture: A Comparative Analysis of Rights Adjudication in Canada and the French Republic , James Peter Barry

Conflict of Laws Aspects in Same-Sex Relationships in Africa: A Comparative Study , Solomon Frimpong Amoateng

Improving Claims Resolution: Alternative Processes in Canada's Immigration System , Nicole M. Melanson

Privacy Protection for Mobile Health (MHEALTH) in Nigeria: A Consideration of the EU Regime for Data Protection as a Conceptual Model for Reforming Nigeria's Privacy Legislation , Olufunke Olawumi Salami

Sex Work and the City: Creating Municipal Licensing Regimes for Brothels , Maria K. Powell

Quebec's Bill 1: A Case Study in Anti-Corruption Legislation and the Barriers to Evidence-Based Law-Making , Graham Steele

Theses/Dissertations from 2014 2014

The Exclusion of Improperly Obtained Evidence at the International Criminal Court: A Principled Approach to Interpreting Article 69(7) of the Rome Statute , Michael Madden

Application of the State Immunity Rule in the International Criminal Justice System: Problems Arising and a Critique of Legal Response Mechanisms , Celestine Nchekwube Ezennia

Detainee Rights and State Obligations: Charting the Shoals Facing the Royal Canadian Navy , Darin Reeves

Enduring Powers of Attorney and Financial Abuse of Older Persons: Are Existing Safeguards Sufficient? , Paula Wedge

Theses/Dissertations from 2013 2013

Settlement, Compromise, and Forgiveness in Canadian Income Tax Law , Colin Jackson

Theses/Dissertations from 2012 2012

Science on Law's Terms: Implications of Procedural Legitimacy on Scientific Evidence , Nayha Acharya

Making Informed Consent Work in Nigerian Health Care , Oluchukwu Jacinta Aniaka

Social Networking and the Employment Relationship: Is Your Boss Creeping Up On You? , Michael Keliher

Changing Tactics: Rehabilitating Canadian Justice for Traumatized Veterans , J. Jason Samson

Protecting Minority Shareholders in Civil and Common Law Systems: Canadian, Ukrainian and German Examples , Iushchenko Igor Sergiiovych

Theses/Dissertations from 2011 2011

The Works of Jürgen Habermas: A Tool for Further Understanding the Theory and Practice of Restorative Justice , Audrey Laurel Barrett

Defining the Role of Mature Minors in the Medical Research Consent Process , Isabelle M. A. French

Balancing Developed and Developing State Interests under a Regulatory Framework for Foreign Direct Investment: The Potential of the GATS Model , Tumininu Modupe Laiyemo

Ballast Water Management Convention, 2004: Towards Combating Unintentional Transfer of Harmful Aquatic Organisms and Pathogens , Sabitiyu Abosede Lawal

Are we Flipping Coins with the Liberty of Potentially Dangerous Individuals?: A Comparative Analysis , Sébastien David Martineau

The Beasts in the Jungle: Animal Welfare in International Law , Catherine Sykes

Theses/Dissertations from 2010 2010

Allocation of Fishing Opportunities in Regional Fisheries Management Organizations: A Legal Analysis in the Light of Equity , Maria Cecilia Engler Palma

A New Governance Approach to Designing an Effective Arrangement for the Sustainable Management of Renewable Marine Resources in the Eastern Caribbean States , Kerith Tristan Kentish

Enforcing Idealism: The Implementation of Complementary International Protection in Canadian Refugee Law , Zofia Przybytkowski

A Bitter Pill to Swallow: Canadian Drug Regulation , Michael Duncan Taylor

Theses/Dissertations from 2006 2006

The Rhetoric of Innovation , Matthew Herder

Theses/Dissertations from 2004 2004

Providing Access to Generic Antiretroviral Drugs to People Living With HIV/AIDS in Developing Countries: An Examination of Legal Obligations , Cheluchi Onyemelukwe

Theses/Dissertations from 2002 2002

The International Criminal Court: A Contextual Study of a Nascent Court within the International Criminal Legal System , Ronald Ian MacKay Rennie

Theses/Dissertations from 2001 2001

Reconstructing a Divided Society: Development of Self-Government and Judicial Reform in Kosovo , Sasha Baglay

The Citizen Submission Process of the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation , Jaime Miguel Carreno-Martinez

Finding a Sense of Self in the World: A Process for Overcoming Personal and Collective Alienation after Institutional Abuse , Seetal Kaur Sunga

Theses/Dissertations from 2000 2000

Retrieving the Rejected Stone: Rethinking the Marginalization of the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights , Shedrack Chukwuemeka Agbakwa

Theses/Dissertations from 1999 1999

Women's Equality in the Canadian Criminal Justice System: Something Less than a Fair Shake , P. Michael Cantlon

The Emergence of Integrated Coastal and Ocean Management in Canada's Oceans Act: Challenges of Integrating Fragmented Resource Sectors in Georges Bank, Nova Scotia and Hecate Strait, British Columbia , Gloria Chao

Collective Security and the Legality of the ECOWAS Intervention in the Liberian Civil War , Ikechi Maduka Mgbeoji

Sexual Misconduct of Educators: A Comparison of Decisions of Courts and Tribunals in British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Ontario , Barbara J. Murray

In the Path of Our Ancestors: The Aboriginal Right to Cross the Canada-United States Border , Pamela Palmater

In the Path of our Ancestors: The Aboriginal Right to Cross the Canada-United States Border , Pamela Doris Palmater

Regulation of the International Transport of Packaged Dangerous Goods: The Case for Legislative Integration in a World Convention , Mirsada Stasevic

International Law and the Maritime Carriage of Radioactive Materials: Prospects for the Non-Anthropocentric Greening of International Law , A. Suzette V. Suarez

Prospectus Disclosure and the Role of the Securities Commissions in Ontario and Bangladesh: A Comparative Study , Md. Anowar Zahid

Corporate Control: A Comparative Examination of Corporate Law in Canada and the People's Republic of China , Qin Zhao

Theses/Dissertations from 1998 1998

Recent Challenges to the Protection of Copyright in Literary Works: A Study of Ghana and Canada , Josephine Asmah

The Evolving Duties of Trade Unions Toward their Members: Defining the Duties and Determining the Standards , B. Richard Bell

The Effects of Inadequate Mental Health Resources on the Operation of the Mental Disorder Provisions , Giuseppa Bentivegna

A Matter of Balancing: The Inability to Force Treatment on All Voluntary, Treatment-Incapable Patients in Ontario , Cindy L. Blancher

What a Wonderful World: Multilateral Chemical Management Conventions, Liberalisation Policies and the Chemical Industry , Robin Lynne Cowling

Law on Pollution and Debris from Oil and Gas Drilling and Production Operations Offshore Nova Scotia , Boris B. De Jonge

The Supreme Court of Canada, Parliament and the Charter: Exploring the Limits of the Judicial Function in Criminal Law , Patricia A. Fricker

Use of Discretion in Independent Migrant Selection: A Study of Canadian Immigration Law, Policy and Practice , Philip Lupul

Right to Strike: A Comparison of Canadian and Chinese Law , Tianjiao Yu

Theses/Dissertations from 1997 1997

Effective Environmental Enforcement: The Missing Link to Achieving Sustainable Development , Linda Francis Duncan

Development Projects and Project-Affected Peoples: The Need to Advance Sustainable Development by Establishing an International Development Institutions Inspection Panel to Redress Grievances , Ram Anand Shankar

Theses/Dissertations from 1995 1995

Contaminated Site Liability: The Need for a Remediation Fund , Kathryn Belle Aitkenhead

Dispute Settlement Procedures and the World Trade Organization: A Move Towards an Adjudicative Model , Seema Monga

The Defense of Seaworthiness in Marine Cargo Claims: A Philippine Perspective , Alan Siquijor

Theses/Dissertations from 1994 1994

The Need for a Specialized and Multi-Agency Prosecution Process for Sexual Assault Offences in Nova Scotia , Catherine Cogswell

Theses/Dissertations from 1993 1993

Protecting the Environment During Warfare , Catherine Margaret Campbell

Sortir les fonctionnaires de l'ombre , Michèle L. Caron

The Last Straw: The Impact of Cost Containment in Health Care on Medical Malpractice Law , Timothy A. Caulfield

Corporations and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms: The Dignitarian Exclusion , Timothy Paul Chick

A Comparative Study of Traditional Resource Management and National Legal Systems in North America and the Philippines , Donna Z. Gasgonia

The Regime of International Watercourses and Transboundary Management of the Ganges River Basin , Nahid Islam

The Cat Came Back: The Continued Applicability of Common Law Tort Doctrines in Canadian Maritime Law , William Hastings Laurence

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master of law dissertation

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Dissertation Topics in Law for LLM Students

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  • Updated on  
  • May 9, 2023

Dissertation Topics in Law for LLM Students-03 (1)

The last academic challenge before the completion of your postgraduate degree is a dissertation or thesis. Many students pursuing LLM are often confused while deciding the correct topic for the dissertation as it requires a lot of research. To help you with the dissertation this blog contains ideal law dissertation topics for LLM in India. Keep reading to know more!

This Blog Includes:

How to choose the best dissertation topic, advantages of choosing a good dissertation topic, criminal law dissertation topics, international law dissertation topics, family law dissertation topics, employment law dissertation topics, international commercial law dissertation topics, law dissertation topics india, intellectual property law topics in dissertation, constitutional law topics in dissertation, sports law topics in dissertation, medical law topics in dissertation, commercial law dissertation topics, company law dissertation topics, tort law dissertation topics, eu law dissertation topics, the english legal system and constitutional and administrative law dissertation topics.

A lot of research and hard work is required to decide what is a correct and valuable topic for the dissertation or thesis. It is seen in various students that before graduation the dissertation is the last hurdle in the way. It is advised to pursue a topic after valuable research and most importantly that goes with the student’s interests.

Also Read: Dissertation Topics

There are an array of benefits when you choose a good and valuable dissertation topic. These advantages include:

  • This helps you in the analysis of the topic and deep research.
  • Present you with a program to enhance your investigative skills.
  • In explaining your subject option, you should be prepared to show how your previous research experiences ended up with great knowledge. 
  • You can find a degree of education useful for postgraduate research.

Also Read: Law Entrance Exams: India & Abroad

Criminal law is the body of law regulating crime and criminal activities in India. This proves to be an important topic and is interesting as well. Some of the criminal law dissertation topics are:

  • A Significant Study of Struggle against Girls in India
  • Case Debate on business trial in India
  • An Analysis on Terrorism and Lawlessness Against Infants in India
  • A survey on Legislation against private terrorism in India
  • Significant Evaluation Of Death Cost In India
  • An Analysis of Juvenile Justice System and Order in India
  • The appearance of the group is in the criminal law process
  • The Root Elements of the Infant Mergers
  • White-Collar Crime Law in India
  • Criminology and Criminal Justice

Also Read: How to Write a Dissertation?

International law dissertation is another amazing topic where you can add your relevant thoughts. Some of the unique international law dissertation topics are:

  • What are the significant aspects of collective civil obligations in now’s global order?
  • What are the causes that cause application of foreign order at the state standard also complex?
  • Figure out the very important issues encountered by establishing universal rules.
  • What are the effects of accelerated market restraints on people? Can such a thing be explained?
  • What are global challenges encountered by international businessmen, when installing service projects in third group societies?
  • What are the effects of letting offenders continue to their native land for action?
  • How seeing abuse as a foreign war case will change the position of African people?
  • What are the important challenges encountered by companies that are coming in the global travel industry from the ocean.
  • What universal rules regulate copy? How should this case be corrected?
  • Which governmental law of the UK is sufficiently sufficient to be carried out universally?

Also Read: What is a Dissertation? Meaning, Projects, Report Work

Some of the most important and unique family law dissertation topics are:

  • Separation case for father and female representatives of the group, makes it favour any particular gender or is it merely a sense
  • Matrimonial Act and how it affects women who join without their permission. What is the attitude of decisions about made mergers and how can one explain it in the court of decision
  • Residential part by stepmothers and offspring, how goes on the case provide everybody has their got right and place
  • Youth insurance problems in the unified kingdom, which of the state shows to have very trouble with such arguments and why is it so
  • Adolescent abuse-is it important to discipline your children and youths? What is the perimeter between youth abuse and correcting your children for setting their limits
  • Internal disorder and its effect on the boy and female representatives personally, which of them picks up a greater claim in the mind of order and how can we get rid of that biasness
  • Protection problems for separated mothers, how goes on it go and what goes on the statute have to do about the protection of the child for each mother
  • How looks at the proper form thing if a man is incapable to provide and provide his house owing to lack or scarcity of means
  • Long-distance communications and their fair significance cut off from the spiritual and artistic attitudes
  • Minor job- what are we looking at to abolish it and how goes on our constitutional process set limits and provide that they are found

Employment law dissertation enables you to craft perfect research on your thesis or dissertation. Some of the employment law dissertation topics are:

  • The link between trade and morality in the UK. An academic context.
  • A study of the relationship between sports departments and their service contracts.
  • The effect of variation in the business decisions of the UK after starting the EU.
  • The task of infant employment regulations in the UK. How does the judiciary remain fighting developing youth employment?
  • The influence of civil responsibility service in UK regulations.
  • A study of the market association in the UK study of the business requirements and principles.
  • A provisional review of business decisions in the station waggon part of the UK and EU. Who gets the first job benefit and rights insurance systems?
  • An in-depth study of justice fees in the validities of UK legislation.

Some of the international commercial law dissertations you can choose from are:

  • An assessment of the enemy-pollution bill in the UK. Its origins and effects on the state leaders.
  • A strategic study of the joint cloak and how the decision can pass through it.
  • The performance of UK legislation in affecting joint difficulties while preserving major human rights.
  • A symposium on the differences enveloping the purview of field 33 groups do 2006 in the UK
  • The effects of setting reasonable requirements for the principal’s needs. How does the organisation do well under this?
  • An in-depth assessment of economic regulation programs at attending institutions in the UK.
  • The effect of UNCITRAL’s performance on the unification of universal economic legislation in the UK.

Also Read: How to Write Acknowledgement for Dissertation?

Some of the Indian legal topics you can choose for your dissertation are:

  • Handgun Case in India: Provision of a Different Structure
  •  Animal investigation: Order in India
  • Wire advertising and constitutional structure
  •  Joint Civil Power and change
  • Moral Orders and Cases in producing societies
  • Men Investigations and Indian constitutional practice
  •  Improvement of infants and proper conflict

Some of the catchy and interesting dissertation topics that you can choose as a dissertation topic for law assignment:

  • Scientific advances and present IP rule in India
  • IP rules and the safety of/on Internet
  •  New patent statutes and digitalisation

Also Read: University of Law: Eligibility, Application, Courses & More

Here are some of the finest dissertation or thesis topics for constitutional law dissertation topics are:

  • Accident plans in India: A study
  • Legal exploitation and its interest: An assessment
  • Application of International Cases in Indian Legal Structure
  • Able expression in virtual life and Indian Custom

Also Read: Dissertation vs Thesis

A constantly fascinating subject, sports provides a large range of fields and issues to judge from to create your analysis report. It can deal with universal order, national order, carrying out parties, power, and often better.

Here are some of the finest dissertation (thesis)points on Sports law:

  • Doping and Sports: National and International fair innuendo
  • Legalisation of speculating in India: Law and Cons
  • Handling sports organisations and their constitutional ramifications
  • Transgender animals and Indian Custom

Medical law dissertation is another great topic you can choose from, some of the medical law dissertation topics are:

  • Member retention: Fair experts and cons
  • Miscarriage in India: A global review
  • Made fertilisation: Provision of primary training to find out these matters
  • Supported suicide: Fair, honest and therapeutic ethics
  • Animal torture: A fair claim research

Also Read: Law Courses

Commercial Law is one such topic where a wide area of study is to be covered because it cannot be described within a single legal jurisdiction. A commercial law dissertation often involves comparisons with other countries. Listed below are some topics for Commercial Law Dissertation:

  • A critical assessment of the international commercial arbitration system as a cost-effective and efficient means to administer justice in commercial disputes
  • An assessment of security over personal property when it comes to the matter of possessory and non-possessory forms of security and other legal devices
  • An investigation of the emergence of new manifestations of international commercial law
  • A critical assessment of the passing of risk in the commercial law in England and Wales
  • A critical assessment of the Future of consumer protection in England and Wales in the post-Brexit era

There is a great scope of producing an effective Company Law Dissertation as it provides you with potential sources. From the Companies Act 2006 to corporate governance, you have a lot of options to choose from. Listed below are some great Company Law Dissertation Topics:

  • A critical analysis of the shareholder versus stakeholder basis of corporate governance
  • Arguments for and against ‘stakeholder theory’ and to what extent are they still valid?
  • Should the OECD’s Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital 2010 be ratified into UK Law?
  • To what extent has Environmental Law merged together Vicarious and Corporate Liability
  • Is the English maintenance of the “internal management” model failing to bring company law in the 21st Century?

The word Tort comes from the Latin term torture which means “Wrong”. In simple terms, Tort Law is supposed to address the civil wrongs done to a person, accidentally or incidentally. The victim/injured/aggrieved party is provided with compensation for the damages.

This area of law is one of the most important aspects of law study as it demonstrates the circumstances through which an individual is held accountable for another party’s injury either done intentionally or omissions or even by accident. Listed below are some topics for a Tort Law Dissertation to make it easier for you to draft an effective dissertation:

  • Importance of foreseeability and policy in establishing a duty of care
  • Analysis of the rules regarding the recovery of economic losses in tortious actions
  • When it comes to matters of occupiers’ liability under the Occupiers Liability Acts of 1957 and 1984 respectively, when is a trespasser, not a trespasser?
  • Wrongful Restraint of a man’s Liberty: Meaning, Defense and Remedy
  • Why might the duty of care afforded to children be considered to be a step too far regarding the recognition of tortious liability?

Also Read: All About PhD Thesis

EU Law is considered as an expandable area of academic interest, particularly due to the UK’s recent Brexit from the Union. There is a wide range of dissertation topics you can consider for an EU Law Dissertation, from UK’s Brexit to the superiority of EU Law. Listed below are some great dissertation topics to start with your EU Law Dissertation:

  • Critical Analysis of the UK’s Separation from the EU.
  • Brexit and EU economy: How the UK’s decision has affected EU trade.
  • An argument: Is EU Law actually superior?
  • Importance of the enforcement actions against EU Member States as part of the European law-making process.
  • How has the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950 contributed to the recognition of human rights internationally?

The English Legal System and Constitutional and Administrative Law may be classified into 3 key areas-

  • The nature of the Constitution may be considered in areas including, but not limited to, the recognition and application of conventions and the rule of law. 
  • Evaluation of the roles of the legislature, executive and parliament in the context of the recognition of the separation of powers, which could include legislation’s passage through Parliament, the delegation of legislation, the relationship between Parliament, the crown and the Royal Prerogative, and the executive, legislative and judiciary’s relationship.
  • Judicial Review includes the basis for intervention, such as ultra vires and illegality, procedural irregularity, irrationality, proportionality, and the nemo judex rule.

A number of areas can be covered in this dissertation as the English Legal System and Constitutional and Administrative Law is quite different from other legal systems as the role of the judge differs in an adversarial system. The major difference is in how a trial is pursued. Some topics for an English Legal System and Constitutional and Administrative Law Dissertation are as mentioned below:

  • The Role of natural justice  in the UK Constitution
  • Are conventions still a valid part of the UK Constitution?
  • Is the Royal Prerogative an essential part of the British Constitution?
  • Are the current models of statutory interpretation fit for purpose, especially as the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) infer a more active approach for judges?
  • In what ways will the relationship between constitutional and administrative law in England and Wales be affected by Brexit?

The following are the popular law universities in the world: Harvard University Columbia University Stanford University

Here are some of the finest dissertation or thesis topics for constitutional law dissertation topics are: Accident plans in India: A study Legal exploitation and its interest: An assessment Application of International Cases in the Indian Legal Structure Able expression in virtual life and Indian Custom

The average salary of a lawyer in India is 3.5 Lakh per year.

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Program Deep Dive: Find the Right MSL Concentration for Your Goals

The US Capitol.

GW Law’s Master of Studies in Law (MSL) is a law degree for non-lawyers. It provides insight into the law and skills in applying the law in various contexts across government, nonprofit, and for-profit agencies. The degree prepares managers, administrators, directors, analysts, public policy practitioners paralegals, arbiters, mediators, and tax and insurance professionals (among others) to navigate the legal landscape effectively.  

Students in GW Law’s MSL program can customize their degree by choosing a concentration that aligns with their career goals. Students must consider this choice carefully because their concentration can significantly impact future career opportunities. This article explores each program concentration to help prospective students better understand each concentration’s focus, curriculum, and outcomes. 

Program Overview: Get to Know the MSL Degree 

The MSL, a master’s-level law degree, trains non-lawyers in law-adjacent fields and other occupations in which extensive legal understanding is beneficial. The MSL differs from a Juris Doctor (JD) , a doctoral-level degree that prepares students to practice law and work as lawyers and judges. The MSL benefits students whose careers can benefit from improved legal expertise.

The 24-credit program offers three concentrations. The curricula for each help students understand the law and current legal landscape while developing the skills to identify legal issues, solve problems using legal frameworks, communicate risks, clearly express complex ideas, and write persuasively. Graduates emerge well-prepared to navigate the laws and regulations that apply to businesses, organizations, and other institutions today.

The MSL offers a flexible learning format with part-time and full-time options and the ability to study online or on campus, enabling students to pursue their degrees without interrupting their professional advancement. GW invests in its students’ success by offering robust academic and professional support, including mentorship, networking opportunities, career counseling, and unparalleled access to the nation’s hub of legal and policy activity.

Customize Your Course of Study at GW Law 

The GW MSL features three concentrations :

Government Procurement Law

National security & cybersecurity law.

  • Government Procurement & Cybersecurity Law

Each concentration includes core courses tailored to the chosen field, supplemented by various elective courses that allow students to deepen their knowledge in the concentration area. Customizing your course of study will enable you to examine the laws and regulations that impact your area of interest and set you up for future success. 

Customize Your Degree With a Concentration Tailored to Your Goals

Study part-time or full-time, online, on-campus, or hybrid.

The government procurement law concentration offers a comprehensive view of procurement systems in the U.S. and abroad, exposing students to diverse perspectives on emerging legal issues. Very few schools offer comparable programs; the GW MSL in Government Procurement Law is the best.

  • Students in this concentration learn to navigate the complexities of contracts, ensuring government agencies meet legal compliance requirements for each contracted procurement. Core courses include Formation of Government Contracts, Performance of Government Contracts, Government Contracts Cost and Pricing, and Anti-Corruption and Compliance. 
  • Graduates can pursue opportunities in various government, nonprofit and for-profit sectors. Potential career paths include contracting officer, contracts administrator, program manager, and procurement analyst. 
  • Professionals interested in becoming future leaders and policymakers in the acquisition community domestically and abroad should consider this concentration to gain a rich understanding of how procurement systems operate worldwide. Many students in this concentration have prior experience in government or government-adjacent professions (e.g., the defense or tech industries).

The national security and cybersecurity law concentration explores the use of the internet and technologies, and the sophisticated cyber actors and nation-states who exploit vulnerabilities and develop methods to disrupt essential services.

  • Students in this concentration develop a deep understanding of legal concepts related to national security, cybersecurity, and U.S. foreign relations. Core courses include Introduction to U.S. Law and Legal Writing for MSL Students, National Security Law and Cybersecurity Law and Technology.  
  • Graduates are prepared to work in government agencies, private corporations, and nonprofits as information security analysts, data scientists, computer systems analysts, software developers, public policy practitioners, and computer and information systems managers.
  • This concentration caters to students who want to develop an expertise in legal concepts related to national security, cybersecurity, and U.S. foreign relations law and become equipped to navigate the laws governing these topics. Many students in the program currently work in defense, intelligence, or information technology.

Government Procurement & Cybersecurity Law 

The government procurement and cybersecurity law concentration helps meet the need for cybersecurity professionals within the government procurement process.

  • Students in this concentration explore government contracts, intellectual property law, and cybersecurity law and technology. Core courses include Formation of Government Contracts, Performance of Government Contracts, Government Procurement of Intellectual Property, and Cybersecurity Law and Technology.
  • Graduates work in government agencies, private organizations, and nonprofits as program managers, contracting officers, contracts administrators, procurement analysts, IT auditors, cybersecurity analysts, cybersecurity managers, and penetration and vulnerability testers.
  • This concentration suits professionals who want to develop cybersecurity legal expertise in government procurement contracts and work on issues related to government contracts and national security and cyber threats.

How to Choose the Right Concentration for Your Goals 

Choosing the right concentration represents an essential step in planning your future career. As you explore the available options, consider the following:

  • Self-reflection: Reflecting on your strengths, weaknesses, and areas for growth can help you identify subjects at which you naturally excel, those you find challenging and may want to avoid, and skills you want to develop. Aligning your concentration with your areas of strength and growth can lead to greater success. Still, don’t be deterred from pursuing a subject of interest just because you find it challenging. GW Law is dedicated to students’ success and offers strong academic and professional support to help you thrive. Consider also your interests and passions to find something that will fulfill you personally and professionally.
  • Industry demand: Research the market demand for positions in your field of interest to verify that they are stable and have a positive outlook. You should also examine salaries to understand your earnings potential and ensure they meet your expectations. 
  • Program research: Review the program curriculum for the concentration you are interested in to confirm it aligns with your career goals and can help you develop the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in your desired career. Check the admissions requirements to verify your experience matches the required qualifications, and consider the quality, flexibility and program benefits to ensure it will deliver the education and services you need to succeed.
  • Seek guidance: Speak to trusted mentors, advisors, and industry professionals to gain insights and advice on choosing the right concentration. You can also connect with enrollment support services at GW Law to learn more about program concentrations and how they align with your experience and career goals.

Tailor Your Master of Studies in Law Degree to Your Interests 

Before enrolling in GW’s Master of Studies in Law , consider your experience, career aspirations, interests, and passions to identify the concentration that will give you the foundation for a successful and fulfilling career in your chosen field. Whether you choose a concentration in government procurement law, national security and cybersecurity law, or government procurement and cybersecurity law, you will acquire the legal specialization to guide strategic discussions and decisions. If you want to learn more or need additional support, contact an enrollment advisor for individualized guidance and feedback.

Become a Legal Asset to Your Organization

Gain legal expertise and strategic skills with gw law’s msl.

Tell us about yourself.

Sharing some details will help us customize your experience. A bachelor’s degree is required to attend.

LLM, PG Dip, PG Cert

Llm master of laws (general).

A Master of Laws (LLM) offered by The University of Law, is a postgraduate degree designed for law and non-law graduates to to enhance your academic legal knowledge. With the Master of Laws (General) you can enjoy maximum flexibility in your choice of modules and dissertation topic. The course has been purposely designed to be an innovative, adaptable programme that allows you to customise your studies to suit your preferred areas of interest and can open up a range of career pathways.

Silhouette of Law professionals shaking hands

Entry requirements

Minimum second-class honours degree

Course requirements ➔

Next start date

September 2024, study online.

If you’re looking for a more flexible approach to your studies, why not consider our online study option?

The law in context

An innovative programme with maximum flexibility in the choice of modules and a dissertation topic of legal rules as they are applied in the real world.

Our Employment Stats

  • 94% of postgraduates were in employment or further study 15 months after graduating (2021/22 Graduate Outcomes data). Contains HESA Data: Copyright Jisc 2024.

Taught by subject experts

Taught by a combination of former and current practitioners, as well as research and teaching academics who are focused on legal practice, not just theory.

Course Details

The Master of Laws (General) LLM programme is designed for those who desire flexibility in the choice of modules and dissertation topic while studying. The programme design means that you can choose modules based on the criteria most important to you. Whether you have a particular career goal in mind, or are studying for pure enjoyment, the Master of Laws (General) programme allows you maximum control over your degree. You can also choose to study our Postgraduate Certificate Law (General) or our Postgraduate Diploma Law (General).

When you study the LLM Master of Laws (General) with us you will:

  • Be taught by our expert lecturers , including subject matter specialists, former and current practitioners, and research and teaching focused academics. 
  • Benefit from strategic partnerships with firms, regulators and accreditation bodies, which inform our programme development.
  • Improve your employability by gaining important transferable skills and mapping your career with our careers team.
  • Strengthen your network – connect with other students, faculty and industry professionals on an international scale, and seek out opportunities for future placements and job opportunities
  • Increase your earning potential – the 2023 Graduate Labour Market Statistics found that postgraduates on average earn £5,000 more than their graduate counterparts.
  • Get ahead of the competition – gain in-depth knowledge of your topic of interest and become a subject expert, which will provide you with a competitive edge in the job market.
  • Enjoy flexibility - We understand that everyone’s circumstances are different. That’s why we offer a wide range of study modes (full-time, part-time, on campus, online) across our courses to provide you with the greatest choice and flexibility you need to succeed in your studies. 
  • Prepare for the future of Legal Technology – study modules in legal technology and gain insight into this emerging area of law.
  • Enjoy maximum flexibility - the course has been purposely designed to be an innovative, adaptable programme that allows you to  customise your  studies to suit your preferred areas of interest.

Our flexibly structured course is delivered by qualified lawyers and research and teaching focused academics, bringing their expertise and experience into the classroom to provide you with the real-world insight that can help prepare you for the practical application of the law.

Please note that, due to Home Office regulations, students who require a Student Route visa to study with us are not permitted to study online and can only choose face-to-face taught modules.

Course Structure

  • The Postgraduate Certificate Law (General), (PGCert), can be studied part-time over 35 weeks or full-time over 18 weeks.
  • The Postgraduate Diploma Law (General), (PGDip), can be studied part-time over 74 weeks or full-time over 35 weeks.
  • The LLM Master of Laws (General) can be studied part-time over 24 months or full-time over 12 months.

Postgraduate Certificate Law (General)

Term 1 (full-time) or 1-2 (part-time)

In addition to a general induction to the programme, there is a two-week induction covering the Key Principles of the English Legal System. This is compulsory for non-law students, but also open to law students wanting a refresher in the fundamentals of the law of England and Wales. This would be useful for any student who has taken a considerable break from legal education.

You may then choose two elective modules*

View the elective module guide

*All elective modules are subject to availability

Postgraduate Diploma Law (General)

Please note: This course is not our Postgraduate Diploma in Law (PGDL) conversion course , which provides a pathway into practice for non-law graduates who want to progress onto further study to qualify as a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales.

Terms 1-2 (full-time) or 1-4 (part-time)

You may then choose four elective modules*

Terms 1-3 (full-time) or 1-6 (part-time)

Terms 1-2 or 1-4:

You will complete:

  • Research Methods Training to help you prepare for your dissertation

You may then choose four (two per term) elective modules*

Term 3 or 5-6

Dissertation in one of your Elective Module subject areas.

Course Start Dates

  • Full-time: Birmingham, London Bloomsbury, London Moorgate, Manchester and Nottingham
  • Part-time: Birmingham, London Bloomsbury, London Moorgate, Manchester and Nottingham

February 2025

  • Full-time: Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, London Bloomsbury, London Moorgate, Manchester and Nottingham
  • Part-time: Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, London Bloomsbury, London Moorgate, Manchester and Nottingham

Study LLM Master of Laws (General) Online starting September 2024 or February 2025

Make an Enquiry

Course requirements.

The course demands show you the requirements, prior knowledge and commitments our course will involve.

Find out more ➔

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Study Online

If you’re looking for the perfect combination of a flexible study programme to fit around your other commitments together with the benefit of our expertise, experience and employability focus, why not consider our online study option?

LLM Master of Laws (General) Online ➔

study online

open days Upcoming Dates

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Course Information

  • Course dates

Application and booking deadlines vary by intake - take a look at our key  application and enrolment deadline dates  for more information.

With so many options for studying this course, you can be sure to find a start date and study option to suit your needs.

Calendar

Modules are assessed by a three hour unseen written examination or 4,500 word coursework assignment.

All assessments are conducted online.

The dissertation module will be assessed by submission of a thesis (15,000 words), and provides an opportunity for sustained, in-depth and intensive investigation into, and reflection upon, your chosen specialist area.

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The course has an innovatively flexible structure, with specific assessments that are conducive to effective learning.

The approach to learning and teaching on the Master of Laws programmes is predominantly learner-centred. Each taught module is divided into a number of Units which are presented using the Prepare, Engage, Consolidate approach.

Prepare : this represents all the work the student needs to complete before attending the relevant workshop. Traditional lecture content will be presented in short bite-sized segments of approximately 10 minutes to better engage the modern student. Guided independent research and reading will be expected as part of a student’s preparation.

Engage: this represents the interactive element of the Unit. This could be a face to face workshop, a synchronous online workshop or an asynchronous online activity.

Consolidate: this represents the final part of the Unit and can be used by students to check their understanding of the Unit immediately after their Engage activity or as part of their revision for the module or both.

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Employability We Set You Up For Success

We care about your career, which is why we offer support with job applications and other work experience opportunities as soon as you accept your place.

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Find a career that suits you

Fees and applying.

  • How to Apply
  • Fees and Funding
  • International

You can apply for this course directly with the University.

This course cannot be chosen to study alongside our Legal Practice Course (LPC). For more information on the choice of Master's to study alongside our LPC, please visit the LPC page .

Please note: Our Master of Laws (LLM) programmes are not a direct route to qualification as a Barrister or Solicitor in the UK.

Please note: Our Hong Kong courses are not yet open for applications. If you are interested in finding out more about studying in Hong Kong , please register your interest today.

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2024/25 Course Fee (for courses starting on or after 1 July 2024)

PGCert Law (General)

Domestic students London: £4,550 Outside of London: £4,000 Non-domestic students London: £6,200 Outside of London: £5,700

PGDip Law (General)

Domestic students London: £9,000 Outside of London: £8,000 Non-domestic students London: £12,400 Outside of London: £11,400

LLM Master of Law (General)

Domestic students London: £13,450 Outside of London: £11,900 Non-domestic students London: £18,500 (or £15,500 including a £3,000 International Bursary*) Outside of London: £17,000 (or £14,500 including a £2,500 International Bursary*)

* Terms and Conditions apply

By studying a Master's degree you could be eligible for a Postgraduate Loan .

If you’re a ULaw alumnus, you may be eligible to receive our £1000 Academic Master's Alumni Discount .

We also have a range of scholarships and bursaries available which make studying with us more affordable than ever. 

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We have students from over 120 different countries throughout our campuses, with a dedicated team to help international students.

If you are an international student and are coming to the UK to study, then you must apply to the Home Office for a visa. In most cases you will need to obtain a Student Route visa . In order to apply for this visa you must be sponsored by an education provider which is licensed by the UK Home Office.

The Home Office has also introduced a Graduate Work visa which allows Graduates to work flexibly, switch jobs and develop their career in the UK for 2 years post completion of a UK degree. The Graduate route is an unsponsored visa, meaning students will not need a job offer to apply for this visa.

Please note that the University does not currently provide visa sponsorship to students for part-time study. We also cannot sponsor students for online courses due to Home Office regulations.

We offer this course with Pre-sessional English for students who need to improve their English language level to meet the language entry requirements. Take a look at our English Language Courses page for more details.

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Dissertations & Theses

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  • Research Examination
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Degree by Dissertation

The Faculty of Law offers dissertation-only Masters and PhD programmes. While much of the information applies to both levels, each degree type has specific requirements, regulations and guidelines. All of this information is provided at the menu links. 

A full guide for Masters and Doctoral theses is available here and should be read in conjunction with the other downloads provided on the pages relevant to your degree type.

Coursework & Dissertation

In addition to the research-only LLM, MPhil and PhD options, students can consider a coursework-based LLM with a mini-dissertation. This is referred to as a Coursework & Dissertation masters (or C&D). Information is provided at the menu links about rules, regulations and guidelines for mini-dissertations.

IMAGES

  1. How To Write A Law Dissertation? Structure And Writing Help By Law

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  2. LAW DISSERTATION LITERATURE REVIEW

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  3. 237 Law Dissertation Topics To Inspire Your Best Writing

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  4. Sample Phd Thesis Proposal Law : Steps To Creating Top Notch Dissertation

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  5. A guide to the structure of the law dissertation introduction

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  6. How to write the best law dissertation

    master of law dissertation

COMMENTS

  1. HLS Dissertations, Theses, and JD Papers

    The Master of Laws ("LL.M.") degree has been awarded since 1923. Originally, the degree required completion of a major research paper, akin to a thesis. Since 1993, most students have the option of writing the LL.M. "short paper." This is a 25-page (or longer) paper advised by a faculty supervisor or completed in conjunction with a seminar.

  2. Writing a Masters Law Dissertation

    Writing a Dissertation at LLM level. For many students the completion of writing their Masters dissertation may well be the first occasion that they have been faced with writing such a lengthy, independently researched piece. It can be a daunting prospect but with careful planning and consideration students should be able to focus and adapt their ideas and arguments in order to obtain a high ...

  3. Legal Dissertation: Research and Writing Guide

    This guide contains resources to help students researching and writing a legal dissertation or other upper-level writing project. Some of the resources in this guide are directed at researching and writing in general, not specifically on legal topics, but the strategies and tips can still be applied. The Law Library maintains a number of other ...

  4. Stanford Law School's Theses and Dissertations Collection

    Collection Description. This collection contains Stanford Law School Students' theses and dissertations written to fulfill the academic requirements for advanced degrees. Historically, the collection of Theses and Dissertations were produced as part of the requirement coursework for receiving a Master of Laws (1933-1969), a Juris Doctor (1906 ...

  5. Writing A Law Dissertation Methodology

    This method of dissertation research aims to reduce the study of law to an essentially descriptive analysis of a large number of technical and co-ordinated legal rules to be found in primary sources. The primary aim of this method of research is to collate, organise and describe legal rules and to offer commentary on the emergence and ...

  6. LLM Theses and Essays

    LLM Theses and Essays. The LL.M. Thesis and Essay Series provides access to the theses and essays completed by LL.M. candidates at the University of Georgia School of Law. The LL.M. candidates produced a required thesis until 2007, with the thesis being replaced by an optional LL.M. Essay beginning in 2008. Each paper is a substantial work of ...

  7. Stanford Law School's Theses and Dissertations Collection

    This series consists of dissertations produced by Stanford Law School's candidates in the Doctor of the Science of Law or the Doctor of Jurisprudence programs during the years of 1996 to 2010. Each dissertation is original research that each individual submit to a committee of Stanford law professors to prove that they add substantial ...

  8. Collection: Theses And Dissertations

    The Master of Laws (LL.M.) is the second level professional law degree after the J.D. It is a one-year advanced post-graduate degree program that specializes in a specific area of the law, and requires a J.D. as a prerequisite. The Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) is the highest degree offered by Georgetown Law.

  9. Writing a Postgraduate Dissertation in Law at Masters Level

    Abstract. This paper offers guidance to law students about to write a postgraduate dissertation on a taught Masters programme. This complements the webpage on writing law essays on conlawfiles.org but is intended more for postgraduate law students on a Masters programme who are writing a substantial 10-20,000 word dissertation. undefined.

  10. Law dissertations : a step-by-step guide

    Abstract. Law Dissertations: A Step-by-Step Guide provides you with all the guidance and information you need to complete and succeed in your LLB, LLM or law-related dissertation. Written in a simple, clear format and with plenty of tools to help you to put the theory into practice, Laura Lammasniemi will show you how to make writing your law ...

  11. Law thesis and dissertation collection

    Worldmaking powers of law and performance: queer politics beyond/against neoliberal legalism . Prado Fernandes, André (The University of Edinburgh, 2022-12-15) This thesis examines the worldmaking powers of the law and of performances, two crucial sites/strategies of historical importance for LGBT and queer activists and artists.

  12. W800

    The law dissertation. The law dissertation is the final module in our Master of Laws (LLM). The content of the module has been designed to support you in developing and completing your own research project. This must be based on a legal topic related to one of the individual LLM law modules and linked to one of the themes (international ...

  13. Thesis-Intensive LLM

    The thesis-intensive LLM offers law graduates the opportunity to demonstrate advanced legal scholarship, through the writing of a long or short masters-level dissertation. Students can write a thesis of between four (45 pages or 13,000 words) and 16 credits (175 pages or 52,000 words), see the thesis-intensive LLM Degree Requirement webpage for ...

  14. Law Dissertation Topics and Titles

    More Law Dissertation Topics. Topic 1: World Bank developmental projects and greater accountability. Topic 2: The right to bear arms: Rethinking the second amendment. Topic 3: Rethinking the international legal framework protecting journalists in war and conflict zones.

  15. Law: Theses & Dissertations

    The database offers full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997 and strong retrospective full text coverage for older graduate works. Each dissertation published since July 1980 includes a 350-word abstract written by the author. Master's theses published since 1988 include 150-word abstracts.

  16. Thesis

    The LL.M. thesis must demonstrate the candidate's original research and scholarship in his or her chosen LL.M. track. The LL.M. thesis must be based on a previously approved study proposal, and must contain at least 25,000 words, excluding footnotes. A candidate for the LL.M degree must submit four copies of the completed work to the thesis ...

  17. Law Dissertation Topics

    Example dissertation topic. Last modified: 3rd Oct 2019. This law area has 12 dissertation topics and ideas on tort, intellectual property and media law. Please use this material to help you in your law studies and to help craft your very own dissertation topic.... Browse through our latest law dissertation topics.

  18. LLM Theses

    Theses/Dissertations from 2015. PDF. The Proportionality Standard and Constitutional Culture: A Comparative Analysis of Rights Adjudication in Canada and the French Republic, James Peter Barry. PDF. Conflict of Laws Aspects in Same-Sex Relationships in Africa: A Comparative Study, Solomon Frimpong Amoateng. PDF.

  19. Law Dissertation Topics for LLM students

    Here are some of the finest dissertation or thesis topics for constitutional law dissertation topics are: Accident plans in India: A study. Legal exploitation and its interest: An assessment. Application of International Cases in the Indian Legal Structure. Able expression in virtual life and Indian Custom.

  20. PDF Thesis Dissertation Handbook

    • The title page format is identical for dissertations and theses with the exception of the first line in the center block of text, where you would type either "A Thesis" or "A Dissertation" • Check the LSU General Catalog, "Graduate Professional Degree Programs," for the correct name of your degree and department.

  21. PDF Guidelines for Writing the Master's Thesis Master European Law & Master

    The thesis will eventually be assessed by two examiners: the thesis supervisor and - during the master's examination - a second lecturer, who together constitute the ad hoc examination commission. 3. If the thesis meets the set requirements, it will be approved. 4. The thesis will be defended during the master's examination before the ...

  22. Program Deep Dive: Find the Right MSL Concentration for Your Goals

    The MSL, a master's-level law degree, trains non-lawyers in law-adjacent fields and other occupations in which extensive legal understanding is beneficial. The MSL differs from a Juris Doctor (JD), a doctoral-level degree that prepares students to practice law and work as lawyers and judges. The MSL benefits students whose careers can benefit ...

  23. LLM Master of Laws (General)

    A Master of Laws (LLM) offered by The University of Law, is a postgraduate degree designed for law and non-law graduates to to enhance your academic legal knowledge. With the Master of Laws (General) you can enjoy maximum flexibility in your choice of modules and dissertation topic. The course has been purposely designed to be an innovative ...

  24. Dissertations & Theses

    Degree by Dissertation The Faculty of Law offers dissertation-only Masters and PhD programmes. While much of the information applies to both levels, each degree type has specific requirements, regulations and guidelines. All of this information is provided at the menu links. A full guide for Masters and Doctoral theses is available here and should be read in conjunction with the other ...

  25. PDF The National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi

    the requirement for the award of Degree of Masters of Laws in Constitutional Law and Administrative Law to the National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi under my guidance and supervision. It is also affirmed that the dissertation submitted by her is original, bona fide and genuine. Dr. Sandeep M.N. Guide and Supervisor

  26. August 30, 2024

    The Department of Law and Legal Studies is pleased to announce the Masters of Arts thesis defence of M.A. Legal Studies candidate Sumaya Mussa BA (Honours) Carleton University, 2021 How Inclusion Caused Division: A Critical Examination of Muslim Mothers' Resistance to EDI Approaches in Ontario Public Schools More details are available on the Departmental notice: […]