LLM in Advanced Legislative Studies
Overview
The LLM in Advanced Legislative Studies (ALS) builds upon existing resources and staff experience in postgraduate tuition in the field of legislative drafting at the Sir William Dale Centre for Legislative Studies at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies. This LLM is a response to the frequent demand – from students as well as from foreign government departments – for a UK-based postgraduate taught programme in the field of legislative drafting in its broader sense.
Legislative drafting is often perceived as a technical skill, which one learns on the job. The view of the Sir William Dale Centre, as eloquently put by its founder and its staff in numerous publications, has always been that legislative drafting encompasses the theoretical analysis and practical application of the whole process of legislating. Legislative drafting has evolved to become the bedrock of political, economic and social transformation. It is still, however, relatively unexplored as an academic discipline. The LLM examines issues related to the legislative process, constitutional law, the methods of drafting in a modern democratic context, legislative ethics and law reform.
LLM in Advanced Legislative Studies is also offered via distance learning (DL).
The LLM in ALS via DL includes a compulsory week-long intensive residential course in London. This gives students a chance to meet the tutors and other students, and to start their studies with the maximum level of support.
Teaching methods for the remainder of the course include extensive online materials per session, such as PowerPoint presentations, hand-outs, and a number of academic sources for essential and further reading; online discussions with tutors and fellow students on the traditional LLM and the LLM via DL; private reading and independent research; individual tuition and support via email for coursework and dissertation for which a dissertation supervisor is assigned.
Structure
LLM in ALS - Degree code: JTALS | Credit value: 180
LLM in ALS via DL - Degree code: JTDIL | Credit value: 180
The LLM is divided into two pathways: the Common Law Direction and the EU Direction.
The Common Law Direction offers:
- Comparative Legislative Studies 1 and 2
- Legislative Drafting 1 and 2
- Themes of Legislative Studies 1 and 2
The EU Direction offers:
- EU Legislative Studies 1 and 2
- Legislating for EU Membership and Accession (Jean Monnet module)
- Theories of European Integration (Jean Monnet module)
- Themes of Legislative Studies 1 and 2
Plus a dissertation of 10,000-15,000 words
Students take all modules from the selected pathway and the dissertation.
Assessment
Assessment is by coursework, namely by two written essays of 3,500 words each for each of the courses of the LLM. For the two modules students are assessed by one essay of 5,000 words. The pass mark for all examinations and the dissertation will be fifty per cent (50%), the Merit Award will be between 65 and 69% and the mark for Distinction will be seventy per cent (70%), as required by Regulation 10.25 of the Regulations for Taught Masters Degrees.
Mode of study
12 months full-time or 24 months part-time.
Part-time students take four modules in the first year of study, and two modules and the dissertation in the second year of study.
LLM via distance learning: 24 months part-time only. Part-time students take four modules in the first year of study, and two modules and the dissertation in the second year of study.
Careers
The majority of students taking the LLM in Advanced Legislative Studies are legislative drafters, law professionals, government legal officers or consultants in the field of legislative drafting and legislative studies. Some are graduates of law, politics, government or other relevant disciplines who are interested in seeking employment in government, international institutions or international law and consultancy firms. In the past the LLM has been successfully used as a qualification for employment or promotion in government or the non-governmental sector. The vast majority of our graduates are currently employed either in government (local or central) as drafters/legal officers or as drafters in law firms.
What our students say
"The legislative studies programme is an innovative course which caters for the lacuna in academic institutions around the world in much-needed training in legislative studies. I am glad to have taken part in this programme and the experience I have gained will transform me into a better drafter. The course is professionally organised, from the material offered through to teaching methods applied, and I would recommend this LLM to all drafters, regardless of their experience and background."
Mookamedi Morwaagole (Botswana)
