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The LLM in Drafting Legislation, Regulation, and Policy offers a unique opportunity for drafters, legal officers, policy makers, and those interested in the process of law-making and in drafting to study the legislative environment and legislation as a tool for regulation. 

This programme is based at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS), a member institute of the School of Advanced Study, University of London. 

The programme aims to promote an understanding of the principles of legislative studies and an in-depth awareness of what constitutes legislative quality and how this can be achieved. Legislative drafting is often perceived as a technical skill that one learns on the job. The view of the Institute’s Sir William Dale Centre for Legislative Studies is that legislative drafting is a practical discipline requiring awareness of the theoretical principles of drafting along with experience on the job. 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 relevant to common law and civil law jurisdictions related to the policy process, the legislative process, and the drafting process

The programme is not prescriptive and allows you to naturalise your knowledge and apply it in your own national environment. Capped class numbers allow individualized tuition. Alumni are usually employed by governments and international organizations. 

This course is also available to study via distance learning from anywhere in the world.

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Key Information

Degree overview

The LLM in Drafting Legislation, Regulation, and Policy (formerly Advanced Legislative Studies) has been offered by the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies with considerable success since 2004. The programme can be studied at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in London or by distance learning from a location anywhere in the world.

To find out more about the course, download our programme specification

How will this course benefit me?

You'll benefit from a collaborative, interdisciplinary research environment as well as a range of funding opportunities. SAS is a national research hub and IALS enjoys close links with its other members, including the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, the Institute of Modern Languages Research and the Institute of Historical Research. Cross-institute collaboration is actively encouraged, making us an ideal location for interdisciplinary research.

You'll be able to use the libraries of other colleges, in addition to Senate House Library and IALS’s outstanding law library.

In addition to a rich programme of discipline-specific research training, you will also have access to a wider training programme that draws on the research and teaching expertise of the other SAS institutes and the University of London. Our workshop programme of generic research and transferable skills training provides the transferable and employability skills necessary for careers in academia and elsewhere. 

Modules and structure

Core Modules

  • LLM Research Methods Training
  • Comparative Legislative Studies 1 
  • Comparative Legislative Studies 2
  • Legislative Drafting 1 
  • Legislative Drafting 2
  • The Theory and Practice of Regulation 

Dissertation

  • 15,000 word dissertation

Please note that we are currently reviewing the structure and content of this programme and may introduce some additions and enhancements.

Teaching, learning and assessment

If you are based in London can undertake the LLM on either a full- or part-time basis. 

If you study for the LLM on campus in London, you will participate in lectures, seminars, and face-to-face discussions with tutors and other students.

If you are based elsewhere, or cannot follow the taught programme in London, must undertake the two-year, part-time distance learning programme.

Part-time study consists of four modules in the first year of study and two modules and the dissertation in the second year of study.

 If you study by distance learning, you will receive access to extensive materials delivered online and by email, and participate in online discussions with tutors and other students.

About the institute

The Institute of Advanced Legal Studies was founded in 1947. It was conceived and is funded as a national academic institution, attached to the University of London, serving all universities through its national legal research library. Its function is to promote, facilitate and disseminate the results of advanced study and research in the discipline of law, for the benefit of persons and institutions in the UK and abroad.

The institute is engaged in a broad range of activities in the promotion and support of legal research in its widest sense. IALS serves its various constituencies of researchers, nationally and locally, both at Charles Clore House on Russell Square in Bloomsbury, featuring its national legal research library, through its digital free-to-internet resources, and through its outreach activities around the country. The Institute has an inclusive approach to legal studies embracing the theoretical basis of law, the sources and documentation of the law, and the direct impact of law on human lives.

Entry requirements

The normal minimum entrance requirement is a First or Upper Second Class Honours degree from a university in the UK, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.

We will consider applications from candidates who do not meet the formal academic requirements but who offer alternative qualifications and/or relevant experience. Applicants are not required to have a law degree nor a professional qualification in law. 

English is the language of instruction and applicants are required to demonstrate an appropriate level of proficiency.

Find out more about our entry requirements

How to apply

For more information on how to apply, including deadlines and the documentation you will need to provide on the application form, visit our How to Apply page.

Careers and further study

The LLM is designed to meet your needs if you are seeking a career in legislative drafting or already working as a legislative drafter, or if you want a career in, or are already working for, organisations that produce different types of draft normative acts.

Many of our students are mid-career drafters employed by government (for example, by AG Chambers, the Ministry of Justice, or other ministries). We also have students who work for or aim to work for NGOs that propose normative acts to governments.

The LLM is also a good choice for students who are looking to go on to complete a PhD in Law. Our PhD graduates are pursuing successful careers in a variety of professions, including academia, legal practice, public sector, and civil society

Study your LLM in Drafting Legislation, Regulation and Policy from anywhere in the world

The School of Advanced Study is a unique environment in which to study the humanities.  The School strives to reflect the latest developments in thinking across the humanities disciplines it supports and to ensure that its programmes reflect this.   We are also aware that the needs of our students are constantly changing.  With that in mind, the School continually reviews the its programmes and, as part of that process, reserves the right to alter or discontinue them. 

We assure you that we carry out these exercises at no detriment to any enrolled students. Students enrolled on any programme that we discontinue will be able to complete that programme within a reasonable timeframe and with all the necessary resources at their disposal. The School will communicate any anticipated changes with students as early as possible.