Overview and entry requirements
The SOAS LLM in International Commercial and Economic Law is designed for law graduates and practicing lawyers who would like to acquire in-depth knowledge of the commercial world. Whether you want to join a commercial law firm or become an in-house counsel at a multinational company, or just want to know more about international commercial and economic law, this programme will provide you with the necessary knowledge to achieve your potential.
See School of Law
Why study LLM International Commercial and Economic Law at SOAS
- we are UK Top 20 and World Top 200 for Law (QS World University Rankings 2021)
- our research publications have been rated first in the UK - and our School of Law rated sixth in the UK - in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021
- this programme examines commercial and economic law from an international and comparative perspective
- it explores the legal, political and social aspects of commercial and economic law in the common and civilian law systems and covers the developed and developing worlds
- it provides students with a solid understanding of the legal context within which multinational enterprises operate and the dynamics of international trade
- it offers an opportunity to develop critical awareness of international investment law, intellectual property, law of Islamic finance and settlement of international commercial disputes
- modules are taught by leading scholars in the field and guest lectures are delivered by experienced practitioners.
- this programme is ideal for LLB graduates or legal professionals with an interest in the theory and practice of commercial law. You will join an international body of SOAS alumni many of whom are now working in international commercial law firms, as in-house counsel at some of the major multinational companies, in policy or in academia
Please note that the LLM is restricted to applicants who hold an UK law degree or international equivalent. If you do not hold a law degree but are interested in pursuing a master’s degree in law at SOAS, please see details of the MA here.
Explore
Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings
Start of programme: September intake only
Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time
Entry requirements
- We will consider all applications with a Bachelor of Laws with 2:2 (or international equivalent). In addition to degree classification we take into account other elements of the application such as supporting statement. References are optional, but can help build a stronger application if you fall below the 2:2 requirement or have non-traditional qualifications.
Please see our 'postgraduate entry requirements' page for Overseas and EU qualifications and equivalencies.
- duration:
- One calendar year (full-time)
Two, three or four years (part-time, daytime only)
We recommend that part-time students have between two-and-a-half and three days a week free to pursue their course of study.
Fees 2022/23
UK fees:
- £17,000
- Overseas fees:
- £24,650
Fees for 2022/23 entrants. This is a Band 3 fee. The fees are per academic year. Please note that fees go up each year. Further details can be found on the Postgraduate tuition fees page
Structure
Students must take modules to a total value of 180 credits, consisting of a dissertation (60 credits) and 120 credits of taught modules. Taught modules are worth either 15 or 30 credits. Students who wish to graduate with a specialised LLM are required to take at least 60 credits associated with their specialised LLM, and the dissertation topic will be undertaken within the LLM specialisation.
Please note: Not all modules listed will be available every year. Please see the individual module page for information.
Dissertation
Dissertation (12,000 words), on a topic related to the specialism of the degree
Taught Component
Students take the following compulsory modules
AND
- Choose modules from List A to the value of 60 credits
- Choose modules from List A and List B OR from Postgraduate Open Options to the value of 30 credits
List A (subject to availability)
List B (subject to availability)
Module |
Code |
Credits | Term |
Availability |
Gender, Law and Society in The Middle East and North Africa |
15PLAH056 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Gender, Sexuality and Law: Selected Topics |
15PLAH061 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Gender, Sexuality and Law: Theories and Methodologies |
15PLAH062 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Human Rights and Islamic Law |
15PLAC150 |
30 |
Full Year |
International Commercial Arbitration |
15PLAC153 |
30 |
Full Year |
International Investment Law |
15PLAH063 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Law and Development in Africa |
15PLAC160 |
30 |
Full Year |
Law and Society in Southeast Asia |
15PLAH049 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Law, Rights & Social Change |
15PLAH064 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Preliminary Law, Legal Reasoning and Legal Methods |
15PLAC162 |
0 |
Term 1 |
International Migration Law |
15PLAH068 |
15 |
Term 2 |
International Refugee Law |
15PLAH069 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Law, Religion, and the State in South Asia |
15PLAC129 |
30 |
Full Year |
Law, Environment and Social Justice |
15PLAH067 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Colonialism, Empire and International Law |
15PLAH025 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Foundations of International Law |
15PLAH021 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Human Rights of Women |
15PLAC112 |
30 |
Full Year |
International Criminal Law |
15PLAH055 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Law and Natural Resources |
15PLAC126 |
30 |
Full Year |
Law and Postcolonial Theory |
15PLAH050 |
15 |
Term 2 |
The Law of Armed Conflict |
15PLAH022 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Water Justice: Rights, Access and Movements (Law) |
15PLAH044 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Law and Global Commons |
15PLAH070 |
15 |
Term 2 |
International Environmental Law: Principles, Institutions & Enforcement |
15PLAH073 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Biodiversity, Nature and Wildlife Law and Policy |
15PLAH074 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Water and Development: Commodification, Ecology and Globalisation (Law) |
15PLAH076 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Multinational Enterprises and the Law I |
15PLAH077 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Multinational Enterprises and the Law II |
15PLAH078 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Business and Human Rights in the Global Economy |
15PLAH079 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Comparative Company Law |
15PLAH080 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Israel, Palestine, and International Law (15Cr) |
15PLAH081 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Palestine, Resistance, and the Law |
15PLAH082 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Alternative Dispute Resolution I |
15PLAH083 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Alternative Dispute Resolution II |
15PLAH084 |
15 |
Term 2 |
International laws on the use of force |
15PLAH020 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Gender and the Law of War |
15PGNH005 |
15 |
Term 1 |
The Prohibition of Torture in International Law |
15PLAH075 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Climate Change Law and Policy |
15PLAH085 |
15 |
Term 2 |
International Protection of Human Rights (15Cr) |
15PLAH086 |
15 |
Term 1 |
International Law: Contemporary Problems of World Order |
15PFFH009 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Gender and the Law of Peace |
15PGNH013 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Islamic Family Law |
15PLAH087 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Islamic Legal Theory |
15PLAH088 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Transnational Law, Finance and Technology |
15PLAH089 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Colonial Geographies of International Law |
15PLAH090 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Law and Society in The Middle East and North Africa |
15PLAH091 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Research Methods in Law |
15PLAC181 |
30 |
Full Year |
Justice, Reconciliation and Reconstruction in Post-Conflict Societies |
15PLAH040 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Artificial Intelligence: Power, law and resistance |
15PMSH042 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Open Options Note
Open options will need approval of deputy PG programme convenor (LLM or MA)
Programme Specification
Important notice
The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session. If you are a current student you can find structure information on the previous year link at the top of the page or through your Department. Please read the important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules.
Teaching & Learning
All Masters programmes consist of 180 credits, made up of taught modules of 30 or 15 credits, taught over 10 or 20 weeks, and a dissertation of 60 credits. The programme structure shows which modules are compulsory and which optional.
Contact hours
As a rough guide, 1 credit equals approximately 10 hours of work. Most of this will be independent study, including reading and research, preparing coursework, revising for examinations and so on. It will also include class time, which may include lectures, seminars and other classes. Some subjects, such as learning a language, have more class time than others. At SOAS, most postgraduate modules have a one hour lecture and a one hour seminar every week, but this does vary.
More information is on the page for each module.
Knowledge and understanding
- Students will acquire specialist knowledge of commercial law in an international and comparative context.
- This includes, but is not necessarily limited to, knowledge and understanding of the following:
- the theoretical and practical underpinnings of international and comparative commercial law;
- the context in which law is made, interpreted, adjudicated, and amended;
- the role played by law, particularly commercial law in different international and comparative situations;
- the role and function of legal institutions in managing commercial relationships in an international and comparative context;
- the weight and significance of different sources and methodologies.
- Students will develop knowledge of how to locate relevant materials and assess their relevance and/or importance.
Intellectual (thinking) skills
- Students should develop rigor in analysis and assessment of legal arguments.
- Students should develop the ability to understand, summarise and critically assess differing perspectives on theoretical debates.
- Students should develop independence of thought and the confidence to challenge the accepted wisdom.
- Students should learn to identify issues and formulate questions for further research through independent work.
- Students will be encouraged to bring to bear their own previous experience and knowledge in addressing legal issues in an interdisciplinary manner.
Subject-based practical skills
The programme will help students develop the ability to:
- Write clear research essays and dissertations.
- Research in a variety of specialized research libraries and institutes and online, and retrieve, sift and select information from a variety of sources.
- Present seminar papers and defend the arguments therein.
- Discuss ideas introduced during seminars.
- Develop essay and dissertation research questions.
- Read legal source materials rapidly and critically.
- Present legal arguments in moots and debates.
Transferable skills
The programme will enable students to:
- Communicate effectively in writing.
- Structure and communicate ideas and arguments effectively both orally and in writing.
- Read and comprehend significant quantities of reading rapidly and effectively and develop critical faculties.
- Find and use a variety of written and digital materials, especially legal materials, in libraries and research institutes.
- Present (non – assessed) material orally.
- Develop teamwork skills.
SOAS Library
SOAS Library is one of the world's most important academic libraries for the study of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, attracting scholars from all over the world. The Library houses over 1.2 million volumes, together with significant archival holdings, special collections and a growing network of electronic resources.
Tuition fees
Fees for 2022/23 entrants, per academic year (Band 3 tuition fee)
Full-time |
Part-time 2 Years |
Part-time 3 Years |
Home Students |
Overseas Students |
Home Students |
Overseas Students |
Home Students |
Overseas Students |
£17,000 |
£24,650 |
£8,500 |
£12,325 |
£5,610 |
£8,135 |
Fees go up each year, therefore your tuition fee in your second and subsequent years of study will be higher.
Our continuing students, on the same degree programme, are protected from annual increases higher than 5%.
Full details of postgraduate tuition fees can be found on the Postgraduate tuition fees page.
Scholarships
Anthony Dicks Memorial Scholarship
Application Deadline: 2022-05-02 00:00
Application Deadline: 2022-01-28 15:00
Application Deadline: 2022-01-28 15:00
Application Deadline: 2022-05-31 00:00
Application Deadline: 2022-05-31 00:00
Application Deadline: 2022-05-31 00:00
Application Deadline: 2022-05-31 00:00
Application Deadline: 2022-05-31 00:00
Application Deadline: 2022-05-31 00:00
Application Deadline: 2022-05-31 00:00
Application Deadline: 2022-05-31 00:00
Application Deadline: 2022-05-02 00:00
Application Deadline: 2022-04-05 00:00
Application Deadline: 2022-05-02 00:00
For further details and information on external scholarships visit the Scholarships section
Employment
SOAS Law graduates leave SOAS as civic minded and critically engaged individuals who can effectively contribute to their communities and societies. With a thorough understanding of the legal dimensions underlying many of our global challenges today, our Law students are valued by employers due to their analytical skills, specialist knowledge, and global perspective.
SOAS Law graduates have found the LLM a vital boost to their work as legal professionals and that this Law Master provides an excellent base for further study towards a research degree such as a PhD leading to an academic career.
Recent School of Law graduates have been hired by:
- PwC LLP
- BLM Law
- BloombergNEF
- British Medical Association
- Clifford Chance
- DAC Beachcroft LLP
- Department for Work and Pensions
- EY
- HM Treasury
- Latham & Watkins
- Legal Cheek
- Simpson Millar Solicitors
- The Economist
- Travers Smith
- Vodafone
- World Cancer Research Fund
Find out about SOAS Careers
A Student's Perspective
After my introduction to the complexities of international environmental law at SOAS, I was inspired to not just learn about the law but be an active part in changing it. The impassioned and diverse perspectives from professors and classmates at SOAS have colored my continued focus on making connections between the laws of the world
Natalie Danielle McCauley