Transport at sea - what happens when something goes wrong? If you are curious about the rules and regulations that govern the shipping industry and want to learn more about the legal side of this international business, then the LLM in Maritime Law is the programme for you.
Maritime Law is an exciting and challenging international subject for lawyers and others with an interest in shipping.
This LLM programme gives you a specialization in a truly international field of law, which is of great practical importance.
Which aspects does the programme cover?
The program covers all private law aspects of shipping.
It discusses traditional subjects like transport of goods and passengers:
- Can owners claim compensation if their goods are damaged or lost during transport?
- Can passengers bring charges against a shipping company if the vessel is not ship-shape?
In addition the programme cover more recent subjects like:
- Ship causalities: Who will pay for damages to the environment caused by oil pollution from a big tanker?
- Attacks on vessels: Can we prevent attacks on vessels from terrorists and pirates, and who will pay for the damages caused?
- Effects of the global financial situation on the shipping industry: Can I cancel a contract for building a new vessel because an economic crisis has made it impossible for me to trade the vessel profitably?
Other topics covered
In addition to maritime law, you will have the opportunity to learn more about related international topics, like marine insurance law, petroleum law and English contract law among others.
Application procedure
Please, click on https://www.uio.no/english/studies/programmes/maritime-master/admission/?guide to answer the questions below to get your personalised checklist for admission to this study program.
Learning outcomes
The aim of the programme is to provide thorough knowledge of the rules and framework of international commercial affairs related to shipping.
The LLM aims to develop the student’s ability to see the practical effects and make comparative analyses of different sets of regulations within the complex field of maritime commercial activity.
Scandinavian and international perspective
All subjects are approached with an international perspective, although the programme takes as its starting point the international rules seen from a Norwegian (Scandinavian) perspective.
What will you achive?
A student who has achieved the qualification LLM in maritime law will have the following learning outcome defined in knowledge, skills and general competence:
Knowledge
- Have thorough knowledge of the rules and legal framework of international commercial affairs related to shipping and advanced knowledge of the Scandinavian rules and framework in this field of law.
- Be well acquainted with maritime law on the basis of the Norwegian (Scandinavian) Maritime Code, which to a large extent is based on key international conventions regulating maritime activities in the shipping business and key international standard contracts used in the maritime industry.
- Have in-depth knowledge in two maritime law related subjects of the students’ choice. The students can choose from a selection of eleven courses, such as marine insurance law, petroleum law, petroleum contract law, English law of contract, etc.
Skills
With an LLM in maritime law the student will be able to adopt a practical approach to legal problems in the maritime field.
The students will further be able to:
- Identify and assess relevant legal scholarly literature in maritime law.
- Understand and apply advanced legal theory and method in this area.
- Formulate a researchable problem in an independent way and assess how your choice of research question influences your choice of research design as well as your choice of method(s). (Master thesis)
- Identify, select, collect and assess relevant sources and data for purposes of analyzing specific research questions. (Master thesis)
- Give and receive comments to ongoing scholarly work in a constructive way.
- Discuss academic questions connected to your own and other people’s work.
General competence
- Discuss maritime law subjects proficiently
- Apply knowledge in core topics of maritime law to adjacent areas of law, such as the general law of contracts and torts law
- Ability to use theoretical and methodological tools to analyze key issues of maritime law in a scientific manner.
- Ability to perform comparative legal analyses.
Practical approach
The programme puts weight on giving the students a practical approach to legal problems in the maritime field. The practical approach is sought by doing exercises based on real life situations, several field trips to maritime actors in the shipping industry in the Nordic countries and by letting the students take part in a moot court competition.
Legal theory and method, comparative analysis and specialization
During the programme you will be introduced to advanced legal theory and method and develop your skills in comparative legal analyses. You will be trained in basing your legal opinion on the relevant legal sources. Theoretical and methodological skills will be developed through class room lectures, seminars, the writing of essays and class room discussions.
The LLM in Maritime Law is completed by writing a master thesis. Writing a thesis gives a genuine possibility to specialize and concentrate on selected issues in Maritime Law, based on the student’s own interests. It is also an opportunity to train the skills in comparative analyses.
Prerequisites
The programme offers first and foremost a specialization for lawyers and students with an educational background in law.
The programme accepts a few students each year (about 20%) without a legal background. Normally, the condition is that they have an educational background in shipping-related subjects or experience from working in the shipping industry. In exceptional cases, also students with other educational backgrounds than mentioned above have been accepted. It is our experience that accepting a few students each year without a legal background is highly beneficial for the learning environment.
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