International Commercial Law with Professional Skills, _LLM

Programme Fees

Fee information

Fee category	Cost
EU / International students	£27,000
Tuition Fees for 2024/25 Academic Year
UK	£13,200
Tuition Fees for 2024/25 Academic Year

Semester 1

Information for part-time students: This route will run over three academic years. Candidates can take up to 60 credit points in Year 1, 120 credit points in Year 2, and 60 credit points in Year 3. LS551T and PD5506 must be taken in Year 1, and LS5905 must be taken in Year 2. Students must take either of the following: LS5083 or LS552Z. These can be taken in Year 1 or Year 2. Candidates must then take a remaining 90 credit points. At least 60 credit points must be obtained from
the courses listed in the optional sections of semesters 1 and 3. The remaining credit points may be obtained from any LLM 30 credit on campus course:

Compulsory Courses

Critical Legal Thinking and Scholarship (LS551T)

This course provides students from diverse legal and educational backgrounds with a common understanding of the core research, analytical, and writing skills which will be required for LLM-Taught courses. The course is delivered as a series of five interactive lectures with two individual assessments designed to encourage critical thinking and provide opportunities for early feedback. It also incorporates a library workshop to provide students with hands-on experience with the resources available for course and dissertation work.

Detailed course information

International Investment Law and Energy Arbitration (LS555L)

30 Credit Points

The complex interaction between investment protection and the sovereign right of states to regulate has been most acute in the energy sector. On the one hand, investors require strong guarantees that states will respect the “rules of the game” that constitute the basis of their investments. On the other, states can be tempted to interfere with foreign energy investments because of their strategic and social importance. This course aims to analyse if existing investment disciplines and international investment protection framework, are adapted to the specific regulatory risks that investors face in the energy landscape of the 21st Century and how best to avoid disputes and manage them.

Detailed course information

Getting Started at the University of Aberdeen (PD5506)

This course, which is prescribed for all taught postgraduate students, is studied entirely online, takes approximately 5-6 hours to complete and can be taken in one sitting, or spread across a number of weeks.

Topics include orientation overview, equality and diversity, health, safety and cyber security and how to make the most of your time at university in relation to careers and employability.

Successful completion of this course will be recorded on your Enhanced Transcript as ‘Achieved’.

Detailed course information

Optional Courses

In addition to the above, candidates must take courses to the value of 90 credit points. At least 60 credit points must be obtained from the courses listed below. The remaining credit points may be obtained from any LLM 30 credit on campus course. The description tries to reflect the fact that students have to take one course in Arbitration (these are LS5083 and LS555L) as a pre-requisite for LS5905 in order to do the summer course LS5905

Comparative Contract Law (LS555K)

30 Credit Points

International commercial lawyers frequently work on contracts involving parties from different countries. Here, each one of these jurisdictions may offer a different interpretation of the same contractual provisions. This course is aimed to help commercial lawyers understand how different legal traditions offer different viewpoints on key contractual challenges. At the end of the course, students will be able to understand many of the discrepancies and similarities between legal systems, thus honing a fundamental skill for an international commercial lawyer. The course will cover a wide range of European legal systems, as well as transnational contract law mechanisms including the Principles of European Contract Law and the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

Detailed course information

Corporate Governance (LS5582)

30 Credit Points

This course will discuss the trajectory of the development of corporate governance over the past three decades, especially in the UK and the US, with a view to understanding the extent to which underlying theoretical assumptions and policy decisions impact legislative, regulatory and self-regulatory arrangements as well as reform options. Students will gain an understanding of why the company as a legal entity has the shape and form that it does; why certain actors are regarded as internal to corporate governance arrangements and others external; and why ongoing (and sometimes apparently futile) reform efforts take the form that they do.

Detailed course information

Commercial Tax Law and Policy (LS552N)

30 Credit Points

Tax law is an integral aspect of all international commercial activities; it is crucial for commercial lawyers to have an understanding of tax law even if they are not tax lawyers. This course is a tax law course for general commercial lawyers, providing a gentle introduction to the varieties of tax laws and policies. The course enables a general commercial lawyer to understand tax law and policy discussions, both as public policy concerns and as issues related to clients' commercial matters. The course covers the basics of tax models and introduces a variety of tax law systems, such as income tax, property tax, sales tax and VAT taxes. The course also explains how tax policy can affect corporate and commercial interests, such as the role of tax law in environmental protection, in energy resource stewardship, or in corporate social responsibility. In conclusion, the course is designed for general commercial lawyers to increase their professional skills and legal knowledge related to commercial tax law and policy.

Detailed course information

Semester 2

The Professional Skills module is delivered through an intensive summer school during June followed by a piece of writing. All students must complete the Professional Arbitration Skills module from June - August.

Compulsory Courses

Professional Arbitration Skills (LS5905)

60 Credit Points

This course is taught over three weeks at the end of May and beginning of June each year. It is highly practical and interactive, involving group discussion and debate, drafting, role play and presentations. Students are taken through the international arbitration process from drafting the arbitration clause, to jurisdiction, preliminary proceedings, the hearing, the award (judgement) and enforcing and challenging the award. Practitioners in international arbitration deliver majority of the tuition. There is no exam, assessment is by presentation, preparing written arguments and award (arbitral judgement) writing. Successful completion of the course can lead to exemption from the Membership examinations of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Detailed course information

Semester 3

Optional Courses

Comparative and International Perspectives on Company Law (LS501G)

30 Credit Points

This is an optional course at postgraduate level and offers a selective and critical examination of company laws in the UK and other systems. It is an appropriate course for students with an interest in working in the corporate sector or who wish to learn more about how company law operates in different countries. Key issues in comparative company law shall be examined and a range of topics will be covered, dealing with corporate entities, their ownership, management and activities.

Detailed course information

International Commercial Litigation (LS503M)

30 Credit Points

This course introduces international commercial litigation, the major means of commercial dispute resolution for many sectors of industry and the default means of dispute resolution against which international arbitration is positioned. The course demonstrates the relevance of a venue’s Private International Law (PIL) to its attractiveness for dispute resolution and provides advanced instruction in the relevant post-Brexit aspects of PIL to parties engaged in litigating international commercial disputes.

Detailed course information

International Tax Law and Policy (LS504C)

30 Credit Points

The course will examine the law and principles of cross-border taxation. It will cover core subjects on international tax law, including the concepts of source and residence taxation, double tax conventions, allocation of taxing rights, transfer pricing and thin capitalisation rules, and international tax avoidance (schemes and prevention).

Attention will be paid to topical issues around international taxation and the efforts being made to modernise the international tax system. This includes an examination of the tax challenges of the digital economy and the solutions being introduced by the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting.

The course content fulfills the core requirements of Module 1 of the ADIT (Advanced Diploma in International Tax) qualification offered by the Chartered Institute of Taxation. The course is also essential for those aiming to practise tax in an international context, either as academics, government officials, or general tax advisors.

The course will be taught from a legal and policy perspective. No prior knowledge of tax is required, but students should be willing to engage with the tax literature and tax affairs.

Detailed course information

International Commercial Arbitration (LS5083)

30 Credit Points

The demand for international commercial arbitration has increased significantly over the last 20 years. Empirical surveys conducted consistently report figures that suggest around 60% of businesses prefer arbitration over other dispute resolution methods.

Seminar topics have been chosen to give students a good knowledge of international commercial arbitration law. The topics covered will be: (1) Arbitration Agreement and Arbitral Jurisdiction (2) The Role of the Seat (3) Applicable Substantive Law (4) The Arbitral Tribunal (5) Arbitral Procedure and Evidence (6) The Arbitral Award.

The course also provides a lecture on the introduction to international commercial arbitration.

Detailed course information

International Trade and Finance Law (LS508A)

30 Credit Points

This course considers issues relating to international trade and finance law and addresses the legal and commercial aspects of export-import transactions. It covers trade risks and risk assessment, the law and practice relating to international sale of goods, carriage of goods and insurance matters, international trade finance, digitalisation of international trade and international commercial dispute resolution.

Detailed course information

Global Competition Law (LS504D)

30 Credit Points

This course introduces students to one of the most highly discussed areas of law in modern societies. Competition law and policy offer a solution to the abuses of power that firms may perpetrate against consumers and the market. Yet, competition law enforcement is limited in many respects.

This course explores the spread of competition law around the world analysing its core provisions from a comparative perspective. The course thus focuses on the core aspects of competition law: anticompetitive agreements, abuse of dominance, and merger regulation. It then offers insights on the analysis of competition law in digital markets and on the international enforcement of its core provisions.

Detailed course information

Corporate Finance Law (LS504H)

30 Credit Points

This course will explore issues within the law of corporate finance, with reference to different legal systems. It will provide students with a wider and deeper understanding of various debt and equity finance issues that are crucial to the law of corporate finance.

Detailed course information

Programme Fees

Fee information

Fee category	Cost
EU / International students	£26,250
Tuition Fees for 2025/26 Academic Year
UK	£13,200
Tuition Fees for 2024/25 Academic Year

Semester 1

Information for part-time students: This route will run over two years minimum. Candidates can take up to 120 credit points in an academic year. LS501T and PD5006 must be taken in Year 1, and LS5905 must be taken in Year 2. Candidates must take either of the following: LS5083 or LS552Z. These can be taken in Year 1 or Year 2. Candidates must take a remaining 90 credit points. At least 60 credit points must be obtained from the courses listed in the optional sections of semesters 1 and 2. The remaining credit points may be obtained from any LLM 30 credit on campus course

Compulsory Courses

Getting Started at the University of Aberdeen (PD5006)

This course, which is prescribed for all taught postgraduate students, is studied entirely online, takes approximately 5-6 hours to complete and can be taken in one sitting, or spread across a number of weeks.

Topics include orientation overview, equality and diversity, health, safety and cyber security and how to make the most of your time at university in relation to careers and employability.

Successful completion of this course will be recorded on your Enhanced Transcript as ‘Achieved’.

Detailed course information

Critical Legal Thinking and Scholarship (LS501T)

This course provides students from diverse legal and educational backgrounds with a common understanding of the core research, analytical, and writing skills which will be required for LLM-Taught courses. The course is delivered as a series of five interactive lectures with two individual assessments designed to encourage critical thinking and provide opportunities for early feedback. It also incorporates a library workshop to provide students with hands-on experience with the resources available for course and dissertation work.

Detailed course information

International Commercial Arbitration (LS5083)

30 Credit Points

The demand for international commercial arbitration has increased significantly over the last 20 years. Empirical surveys conducted consistently report figures that suggest around 60% of businesses prefer arbitration over other dispute resolution methods.

Seminar topics have been chosen to give students a good knowledge of international commercial arbitration law. The topics covered will be: (1) Arbitration Agreement and Arbitral Jurisdiction (2) The Role of the Seat (3) Applicable Substantive Law (4) The Arbitral Tribunal (5) Arbitral Procedure and Evidence (6) The Arbitral Award.

The course also provides a lecture on the introduction to international commercial arbitration.

Detailed course information

Optional Courses

In addition to the above, candidates must take courses to the value of 90 credit points. At least 60 credit points must be obtained from the courses listed below. The remaining credit points may be obtained from any LLM 30 credit on campus course. The description tries to reflect the fact that students have to take one course in Arbitration (these are LS5083 and LS555L) as a pre-requisite for LS5905 in order to do the summer course LS5905

Comparative and International Perspectives on Company Law (LS501G)

30 Credit Points

This is an optional course at postgraduate level and offers a selective and critical examination of company laws in the UK and other systems. It is an appropriate course for students with an interest in working in the corporate sector or who wish to learn more about how company law operates in different countries. Key issues in comparative company law shall be examined and a range of topics will be covered, dealing with corporate entities, their ownership, management and activities.

Detailed course information

International Commercial Litigation (LS503M)

30 Credit Points

This course introduces international commercial litigation, the major means of commercial dispute resolution for many sectors of industry and the default means of dispute resolution against which international arbitration is positioned. The course demonstrates the relevance of a venue’s Private International Law (PIL) to its attractiveness for dispute resolution and provides advanced instruction in the relevant post-Brexit aspects of PIL to parties engaged in litigating international commercial disputes.

Detailed course information

International Tax Law and Policy (LS504C)

30 Credit Points

The course will examine the law and principles of cross-border taxation. It will cover core subjects on international tax law, including the concepts of source and residence taxation, double tax conventions, allocation of taxing rights, transfer pricing and thin capitalisation rules, and international tax avoidance (schemes and prevention).

Attention will be paid to topical issues around international taxation and the efforts being made to modernise the international tax system. This includes an examination of the tax challenges of the digital economy and the solutions being introduced by the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting.

The course content fulfills the core requirements of Module 1 of the ADIT (Advanced Diploma in International Tax) qualification offered by the Chartered Institute of Taxation. The course is also essential for those aiming to practise tax in an international context, either as academics, government officials, or general tax advisors.

The course will be taught from a legal and policy perspective. No prior knowledge of tax is required, but students should be willing to engage with the tax literature and tax affairs.

Detailed course information

International Commercial Arbitration (LS5083)

30 Credit Points

The demand for international commercial arbitration has increased significantly over the last 20 years. Empirical surveys conducted consistently report figures that suggest around 60% of businesses prefer arbitration over other dispute resolution methods.

Seminar topics have been chosen to give students a good knowledge of international commercial arbitration law. The topics covered will be: (1) Arbitration Agreement and Arbitral Jurisdiction (2) The Role of the Seat (3) Applicable Substantive Law (4) The Arbitral Tribunal (5) Arbitral Procedure and Evidence (6) The Arbitral Award.

The course also provides a lecture on the introduction to international commercial arbitration.

Detailed course information

International Trade and Finance Law (LS508A)

30 Credit Points

This course considers issues relating to international trade and finance law and addresses the legal and commercial aspects of export-import transactions. It covers trade risks and risk assessment, the law and practice relating to international sale of goods, carriage of goods and insurance matters, international trade finance, digitalisation of international trade and international commercial dispute resolution.

Detailed course information

Global Competition Law (LS504D)

30 Credit Points

This course introduces students to one of the most highly discussed areas of law in modern societies. Competition law and policy offer a solution to the abuses of power that firms may perpetrate against consumers and the market. Yet, competition law enforcement is limited in many respects.

This course explores the spread of competition law around the world analysing its core provisions from a comparative perspective. The course thus focuses on the core aspects of competition law: anticompetitive agreements, abuse of dominance, and merger regulation. It then offers insights on the analysis of competition law in digital markets and on the international enforcement of its core provisions.

Detailed course information

Corporate Finance Law (LS504H)

30 Credit Points

This course will explore issues within the law of corporate finance, with reference to different legal systems. It will provide students with a wider and deeper understanding of various debt and equity finance issues that are crucial to the law of corporate finance.

Detailed course information

Semester 2

Optional Courses

Comparative Contract Law (LS555K)

30 Credit Points

International commercial lawyers frequently work on contracts involving parties from different countries. Here, each one of these jurisdictions may offer a different interpretation of the same contractual provisions. This course is aimed to help commercial lawyers understand how different legal traditions offer different viewpoints on key contractual challenges. At the end of the course, students will be able to understand many of the discrepancies and similarities between legal systems, thus honing a fundamental skill for an international commercial lawyer. The course will cover a wide range of European legal systems, as well as transnational contract law mechanisms including the Principles of European Contract Law and the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

Detailed course information

Corporate Governance (LS5582)

30 Credit Points

This course will discuss the trajectory of the development of corporate governance over the past three decades, especially in the UK and the US, with a view to understanding the extent to which underlying theoretical assumptions and policy decisions impact legislative, regulatory and self-regulatory arrangements as well as reform options. Students will gain an understanding of why the company as a legal entity has the shape and form that it does; why certain actors are regarded as internal to corporate governance arrangements and others external; and why ongoing (and sometimes apparently futile) reform efforts take the form that they do.

Detailed course information

International Investment Law and Energy Arbitration (LS555L)

30 Credit Points

The complex interaction between investment protection and the sovereign right of states to regulate has been most acute in the energy sector. On the one hand, investors require strong guarantees that states will respect the “rules of the game” that constitute the basis of their investments. On the other, states can be tempted to interfere with foreign energy investments because of their strategic and social importance. This course aims to analyse if existing investment disciplines and international investment protection framework, are adapted to the specific regulatory risks that investors face in the energy landscape of the 21st Century and how best to avoid disputes and manage them.

Detailed course information

Commercial Tax Law and Policy (LS552N)

30 Credit Points

Tax law is an integral aspect of all international commercial activities; it is crucial for commercial lawyers to have an understanding of tax law even if they are not tax lawyers. This course is a tax law course for general commercial lawyers, providing a gentle introduction to the varieties of tax laws and policies. The course enables a general commercial lawyer to understand tax law and policy discussions, both as public policy concerns and as issues related to clients' commercial matters. The course covers the basics of tax models and introduces a variety of tax law systems, such as income tax, property tax, sales tax and VAT taxes. The course also explains how tax policy can affect corporate and commercial interests, such as the role of tax law in environmental protection, in energy resource stewardship, or in corporate social responsibility. In conclusion, the course is designed for general commercial lawyers to increase their professional skills and legal knowledge related to commercial tax law and policy.

Detailed course information

Semester 3

Compulsory Courses

Professional Arbitration Skills (LS5905)

60 Credit Points

This course is taught over three weeks at the end of May and beginning of June each year. It is highly practical and interactive, involving group discussion and debate, drafting, role play and presentations. Students are taken through the international arbitration process from drafting the arbitration clause, to jurisdiction, preliminary proceedings, the hearing, the award (judgement) and enforcing and challenging the award. Practitioners in international arbitration deliver majority of the tuition. There is no exam, assessment is by presentation, preparing written arguments and award (arbitral judgement) writing. Successful completion of the course can lead to exemption from the Membership examinations of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Detailed course information