Undergraduate Qatar Law 2023-2024

This course introduces the fundamental components and characteristics of the Scottish legal system. It includes a study skills programme which covers different facets of the study of law along with a series of practical workshops which introduce key legal information sources (both electronic and paper) and appropriate search strategies. Lectures and tutorials will cover topics such as the Scottish legal tradition, formal sources of Scots law, the legislative process, organisation of the courts, judicial precedent, civil procedure, alternative dispute resolution, the European legal order, legal services and access to justice.

The course provides firstly a map of private law as drawn from the Roman-law-derived institutional scheme. It then progresses to an equivalent of the medical student’s study of anatomy in the sense that, concentrating on the law of property and obligations, it examines the main concepts of private law in the Roman-law-derived civilian tradition and how they operate together as a system to solve every day legal problems.

The course builds upon the basic understanding of contract law acquired in Contract (LS1520), although it is important to understand that the topics are approached from a more theoretical perspective, and will critically evaluate at an advanced level, a number of themes introduced in LS1520. The course approaches a selection of current problems in contract law doctrine from the theoretical, comparative and philosophical perspectives. The topics will vary annually but will include consideration of 6 or 7 topics chosen from the philosophical basis of contract law, contractual formation, good faith, promise, contractual remedies, factors vitiating consent, contractual interpretation, and risk management through contract (exclusion clauses, penalty clauses etc) and frustration.  

This course introduces students to two of the key branches of the Scots law of obligations, namely Delict (which governs legal liability for situations such as the negligent infliction of harm upon others, or liability for breach of privacy) and Unjustified Enrichment (which is concerned with questions such as, if I pay you money in error, am I entitled to demand that you return it?).  The course will be taught primarily by means of lectures and tutorials. 

Alternative Methods of Dispute Resolution is a very practical course designed to give students a first-hand interaction with a number of the different structured ways to resolve disputes that exist.  The course is taught by way of a weekly lecture which focuses on an explanation of theory and rationale followed by role play tutorials, where students engage in negotiations and mediations in particular.

This course is all about things. What items can you own? How do you become owner of property? What can you do as an owner of property? What can you do with the property of other people? And so on. An understanding of property law is crucial to markets, commerce and domestic life. This course will give students a broad overview of the regulation of land, moveable items and incorporeal rights like intellectual property.

The course aims to systematically and critically introduce the foundations of Public International Law (PIL). The history, nature, legal personality, statehood and recognition, sources, the law of treaties and how PIL interacts with domestic law are considered in-depth. These are followed by topics such as jurisdiction, sovereignty, the role of the United Nations, the law of state responsibility and peaceful settlement of disputes between states. The contents of the course are designed to enable students to understand why and how international law regulates the behaviour of its actors with respect to some specific subject areas.