Programme
Globalisation and the increasing integration of world markets place new demands and challenges on law practitioners.
Lawyers have to interact between national and international regulatory environments and negotiate and structure business transactions across countries. If you are a lawyer who is interested in this dynamic international world, you can pursue your ambitions with this postgraduate Master’s programme.
This programme is designed to provide candidates with the theoretical and practical knowledge to understand the global environment of international commercial practice. By focussing on current developments in the three core areas of business, corporate and maritime law, the programme gives lawyers the practical skills necessary to deal with business problems and disputes, whether in an international or national context.
Business, Corporate and Maritime Law is a comprehensive full-time programme that combines course work and a written dissertation. The programme consists of two compulsory courses: International Business Law and Conflict of Laws: International Arbitration and Litigation. Next to these compulsory courses, you will choose a number of optional courses, related to the specialisation chosen. If you are aiming for a general LL.M. in Business, Corporate and Maritime Law you may choose courses out of all optional courses offered within the programme.
Specialisations
Specialisation Business Transactions
The objective of the Business transactions Specialisation is to train its students to understand the global environment in which business transactions take place, how this relates to their national jurisdictions and how international transactions operate and affect transaction costs and risks. This specialisation also aims at providing the practical skills necessary to deal with business problems and risks, particularly in cross border transactions. Graduates also have the opportunity in the combination of courses offered to develop a good understanding of (i) practice, (ii) the structuring and negotiation of complex business arrangements, (iii) the impact of regulation on business transactions and (iv) the business economics regarding business transactions.
Specialisation Corporate Law
This specialisation on Corporate Law covers corporate law (including accountancy and regulatory) issues and special topics of securities law and financial markets. The core of this specialisation concentrates on business forms, corporate governance, harmonization of corporate law, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), corporate restructurings, tender offers, spin-offs, sell-offs, equity carve-outs (ECOs), initial public offerings (IPOs), management buyouts (MBOs) and topics of financial derivatives. This specialisation contains intensive courses and workshops in order to stimulate students to work on their personal skills and development. The financial topics will be discussed from different viewpoints (business economics, company law and tax law) and from an international perspective in order to prepare students for a career in private corporate practice, in transaction work or in the international financial world.
Specialisation Maritime Law
The specialisation on Maritime Law provides students with specialist knowledge of the international regulatory environment of maritime transport, maritime safety, the protection of the marine environment and transportation by sea. This specialisation focuses on aspects of Maritime law including the Carriage of Goods by Sea, Maritime Casualities and the Law of the Ship. It also offers some optional courses dealing with transactions and regulations having an impact on the maritime sector.
General Programme
Students who do not wish to concentrate specialization along the lines provided by the three specialisations above, may choose among all courses on offer in any of the three specializations. This provides students with specialized courses where a tailor made program can be developed by the student which meets his specific interests and/or needs. On the basis of the two courses compulsory for all students and which provide the basis for understanding how international business law life is structured and operates, students can choose courses from a broad spectrum covering many issues of business transactions, corporate or maritime law in order to broaden their knowledge and to specialize in certain fields of their choice. This is particularly useful for students who want to pursue careers in management functions, in general commercial legal practice or for students that want to keep options open as to specialization levels and career paths.
