Given the particularity of maritime law in regard to the traditional legal disciplines due to its history, complexity and the national-regional-international interplay of the various frameworks it encompasses, it is necessary to equip students – coming not only from the legal but also other areas – with tools required to masterfully respond to the main issues and properly employ ideas surrounding the international maritime law.

This module covers key academic and policy debates around ocean governance, aiming to:

• acquaint you with the key legal and institutional dimensions of ocean governance
• familiarise you with the challenges involved in implementing integrated approaches to ocean governance
• introduce you to new and emerging issues in ocean governance

Given the uniqueness of contracts and transactions in maritime law in regard to the traditional obligations in law due to their history, the particularity of the industry and the national-regional-international interplay, as well as public/private aspects of the various frameworks they encompass, it's necessary to equip students – coming not only from the legal but also other areas – with the tools required to properly respond to the main issues and masterfully employ ideas surrounding the international maritime contract and transaction law.

This module explores how environmental protection is affected by the fragmentation of international law, aiming to:

• provide you with an understanding of the main causes and implications of fragmentation in international (environmental) law
• provide you with an insight into how fragmentation affects the relationship between environmental regimes and between environmental and environment-related regimes
• acquaint you with the legal techniques that can be used to promote policy coherence, mutual supportiveness, and synergies between environmental and environment-related regimes

The module will explore global and regional policies and regulations related to the sustainable use of marine resources and the environment, including clean technologies.

Current developments, such as climate change effects and the opening of the Arctic ice have enabled new shipping routes to form and shipping traffic to intensify. Activities such as fishing, tourism, oil and gas, and transportation of goods have expanded throughout the Arctic ocean, with increasing trends and prospects.

The Arctic is not alone in experiencing increased pressures from human activities. To comprehensively understand sustainable blue growth, you'll explore the main human activities at sea that affect the marine environment.

Thus, this module will look at existing legal frameworks concerning human activities related to:

• marine and coastal tourism
• bioprospecting
• hydrocarbon and mineral resource (including deep-seabed mining) exploitation and exploration
• shipping and commerce
• marine renewables
• marine scientific research
• bioprospecting

This module will focus on the World Trade Organization (WTO) system, but will also include the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

It will trace the origins and development of the world trading system and the economic and philosophical principles underlying the international trading regime.

It will primarily focus on analysing the institutions and agreements that have shaped international trade rules, and their underlying policies, as well as identifying critical issues and challenges for the future, including the interaction of the world trading regime with issues such as ‘democracy’, ‘free trade’, ‘sovereignty’ and ‘development’.

The module will also explore the interaction of WTO law with other non-economic values and norms, and its potential to penetrate and shape domestic legal systems.

The highly specialised compulsory dispute settlement system established under Part XV of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the binding decisions produced by the relevant procedures are largely lacking in multilateral environmental agreements.

This module allows you to analyse the relevant provisions of the Convention in detail, using a wide range of illustrative case law examples, including with reference to the prompt release of vessels, maritime delimitation, fisheries, pollution, and deep seabed mining.

This course will further allow you to develop and enhance your critical thinking concerning the interpretation of different sources of international law, international adjudication, as well as enforcement.

Both domestically and internationally a number of issues arising in maritime law need to be resolved through arbitration.

This module will help you develop an in-depth knowledge and comparative understanding of UK and international arbitration law. The module will also provide you with a deep understanding of the issues that can arise in cross-border arbitrations.

The primary objective of the module is to confer a basis of theoretical and practical knowledge on Intellectual Property (IP) law and provide you with an in-depth knowledge and critical understanding of selected topics in the subject.

You'll be able to:

• understand and be able to explain the basic rationale and structure of intellectual property law
• assess entitlements to rights protecting technology, in particular patents, copyright, designs, and trade secrets
• spot potential infringements of intellectual property rights
• assess the desirability of different mechanisms of intellectual property protection in different factual scenarios
• become aware of the current state of the debate surrounding the IP protection of cutting-edge technologies, such as generative AI and machine learning