Courses - College of Law

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Study Abroad & Exchange Programs

Courses

Students may enroll in any of five ABA-approved courses, including the legal internship program, to earn up to six-credit hours during the four-week Dublin program. Two of these courses are two-credit courses, offered five days per week for four weeks. Two other courses are one-credit courses offered over a two-week period.

Approximately half of the students choose to enroll in four-credit hours in combination with an internship, and the remaining choose to enroll in five- or six-credit hours.

All courses involve a European, international or comparative law perspective. Some of the courses include Irish or other European guest lecturers and field trips to various legal, political and financial institutions. Typically, all students in the Dublin program, regardless of whether they are enrolled in a particular course, are invited to hear guest speakers and attend field trips. Some speakers or trips may be scheduled for the entire program, unconnected to a particular course.

Tulsa Students: All courses and the Legal Internship will satisfy the Tulsa Transnational Graduation Requirement.

  • INTERNATIONAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW

    Professors Seamus Clarke (2 credits; 4 weeks)

    Intellectual property has played a prominent role in international commerce since the late 19th century, but in recent decades its growing global importance has been marked. Goods and services produced and traded within and between countries are increasingly the product of intellectual capital. Awareness of the impact of IP regulation is also increasing, as small and medium enterprises, research and development institutions, and indigenous communities have all recognized the importance of IP laws to their businesses and community development. The scope of subjects falling within the ambit of IP – electronic commerce; patents and access to drugs and health care; and the preservation and management of genetic resources, traditional knowledge, and folklore – have also increased dramatically, and the developmental priorities of many nations have spurred reactive and proactive responses that place intellectual property at the heart of national and international commerce and politics.

    This course will examine the core elements of Intellectual Property Law — Copyright Law, Trademark Law, and Patent Law — from a comparative perspective, focusing on how these rights are protected in the global, US, and European legal environments. The course commences with an examination of the essential principles of international IP law, such as extraterritoriality, conflict of laws, and conflict of forum; reviews the key international treaties that establish principles member nations are expected to respect as part of their domestic intellectual property law; and then explores a number of topics on a comparative basis, such as originality in copyright law, the right to remuneration for online publications, patentability in biotechnology, and cybersquatting. Particular emphasis will be placed on the instructor’s area of expertise, e-commerce law, and how traditional IP concepts must cope with new innovation, creation, and branding.

  • EUROPEAN UNION CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

    Dr. Mary Catherine Lucey (1 credit; first 2 weeks)

    The European Union is a unique partnership of (currently) 28 Member States and is a major world power based on the rule of law. EU law confers important rights and responsibilities not only on Member States but (and controversially, at times) also on individuals and businesses. European Union Constitutional Law starts by introducing fundamental and peculiar constitutional issues. These include the EU’s legal framework and unique institutional architecture; key principles of EU law (such as direct effect) and the supra-national relationship between EU law and Member States’ law.

  • EUROPEAN UNION ECONOMIC LAW

    Dr. Mary Catherine Lucey (1 credit; first 2 weeks)

    European Union Economic Law examines selected substantive laws which aim to create a single market – a space without barriers to the free movement of products or persons (typically workers/citizens). Taking a practical perspective, it examines how EU economic law tackles attempts by Member States to protect their domestic products by imposing tariffs/charges. It examines the rights available to EU workers and citizens (and their family members who are not EU citizens) to reside and work/study in another Member States.

  • INTERNATIONAL CYBERSECURITY LAW

    Professor Ido Kilovaty (1 credit; second two weeks)

    Cybersecurity has become a matter of international concern in recent years. Cyber espionage, digital election interference, and cyber conflict are only a few examples of offensive activity in cyberspace that raises serious questions with respect to the applicability, efficacy, and legitimacy of international law. Primarily, the rules and principles of international law that apply to cybersecurity are a borderless issue of global concern.

    This course will introduce some of the latest global cybersecurity incidents, and explore the most pressing questions with regard to international cybersecurity law. How does the principle of territorial sovereignty apply in a non-territorial medium like cyberspace? When does offensive activity in cyberspace reach the thresholds of use of force, armed attack, and armed conflict? What sort of protections are afforded to civilians from cyber-attacks? And what sorts of remedies do states have if they become victim of a state-sponsored cyber operation?

  • INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE CHILDREN'S RIGHTS

    Dean Paul Ward (1 credit; second two weeks)

    This course examines a number of emerging issues relating to the rights of children. The source of the rights emanate from many jurisdictions – Ireland, England & Wales, Canada, New Zealand, and the developing jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. The topics include Civil Tort Remedies for Children in State Care, Child Sexual Abuse Actions and Limitation Periods, Constitutional Protection of Children in State Care, Succession and Inheritance Rights, Adoption and Parent Tracing, and International Child Abduction.

  • LEGAL INTERNSHIP COURSE

    Emma McEvoy (2 credits)

    This program offers students a unique opportunity to learn about Irish, comparative, and international law while working in unpaid internships for four weeks, during the mornings or afternoons, with Irish lawyers, government and nonprofit legal institutions. The program also includes a four-hour classroom component examining various aspects of the Irish legal system and law. For more information on the Internship Program, see the Internships page.