International and Commercial Dispute Resolution Law LLM

Course summary

Our International and Commercial Dispute Resolution Law LLM (ICDRL) is for anyone wishing to demonstrate a commitment to contentious law in public and private international and commercial legal contexts. The taught part of the course includes modules which reflect the three main forms of dispute resolution process, namely, adjudication (litigation and arbitration), alternative dispute resolution (ADR – principally mediation), and negotiation.

This course differs from the International Commercial and Corporate Law LLM (ICCL) course which is primarily concerned with non-contentious aspects of commerce (ICCL modules include competition law, trade and insurance).

Class sizes are, in general, quite small, and you'll be able to mix with students on other Master's courses at Westminster Law School.

The course provides an opportunity for in-depth study of the substantive and procedural issues involved in the field, and also the acquisition of skills involved in some of the processes. It's centrally concerned with law and other rules (international, transnational and commercial) which are applicable in adjudication and also in the other dispute resolution processes.

In addition to the taught modules, the Dissertation module gives you the opportunity to develop a specialist knowledge of a small area of the field, which might lead to a publishable article.

Top reasons to study with us

• An academic and pragmatic approach – You'll have the opportunity to engage in academic research and writing, pragmatic jurisprudence, and law-based problem solving informed by real-life scenarios
• Learn in the heart of London – Studying at our Regent Campus in central London, you'll be part of a diverse, global community
• Open to non-law graduates – You don't need to have an undergraduate law degree to study this course as all modules provide the necessary grounding in the module topics
• Be part of a vibrant law community – You'll have the opportunity to take one or two elective modules (instead of course option modules) located in our other postgraduate LLM courses in Westminster Law School, enabling you to share classes with other LLM students and expand your networking opportunities

The International and Commercial Dispute Resolution Law LLM is designed to benefit a wide range of individuals, whether you're a graduate progressing towards a PhD; a practising lawyer; another practitioner such as an arbitrator, civil servant, diplomat, insurer, journalist, judge, linguist or mediator; or a commercial director or manager.

The course is ideal if you're having a gap year between career stages, or wanting to improve your English for career purposes.

This course will prepare you for a variety of roles, including:

• Barrister, solicitor, or other lawyer in national private practice
• Barrister, solicitor, or other lawyer in international and transnational (cross-border) practice
• Paralegal in legal practice or government service
• Corporate counsel in a national company
• Corporate counsel in a multinational group
• Company secretary
• Government lawyer
• Legislator
• National magistrate or judge
• Arbitrator
• Mediator
• Mediation advocate
• Negotiator
• Regulator with a dispute resolution institution
• Compliance officer
• Human resources clerk and manager
• In-house researcher
• Ombudsman case officer
• PhD candidate
• University lecturer