Law and Banking

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This programme is designed to equip students with a general yet comprehensive education in a range of areas within International Banking Law. The course will enable students to master the following important aspects of the discipline: core attributes of a bank (credit institution), different types of banks (retail, commercial, private, etc), regulatory authorities in the UK (FSA, Bank of England and H.M. Treasury); some of the important EU/international banking entities, e.g. ECB, EIB, EBRD, the IMF, Federal Reserve and the World Bank; Authorisation and passporting of credit institution activities within the EEA; Capital Adequacy principles/Basel III; the notion of insider trading and the Market Abuse Directive; the supervision of investment firms within the EU and the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID); Money Laundering and the three anti-money laundering Directives; Islamic Finance and, lastly, Conflict of Laws in a banking/financial services context. Students will have a wide range of Banking Law options to choose from, and may therefore acquire broad as opposed to specialised knowledge.
Through carefully designed course work and varied teaching approaches, students will acquire the intellectual open-ness, technical expertise and critical thinking abilities that are necessary for effectiveness in a globalising world. The programme will equip students to respond effectively to the wide range of intellectual and professional challenges facing contemporary Banking Lawyers. The LLM in Law & Banking will equip them to deal with both case work and policy making.

Employment Opportunities
Employment opportunities for graduates of the programme will include work with international law firms; banks or investment firms (as in-house counsel); specialised banks or central banks e.g. European Investment Bank, EBRD, the ECB (the EUs central bank), the African Development Bank, the IMF and the World Bank; national financial regulatory authorities and international organisations such as the World Trade Organisation, the European Union, international courts and tribunals, think tanks and research centres, and government (eg. Ministry of Finance). Having taken one of our programmes, there will, of course, also be possibilities for academically inclined students to pursue careers in teaching and research.

Compulsory Modules

* Legal Research Methods
* International Banking Law
* Dissertation on any topic within Law & Banking

Optional Modules (choose 4)

* International Criminal Law
* International Human Rights Law
* Childrens Rights in Domestic and International Law
* European Human Rights Law
* EU Internal Markets Law
* Competition Law
* Global Trade Law
* Comparative Corporate Governance
* International Commercial Arbitration
* Intellectual Property Law
* International Law of Armed Conflict
* Dealing with the Legacies of the Past

Structure

Part 1: Taught modules are undertaken in the period of September to June and will involve the study of 120 credits.

Teaching will mostly be seminar based which will promote group and individual interaction, which also ensures that every individual student is encouraged to contribute to discussions. Seminar based teaching enables lecturers and students to discuss issues and investigate topics in greater depth, develops critical thinking and solution based learning skills in students, whilst also allowing the course teachers to monitor closely each individuals progress. Emphasis will be placed on the use of virtual learning through the mechanism of the Blackboard computer assisted learning system and databases such as Westlaw and LexisNexis. Throughout all modules comparative elements with other legal systems will be emphasised.

Part 2: the dissertation is valued at 60 credits and is undertaken during the period of June to September, on successful completion of part 1. The Dissertation of approximately 20,000 words in length, and will focus on a legal topic reflecting students specialised interests and may be on an area either related to taught modules or a commercially related topic outside those studied in the Part One taught modules.

Teaching will be in English, however according to the Universitys Welsh Language policy, students who so wish may be examined and present essays, coursework and dissertations through the medium of Welsh.

We accept applications from graduates of LLB (Single and Joint Honours) and related subjects such as Accountancy, Finance, Banking and Management Studies, Politics, International Relations and the Social Sciences. For LLB graduates and those with a related degree, we normally require a minimum of a lower second class degree from an approved University. Applications with degrees in unrelated disciplines will be considered on a case by case basis for students with degrees in other subjects. Alternatively, possession of a suitable professional qualification or relevant practical experience may be accepted. In general, all applicants are judged on their individual merits. Work experience and other factors are also taken into consideration. We have many years experience of making offers of entry based on qualifications awarded worldwide and we welcome applications from international students. Entry will require a qualification deemed to be equivalent in level to the UK bachelor degree.International applicants are normally required to provide evidence of English language proficiency. The minimum English language requirements will normally be: * IELTS 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each individual component score * Internet-Based TOEFL / IBT: 85 English Language Requirements IELTS band: 6.5 TOEFL iBT® test: 85 IMPORTANT NOTE: Since April 2014 the ETS tests (including TOEFL and TOEIC) are no longer accepted for Tier 4 visa applications to the United Kingdom. The university might still accept these tests to admit you to the university, but if you require a Tier 4 visa to enter the UK and begin your degree programme, these tests will not be sufficient to obtain your Visa. The IELTS test is most widely accepted by universities and is also accepted for Tier 4 visas to the UK- learn more.