Máster Universitario en International and European Business Law

Sedes de realización del curso: Madrid

The School of Law at Comillas Pontifical University has developed this Master in International and European Business Law as a response to the increasing demand of highly specialized and business-oriented lawyers that companies and law firms have been expressing in recent meetings, seminars and job markets.

Almost every business has an international dimension, and companies require an increasingly global approach from their legal advisors. Developing consistent and integral legal strategies is key for companies to make the most of their business opportunities, particularly in the European Union. However, sound global legal advice is not a commodity and companies are permanently in search for business-oriented and technically outstanding legal professionals.

The objective of the Master in International and European Business Law is to educate and prepare highly-skilled legal professionals that fully understand the rules governing international business and the internal market, so that they can make a substantial contribution to companies based in the EU or conducting international business in the EU-area.

The Master in International and European Business Law offers:

A truly global approach, since its curriculum is fully designed on the basis of international and EU law and specifically tailored to the needs of spearhead international business and transactions.
A truly practical approach that takes full advantage of the case method by focusing the core of discussions on the students´ analysis not only of landmark cases, but also current cases.
Personal assessment and individualized coaching by a diverse and highly qualified faculty that includes top class professionals and academics.

Application period
The application process starts on 14th of February, 2011 and it will be open until July 15th, 2011..

Information on the application process

Duration
One academic year although there is the possibility to take it over two consecutive years for students with special educational needs.

Credits
60 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System)

Timetable
Full time, afternoon and evening sessions. The Master starts in mid-August 2011 and finishes at the end of April 2012. 1st edition (2011/2012).

Study system
Face-to-face and taught completely in English. The Master´s program includes a mandatory intensive pre-campus, which will take place in Madrid in the second half of August.

Price and Payment Conditions
25.000 Euro, divided in a downpayment of 1.509 Euro upon admission and eight consecutive monthly payments of 2.936,40 Euro.

The Master in International and European Business Law is designed for Spanish and foreign recent graduates and lawyers with brief professional experience. The program is also designed for JD candidates at United States´ Law Schools willing to spend one year abroad and to gain a European degree as a complement to their American education.

Requirements
In order to access the official Master in International and European Business Law, the applicants will be required to hold a law degree issued by an official Spanish University or by a higher education institution within the European Higher Education Area that grants access to postgraduate studies in the country of issue. Those applicants whose degrees are not from the European Higher Education Area can access the Master course with no need for official confirmation, once the Comillas Pontifical University has verified that these accredit an educational level equivalent to those corresponding to official Spanish University degrees and grant access to postgraduate studies authorized by the issuing country. In no case does such access imply official confirmation of the previous degree held by the person concerned, nor its recognition other than for the purpose of studying the Master.

Admission to the Master is open to those candidates who comply with the following profile:

have a degree or equivalent certificate, in which the student has completed 180 credits involving subjects of a legal nature; or are enrolled in second or third year of a Juris Doctor (JD) program in United States University;
have an academic record with an average merit pass (7.0) or above in the Degree or equivalent studies, unless due to motivation and track record, admission is considered to be advisable;
accredit sufficient knowledge of English, in particular as applied to legal questions. Accreditation can be verified by the submittal of documentation justifying the required level, either through having passed an ad hoc exam or through a personal interview.

Summary of the Master´s program
The content of the Master in International and European Business Law is structured around four main modules, devoted to the following: (1) the institutional framework for EU business affairs, (2) EU and international business regulation, (3) EU market regulation and (4) international & EU legal practice and enforcement. These four modules are complemented with practical seminars on hot topics related to business law (such as due diligence or negotiation strategies) and the drafting of a Master´s thesis on a subject chosen by the student from among those included in the four main modules of the program.

Pre-Campus (2 ECTS)
The purpose of this initiation course is to create the proper environment for the most productive development of the program. During these two weeks, students should get to know each other and the members of the Faculty more closely involved with the program. The academic content in this period includes: (1) A Basic EU Law Seminar (1 ECTS), aiming to provide all students with a common starting point on the basics of EU Law, both from a substantive and an institutional perspective. (2) A Legal Research Course (0,5 ECTS) that makes the students familiar with the resources they will be required to use during the program and, most notably, in the preparation of the Master´s Thesis. Basic indications regarding the selection of topics, supervisors, etc will be provided. (3) A Case Method Workshop (0,5 ECTS) where students will work on cases similar to those to be developed during the program. This workshop should guarantee that all students are familiar with the working method of the program, so that professors do not need to spend time on method.

Master´s contents
The content of the four main modules is divided into the following groups of subjects:

Module 1: INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR EU BUSINESS AFFAIRS:
"International Affairs and Geo-Strategy from the EU Perspective" (2 ECTS).
"International and EU Economic Institutions" (3 ECTS).
"International and EU Trade Law" (3 ECTS).
Module 2: INTERNATIONAL & EU BUSINESS REGULATION:
"EU Corporate Law and Corporate Engineering" (4 ECTS).
"EU Tax Law and International Tax Planning" (4 ECTS).
"International Contracts in the EU" (3 ECTS).
"EU Insolvency Law, Credit Protection and Recovery in the EU" (2 ECTS).
"Tort, Liability and EU Insurance Law" (2 ECTS).
"EU Labor Law" (2 ECTS).
"EU Cross-Border Corporate and Financial Crime" (1 ECTS).
Module 3: EU MARKET REGULATION:
"EU Competition, IP and Trademark Law" (3 ECTS).
"EU Capital Markets and Securities Law" (3 ECTS).
"EU Industry Regulation (Energy, Telecoms, Media, Transport) & EU Public Procurement Law" (3 ECTS).
"EU Consumer Protection Law" (1 ECTS).
Module 4: INTERNATIONAL & EU LEGAL PRACTICE AND ENFORCEMENT:
"Commercial Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution" (3 ECTS).
"Procedures before the European Commission and the European Court of Justice" (2 ECTS).
"Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Legal Documents in the EU" (2 ECTS).
"Accounting and Finance for Lawyers" (2 ECTS).
"Advanced Legal Writing: Drafting Business Transactions" (2 ECTS).
"Legal Ethics and Legal Privilege in an International Context" (1 ECTS).
Legal Clinics and Seminars
The program also includes:

Hot Topics Seminars (2 ECTS).
Negotiation and Legal Strategy Clinic (1 ECTS)
Master´s Thesis (6 ECTS)
Research thesis conducted under the direct supervision of a member of the Master´s Faculty on any of the legal topics covered in the curriculum. The thesis should be developed on issues that go beyond the specific contents of the regular curriculum and that allow the candidate to prove mastery of the chosen field of international business law.

Further information on the Master´s curriculum