Course Descriptions

This course covers the following topics:

The rules and principles for preparing legal research papers, the methods, functions and objectives of legal research, legal research techniques, the practical writing of legal research, the strategy required to carry it out, and the principles to be observed in writing it in terms of form and substance, drawing conclusions and presenting recommendations. The course naturally includes training the student in how to use sources and references, as well as consulting the most important legal websites on the World Wide Web (the Internet) to extract information from them, in addition to following up on practical application.

This course addresses comparative law and its relationship to contemporary legal systems, and provides an in-depth study of the following topics:

First: Concepts:

• The concept of comparative law: its definition, the determination of its forms, and the identification of its nature and importance.
• The methods and approaches adopted in the study of comparative law, in particular the foundations of these methods and approaches, the various developments they have undergone, and all the stages of the comparative research adopted.
• The concept of the contemporary legal system: its definition, and the classification of legal systems.
• Linking comparative law to the objectives of contemporary legal systems.

Second: Experiences. There are four:

• The first experience: legal systems based on judicial precedent, in particular:
  • The English legal system
  • The American legal system
• The second experience: legal systems based on legislative text, in particular:
  • The French legal system
  • The German legal system
• The third experience: the Islamic legal system:
  • Its characteristics
  • The problem of its codification
• The fourth experience: Arab legal systems:
  • Their frame of reference
  • Their content
  • Their risks

This course covers the study of different legal topics from the fields of public law and private law, taught in English. It includes precise specialisations selected from the branches of public law and private law, together with research hours in which students are required to prepare in-depth methodical research based on readings from the most important legal references in English.

This course addresses the following topics:

General curriculum: This course covers the topics relating to the philosophy of law, beginning with an explanation of the meaning of philosophy and the meaning of the philosophy of law, the relationship between the philosophy of law and the history of law, an account of the stages in the development of the concept of law, its objectives, functions and its relationship to other sciences, the interpretation of law, the relationship between Islamic philosophy and the philosophy of law, the philosophy of law and jurisprudential rules, the sources of the legal rule and its interpretation, legislative philosophy in the laws of the United Arab Emirates, natural law, the rules of justice and equity, and the notion of public order and public morals.

Specific curriculum: After the course instructor has highlighted the topics of the general curriculum, the instructor selects one of the topics of the general curriculum and begins to expand on it, such as the influence of Islamic Sharia and natural law on the laws of the United Arab Emirates, and the codification of the most important jurisprudential rules to assist in interpreting the legal text.

General curriculum: This course covers some important topics relating to the philosophy of personal rights, real rights and intellectual rights, the role of will within the scope of personal rights, and the legal organisation of this role through the voluntary sources of obligation, the elements of the non-voluntary sources of obligation, harmful acts and unjust enrichment, the philosophy of objective civil liability, the role of will in the termination of obligations, the means by which a creditor protects their right, and the monitoring of the debtor's financial position. Real rights: the philosophy of organising ownership in the Civil Transactions Law, and the philosophy of both types of pledge, the security pledge and the possessory pledge.

Specific curriculum: The specific curriculum of this course includes an in-depth study of one or more topics of the Civil Transactions Law, the choice of topic being subject to the course instructor, such as examples of emerging contracts or professional liability.

This course addresses the following topics:

General curriculum: This course is concerned with the study of commercial and economic legislation, as well as legislation relating to investment, and the effect of this legislation on development and investment in the United Arab Emirates in particular. It is delivered through interactive discussion panels, presenting and discussing students' ideas, with the aim of enriching critical and analytical thinking in the field of commercial law.

Specific curriculum: Study with in-depth focus on one or more of the following issues:

1. The legal regulation of emerging digital currencies in Emirati and comparative legislation
2. The legal protection of foreign investments in the United Arab Emirates
3. Licensing the use of a trademark
4. The legal regulation of trade names

This course is delivered through the study of both the theoretical and practical aspects, the preparation of research papers and work reports for discussion and comment to enrich analytical thinking in law, and interactive discussion panels on the topics raised, with the aim of reaching results and recommendations to be presented to the relevant and competent authorities.

This course provides an in-depth study of Private International Law, addressing one of the following topics:

The law applicable to emerging contracts such as smart contracts, and the role of conflict of laws in the field of artificial intelligence and its related areas; substantive rules; the theory of conflict of laws in Islamic jurisprudence; the law applicable to, and international jurisdiction over, relationships conducted over the internet; the law applicable to international trade contracts and international investments and the role of substantive rules; the law applicable to sports disputes; the law applied to personal status disputes; and finally nationality and the status of foreigners and their intersection with the problem of conflict of laws and international jurisdiction.

This course covers a number of topics, with as much focus as possible on the new aspects of the Civil Procedure Law, as follows:

First: General curriculum: This includes the definition of the Civil Procedure Law, its topics, its scope of application, its relationship with other procedural laws, and the statement of the rules relating to the foundations of litigation and fair trials; the determination of the rules of jurisdiction and competence; the theory of the dispute and its incidents and the procedural objections relating to it; together with the statement of matters relating to judgments and orders, how they are issued, and the methods of appealing against them; and the rules and procedures of compulsory enforcement and disputes relating to them.

Second: Specific curriculum: This includes the study of one or more topics of the general curriculum in greater detail, depth and comprehensiveness, covering all their aspects, consistent with all legislative, jurisprudential and judicial developments in the various procedural aspects, so as to benefit procedural legal thought and contribute to its development and enrichment on the one hand, and to positively influence the development of the legal and judicial community across all frameworks and levels on the other.

This course addresses the following topics:

General curriculum: The course covers the study of the general principles of evidence in civil and commercial claims, and the direct and indirect means of proof. It studies written evidence (official documents and ordinary documents), as well as the testimony of witnesses, inspection and expert opinion. Among the indirect means of proof, the student learns about legal and judicial presumptions, judicial and extra-judicial admissions, and the decisive and supplementary oath. At the conclusion of the means of proof, the electronic means of evidence are studied.

Specific curriculum: This covers a detailed study of the rules relating to the subject of proof or the burden of proof, or the study of the provisions relating to one of the means of proof stipulated by law, and the study of electronic means of proof, the electronic signature and their authority in evidence.

This course covers:

General curriculum: An explanation of the provisions of the UAE Labour Law, in which the legislator regulated employment relationships under Federal Decree-Law No. (33) of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations; Federal Decree-Law No. (14) of 2022 amending certain provisions of Federal Decree-Law No. (33) of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations; Federal Decree-Law No. (20) of 2023 amending certain provisions of Federal Decree-Law No. (33) of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations; its Executive Regulation issued by the Cabinet by Resolution No. (1) of 2022, and the decisions issued in implementation of it. The study sets out its provisions in accordance with the latest amendments, and related decisions of the Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, such as Ministerial Resolution No. 42 of 2022 on wage protection, Ministerial Resolution No. (48) of 2022 on regulating labour inspection procedures, Ministerial Resolution No. (27) of 2022 on the labour inspection procedures manual, and Cabinet Resolution No. (46) of 2022 establishing the Collective Labour Disputes Committee. It also includes Ministerial Resolution No. (787) of 2017 on regulating remote work, and reference to Federal Decree-Law No. (9) of 2022 on domestic workers.

Specific curriculum: This includes an in-depth study of one or more topics of labour law, such as the remote work contract, the legal protection of domestic workers, and the settlement of collective labour disputes.

This course covers the following topics:

General curriculum: A study of the most important aspects of arbitration, such as the arbitration agreement and its types, the basic principles governing its procedures, the law applicable to the procedures or to the subject matter of arbitration, and the nullity and enforcement of arbitral awards.

Specific curriculum: A study of one of the above topics in depth, or any of the following topics: the law applicable to arbitration disputes; arbitration in the Islamic finance industry; the particularity of the law applied before Islamic arbitration centres; arbitration in intellectual property disputes; arbitration in international trade and electronic commerce contracts, maritime commercial disputes, and also arbitration in international sports disputes; in addition to the problem of annulment of an arbitral award and the problems of enforcing foreign arbitral awards, such as enforcing a void foreign arbitral award.

This course addresses the following topics:

General curriculum: The general framework of this course covers the study of modern topics in the fields of company and bankruptcy law at national and regional levels, such as the theory of the company contract and its impact on promoting development and investment. It focuses generally on companies, their development, provisions, types, liquidation, and mechanisms for protecting distressed commercial enterprises from bankruptcy.

Specific curriculum: In-depth study of one or more of the following issues:

1. The legal regulation of supervision of the actions of the board of directors of a public joint stock company
2. The legal system for the transformation of companies
3. The merger of companies
4. Mechanisms for protecting commercial enterprises from bankruptcy (restructuring)
5. Preventive settlement to avoid bankruptcy

This course is delivered through the study of both the theoretical and practical aspects, the preparation of research papers and work reports for discussion and comment to enrich analytical thinking in law, and interactive discussion panels on the topics raised in the fields of companies and bankruptcy, with the aim of reaching results and recommendations to be presented to the relevant authorities.

This course addresses the following topics:

General curriculum: This course is concerned with the study of banking operations and their role in bank credit operations and their effect on economic development in the United Arab Emirates in particular, together with the practical applications of these operations. It also covers the study of legislation relating to banks and the supervision of banking activities.

Specific curriculum: In-depth study of one or more of the following issues:

1. Documentary credit (legal regulation, and the international rules and customs that govern it)
2. Bank guarantee letters
3. Current account
4. Bank guarantees and bank transfers

This course is delivered through the study of both the theoretical and practical aspects, the preparation of research papers and work reports for discussion and comment to enrich analytical thinking in law, and interactive discussion panels on the topics raised, with the aim of reaching results and recommendations to be presented to the relevant and competent authorities.

This course covers topics relating to economic administrative law, as follows:

• The nature of economic administrative law: its definition, origin, characteristics and sources.
• Economic administrative organisation at the level of central institutions and non-central institutions.
• Through the examination of the legal framework for State intervention in the economic field, the following are addressed:
  • The principles governing State intervention in the economic field,
  • The mechanisms of State intervention in the economic field,
  • The status of competition (law and institutions) in economic activity,
  • The role of the State in the economic field.
• The course also addresses the public economic sector:
  • Its definition, characteristics, origin and development,
  • Its relationship to the development of State functions,
  • The concept of the public economic institution,
  • The laws regulating the public sector,
  • The concept of the economic public order,
  • The concept of independent administrative authorities.

This course covers:

An in-depth study of some topics of contemporary economic and financial systems and legislation, such as the relationship between tax policy and the applied economic systems, the relationship between tax policy, economic policies and investment, as well as competition and anti-monopoly legislation and anti-dumping laws. Emphasis is placed on the new aspects in the field of economic and financial legislation, with application to the United Arab Emirates.

This course covers the topic of the sources of constitutional law.

It contains an in-depth study of the following topics:

• The concept of the sources of law, and the distinction between the material sources and the formal sources of law.
• The material sources of constitutional law, in particular: history, politics, religion, sociology, economics and constitutional inspiration.
• The formal sources of constitutional law, whether official and written sources (the constitution, ratified international treaties, legislative texts, regulations and rules), or unwritten sources (constitutional custom, general principles of law, judicial jurisprudence, and constitutional doctrine).
• The importance of guaranteeing the supremacy of the constitution, in particular:
  • The constitutional institution entrusted with guaranteeing and protecting the supremacy of the constitution,
  • The mechanisms adopted to guarantee the supremacy of the constitution,
  • The effects arising from decisions issued to guarantee and uphold the supremacy of the constitution.

This course is devoted to an in-depth study of some issues of criminal law in both its general and special parts.

It includes issues from:

General criminal law, in both its parts of crime and punishment, and issues from special criminal law in both its parts: offences against property and offences against persons.

It includes an in-depth study of one of the topics of criminal law, such as: the general theory of criminal intent, the philosophy of punishment in Islamic Sharia, corporal punishments and their effect on combating crime, and contemporary criminal policy: a comparative study.

This course covers the following topics:

General curriculum: This includes the study of some important topics in Public International Law, such as maritime zones under the law of the sea, international responsibility, and diplomatic and consular relations.

Specific curriculum: This includes an in-depth study of one or more topics of Public International Law, such as State immunity, State succession, unilateral acts of States, sustainable development in international law, and the international law of outer space.

This course covers the following topics:

General curriculum: An introduction to international humanitarian law, the historical development of the theory of war, the evolution of the concept of international and non-international armed conflict, and the conventions governing international humanitarian law.

Specific curriculum: This includes an in-depth study of one or more topics of international humanitarian law, such as private military companies in armed conflict; the use of advanced military technologies in armed conflict (unmanned aerial vehicles); the principles of international humanitarian law; the participation of non-State entities in armed conflict; and the protection of civilian populations during armed conflict.

This course covers:

The most important regulatory aspects of financial legislation in the United Arab Emirates, including an explanation of the categories of sovereign public revenue and non-sovereign public revenue, and an analysis of the State's financial sovereignty exercised in the field of taxation, with a focus on the decisive role of taxes in public finance, economic development and social justice.

This course is devoted to the study of some issues of emerging crimes in special criminal legislation. It contains issues from general criminal law in both its parts of crime and punishment. The course also includes a study of models of some emerging crimes, including cybercrimes through their definition, elements, forms and types, the difference between them and traditional crimes under Federal Decree-Law No. (34) of 2021 on Combating Rumours and Cybercrimes, as well as crimes connected with emerging topics such as crimes related to artificial intelligence, electronic consumer protection, or money laundering through social media.

This course addresses the following topics:

General curriculum: A study of the general principles of criminal procedure through the stages of evidence gathering, preliminary investigation and trial, and the methods of appealing judgments, with focus on the principles relevant to the subject taught in the specific curriculum.

Specific curriculum: This covers the study of the provisions governing the conduct of criminal proceedings, the rules of proof, especially in models of emerging crimes, and the methods of appealing judgments. The study is in-depth and comparative, and focuses on modern topics in the specialisation, such as alternatives to criminal proceedings, the penal order and conciliation in criminal matters, and others; as well as the authority of electronic evidence in criminal proof, in terms of its treatment of the rules of criminal proof in comparative legal systems. The course instructor selects one of these topics.