Online Law 2025-2026

Law Access is a flexible, online course. The course is 100% online, so you can enrol whenever you like and study at your own pace. The course is designed to help you access university and college courses, and provide an introduction to the study of law in an academic setting.

The Law Access Course will cover a wide range of themes covered by courses studied by students in Year 1 of their law degree. The course encompasses subject areas such as sources of Scots criminal and civil law, the legal profession in Scotland, the Scottish court system, judicial precedent, and the making and interpretation of Acts of Parliament.

You will gain a foundational understanding of law as a subject and begin to develop key skills for legal study and research.

The course will help you cultivate an interest in law, as well as prepare you to study independently at University level. Learning outcomes and skills will be embedded in the materials and activities. Teaching and learning will be solely online and involve engaging lectures and practice tests, with an accessible course co-ordinator to handle any questions you may have.

Those operating in the dispute resolution field need to understand some of the legal principles which underpin activity in this area. This course covers the main principles of contract law (which underpins the negotiation, arbitral and mediation contracts) tort/delict (which can be a basis for liability as an alternative to contract in arbitral proceedings) and some of the rules of civil evidence (which can apply in arbitration, with some implications around privilege and confidentiality for negotiation and mediation). This course can (along with other courses) contribute to Fellowship exemption with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

This course offers students the opportunity to study the theory of mediation and to develop their skills in mediation practice. The course is designed to enable students to learn independently, with ongoing facilitation and support from experienced teaching staff. Students are encouraged to interact with tutors, peers and study groups to develop knowledge, understanding and interpersonal skills, which are critical for the effective practice of mediation. In addition, students will study conflict theory and communication skills, as well as the process and theory of different models of mediation and their application in the many areas where mediation is practised.

Students will be encouraged to critically reflect on their own styles and learning, a pre-requisite for effective mediation practice. It will look in detail at the full range of generic mediation skills, making it suitable for prospective mediators in all situations and jurisdictions.

A successful student will achieve a good understanding of the basic principles of conflict resolution with some practical experience of mediating disputes.

This course provides a detailed overview of key legal and regulatory issues in the development of hydrocarbon resources. Teaching will be by a variety of methods including podcasts, directed reading, and interactive discussion. The course will cover: the physical and technical context of hydrocarbon development; the geopolitical context of hydrocarbon development; energy security in the context of climate change; national oil companies; petroleum licensing; production sharing agreements; fiscal arrangements; international maritime boundaries and joint development agreements.

This course provides a detailed overview of key issues in health and safety law and environmental regulation in the context of the oil and gas industry.  Teaching and instruction will be by a variety of methods including podcasts, core readings, discussion boards and interactive discussion.  The course will cover such topics as: regulatory theory (the different modes of regulation, including command and control and goal-setting), health and safety (with specific sub-topics to include the UK regime, the US regime, the Australian regime, Well integrity, Identity of regulator) and environmental regulation (public law, private law, prevention, liability, vulnerable areas).  This course is available to students registering for the Online LLM Oil and Gas Law programmes (Dissertation or Professional Skills).

This course provides a detailed overview of the international and domestic legal regulatory framework pertaining to the decommissioning of offshore oil and gas installations. Teaching and instruction will be by a variety of methods including podcasts, directed reading, and interactive discussion. Topics covered are: International law of the sea; global legal regime for offshore decommissioning; dumping – the UNCLOS, London and Oslo Conventions; Implementing international law in the UK and the Brent Spar Case; Legal and regulatory consequences of Brent Spar; the ongoing evolution of UK decommissioning law; the comparative dimension; waste. This course is available to students registering for the Online LLM Oil and Gas Law programmes (Dissertation or Professional Skills) and MSC Decommissioning.

This course provides a detailed overview of the cooperative contracts utilised to govern the commercial relationship between oil and gas companies when they form consortia in order to bid for and develop oil and gas assets.  Teaching and instruction will be by a variety of methods including podcasts, core readings, discussion boards and interactive discussion.  The course will cover such topics as the purpose and key terms of Area of Mutual Interest agreements; Confidentiality Agreements; Joint Bidding Agreements; Joint Operating Agreements and Unitisation and Unit Operating Agreements.  It will provide a detailed discussion of selected issues including the significance of the legal nature of the joint venture, the problem of dissensus between the co-venturers and the legal issues arising from a default in a party’s obligations under the joint venture.  This course is available to students registering for the online LLM Oil and Gas Law programme (Dissertation or Professional Skills).

This course provides students from diverse legal and educational backgrounds with a common understanding of the core research, analytical, and writing skills which will be required for LLM-Taught courses. The course is delivered as a series of five pre-recorded lectures with two individual assignments designed to encourage critical thinking and provide opportunities for early feedback.

The course examines legal issues arising in relation to international sale contracts, governed either by English Common Law/ SOGA 1979 or by the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (Vienna, 1980) (CISG).  This course acknowledges the importance of sale in international trade, and it is designed in a way to offer a myriad of legal concepts and rules under English law and the CISG.

This course examines the most common methods of payment and finance in the context of international sale of goods.  This includes documentary letters of credit, demand guarantees, and newly developed financing methods by technological innovation such as supply chain finance and invoice trading.

The aim of this course is to study the substantive legal issues arising from disputes under international investment agreements. The course examines the interplay between a state's right to regulate and substantive protections offered to foreign investors to protect their investments, including fair and equitable treatment (FET) and expropriation. It will be an interactive and dynamic course; students will have the opportunity to work on a FET lab.

This course studies the procedural issues arising from investor-state arbitration. The course will discuss the different aspects of the investor-state arbitration process, starting from the differences between commercial and treaty disputes, studying the notion of sovereign immunity and the understanding of the procedural issues that often arise, such as transparency, the role of amicus curiae and enforcement of international investment awards.

Arbitration is growing in popularity as a dispute resolution method across various sectors, in domestic, international and transnational disputes. The law in this area is technical and complex. A full understanding of how it operates is therefore essential for anyone advising or representing clients, framing contracts carrying arbitration clauses or serving as an arbitrator.

A transition from reliance on fossil fuels to low-carbon renewable energy is essential for mitigating climate change and for making energy supplies more sustainable. This course examines the legal frameworks governing authorisation of renewable energy projects, as well as health, safety & environmental regulation. With a focus on the UK and Scotland, the course also considers European Union and other jurisdictions to draw comparison and analysis.

A transition from reliance on fossil fuels to low-carbon renewable energy is essential for mitigating climate change and for making energy supplies more sustainable. This course examines the legal frameworks governing public participation requirement, sustainability, as well as subsidy and support schemes for renewable energy. With a focus on the UK and Scotland, the course also considers European Union and other jurisdictions to draw comparison and analysis.

An online course to prepare students for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) Parts 1 and 2 set by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. This self-study course will be supported by extensive online resources, tutor-led online information sessions and opportunities to join topic-specific discussion boards and online forums.

The vast majority of disputes and differences of a civil, that is, non-criminal nature are resolved before one of the parties commences legal proceedings. Somewhere between 85% and 95% of those disputes and differences are resolved before the commencement of the hearing of the legal proceedings.

This course will examine issues such as:

1. International business contracts - Negotiations, drafting and conclusion;
2. Conflict and business disputes - Why to choose ADR and the possibility to renegotiate;
3. Developing strategies for negotiations;
4. Different negotiation tactics and perspectives;
5. Cognitive influences
6. Power and persuasion.

Those operating in the dispute resolution field need to understand some of the legal principles which underpin activity in this area. This course covers the main principles of contract law (which underpins the negotiation, arbitral and mediation contracts) tort/delict (which can be a basis for liability as an alternative to contract in arbitral proceedings) and some of the rules of civil evidence (which can apply in arbitration, with some implications around privilege and confidentiality for negotiation and mediation). This course can (along with other courses) contribute to Fellowship exemption with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

This course provides a detailed overview of the law relating to risk allocation provisions in oilfield contracts.  Teaching and instruction will be by a variety of methods including podcasts, core readings, discussion boards and interactive discussion: Role of insurance, public policy challenges, gross negligence, third party issues and solutions, limitations of different solutions, different approaches in jurisdictions, contractual interpretation. This course is available to students registering for the Online  LLM Oil and Gas Law programmes (Dissertation or Professional Skills).

This course provides a detailed overview of the international and domestic law and regulatory regime pertaining to the proper governance of petroleum developments.  Teaching and instruction will be by a variety of methods including podcasts, core readings, discussion boards and interactive discussion.  Topics will include:  what is  governance, Regulation / governance theory, the State's role in governance, The role of legal institutions, The role of NOCs in governance, Norwegian approach, Transparency, Corruption, Use of law to counter corruption, Uganda, Greenland. This course is available to students registering for the Online LLM Oil and Gas Law programmes (Dissertation or Professional Skills).

The course provides students with a comprehensive overview of the commercial issues which arise when decommissioning offshore installations.  The course will focus in particular upon the UK example.  It will consider standardised documentation including LOGIC and BIMCO contracts,  key contractual clauses, innovative contracting models and the legal (including tax) issues which arise as a result of decommissioning costs.

This course provides students from diverse legal and educational backgrounds with a common understanding of the core research, analytical, and writing skills which will be required for LLM-Taught courses. The course is delivered as a series of five pre-recorded lectures with two individual assignments designed to encourage critical thinking and provide opportunities for early feedback.

Running from February to May each year, this course is intended to equip distance learning students with the skills required to begin work on writing the dissertation course (LS5910). Students will be given online lectures relating to writing the dissertation and also given the opportunity to plan their dissertations with academic members of staff in the School of Law.

Running from May to mid-August, this course is intended to support distance learning students in progressing, completing an, finally, submitting their 10.000-word (online) dissertation on the topic they have previously chosen and agreed upon with their advisers.  Students will be given the opportunity to discuss their progress with their advisers as well as with other students enrolled on the same course.

The course examines fundamental concepts, principles and institutions of the World Trade Organization (WTO), with emphasis on trade in goods (GATT).  The main topics covered include relevant historical and institutional developments, core principles such as the non-discrimination, most-favoured-nation (MFN) and the prohibition of quantitative restrictions on international trade, and WTO dispute settlement. The course also critically analyses classical and contemporary challenges in the context of agriculture, environment, intellectual property rights, investment, human rights/labour rights and development. 

The course provides an advanced introduction to the legal frameworks that enable and combat strategic lawsuits against public participation or SLAPPs. There is increased awareness of the use of lawsuits and threats to intimidate, harass and silence public participation on public interest matters. The threat that SLAPPs present to human rights, democracy and the rule of law has led national and regional legislatures to introduce laws to remedy and deter SLAPPs. These are commonly termed Anti-SLAPP Laws.

Through the use of case studies, students will be introduced to the many ways in which the legal system may be used by powerful state and non-state actors to silence people speaking out on public interest concerns. Once students have a firm grasp of these abusive litigation tactic and their implications for human rights, the course proceeds to consider contemporary regulatory and legislative responses to SLAPPs in the UK, EU and from the Council of Europe. By the end of the course, students will be able to identify SLAPPs, apply and evaluate Anti-SLAPP laws and critically analyse the relationship between SLAPPs and fundamental rights.

This course examines the diversity of laws, policies and practices that shape global food systems. It considers crucial legal issues applicable to the production, processing, packaging, marketing, consumption and disposal of food such as food sovereignty, food security, right to food, intellectual property rights relating to food, food safety, food waste as well as the food -water -energy nexus. The course encourages debates, original thinking and formulation of opinions on the complex and often controversial issues covered. Whilst the course analyses the core multilateral instruments along with regional and bilateral treaties related to food, it employs relevant case studies from regional and national levels to illustrate points.

This course examines the legal and policy framework governing the energy market design and decarbonisation. In particular, it will engage in the issues of energy market liberalisation, network regulation, and measures related to decarbonising the electricity supply. With a focus on the UK, the course also considers European Union and other jurisdictions to draw comparison and analysis.

 Climate change is the biggest environmental challenge of our time and the energy sector is a large contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Addressing emissions in the energy sector requires a range of regulatory tools and strategies, and action by a range of actors, from governments, to corporations, to individuals. This course examines climate law at the international and national levels, critically analysing the role of law in mitigating the climate crisis. It will also consider some of the legal instruments, policies, strategies and tools in regulating emissions in the energy sector.

The complex interaction between investment protection and the sovereign right of states to regulate has been most acute in the energy sector. On the one hand, investors require strong guarantees that states will respect the “rules of the game” that constitute the basis of their investments. On the other, states can be tempted to interfere with foreign energy investments because of their strategic and social importance. This course aims to analyse if existing investment disciplines and international investment protection framework, are adapted to the specific regulatory risks that investors face in the energy landscape of the 21st Century and how best to avoid disputes and manage them.

The course will provide an understanding for petroleum data managers from legal, commercial and security standpoints of contemporary legal challenges involving data protection and privacy from commercial, state and activist perspectives such as big data and data mining; intellectual property; regulatory frameworks; competition law.

Between May and mid-August students prepare a 10,000 word dissertation on a topic of their choice related to their specialist LLM programme. Students are instructed through the delivery of a preparatory lecture, two supervisory meetings and a programme specific support session. Students are expected to spend considerable time on independent research throughout the course of the dissertation module, including; preparation of dissertation plan, amendment of plan in accordance with supervisory comments, preparation for the support session, and, of course, in the final 10,000 word dissertation itself.