LLM in E Law and Commercial Law
Dr Darius Whelan,
University College CorkLEFIS Workshop – Durham 2004
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UCC Faculty of Law
• Over 500 undergraduate Students (day and evening)
• Over 50 postgraduate Students
• 20 full-time staff
• Strong Research Record
• Website: www.ucc.ie/law/
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Law Online at UCC• Irish partner of BAILII – British and Irish
Legal Information Institute – www.bailii.org
• Irish Legal Information Initiative – www.irlii.org
• Irish Law Site – www.irishlaw.org
• Cork Online Law Review – colr.ucc.ie
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LLM in E Law and Commercial Law
• Only one of its kind in Republic of Ireland• Minor thesis plus six units• Minor thesis (12,500 words) must be on e-Law or
Commercial Law• Compulsory Units:
– Internet Regulation– Current Issues in CyberLaw– Electronic Commerce Law
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• Two units from the area of Commercial Law– Advanced EC Competition Law
– Information Law and Policy
– Principles of Environmental Law
– Intellectual Property Law
– Law of Credit and Security
– Mergers and Acquisitions Law
• One unit either from units above or from:– Contemporary Issues in Irish Constitutional Law;
Challenges in Medical Law and Policy; Criminology; Immigration and Refugee Law; International Criminal Law; Juvenile Justice; Penology
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Internet Regulation• Dr Darius Whelan• Topics:
– Policy Issues– Cybercrime– Intellectual Property– Aspects of Domain Name Law– Online Dispute Resolution (ODR)
• Participation in online mediation & arbitration competition
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Current Issues in CyberLaw• Professor Steve Hedley• Topics:
– Defamation and reputation management – IP issues generally – Jurisdiction – Ownership of links in civil law – Search engines and the law – Access to websites, and website policies – Cookies and anonymity online – Data retention and surveillance – Multi-national law making – Survival of old concepts, and a distinctive ‘cyberlaw’
– Law and control of computer users - Lessig’s Code
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Electronic Commerce Law (1)• Introduction• Online Transactions - Fidelma White:
– E-Commerce: the policy background and the legal framework
– The Formation and Terms of e-Contracts
– Protecting Consumer Buyers
• Electronic Banking - Mary Donnelly:– The Legal Framework for e-Banking
– Electronic Funds Transfers: Legal Issues Arising
– e-Banking: Consumer Concerns and Legal Protections
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Electronic Commerce Law (2)• Online Privacy - Professor Maeve McDonagh:
– Privacy issues in the online environment– Legal protection of privacy: data protection and
electronic communications privacy – Legal protection of privacy in the online
environment
• Electronic Signatures - Darius Whelan:– Electronic Signatures in Europe and USA
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Use of Technology in Teaching (1)• Students trained in use of Internet and Lexis-
Nexis for legal research since 1993
• Emphasis on Technology in delivery of courses– ‘Blackboard’ package– Hyperlinks
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Use of Technology in Teaching (2)• Dedicated computer laboratory for law
students
• Mobile IT Classroom acquired• President’s Award for Research into Innovative
Forms of Teaching – John Mee & Darius Whelan - Research into Use of Technology for Law Teaching and Learning
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Research - Examples• Maeve McDonagh and Louise Crowley working on the Irish
monograph for inclusion in the International Encyclopaedia of Laws: CyberLaw (ed. J. Dumortier), Kluwer Law International, The Hague, 2004
• E-SIGN PROJECT – Study for European Commission on implementation of European regulatory framework for electronic signatures. Researchers: Maeve McDonagh and Fidelma White
• Privireal: Study for the European Commission on the implementation of the Data Protection Directive in the area of medical research: Researchers: Maeve McDonagh and Deirdre Madden
• Donnelly, M. & McDonagh, M. ‘Maintaining Standards in electronic Banking: How does Ireland Measure Up?’ (2000) 7 Commercial Law Practitioner 211-217.
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Industry and Public Sector Links• Links with Matheson Ormsby Prentice, one
of Ireland’s top IT Law Firms, e.g. Postgraduate Scholarship in IT Law
• Link with Department of Communications, Marine & Natural Resources
• Student Placements – e.g. Data Protection Commissioner’s Office; Electronic Privacy Information Center (Washington)
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Other Activities• Seminar to be held 7 May 2004 on E
Law: Law for the Electronic Age • Franklin Pierce Law Center to hold
Summer Institute in Cork, 2005• Irish Partner in ‘Creative Commons’
project• E Law webpages at
– www.ucc.ie/law/lawonline/elaw/