Master of Laws (LL.M.) Programme in EU and EEA Law

The Master of Laws programme in EU and EEA Law provides participating Norwegian and international students with in-depth and comprehensive knowledge of both institutional and substantive aspects of EU and EEA law. The programme is designed to prepare students for a wealth of practical and/or theoretical EU/EEA legal issues that they may encounter in practice, for example when working as private or public lawyers, judges, or when working in other fields – such as academia, journalism and other media, banking and finance, insurance, shipping and many more. In light of its particular focus on EEA issues, the Master of Laws programme in EU and EEA law is unique, and the first of its kind in the world.

The first semester (autumn I): starts off with the course EU and EEA Institutional Law and Policymaking, an interdisciplinary introduction to the institutional and constitutional aspects of both EU and EEA cooperation.
As a gateway to the programme’s substantive EU/EEA law modules, the students will here learn about the policies and political integration theories explaining the current legal structures, in combination with traditional legal dogmatic perspectives on the distribution and nature of competences of the EU/EEA/EFTA institutions, the political and legal principles and rules guiding their decision-making, and how they cooperate – both with each other and with the constituent Member States – in practice. The implementation and impact of EU and EEA law in the Member States, and the levels of discretion they enjoy in various fields, will be a central theme here – and a recurring topic throughout the entire programme.

After having completed the introductory course, the remainder of the first semester will focus on the fundamental principles governing the core aspects of EU and EEA cooperation – namely free movement rights and competition law which will be studied through the two courses “EU and EEA Commercial law” and “Competition Law”.

The second semester (Spring): will open for further specialization through various semi-obligatory and elective courses. Students will take three courses (each of 10 ECTS) and at least two of them must be among the three semi-obligatory specialisation courses on the programme which are EU and EEA state aid law, EU and EEA Public Procurement Law and EEA Moot Court.
Instead of taking all of the three semi-obligatory courses, students may also choose one of the following elective courses: Privacy and Data Protection – GDPR, European Human Rights, International Copyright Law, Constitution and Politics, International Climate Law, or Comparing Legal Cultures in Europe.
The courses to be taken in the second semester will build directly on knowledge and skills attained during the first semester and will cover a wide range of substantive legal issues.

Alternative to taking an elective course at the Faculty of Law, students may also choose to study EU/EEA law-related courses abroad, either at one of the Faculty of Law’s partner universities or by attending a summer programme and have this accepted in lieu of their 10 ECTS elective course.

The final semester (autumn II): will be devoted to legal research and the writing of a master’s thesis on a chosen EU/EEA law topic. Preparatory work with the thesis will nevertheless begin already from the very first weeks of the programme and be followed up throughout in the form of lectures and seminars. The lectures and seminars are designed to teach the students how to conduct and write legal research in the field, including matters such as how to identify and choose a topic, seeking out legal sources, drafting skeletons etc. A supervisor will be made available to each student.

Site visits to certain key national and/or international institutions working with EU/EEA law on a day-to-day basis and optional participation at local seminars and conferences on EU/EEA law related topics throughout the programme, including presentations of ongoing research projects by Law Faculty members, will provide further important insights and context for students admitted to the Master of Laws programme.