Module Information

Choice of topic

1. The dissertation may be on any topic relating to your choice of LLM for which supervision is available within the Department of Law. It may relate to one of the areas covered in the modules studied - in practice, most students choose a subject relating to one of these areas - but this is not a requirement. Although you are welcome to seek advice on whether your proposed topic is appropriate (see further below) the topic must be chosen by you: staff will not suggest topics to you.

The dissertation must contain a significant legal content, but need not be confined to traditional legal issues or methods of
analysis. It may, for example, involve a socio-legal approach, a mixture of law and economics, or legal/scientific analysis. It
may focus on the law of the United Kingdom or the law of another jurisdiction or jurisdictions; it may involve a comparative
analysis of different jurisdictions; or may focus on international law. These statements are all subject to the general principle that adequate supervision must be available for the chosen topic. If at any time you are in doubt as to whether your chosen topic will have or has a sufficiently high legal content you should consult an appropriate member of staff, or, where you have already been allocated a supervisor, your supervisor.


2. Registration and commencement

Students may normally register for the dissertation and commence work only when they have passed the assessment for the
coursework modules. Registration by students who have not passed the assessment is permitted only with the written
permission of the Director of the Law Examination Board. Permission will be given only in exceptional circumstances.
Advice on the choice of topic and initial planning of research for the dissertation will be provided near the start of semester 2, for students who may wish to think about the choice of topic during semester 2 and ahead of registration.

3. Supervision procedure

Once you have contacted your supervisor, you and your supervisor should work out a plan for proceeding with the
dissertation. It is expected that normally you will provide a detailed synopsis and/or research plan within a few weeks of
registration, but this is a matter for you to decide in conjunction with your supervisor. Your supervisor will then consider your
synopsis/plan and either give approval or suggest any appropriate modifications. You are advised not to begin further work on
the project until this approval has been obtained.

General guidance relating to the design of your research project and research strategy (how to collect and analyse your
materials etc) will be given as part of the Induction and Advanced Legal Skills course. In addition, you can expect that your
supervisor will provide you, on request, with advice relating to strategy for your own specific dissertation. However, the
responsibility for designing that strategy rests with you, since part of the purpose of the dissertation exercise is to test your
research skills. Your supervisor's role in this matter is therefore limited to providing advice in response to your own suggestions as to how to proceed.

You can also expect your supervisor to read a draft of your work before it is submitted, and to give suggestions about how the work could usefully be improved. You may submit your draft in parts - for example - on a chapter by chapter basis, or as a
whole. It is likely that your supervisor will have some suggestions to make, since there is usually room for improvement. You
are advised very strongly to follow the advice given. Your supervisor may not, however, give you any specific indication of the grade you are likely to receive.

You should feel free to seek the advice of your supervisor at any stage of your work. If at any stage you are in doubt as to
whether your work is developing in an appropriate way, or over how to deal with a problem - for example, difficulty in
collection data or materials - you shou