Postgraduate specialisations

Requirement: You must complete a minimum of 90 points (made up of approved taught courses, a dissertation, thesis or research portfolio) in one of the six specialisations for the degree to be conferred with an endorsement in that particular area.

Please note: Not all courses mentioned below are offered every year. To view a list of courses currently available, please visit Postgraduate taught courses.

If you wish to be enrolled into these courses you may do so under one of the following programmes of study:

1. Master of Laws (LLM)
2. Master of Legal Studies (MLS)
3. Postgraduate Certificate in Law (PGCertLaw)
4. Certificate of Proficiency (COP)

We have a large group of teachers and researchers in the area of Corporate and Commercial Law, who cover subjects such as company law, banking law, intellectual property, maritime law, private international law, personal property security, privacy law, and taxation. They also cover traditional private law subjects (including contract, tort, equity, and restitution).

Each year we invite teachers to present an additional roster of subjects. The course line-up
changes annually. Recent courses have included International Sales and Finance,
Law and Economics, Agency Law, Corporate Governance, Sports Law, Fraud and
White Collar Crime, and Remedies for Breach of Contract.

We’ve also offered a wide range of commercial law courses in International Law – see the
International Law specialisation.

To fulfil the requirements of the specialisation you must select 90 points worth of courses from the following courses:

LAW 701, 760, 790, LAWCOMM 702–797, LAWPUBL 707 and/or

• LAW 790 Dissertation
• LAW 796 Thesis 1
• LAW 797 Thesis 2
• LAW 794 Research Portfolio 1
• LAW 798 Research Portfolio 2

Such other 700 level courses as the Dean of Auckland Law School approves from year to year as relevant for inclusion in this specialisation.

We’ve had teaching and research strength in Environmental Law for a number of years, offering papers at the undergraduate and postgraduate level in the areas of planning and environmental law, resource management, mining and energy resources law and international environmental law.

Each year we invite teachers to present an additional roster of subjects. The course line-up changes annually. Recent courses have included Global Environmental Law, Law of the Sea, Climate Change Law, Asian and Pacific Environmental Law, and Corporate Environmental Law.

To fulfil the requirements of the specialisation you must select 90 points worth of courses from the following courses:

• LAW 760, 790, LAWENVIR 702–785
• LAW 790 Dissertation
• LAW 796 Thesis 1
• LAW 797 Thesis 2
• LAW 794 Research Portfolio 1
• LAW 798 Research Portfolio 2

Such other 700 level courses as the Dean of Auckland Law School approves from year to year as relevant for inclusion in this specialisation.

International Law is another area of growing reach and importance. We have both generalist and specialist teachers and researchers in this field.

Specialisms include Armed Conflict Law, International Criminal Law, International Environmental Law, International Trade Law, Law of the Sea and Antarctica, International Dispute Resolution, International Economic Regulation, Counterterrorism Law, and International Relations and Globalisation.

Each year we invite teachers to present an additional roster of subjects. The course line-up of subjects changes annually.

Recent courses have included Law of the Sea, Globalisation and the Taxation of Foreign Investment, International Company and Capital Markets Law, International Insolvency Law,
International Commercial Arbitration, and Internet Governance.

To fulfil the requirements of the specialisation you must select 90 points worth of courses from the following courses:

LAW 760, 790, LAWCOMM 702, 715, 723, 733, 734, 738, 739, 770, 771, 774, LAWENVIR 702, 710, 725, LAWGENRL 722, LAWPUBL 726,

• LAW 796 Thesis 1
• LAW 797 Thesis 2
• LAW 794 Research Portfolio 1
• LAW 798 Research Portfolio 2

Such other 700 level Special Topic courses in Law as the Dean of Auckland Law School approves from year to year as relevant for inclusion in this specialisation.

Human Rights Law is a developing subject internationally, and the University of Auckland is a national leader in the field. Specialisations include Comparative Bills of Rights, Human Rights and the Criminal Law, Mental Health Law, International Human Rights, and Counterterrorism Law, and Third to First World Relations.

Each year we invite teachers to present an additional roster of subjects. The course line-up
changes annually. Recent courses have included Human Rights in Education Law and Policy: US and NZ Perspectives, Comparative Human Rights Law, Terrorism and the Rule of Law, Tort Law and Human Rights, and Comparative Indigenous Peoples and the Law.

To fulfil the requirements of the specialisation you must select 90 points worth of courses from the following courses:

• LAW 760, 790, LAWGENRL 702, 712, LAWPUBL 725, 726, 732, 736, 740, 741–744, 760, 761, 770–778
• LAW 796 Thesis 1
• LAW 797 Thesis 2
• LAW 794 Research Portfolio 1
• LAW 798 Research Portfolio 2

Such other 700 level Special Topic courses in Law as the Dean of Auckland Law School approves from year to year as relevant for inclusion in this specialisation. 

Public law research and teaching at our faculty runs the gamut of public law scholarship.

We have a core group of public lawyers whose work covers both traditional constitutional and administrative law and the two main modern additions, namely study of the Bill of Rights and the Treaty of Waitangi.

We also have a wider group of staff who work in specialist fields such as local government and resource management, health and mental health law, and immigration and refugee law.

We supplement our own expertise by inviting specialists in the field to teach a menu of subjects that changes annually. Recent courses have included South Pacific Constitutions, Prosecuting in the 21st Century, and a number of courses found above in the Human Rights specialisation.To fulfil the requirements of the specialisation you must select 90 points worth of courses from the following courses:

• LAW 760, 790, LAWGENRL 702, 712, 722, LAWPUBL 705–785
• LAW 796 Thesis 1
• LAW 797 Thesis 2
• LAW 794 Research Portfolio 1
• LAW 798 Research Portfolio 2

Such other 700 level Special Topic courses in Law as the Dean of Auckland Law School approves from year to year as relevant for inclusion in this specialisation.

We’re developing our expertise in process-oriented teaching and research and we’ve recently
added the Litigation and Dispute Resolution specialisation to the LLM.

We have particular strength in the Law of Arbitration and International Arbitration. However, a
number of our other staff include the study of dispute resolution mechanisms in their teaching and research, in areas such as International Law, Environmental Law, Globalisation and the Law.

We supplement our own expertise by inviting specialists in the field to teach intensive courses in the LLM.

To fulfil the requirements of the specialisation you must select 90 points worth of courses from the following courses:

• LAW 760, 790, LAWCOMM 702, 723, 726, LAWGENRL 771, 772, LAWPUBL
  736
• LAW 796 Thesis 1
• LAW 797 Thesis 2
• LAW 794 Research Portfolio 1
• LAW 798 Research Portfolio 2

Such other 700 level Special Topic courses in Law as the Dean of Auckland Law School approves from year to year as relevant for inclusion in this specialisation.