COURSE CURRICULUM

The LLM Health Law programme combines a specialist core module with a range of optional modules that allow students to develop expertise in key areas of healthcare regulation, medical ethics, mental health law, and intellectual property. The core module, Regulation of Healthcare Quality, provides a comprehensive examination of the legal framework governing medical practice in the UK while considering the influence of European and international health law. Students critically explore issues relating to medical malpractice, clinical governance, healthcare quality standards, medication safety, patient-centred care, and the protection of confidential information. Through analysis of legislation, policy, and case law, they develop a strong understanding of how legal regulation seeks to ensure safe, effective, and accountable healthcare services. Optional modules enable students to specialise according to their interests. Mental Capacity and Mental Health Law focuses on the legal and ethical principles surrounding consent to treatment, decision-making capacity, the Mental Capacity Act, and the civil provisions of the Mental Health Act 1983, examining the rights and protection of vulnerable individuals. Beginning and Ending of Life explores some of the most challenging ethical and legal questions in healthcare, including assisted reproduction, embryo and foetal rights, pregnancy-related decision-making, end-of-life care, assisted dying, and the withdrawal or withholding of life-sustaining treatment. Medical Use of the Human Body examines the philosophical, ethical, and legal dimensions of how the human body is used within medicine, encouraging critical reflection on the limits and regulation of medical intervention. Global Innovation and Intellectual Property investigates the relationship between innovation, patent law, public health, and sustainable development, providing insight into how intellectual property frameworks influence medical and technological advancement both in the UK and internationally. The programme culminates in a substantial Dissertation, allowing students to undertake independent research on a specialised health law topic under academic supervision. Through rigorous legal analysis, critical evaluation of contemporary issues, and engagement with complex ethical debates, the course develops advanced research, analytical, and professional skills. Graduates emerge with specialist expertise in health law and healthcare regulation, preparing them for careers in legal practice, healthcare governance, policy development, regulatory organisations, public administration, advocacy, and academic research.