Master of Law and Development

Effective legal frameworks and institutions are pivotal in alleviating poverty and creating a sustainable environment. Melbourne Law School’s graduate program in law and development provides students with a choice of subjects examining the legalisation of development, the role of international and regional actors in the proposal and implementation of law reform projects, and an investigation and analysis of both international law and the ‘rule of law’ in a developmental context. Subjects take a range of practical, historical and theoretical perspectives. This program is ideal for those working in the field of international development from a government or not-for-profit background. It would also be relevant to those interested in questions of global equity more broadly.

The Master of Law and Development focuses on:

• The processes and actors involved in the legalisation of development
• The history and range of rule of law or law reform projects initiated by international and regional institutions
• The role of international economic institutions in proposing, designing and implementing law reform projects
• Development strategies enabled or foreclosed by attempts at law reform or legal institutional design
• The success or failure of particular attempts at law reform or rule of law initiatives
• Theoretical approaches to understanding and critiquing law and development initiatives.

Students who do not have a law degree from a common law system must complete Fundamentals of the Common Law, as well as at least six subjects from the prescribed list (including the compulsory subject Law and Development). You may choose an eighth subject from those available in the Melbourne Law Masters.

Students with a law degree from a common law system must complete at least six subjects from the prescribed list (including the compulsory subject Law and Development). You may choose your final two subjects from those available in the Melbourne Law Masters (excluding Fundamentals of the Common Law).

Effective legal frameworks and institutions are pivotal in alleviating poverty and creating a sustainable environment. Melbourne Law School’s graduate program in law and development provides students with a choice of subjects examining the legalisation of development, the role of international and regional actors in the proposal and implementation of law reform projects, and an investigation and analysis of both international law and the ‘rule of law’ in a developmental context. Subjects take a range of practical, historical and theoretical perspectives. This program is ideal for those working in the field of international development from a government or not-for-profit background. It would also be relevant to those interested in questions of global equity more broadly.

The Master of Law and Development focuses on:

• The processes and actors involved in the legalisation of development
• The history and range of rule of law or law reform projects initiated by international and regional institutions
• The role of international economic institutions in proposing, designing and implementing law reform projects
• Development strategies enabled or foreclosed by attempts at law reform or legal institutional design
• The success or failure of particular attempts at law reform or rule of law initiatives
• Theoretical approaches to understanding and critiquing law and development initiatives.

Students who do not have a law degree from a common law system must complete Fundamentals of the Common Law, as well as at least six subjects from the prescribed list (including the compulsory subject Law and Development). You may choose an eighth subject from those available in the Melbourne Law Masters.

Students with a law degree from a common law system must complete at least six subjects from the prescribed list (including the compulsory subject Law and Development). You may choose your final two subjects from those available in the Melbourne Law Masters (excluding Fundamentals of the Common Law).