Law Courses

CREDITS 2 (LV) 3 (ECTS) - 32 Contact Hours

The module introduces core issues of legal philosophy and critical approaches to legal practice and legal thought. The programme of learning provides students with core skills of critical analysis and with the opportunity to reflect critically at an advanced level on core legal material, including topics covered in other first year law modules and in later stages of the degree (e.g. the reading of criminal cases in order to identify the philosophico-political matters in them). The module starts with a reflection on two central questions that shape our thinking about law: 1) “what is law?” and 2) “how we think about law?”. Further subjects examine the relationship between law and morality, law and politics and how legal philosophy shapes legal practice. In addition, it examines how socio-political and historical events (such as the Nuremberg Trials) and legal practice, more generally, shaped, significantly, modern legal philosophy (theory).

To that extent, students will be in a position to observe that theory of the law and its practice are closely interconnected, being part of a dynamic relationship. with the one shaping and informing the other and vice versa.

CREDITS 2 (LV) 3 (ECTS) - 32 Contact Hours

The course is aimed at introducing the students to the basic concepts and principles of constitutional law. Constitutional law is concerned with the organisation of the state, and the relationship between the state and the individual. Constitutions, among other things, help to resolve conflicts within state’s structures and among its organs and also conflicts between the state and the individual. Human rights of the people are ordinarily primarily guaranteed by constitutions and implemented by using constitutional mechanisms. The course will address issues related to the formation and transformation of constitutional law as well as its practical application, primarily on the basis of examples from the Germany, Latvia and the United States of America. The second part of the course will be based on the general constitutional theory with the references to the regional, Central and Eastern European, constitutional normative solutions and constitutionalism. The theoretical part will be focusing on the presentation of the basic concepts related to the formation of the constitutional political and legal order, general mechanisms of functioning of the constitutional liberal democracy and the specificity of the regional (CEE) transitional constitutional reality.

CREDITS 2 (LV) 3 (ECTS) - 32 Contact Hours

Similarly, the course will focus on new challenges that the development of Europeanization brings to administrative bodies. As well, due to the excessive influence of European Union level law in national systems of administrative law, the course also introduces on how the European Union law is amending some of the basic aspects of public and administrative law of its Member States and how legal practitioners can apply the European Union law in national legal orders. The course presents vital and practical picture on the relationship between national and the European Union law.

The course consists of lectures supported by and combined with problem-solving seminars. Seminars include participation in practical exercises e.g., preparation of appeals of decisions of various state institutions (e.g. State Revenue Service and Competition Supervision Authority) and case studies. Students will have the opportunity to conclude the course by participating in a simulation based on the subjects discussed at classes.

The course will be examined on the basis of two mid-term tests and an exam.

CREDITS 2 (LV) 3 (ECTS) - 32 Contact Hours

This course examines the evolution, actors, mechanisms and principles of public international law. In particular, it addresses the key features of the international legal system, its sources and subjects, the notion of statehood, state responsibility, the use of force and the peaceful settlement of disputes. Contemporary challenges of international law are also being discussed during the lectures.

CREDITS 2 (LV) 3 (ECTS) - 32 Contact Hours

This course will provide an understanding of the establishment and functioning of the EU internal market and the effect this has on Member States. The aim of the course is to introduce the students to the EU Internal Market. The primary aim is a comprehension of the legal framework and the primary law of the EU but in some particular topics a closer look will be taken at secondary legislation.

The course will have a special focus on the free movement of goods and services, but will also introduce issues related to persons, establishment and capital. Likewise, issues related to EU citizenship and equal treatment will be introduced.

The course consists of 9 lectures on a particular topic followed by 7 seminars on the corresponding topics. Seminars are aimed at developing the students’ problem solving skills. For seminars students are expected to analyse and discuss real and fictional cases.

CREDITS 4 (LV) 6 (ECTS) - 64 Contact Hours

This course offers a general introduction to European Union law. It aims to give a basic knowledge of the main features of the EU’s legal-institutional framework and the most important aspects of the Law of the European Union.

The course covers the principles governing the functioning of the European Union, its objectives and the core values that have inspired and prompted the European integration process. It deals with the European institutions, as well as with other EU relevant institutional bodies, focusing on their role, mutual interactions and functioning, including the different decisional procedures in place within the EU law-making process. The hierarchical and functional systematisation of the legal sources forming EU law is also addressed, focusing on how EU rules are adopted and enforced at EU and national level.

Additionally, the course provides the basic instruments to approach questions concerning the relationship and the interaction between EU law, national law and other legal systems, especially with regard to the protection of human rights in the European legal context (such as, in particular, the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights).

Finally, the course provides an introduction to some specific areas of EU law, such as the internal market (free movement of persons, goods, services, capitals), competition law, EU external Relations, the Area of Freedom Security and Justice. The course is designed to be interactive: theoretical issues will be confronted with practical cases (i.e. case-law of the EU Court of Justice and the European Court of human rights) in order to allow the students to understand and verify how EU law is actually implemented and understood by major EU actors. Particular attention will be devoted to the recent and current challenges faced by the EU and its Member States (e.g. the refugee crisis, Brexit, the COVID-19 emergency, the conflict in Ukraine, and rule of law issues in Poland and Hungary).

CREDITS 2 (LV) 3 (ECTS) - 32 Contact Hours

Diplomacy is an established method of maintaining relations between governments of sovereign states through exchange of official information, dialogue, negotiation and other peaceful means. It is being practised in both bilateral and multilateral contexts, involving representatives of the states and officials of international organizations. Diplomacy increasingly entails also interaction with non-governmental bodies and members of the public.

 The diplomatic law is a specific area of the international law. In a narrow sense, it governs the functioning of diplomatic missions and defines the status, privileges and immunities of various categories of their staff. This course will approach the subject from a broader perspective, covering related fields such as the consular law, immunities of the states and state officials. It will specifically address also the existing arrangements for external action of the European Union and legal provisions regarding the status of UN system officials and representatives of other international organizations in light of the diplomatic law.

CREDITS 2 (LV) 3 (ECTS) - 32 Contact Hours

CREDITS 2 (LV) 3 (ECTS) - 32 Contact Hours

The aim of the course is to provide foundational knowledge on the most important aspects of IPR such as history and rationale of intellectual property, types of intellectual property rights, justification theories, main principles, sources of laws, granting authorities, granting or validity requirements for the different IP rights, scope of protection and rights granted, exceptions and limitations. A last section will deal with new developments in the legislation as well as in the case law, such as for instance the establishment of a transnational court specialised in patent law (Unified Patent Court) which should come into operation in 2023.

CREDITS 2 (LV) 3 (ECTS) - 32 Contact Hours

The aim of the course is to introduce the students to the external relations of the European Union by focusing on developing the problem-solving skills of students but also on giving them a broader and deeper understanding of EU external relations. The primary aim is comprehension of the legal framework and the primary law of the EU, as well as the interaction with international law, but in some particular topics a closer look will be taken at secondary legislation and policy making. External relations include a political aspect, which is to be identified throughout the course, thus explaining the intersection between the legal and political frameworks of the EU.

CREDITS 2 (LV) 3 (ECTS) - 32 Contact Hours

This course offers a broad introduction to international environmental law, a complex and rapidly evolving area of the law. The course will examine the development of international environmental law, sources and general principles of international environmental law, including the precautionary principle, polluter pays principle, state responsibility for environmental harm, and permanent sovereignty over natural resources. Rights and obligations of states and non-state actors as well as issues of liability, compliance, enforcement and dispute resolution mechanisms will also be examined.

 In addition, the course will examine the regimes which address specific environmental problems such as atmospheric pollution, climate change, marine conservation, fresh water resources and conservation of  biodiversity, among others. The course will also cover the linkages between International Environmental Law and other area of International Law such as Human Rights, Humanitarian Law and International Trade.

CREDITS 2 (LV) 3 (ECTS) - 32 Contact Hours

This course provides an introduction to the basic foundations, guiding principles and key elements of alternative dispute settlement methods and arbitration from fundamental theoretical to legal and practical aspects. The course will include a brief overview of arbitration’s significant features, its role in the broader context of dispute resolution by comparing and contracting it to the other forms of dispute resolution – litigation, mediation and negotiation.

The course will introduce students to mediation.

The course consists of lectures and seminars. Lectures in a particular topic will be followed by seminars which aim at developing the students’ problem solving skills.

CREDITS 2 (LV) 3 (ECTS) - 32 Contact Hours

This course is designed as a comprehensive foundation course introducing and explaining the key concepts of banking and covering regulatory, supervisory and transactional areas from Latvian and European perspective. A step-by-step review of each subject-matter is followed by in-class seminars enabling students to strengthen their practical legal skills in selecting, interpreting and applying respective legal acts and norms.

CREDITS 2 (LV) 3 (ECTS) - 30 Contact Hour

The purpose of this study course is to introduce students with the concept, basic principles and the contents of insurance law; with regulatory acts of insurance law in Europe both at the European Union and at the national levels on a comparative basis; with basic provisions of supervising of insurance companies and insurance intermediaries; with conclusion of insurance contracts and specifics of their fulfilment in different insurance law types; and to provide general characteristics of claims arising from insurance law.

CREDITS 2 (LV) 3 (ECTS) - 32 Contact Hours

Data flows do not stop at national borders. At the same time, the threat level for data protection and cyber security continues to rise. To make matters worse, large transnational corporations are making the legal regulation of technology more difficult by exploiting their market power. The lecture will provide an overview of current European regulation on cybersecurity and data protection, address Member State implementation, and compare measures internationally. In addition, the principles in data protection management will be conveyed.

CREDITS 2 (LV) 3 (ECTS) - 32 Contact Hours

CREDITS 2 (LV) 3 (ECTS) - 32 Contact Hours

This course offers students an introduction to European legal history. It illustrates how the beginnings of the civil law tradition in Europe can be traced back to the rediscovery of Roman Name Academic degree Academic position Tjaco Theo van den Hout LLM (Leiden) Visiting lecturer Name Academic degree Academic position Tjaco Theo van den Hout LLM (Leiden) Visiting lecturer law and the emergence of classical canon law around 1100 AD. It then explores how in the subsequent centuries, up to and including the eighteenth, a sophisticated legal science of a distinct European dimension developed. Since that time different European states have constructed their own legal systems but, with the exception of England and Ireland, they are all heirs to this tradition of the jus commune. The course covers Roman law in antiquity, the revival of Justinian’s law, Roman law & the nation state and Roman law & codification. It takes us from before AD 565, to a sequence of historical periods, viz. circa 500 -1000, 1000 – 1453, 1453 – 1648, 1648 – 1914, and 1914 - present. Teaching is based on the modern (American law school) version of the “Socratic method” — blurring the distinction between lectures and seminars. As a consequence, it is highly interactive with ample opportunity for classroom discussion and stimulating critical thinking

CREDITS 2 (LV) 3 (ECTS) - 30 Contact Hours

The course offers an in-depth insight into the history of ideas and specifically to the issues pertaining to moral reasoning. The discourse of social justice is a fundamental dimension of human rights in a democratic society. The course discusses most prominent thinkers on justice, principal theories and doctrines, controversies and visions for future development of human society. The debates will involve such contentious moral issues as individual freedom, rule of the majority, duty and responsibility, bioethics, distribution of justice.

CREDITS 2 (LV) 3 (ECTS) - 32 Contact Hours

Līdzās ģimenes, mantojuma un saistību tiesībām, lietu tiesības ir viena no Latvijas privāttiesību pamatnozarēm. Lietu tiesības aptver valdījuma un īpašuma regulējumu, kā arī virkni tiesību uz svešu lietu (servitūti, reālnastas, ķīla, apbūves un izpirkuma tiesības). Kurss ir domāts studentiem, kas jau ir apguvuši civiltiesību  pamatus. Balstoties uz iegūtajām zināšanās, studentiem tiks dota iespēja padziļināt savas zināšanas Latvijas lietu tiesībās, pamatā vēršot uzmanību uz lietu tiesību problēmjautājumiem, neskaidrībām un pretrunām tiesību praksē un doktrīna. Studenti iemācīsies analizēt Latvijas lietu tiesību avotus, apgūs prasmi kritiski vērtēt Latvijas mūsdienu un “pirmskara” tiesu prakses un doktrīnas atziņas.

Līdzās ģimenes, mantojuma un lietu tiesībām, saistību tiesības ir viena no Latvijas privāttiesību pamatnozarēm. Saistību tiesības aptver saistību tiesību vispārīgos jautājumu (cesija, solidaritātē saistībās, saistību tiesību pastiprināšana, saistību izbeigšana) un saistību tiesību speciālos jautājumus (konkrēti līgumu veidi, kvazi-līgumu, delikti un kvazi-delikti). Kurss ir domāts studentiem, kas jau ir apguvuši civiltiesību pamatus. Balstoties uz iegūtajām zināšanās, studentiem tiks dota iespēja padziļināt savas zināšanas Latvijas saistību tiesībās, pamatā vēršot uzmanību uz saistību tiesību institūtu problēmjautājumiem, neskaidrībām un pretrunām tiesību praksē un doktrīna. Studenti iemācīsies analizēt Latvijas saistību tiesību avotus, apgūs prasmi kritiski vērtēt Latvijas mūsdienu un “pirmskara” tiesu prakses un doktrīnas atziņas.

CREDITS 2 (LV) 3 (ECTS) - 32 Contact Hours

Kursa mērķis ir sniegt studentiem zināšanas par krimināltiesībām kā patstāvīgu publisko tiesību daļu, kas regulē attiecības starp personu, kura izdarījusi Krimināllikumā paredzēto nodarījumu, un valsti, tās kompetentu institūciju personā, piedraudot ar sodu un piemērojot sodu valsts vārdā, atsevišķu noziedzīgu nodarījumu jēdzienu un sastāva pazīmēm (objektu un priekšmetu, objektīvo pusi, subjektu un subjektīvo pusi), šo noziedzīgo nodarījumu kvalificējošām pazīmēm, to norobežošanu no līdzīgiem noziedzīgiem nodarījumiem.

CREDITS 2 (LV) 3 (ECTS) - 32 Contact Hours

This course offers a general introduction to European migration and asylum law. It aims to give a basic knowledge of the main features and challenges of contemporary migration governance, with a special focus on the European legal-institutional framework.  

The course covers the principles governing the management of the migratory phenomenon, highlighting its complexity and the multiplicity of interacting and often competing dynamics. It traces the foundations of the international cooperation on migration-related matters, from the first, initial experiences following the World War II, to todays’ mechanisms of multilateral collaboration put in place to manage large movements of migrants and asylum seekers.

The course explores different legal and institutional frameworks, involving different international organisations, such as the United Nations, the Council of Europe and, most notably, the European Union. Following an overview of the most relevant legal tools governing migration management and migrants’ fundamental rights at the various levels, the course focuses on the multiplicity of actors and players involved on the international scene in the process of migration and asylum governance. This includes UN bodies and agencies, such as the UNHCR and IOM, as well as ad hoc figures activated within the Council of Europe, like the Special Representative on Migration and Refugees or the Commissioner for Human Rights. A special focus will be put on the European Union and its administrative and institutional apparatus developed for dealing with migration and asylum-related challenges: most notably the Agency Frontex, created in 2004 and in charge of managing an integrated and coordinated system of border controls, and EASO (European Asylum Support Office), established in 2010 and currently under a process of reform and reinforcement both in terms of competences and capacities.

Having framed the relevant legal and institutional tools relating to migration management, the course will devote particular attention to the recent challenges posed by the migratory pressure in the European Union. The so-called 2015 refugee crisis will be analysed in depth, focusing on its causes and effects, as well as on the reactions and responses put in place by the EU Member States and by the European Institutions.

Finally, the course will discuss the relevant and recent migration-related case law of the two European courts: the EU Court of Justice and the European Court of human rights. It will highlight the role played by those jurisdictions in shaping the protection of migrants’ fundamental rights on the one hand, and in imposing obligations on States in terms of migration management on the other.

The course is designed to be interactive: theoretical issues will be confronted with practical cases (i.e. case-law) in order to allow the students to understand and verify how relevant international and EU legal principles are actually implemented and understood by the States. Particular attention will be devoted to the recent and current challenges faced by the EU and its Member States (e.g. the 2015 refugee crisis, the impact of the COVID-19 emergency on migration and mobility rights, the controversial reform of the so-called Dublin system).

CREDITS 2 (LV) 3 (ECTS) - 32 Contact Hours

Data is increasingly becoming an indispensable part of every facet of society. This course aims to introduce students with the nascent regulatory area of data governance. It takes a comparative approach to exploring the data governance regimes of the European Union, United States, and China. A sociolegal framing of core normative orientations of the subject jurisdictions provides a background to base regulatory stances. These are followed by thematic explorations of data governance areas, including data protection, cybersecurity, cloud systems, and artificial intelligence. The course subsequently unearths rising data governance motifs like digital sovereignty and data mobility, providing students with a critical perspective on future-facing developments in national and international data governance.

This course offers students an introduction to Roman law. It covers the Roman legal system, the law of persons, the law of property and inheritance as well as the law of obligations. The course concludes with a reflection on Roman law and the modern world, focusing in particular on the legacy of Justinian’s codification of Roman Law in the ‘Dark Ages’ and Roman Law’s second life. In this respect, it addresses the ways in which the historical evolution of modern systems has been affected by Roman law.

CREDITS 2 (LV) 3 (ECTS) - 32 Contact Hours

Administrative law deals with adjusting relationships between the individual and the government. A practitioner in this field must always contemplate whether the government at state or municipal level has used its executive powers according to the law. Thus, the course will focus on the main concepts and legal instruments of Administrative Law and Procedure in Latvia. The course will provide a broad insight into Latvian administrative law - from the basic principles of the structure of state administration to the execution of rulings in specific cases. Therefore, the course is sequentially structured and after its completion can serve as a manual for resolving disputes in various sub-branches of administrative law. The course includes classes that combine elements of lectures and seminars. Thus, students will be able to participate in practical lessons, such as debates, preparation of appeals, case studies and case-solving.