Law

Explore life inside UK prisons. Learn whether this type of punishment reduces crime and if rehabilitation can prevent reoffending. Explore the ethics of imprisonment and identify prison alternatives. England and Wales have the highest incarceration rate in Western Europe. Almost a quarter of these prisoners are held in overcrowded [...]

After having followed Privacy in the Western world you have become acquainted with the overall global legal system and the origins of privacy as a concept as well as privacy as a (human) right. This course deals with the European legal system to protect privacy. European privacy protection is [...]

In our modern technologically-based economy, the creation and enforcement of patent rights can make or break a business. With record numbers of patents being issued every year, the stakes for inventors (and, indeed, their lawyers) continue to rise, even as the patent law and its administration faces growing criticism. [...]

The protections afforded under trademark law have created incredible value in intangible assets, with the value of the world’s most valuable brands such as Amazon, Apple and Google each exceeding $100 billion. But what exactly is trademark law, and how is such enormous value created? This course examines the [...]

Copyright law is unique in the greater intellectual property regime, as it protects original expression that is fixed in a tangible medium and is the product of authorship. This course is designed for creative professionals — such as screenwriters, musicians, documentary filmmakers or artists — who want to [...]

"Be you so high, the law is above you." This principle, part of the Rule of Law, has come to represent the powerful idea that even politicians and monarchs are bound by the law. However in an age of powerful corporations, international cyber-crime and popular support for authoritarian leaders, [...]

The common law of England and Wales is one of the major global legal traditions. This MOOC will give you an introduction to this influential legal system including its history, constitutional background, sources and institutions. You’ll learn about the different ways in which laws are made and interpreted, the [...]

The American criminal justice system is in need of reform. We incarcerate too many people. We pay insufficient attention to scientific advances that can help separate out the most and least culpable and dangerous. We grant the police far too much power to use force and technological surveillance.

“International Humanitarian Law in Theory and Practice” is the first MOOC of the Kalshoven-Gieskes Forum on International Humanitarian Law, which is the platform within the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies of Leiden University for the research, teaching and dissemination of international humanitarian law (IHL). [...]