Master's Thesis - International Business Law

URL study guide

https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2024-2025/R_MThIBL

Course Objective

The Master’s graduate has thorough knowledge and understanding of the main areas of international business law. The Master’s graduate understands the relationships between the main areas of international business law and recognizes which legal issues are involved and how these influence each other. The Master’s graduate knows who the actors of the international business law environment are and how they interact with each other, while acknowledging legal and cultural differences. The Master’s graduate understands the role of governments and the horizontal economic relationships between them, the vertical relationship between them and private business and, finally, the horizontal relationships between private companies. Consequently, the graduate discerns the legal position of various parties and understands how the conduct of these parties can influence legal positions. The Master’s graduate possesses analytical skills to apply acquired knowledge and insights to concrete problems in the area of IBL. The Master’s graduate ‘translates’ practical problems into legally manageable problems. The Master’s graduate can analyse and assess scholarly literature, case law and legal and policy documents and critically reflect upon them. The Master’s graduate shows evidence of an independent, critical attitude with regard to existing theories and knowledge. The Master’s graduate possesses the necessary knowledge of research methodologies in international law and the necessary research skills to independently prepare and carry out a jurisprudence study of some size. The Master’s graduate can critically assess the value of research findings, draw conclusions from them and relate research results to theoretical debates within the domain and adjust them when necessary. The Master’s graduate should be able to analyse complex issues in relation to international business and make useful legal recommendations. A Master’s graduate can formulate an independent and well-substantiated opinion on complex legal issues and take a substantiated position within the existing debates on various international business law topics. The Master’s graduate should have the ability to present orally and/or in writing the setup, research methodology, theoretical foundations and findings of their research to both experts and non-experts. The Master’s graduate has a good command of English legal jargon. The Master’s graduate has a self-critical attitude that enables them to independently acquire new knowledge and to improve their analytical, research and communicative skills.

Course Content

The Master’s thesis is the final stage of the Master’s programme. It is a piece of research conducted independently by the student under the guidance of a supervisor. The thesis is an extended piece of writing that is the culmination of in-depth research in a particular legal area. The final text should take the reader through the relevant issues, providing research evidence to back up competing viewpoints and providing a final answer to the research question. The aim of writing a master thesis is to complete an independent research project on a substantial topic in the field of international business law and within the curriculum of the respective IBL specialization. The master thesis is intended to draw upon the master student’s unique curriculum and intellectual experiences encountered while at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Teaching Methods

One general meeting with thesis coordinator. Individual consultation meetings with the assigned thesis supervisor, as necessary. The thesis obtains 12 EC (approximately 340 hours of research and writing).

Method of Assessment

The final grade will be determined as follows:
• The grade for the written thesis counts for 100% of the final grade.
• The grade will be registered online by supervisor and a second assessor (selected by supervisor). The assessment will be recorded, even if it is a fail. A thesis that has been awarded a pass mark cannot be reworked. If the thesis is not awarded a pass mark, you will write a new thesis. It must have a different problem definition and be supervised by a different supervisor from the one who supervised the thesis that was awarded a fail mark.

Additional Information

IBL thesis coordinator (all tracks) Pien Werkman Contact email: [email protected]

Explanation Canvas

The detailed thesis guide published on Canvas page Master Thesis IBL