Course Descriptions
LAWS 2386 Decolonizing Indigenous Identity
CREDIT HOURS: 2
This course will explore Indigenous identity through the lens of traditional Indigenous laws and practices, the impacts of settler colonialism, as well as Indigenous resurgence, revitalization, self-determination, and sovereignty. Students will have the opportunity to critically examine and discuss one of the most prevalent issues in contemporary Indigenous society today in a comparative manner that utilizes materials from several countries worldwide.
NOTES: ASSESSMENT: Honours/Pass/Fail. In an effort to take a decolonizing approach to the classroom, assessment will be through a serious of assignments (i.e., drafting a contemporary story modeled on traditional Indigenous stories, producing beadwork in a traditional style that reflects connection to territory, etc.), class participation, and journaling.
NOTES: Maximum 12 students
LAWS 2387 Walsh Family Law Moot
CREDIT HOURS: 3
The Walsh Family Law Moot is a national family law moot, sponsored by the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Ontario Chapter. The moot is held annually in March in downtown Toronto. Mooters will prepare a written factum for the appellant or the respondent, and then argue for that party before a panel of judges and senior family law lawyers.
The course is open to four 3rd year students. Selection will be conducted through written application and a brief oral exercise. Criteria include academic ability, advocacy skills, and commitment to family law.
NOTES: Pre-requisite:
LAWS 2110- Family Law
Evaluation: Research, factum preparation and oral advocacy performance. Students may count this course as their major paper requirement.
PREREQUISITES:
LAWS 2110 - Family Law
LAWS 2388 Legal Counselling (Intensive)
CREDIT HOURS: 1
This one credit intensive course will provide theoretical, critical, practical and experiential learning relating to the practice of counselling clients. The course will examine, among other things, client-centred and trauma-informed approaches to counselling with a focus on building productive relationships and empowering clients to make informed decisions in their legal matters. Topics will include: client-centred counselling; how to ensure clients are meaningfully informed of options, risks, and benefits available to them; and practical skills for building strong client relationships including identifying legal and non-legal consequences. Students will participate in and observe three rounds of counselling simulations.
NOTES: Does not fulfill the major paper requirement. This is an intensive course, held over three days (12 hours total).
Assessment Method: Students are evaluated on a pass/fail basis, based on class participation and a take-home Reflective Journal of 3,000 words.
PREREQUISITES: Either
LAWS 2301 – Client-Centred Interviewing or completion or current enrolment in
LAWS 2003 Clinical Law (Dal Legal Aid).
LAWS 2389 Fanaki Competition Law Moot
CREDIT HOURS: 3
The Adam F. Fanaki Competition Law Moot (https://www.fanakimoot.org/) is an annual national moot held in Toronto and organized jointly by the Competition Bureau, the Competition Tribunal and the Canadian Bar Association. The Fanaki Moot is the only mooting forum in Canada for law students to address some of the country’s most pressing issues in competition law and policy.
The field of competition law has expanded rapidly in recent years and encompasses as range of complex civil and criminal issues that directly aKect the lives of Canadians, from the price of basic foodstuffs to affordable and accessible telecommunications. Participants in the Fanaki Moot will have the opportunity to engage with top jurists, enforcement officials, and practitioners in Canadian competition law, develop their oral and written advocacy skills, and network with others in the field as the basis for pursuing future career interests.
The Fanaki Moot takes place annually at the Federal Court in Toronto in March, with a team of four students (two appellant, two respondent) from each participating law school.
NOTES: Open to 2L and 3L students.
LAWS 2169 – Competition Law is encouraged but not required.
LAWS 2390 Collaborative Conflict Resolution
CREDIT HOURS: 1
This three-day intensive will introduce students to conflict resolution theory and practice primarily within the Canadian legal context. It will focus on exploring collaborative problem solving and conflict resolution. Students would be exposed to theories of conflict and resolution including negotiation, conciliation, and mediation, and would have opportunities to practice negotiation, mediation and counselling clients for collaborative dispute resolution. The course will also maintain thematic focus on ethics, client advocacy, and access to justice.
NOTES: Assessment Method: Evaluated on pass/fail/honours basis, based on class participation and a reflective essay.
RESTRICTIONS: Open to 3L students only; Students may not take this course and
LAWS 2113 – Alternative Dispute Resolution.
LAWS 2391 Tax Dispute Clinic
CREDIT HOURS: 6
The tax dispute clinic offers students an opportunity to deepen their knowledge of tax law, enhance their advocacy skills, and work outside the classroom. The course will have both a clinical and academic component. Students are expected to attend weekly seminars and oversee client files under the supervision of the clinic’s director. The seminars will discuss tax issues that are commonly the subject of disputes faced by our clientele, such as Disability Tax Credits, Canada Child Benefits, unreported income, taxpayer relief applications, and the voluntary disclosure program, alongside preparing students with practical skills. These skills will include navigating tax research tools, using case management software, written and oral advocacy, client interviewing, and counseling. Finally, the hope is that by handling various cases over the course of a semester, students will gain experience with every stage of a tax dispute, from the initial reassessment and objection to a settlement or hearing before the Tax Court of Canada.
NOTES: This is an “apply separately” course; instructions will be circulated prior to course registration.
Assessment Method: Pass/fail/honours based on, inter alia, attendance, participation, quality of work.
COREQUISITES: PRE- or CO-REQUISITE: LAWS 2059 – Taxation III
PREREQUISITES: LAWS 2029 – Taxation I or
LAWS 2383 – Principles of Taxation
LAWS 2392 Community Health Justice Partnerships Practicum
CREDIT HOURS: 6
Community Health Justice Partnerships are community-centric initiatives bringing together health care professionals, community justice workers, lawyers and students for cross-sectoral collaboration and problem-solving to address health inequities arising from unequal access to the social determinants of health (e.g., income, housing, employment) and related denials of rights and agency in health, justice and community services. This full-year course will bring together law students and students from Dalhousie’s Faculty of Health for classroom-based learning and community service responsive to the needs of persons affected by intersecting grounds of discrimination (ableism, colonialism, racism, heteropatriarchal oppression) which operate to create and perpetuate poverty, criminalization, institutionalization and other health-harming injustices.
Interested students are also encouraged to complete one or more of the following:
LAWS 2132 – Health Law
LAWS 2235 /
LAWS 2236 – Mental Disability Law: Criminal
LAWS 2217 /
LAWS 2218 – Mental Disability Law: Civil
LAWS 2223 / LAWS 224 – Elder Law
LAWS 2276 – Imprisonment and Penal Policy
LAWS 2076 – Poverty Law and Human Rights
LAWS 2221 – Public Health Law
LAWS 2280 – Aboriginal Peoples and the Law
LAWS 2270 – Indigenous Governance
LAWS 2287 – Revitalizing Indigenous Feminist Governance
LAWS 2194 – Critical Race & Legal Theory
LAWS 2251 – African Nova Scotians and the Law
LAWS 2098 – Refugee and Forced Human Migration Law
LAWS 2310 – Child Protection Law
LAWS 2188 – Restorative Justice: Theory and Practice
LAWS 2207 – Genders, Sexualities and Laws
LAWS 2253 Class Action Law and Procedure in Canada
NOTES: This is an “apply separately” course; instructions will be circulated prior to course registration.
Assessment Method: Students are evaluated on a pass/fail/honours basis, based on a series of individual and group assignments.
PREREQUISITES:
LAWS 2062 – Constitutional Law (or the full-year version).
LAWS 2000 – Administrative Law is an asset.
RESTRICTIONS: Open to 3L students only, subject to exceptional circumstances.
LAWS 2393 Small Claims Court Placement
CREDIT HOURS: 2
Students will observe and assist the adjudicators at the Nova Scotia Small Claims Court.
Students will attend online and telephone hearings, provide research, and undertake other tasks as directed by the supervising adjudicator. Students will be expected to spend six hours per week observing hearings and/or working on their assigned research.
NOTES: Assessment Method: Graded on a pass/fail basis, on the basis of participation and two short research memos.
RESTRICTIONS: Open to 3L students only.
LAWS 2394 Intellectual Property and Digital Innovation
CREDIT HOURS: 3
Digital innovations are built from code, data, brands, standards, and human ingenuity. But they are also built upon the legal rights and responsibilities that govern them. This course studies the relationship between those legal rights and processes of digital innovation. It aims to equip digital innovators with the tools they need to develop informed intellectual property (IP) strategies, understand the limits of IP and contracts, and when to consider alternatives to exclusive rights.
The course begins with a foundation in intellectual property law relevant to digital innovation, including copyright, patents, trademarks, and confidential business information or “trade secrets”. Emphasis is placed on Canadian law with reference to relevant international frameworks. The course then studies how IP is converted into strategy, licensing choices, and the alignment of exclusive rights with product and market goals. This includes an exploration of how law places internal limits on some IP strategies, with reference to Canadian competition law and IP’s own internal exceptions and limitations. Finally, the course explores alternative and open innovation models with a practical introduction to open-source licensing and governance, situating open source within contemporary digital innovation. This includes a grounded understanding of the role and growing ubiquity of open-source components in digital products and services.
Through seminars, discussions, debates, and interdisciplinary learning, students will learn to select and operationalize rights strategies across the open/closed spectrum, communicate trade offs to technical and managerial audiences, and design legally compliant (pro-competitive), innovation-enabling practices.
NOTES: Assessment Method: Attendance and participation, oral examination, paper. This course fulfills the Major Paper requirement.
RESTRICTIONS: Maximum enrolment - 8 students.
PREREQUISITES: PRE/CO-REQUISITES:
LAWS 2178 – Intellectual Property Law I.
LAWS 2508 Law Reform: Selected Problems
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This seminar will introduce students to the principles and processes that guide the reform of the law, using selected readings and presentations by guest lecturers and the professor to provide the foundation for a consideration of the processes, machinery and potential for law reform initiatives in areas of federal, provincial and/or municipal jurisdiction. Students will be introduced to approaches to law reform and will learn about the successes and failures of a number of recent law reform initiatives.The core of the course will involve a series of specific law reform projects selected by the professor, in consultation with the class, that will be undertaken in the class. Students will work in groups, leading in the development of one project. Students will also, individually, be assigned to comment on/critique aspects of a second project. Students will undertake group research and develop and present an issues paper on their law reform research project. Following the receipt of feedback, each group will then develop a legislative, regulatory or policy proposal to address the issues associated with their project, prepare background materials that support their approach and present their proposal to a panel. Students will also write a short commentary/critique of another group's issues paper.The course is intended to introduce students to the process of law reform and to provide a "hands-on" opportunity to undertake a specific law reform initiative. It is also intended to replicate the collaborative processes by which law reform is achieved, including research, policy development and group work. The course will enable students to participate directly in a process by which societal needs are identified and analyzed and in which law can be developed to address these needs. This course does not meet the major paper requirement.Materials: Materials for the class will be posted to blackboard.
NOTES: It's still worth 3 credit hours, and it is not a major paper course. It is open to any upper-year student in the JD or combined-degree programs (JD/MBA, JD/MPA, JD/MHA, JD/MLIS). There is no prerequisite.
LAWS 2510 Introduction to Law I
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course is offered by the Law School to non-law students. The course is designed to introduce students to the workings of the Canadian legal system, and to the basics of several areas of law, in particular tort law (wrongs by one person against another). The course is taught using a combination of scholarly writing and case law, and is intended to allow students to reach an understanding of how courts reason, and the principles brought to bear in reaching their decisions. Enrolment is limited to students in their second year of undergraduate studies and beyond. Please refer to the Dentistry, Law, Medicine, Graduate Studies Calendar for detailed information on Law programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels
FORMAT:
FORMAT COMMENTS: discussion 3 hours
EXCLUSIONS: LAWS 2500X/Y.06
LAWS 2520 Introduction to Law II
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course is offered by the Law School to non-law students. The course is designed to introduce students to the basics of several areas of law, in particular areas of public law including criminal law, administrative law, and the law as it relates to Aboriginal peoples. The course is taught using a combination of scholarly writing and case law, and is intended to allow students to build upon the knowledge gained in Law 2501 Introduction to Law 1 to deepen their knowledge of the Canadian legal system. Please refer to the Dentistry, Law, Medicine, Graduate Studies Calendar for detailed information on Law programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
FORMAT:
FORMAT COMMENTS: discussion 3 hours
PREREQUISITES:
LAWS 2510.03, Introduction to Law I
EXCLUSIONS: LAWS 2500X/Y.06
LAWS 2603 Directed Research Project
CREDIT HOURS: 3
Major projects may be accepted for academic credit at the Schulich School of Law. These projects may satisfy a major paper or examination component, as arranged between the professor and student. A high level of professional involvement is expected from the time the project is conceptualized until completion. Students and faculty should employ the guidelines for Directed Research Papers (DRPs) in planning and evaluating such projects, with appropriate changes. Proposals for Directed Research Projects must be approved by the Studies Committee. Some limitations may be imposed upon the student's right to appeal a grade with which he or she is dissatisfied, given that this mode of evaluation does not fit within the usual Law School grading patterns. Although the Faculty encourages such innovative undertakings, the professor and student will be responsible to ensure that the academic standards of the Law School are maintained.
LAWS 2700 ILP: Public International Law
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course will provide an introduction to international law and institutions for students in the Public International Law stream. In the first week of the course, which may be taken jointly with the students in the International Business Law stream, students will study the core concepts and principles of international law, including the sources of international law, the subjects of international law, and the concept of jurisdiction. In the second week of the course, the students will explore legal rules and institutions that provide important context for the subject matter covered in the remainder of the program, including the law on the use of force, arms control, state responsibility, jurisdictional immunities, and economic sanctions. The work of the United Nations as well as the practice of the Canadian government will receive particular attention.
NOTES: This course is part of the Public International Law stream in the Queen’s/Dalhousie International Law Program (ILP), which takes place in Europe in May and June. The ILP combines an 8-week intensive academic program in international law with field study visits to law firms, international organizations, and international courts.
Dalhousie students earn nine credits for successfully completing the program, which can be counted towards 2L or 3L credit requirements. ILP courses do not count as major paper courses, nor do they count towards Certificate requirements. Grades earned through the ILP will not be included in a Dalhousie student’s overall weighted average for any purpose, including eligibility for scholarships or supplemental exams. Applications are usually due near the end of the Fall term, although late applications can sometimes be accepted. Tuition and fees are paid to Queen’s University.
There is an ILP information session held in the fall term at the Schulich School of Law each year. Students wishing to participate in this program must schedule an academic advising appointment with the office of the Associate Dean (Academic). Further details about the program can be found on the International Law Program website: https://law.queensu.ca/programs/jd/international-learning/bisc.
LAWS 2703 ILP: International Economic Law
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course introduces students to the public international law governing international trade and investment. It provides an overview of the fields of activity of the World Trade Organization (WTO), with a focus on multilateral trade negotiations and dispute settlement. The course combines lectures with interactive exercises, including a simulation of a trade negotiation and a moot. It also introduces students to the different subjects of international trade law, including trade in goods, trade in services, and trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights. The international investment law section of the course surveys some of the core obligations of international investment agreements, with a focus on the provisions of Chapter 11 of NAFTA.
NOTES: This course is part of the International Business Law stream in the Queen’s/Dalhousie International Law Program (ILP), which takes place in Europe in May and June. The ILP combines an 8-week intensive academic program in international law with field study visits to law firms, international organizations, and international courts.
Dalhousie students earn nine credits for successfully completing the program, which can be counted towards 2L or 3L credit requirements. ILP courses do not count as major paper courses, nor do they count towards Certificate requirements. Grades earned through the ILP will not be included in a Dalhousie student’s overall weighted average for any purpose, including eligibility for scholarships or supplemental exams. Applications are usually due near the end of the Fall term, although late applications can sometimes be accepted. Tuition and fees are paid to Queen’s University.
There is an ILP information session held in the fall term at the Schulich School of Law each year. Students wishing to participate in this program must schedule an academic advising appointment with the office of the Associate Dean (Academic). Further details about the program can be found on the International Law Program website: https://law.queensu.ca/programs/jd/international-learning/bisc.
LAWS 2704 ILP: International Commercial Arbitration
CREDIT HOURS: 3
The course introduces students to the law governing international business transactions as well as the different forms of dispute resolution that are open to the parties in such transactions. The first part of the course focuses on the rules governing the international sale of goods and the financing of international business transactions. We will discuss the considerations that inform the parties’ choices of the law that will govern their transactions, with a particular focus on the options provided by the United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods. The course also provides an overview of other forms of international transactions, such as bank finance transactions. The second part of the course introduces the students to different forms of dispute resolution, including mediation, international litigation, and arbitration, with a focus on commercial arbitration. Students will gain an understanding of the intersection of international law, national law, and private contract that comprises the governing regime for this important means for the resolution of international business disputes. Specific topics include the drafting and enforcement of arbitration agreements, the laws applicable to different aspects of the arbitration, the jurisdiction, composition and powers of the tribunal, confidentiality, interim measures, the conduct of the hearing, and the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards.
NOTES: This course is part of the International Business Law stream in the Queen’s/Dalhousie International Law Program (ILP), which takes place in Europe in May and June. The ILP combines an 8-week intensive academic program in international law with field study visits to law firms, international organizations, and international courts.
Dalhousie students earn nine credits for successfully completing the program, which can be counted towards 2L or 3L credit requirements. ILP courses do not count as major paper courses, nor do they count towards Certificate requirements. Grades earned through the ILP will not be included in a Dalhousie student’s overall weighted average for any purpose, including eligibility for scholarships or supplemental exams. Applications are usually due near the end of the Fall term, although late applications can sometimes be accepted. Tuition and fees are paid to Queen’s University.
There is an ILP information session held in the fall term at the Schulich School of Law each year. Students wishing to participate in this program must schedule an academic advising appointment with the office of the Associate Dean (Academic). Further details about the program can be found on the International Law Program website: https://law.queensu.ca/programs/jd/international-learning/bisc.
LAWS 2708 ILP: International Human Rights Law
CREDIT HOURS: 3
The course provides an introduction to the international law of human rights and to the more specialized protections applicable to refugees, as well as the interrelationship between these bodies of law. The aim of the course is to provide the students with a coherent framework for understanding the instruments and mechanisms through which international law protects the fundamental rights of every human being as well as those of particularly vulnerable groups, such as refugees. In discussing the various facets of the international human rights and refugee protection regimes, emphasis will be given to their conceptual foundations, their enforcement at the international, regional and domestic level, as well as their practical implications and current challenges. Specific attention will be given to the institutional features of the human rights regime, including at the regional level (Organization of American States), the reception of international human rights law into the Canadian legal system, and the relationship of human rights and refugee law to related areas, such as humanitarian law and international criminal law.
NOTES: This course is part of the Public International Law stream in the Queen’s/Dalhousie International Law Program (ILP), which takes place in Europe in May and June. The ILP combines an 8-week intensive academic program in international law with field study visits to law firms, international organizations, and international courts.
Dalhousie students earn nine credits for successfully completing the program, which can be counted towards 2L or 3L credit requirements. ILP courses do not count as major paper courses, nor do they count towards Certificate requirements. Grades earned through the ILP will not be included in a Dalhousie student’s overall weighted average for any purpose, including eligibility for scholarships or supplemental exams. Applications are usually due near the end of the Fall term, although late applications can sometimes be accepted. Tuition and fees are paid to Queen’s University.
There is an ILP information session held in the fall term at the Schulich School of Law each year. Students wishing to participate in this program must schedule an academic advising appointment with the office of the Associate Dean (Academic). Further details about the program can be found on the International Law Program website: https://law.queensu.ca/programs/jd/international-learning/bisc.
LAWS 2709 ILP: International Criminal Law
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course introduces students to the law governing the conduct of armed conflict and to the crimes for which individuals incur individual criminal responsibility under international law, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. The law of armed conflict, or international humanitarian law, is a set of rules which seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict. It protects persons who are not or are no longer participating in hostilities and restricts the means and methods of warfare that may be employed by parties to a conflict. International humanitarian law faces a number of challenges in contemporary armed conflicts, which differ significantly from the types of conflicts that were prevalent when this body of law was first developed. A recent approach to addressing certain violations of international humanitarian law has been the establishment of international criminal tribunals and mixed international / domestic tribunals tasked with prosecuting individuals allegedly responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law and other serious international crimes. The first part of the course will examine the history, principles, operation and application of international humanitarian law. The second part of the course will focus on the development of the law applicable to individual criminal responsibility, immunity, substantive elements of crimes, and certain modes of liability under international criminal law.
NOTES: This course is part of the Public International Law stream in the Queen’s/Dalhousie International Law Program (ILP), which takes place in Europe in May and June. The ILP combines an 8-week intensive academic program in international law with field study visits to law firms, international organizations, and international courts.
Dalhousie students earn nine credits for successfully completing the program, which can be counted towards 2L or 3L credit requirements. ILP courses do not count as major paper courses, nor do they count towards Certificate requirements. Grades earned through the ILP will not be included in a Dalhousie student’s overall weighted average for any purpose, including eligibility for scholarships or supplemental exams. Applications are usually due near the end of the Fall term, although late applications can sometimes be accepted. Tuition and fees are paid to Queen’s University.
There is an ILP information session held in the fall term at the Schulich School of Law each year. Students wishing to participate in this program must schedule an academic advising appointment with the office of the Associate Dean (Academic). Further details about the program can be found on the International Law Program website: https://law.queensu.ca/programs/jd/international-learning/bisc.
LAWS 2710 ILP: International Business Law
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course will provide an introduction to public international law for students in the International Business Law stream. In the first week of the course, which may be taken jointly with the students in the Public International Law stream, students will study the core concepts and principles of international law, including the sources of international law, the subjects of international law, and the concept of jurisdiction. In the second week of the course, the students will explore legal rules and institutions that provide important context for the subject matter covered in the remainder of the program, including the international financial architecture, international taxation, and the related work of the World Bank, the OECD, the IMF, and the United Nations.
NOTES: This course is part of the International Business Law stream in the Queen’s/Dalhousie International Law Program (ILP), which takes place in Europe in May and June. The ILP combines an 8-week intensive academic program in international law with field study visits to law firms, international organizations, and international courts.
Dalhousie students earn nine credits for successfully completing the program, which can be counted towards 2L or 3L credit requirements. ILP courses do not count as major paper courses, nor do they count towards Certificate requirements. Grades earned through the ILP will not be included in a Dalhousie student’s overall weighted average for any purpose, including eligibility for scholarships or supplemental exams. Applications are usually due near the end of the Fall term, although late applications can sometimes be accepted. Tuition and fees are paid to Queen’s University.
There is an ILP information session held in the fall term at the Schulich School of Law each year. Students wishing to participate in this program must schedule an academic advising appointment with the office of the Associate Dean (Academic). Further details about the program can be found on the International Law Program website: https://law.queensu.ca/programs/jd/international-learning/bisc.
LAWS 2711 ILP: Introduction to International Law in the Anthropocene
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course will provide an introduction to public international law for students in the International Environmental Law stream. In the first week of the course, which may be taken jointly with the students in the Public International Law and International Business Law streams, students will study the core concepts and principles of international law, including the sources of international law, the subjects of international law, and the concept of jurisdiction. In the second week of the course, the students will critically explore the relationship of international law with nature, including by uncovering the assumptions about the natural world that are embedded in the core concepts and principles of international law. The course will provide students with the conceptual and theoretical basis for a critical engagement with the legal rules and institutions that are covered in the remainder of the stream.
NOTES: This course is part of the International Environmental Law stream in the Queen’s/Dalhousie International Law Program (ILP), which takes place in Europe in May and June. The ILP combines an 8-week intensive academic program in international law with field study visits to law firms, international organizations, and international courts.
Dalhousie students earn nine credits for successfully completing the program, which can be counted towards 2L or 3L credit requirements. ILP courses do not count as major paper courses, nor do they count towards Certificate requirements. Grades earned through the ILP will not be included in a Dalhousie student’s overall weighted average for any purpose, including eligibility for scholarships or supplemental exams. Applications are usually due near the end of the Fall term, although late applications can sometimes be accepted. Tuition and fees are paid to Queen’s University.
There is an ILP information session held in the fall term at the Schulich School of Law each year. Students wishing to participate in this program must schedule an academic advising appointment with the office of the Associate Dean (Academic). Further details about the program can be found on the International Law Program website: https://law.queensu.ca/programs/jd/international-learning/bisc.