Commercial Law

The Commercial Law Master aims at providing insight to and increasing the knowledge of students with regard to legal aspects of doing business in an international setting. Special attention is given also to the influence of EU Law. Based in the port of Rotterdam, the Master Commercial Law educates legal professionals that are to become well versed in commercial, company and labour law. Graduates of this course continue their professional careers practising law in law firms or law courts, or working in the academic and business world (e.g. in industry, commerce and transport), or in various other sectors of the economy (such as banking, insurance and financial markets) where issues related to business companies and commercial relations play an important part.

The Study Program rests upon two main pillars. 1. Company and Labour Law and 2. Commercial Law. Company law focuses upon the main topics of corporate governance. For example: the functioning of the board of directors, shareholder rights and cross-border voting. Attention is also given to the EC-directives. Issues relating to the freedom of establishment, national and cross-border mergers, take over bids, and the Societas Europaea are addressed. Form the perspective of labour law, special attention will given to the influence of EC legislation on the possibilities of mass redundancies. Commercial law is focused upon the individual contracts of insurance, financing and payment, transport, storage and logistics, upon which the co-operation between a multitude of businesses involved in an international sale of goods transaction is based. Rights of ownership, security rights in goods and intellectual property rights are the legal foundations upon which this contractual co-operations rests. Although contracts are binding upon the parties only, the aspect of co-operation requires that certain rights and obligations pass also to others than the original parties to the contracts. The allocation of risks between the parties and the central role of documents of title (Bills of lading, Bills of Exchange, Letters of Credit, Insurance Certificates etc.) in the performance of the contracts will be a red herring throughout all the courses in which issues of this area are dealt with.

The Commercial Law Master is accessible to students with a Bachelor diploma in Dutch Law or equivalent from a Dutch or Netherlands Antilles University and to students with a Bachelor diploma in Law from a foreign University. Students with Bachelor diploma?s other than in law or other than from a University, may be admitted upon application, but can be required to first follow additional courses before being admitted to the Commercial Law Master.

Graduates will find employment in the legal profession, the judiciary and all sectors of industry and commerce in which issues surrounding the business world, trade and commerce play an important role.

Start, time frame and language