UMKC Ireland Program Curriculum

 The program takes place over four weeks and provided courses offering a total of 5.5 hours of ABA-approved academic credit.  Students may obtain an additional 0.5 hours Independent Study academic credit (for a total of 6.0 academic credit hours) at no additional charge by submitting a written paper to the Academic Director.

 There are no evening classes.   The curriculum features classes and discussions scheduled primarily in the morning, coupled with field trips to legal institutions and tours to cultural and historic sites in the afternoon.  The field trips are an integral part of the academic program and require mandatory attendance.  There will be opportunities for informal exchanges with Irish professors, lawyers, judges, government officials, and university students.  Cultural and historic tours are also included in the package price, but tour attendance is not required for academic credit.

 The courses focus on the law of the European Union, the commercial law of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and the conduct of international business among the U.S., Ireland and the EU.  Conducted in phases, coursework begins at the Diseart Cultural Centre in Dingle; moves to Galway, Ireland during summer break and continues at the campus of National University Ireland, Galway after the bread; and finishes at University College Dublin.  The academic program includes:

Law of the European Union Part I (1 credit hour) Taught by Professor Dermot Cahill of UCD.

            The legal and political framework and institutions of European Union; the Commission,  Council of  Ministers,   Court  of Justice, Court of Auditors, and the European Parliament.  Course will examine the interlocking web of European treaties, the expansion of the EU, the EU as a trade block and Ireland as a gateway to the EU for non-bloc nations.

        Introduction to the Resolution of International Commercial Disputes(1 credit hour) Taught by Professor Tom Brittonof SIU.

This course will introduce students to international commercial dispute resolution.  While all forms of dispute resolution will be considered, the course will focus on introducing the fundamentals of arbitration, the use of arbitration between European Union members to resolve commercial disputes, and the use of arbitration between EU members and non-member states to resolve commercial disputes. 

         Law of the European Union Part 2 (2 credit hours) Taught by Professor Dermot Cahillof UCD and Professor Shivaun Quinlivan of NUI-Galway.

                An examination of the substantive and procedural law governing the member states of the European Union including such topics as the nature and application of EU law, the relationship relationship between EU and national laws, workers, competition laws, intellectual property, equal treatment treatment of women and men, and non-discrimination.

         Doing Business in Ireland (1.5 credit hours) Taught by Professor Edwin Hood of UMKC and Oongh Breen of UCD

                 A comparative study of the business entity laws of the United States and the Republic of Ireland.  In addition, the course will examine the competition laws of the United States and the European Union and corporate taxation of multinational companies operating in the Republic of Ireland.

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