Our Postgraduate Taught Courses

About the LL.M. in International and Comparative Disability Law and Policy

1. Timetable

The Master of Laws in International and Comparative Disability Law and Policy, comprising course work and the preparation of a dissertation, is available both on a full-time basis over one academic year and on a part-time basis over two academic years. The programme comprises two semesters of course work and the preparation of a dissertation. It is designed for graduates who wish to work in the field of disability law and policy, in government, non-governmental organisations at national and international level, as well as in private practice. The programme focuses on the dynamics of legal and social change including contemporary law reform challenges in the disability law. 

LLM Academic Year 2026/27: Timetable Semester 1/2

2. Subject Schedule

Compulsory Module

LW552 Foundational Theoretical Framework for Disability Law and Policy (10 ECTS)
Module Co-Ordinator: Prof. Eilionóir Flynn

This course will take you through various theories which have underpinned the disability rights movement we see today. We cover concepts of equality, the medical, social and human rights models of disability, normalization, capabilities theories, post-structuralist and post-modern scholarship on disability, the philosophy of the independent living movement, and the development of the human rights approach to disability enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Dissertation/Minor Thesis (30 ECTS)
Module Co-Ordinators: 
Prof Eilionóir Flynn: E: eilionoir.flynn@universityofgalway.ie 
Dr Clíona de Bhailís: E: cliona.debhailis@universityofgalway.ie  
Dr János Fiala-Butora: E: janos.fiala-butora@universityofgalway.ie 
Dr Shivaun Quinlivan: E: shivaun.quinlivan@universityofgalway.ie  
Dr. Lawrence Donnelly: E: larry.donnelly@universityofgalway.ie 

The dissertation represents the concerted piece of work that is submitted by a candidate at the end of the programme. It will consist of a detailed analysis of a specific issue determined by the candidate in conjunction with his/her supervisor. 

Optional Modules

Semester 1

LW558 Legal Capacity Law and Policy (10 ECTS)
Module Co-Ordinator: Dr. János Fiala-Butora

This course will begin by defining legal capacity and examining its evolution throughout legal history. We will then look at philosophical conceptions of personhood and explore how the law regulates personhood via legal capacity systems. Traditional approaches to legal capacity will be analyzed, with a focus on the purpose of the legislation as well as its effects on the persons it is applied to. Once we have a clear understanding of legal capacity from the legal and philosophical perspectives, we will examine the drafting of Article 12 of the CRPD, which guarantees the right to legal capacity on an equal basis for all. We will look at the article’s meaning and the obligations it imposes on State Parties to the convention. Finally, we will examine legal capacity law reform around the globe, exploring both political advocacy methods as well as whether the substance of the reforms is in compliance with Article 12.

LW483 Advanced Legal Research Methods (10 ECTS)
Module Co-Ordinator: Lawrence Donnelly

This course will build on the research skills already acquired by students in their primary degree programmes. It will be closely linked with and designed to facilitate the writing components and the minor thesis requirement of all students on the programme. The emphasis will be on practical exercises which will include elements of the following: textual analysis, database training, literature review, research presentation, abstract writing, report writing, research evaluation.

LW5101 International Disability Human Rights Clinic (10 ECTS)
Module Co-Ordinator: Dr. Clíona de Bhailís

This module focuses on the development of clinical legal skills and their application to national and international disability human rights work - such as the preparation of submissions on national policy, amicus briefs for regional and international courts, the development of shadow reports to UN treaty bodies and other inputs to UN agencies on issues of disability rights law. To achieve this, students will work on a practical assignment from a community partner and lead legal information clinics as part of the Disability Legal Information Clinic (DLIC) in the CDLP. Before completing the practical assignments, the module will explore key provisions of Irish law and the CRPD and core skills for clinical research practice.

PLEASE NOTE: This module runs across both Semester 1 and Semester 2

LW550 Advocacy and Access to Justice (10 ECTS)
Module Co-Ordinator: Prof. Eilionóir Flynn

This module will address the broad scope of access to justice for people with disabilities (including access to information, and to the systems and procedures used in the administration of justice). It will highlight how people with disabilities experience barriers in accessing justice, and how these barriers can be redressed, through statutory advocacy services and other innovative rights-enforcement mechanisms. 
 
Semester 2

LW553 Inclusive Education Law and Policy (10 ECTS)
Module Co-Ordinator: Dr. Shivaun Quinlivan

The purpose of this course is to explore the key challenges facing the process of inclusive education reform that is underway worldwide as well as in Ireland.  Effectively, this is a law reform process that seeks to accommodate human difference within the education system and is premised on the inherent equality of all persons and a rejection of the ‘separate but equal’ segregationist doctrine.  This move towards mainstream education, to truly inclusive education is not without its critics, with some championing the necessity for separate provision in certain situations (e.g. deaf community, and parents of children with autism).

LW561 Mental Health Law and Policy (10 ECTS)
Module Co-Ordinator: Dr. János Fiala-Butora

The purpose of this course is to explore the key challenges facing mental health law and policy at the international, regional and national levels. Mental health law will be examined against international human rights norms and the needs of adults and children with psychosocial disabilities. This course will examine the legitimacy of laws and policies that provide for the involuntary detention and forcible treatment of persons from a civil and criminal law perspective. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the European Convention on Human Rights and decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, as well as other human rights instruments, will provide the basis for this critical evaluation. The course is also intended to raise awareness of some specific issues, including the impact of the power imbalances within the mental health system and the interaction of mental health laws with denials of legal capacity. Alternative legal models that support the assertion of, and respect for, a person’s own will and preferences will also be considered. National law will be analysed to provide a case study of some of these issues.

LW551 Contemporary Challenges in Disability Law and Policy (10 ECTS) 
Module Co-Ordinator: Dr. Janos Fiala-Butora

The main objective of this module is to explore how the human rights of persons with disabilities can be fully realised in different countries and contexts. The module is divided into three main parts. The first part will address how persons with disabilities' right to liberty can be violated in different contexts.  Students will learn how persons with disabilities are over-represented in different detention settings; this includes mental health and residential aged care facilities as well as the practice of solitary confinement in the criminal justice system for persons with disabilities. The second part will consider voice and participation in various settings, including within institutional settings and civil society. We will examine how using voice and participation within different settings can contribute to social change. Effective means of participation will be discussed, as well as barriers and cases where participation was not facilitated or implemented effectively. Finally the module will consider the challenge of implementing the CRPD in domestic systems. The CRPD uniquely requires states to establish a Government focal point with responsibility for implementing the Convention and a separate independent mechanism with responsibility for monitoring implementation. This module will consider how these bodies interact with civil society in domesticating the provision of the CRPD.