Prospective law students have a choice when it comes to reading for a law degree. They can either follow a full-time course at the University of Malta or study abroad and obtain a foreign university degree.
As from last year, students can also read for a Master's degree with the University of London without the need or cost of going abroad.
St Martin's Institute starting offering the University of London Master of Law (LL.M.) degree in October, teaching the students at their newly refurbished premises in Guardamangia. The University of London is the third oldest university in the United Kingdom and introduced distance learning to the world 150 years ago.
Dr James J. Busuttil, professor of international law and the University of London's director of the postgraduate laws distance learning programme for external students, told The Sunday Times that although the course is more than 80 years old, it has been completely modernised.
The external programme's new features and additional areas of specialisation were adopted in Malta to cater for lawyers and also other professionals, not necessarily lawyers, who want to specialise in a particular legal area.
"A person may study for a Post-graduate Certificate in Laws, a Postgraduate Diploma in Laws or the Master of Laws (LL.M.), specialising in areas such as international law, taxation, trusts, intellectual property and so on. One of the innovative features of this programme is that a student can choose to follow the Certificate, Diploma or Master's, which are consecutive courses and lead to specialisations, without the requirement of a first degree in law."
The new Master's programme was the result of Dr Busuttil's appointment with University of London in 2004 as the first Director of the Postgraduate Laws Pro-gramme for external students. He expanded the number of courses offered to over 40, revamped the structure of the courses and looked for new ways to cater for students and professionals who seek a qualification in laws which allows a flexible, accessible structure in tune with modern needs.
The standards of the Univer-sity of London's external programme are identical to the internal one, and the exams a student sits in an external institution worldwide are the same a student would sit in London, Dr Busuttil pointed out.
Over 400 students from 80 countries are currently studying with the University's external Master of Law. As opposed to the traditional October intake, students can apply and be admitted for the new postgraduate law programme anytime during the year, with no cost to apply. They can choose to take up the offer to register anytime within two years if they wish, Dr Busuttil explained.
"Exams, which are held in Malta but are corrected by professors at the University of London, are held in May and October, which enables a person to structure studies according to his/her requirements. And students can choose how fast they study, with up to five years to complete."
Dr Busuttil, who often calls upon St Martin's to oversee that the college retains a high standard of teaching and student support, is of Maltese descent.
"The University of London holds regular checks to ensure that the institutions worldwide with which it works keep up to the very high standards and rigour required by the University."
Charles Theuma, principal at St Martin's Institute of IT, said that this was a unique opportunity for Maltese law students, lawyers and other professionals to obtain a post-graduate qualification from a prestigious university without the need of going abroad.
Besides the fact that one does not lose out on precious work experience, the expense of doing such studies via distance learning is only a fraction of what it would entail for one to go and study in London, Mr Theuma maintained.
"The feasibility of such an option has been confirmed by the positive interest shown and the number of Maltese applicants that have taken up these LL.M. studies since St Martin's Institute introduced them in Malta a year ago," he said.
He also explained that St Martin's Institute of IT is planning to increase its support to students undertaking this qualification through assisted learning support. Students can already make use of the institute's library which has a growing extensive collection related to law studies.
A meeting for prospective LL.M. applicants is being held at MFSA Conference Hall on February 13 at 6 p.m. and will be addressed by Dr Busuttil.
Anyone who would like to attend is asked to contact St Martin's Institute on 2123-5451 or by e-mail at infodesk@stmartins.edu.