University of Liège - Liege Competition and Innovation Institute

The city of Liege is located in the heart of Europe. It has a state of the art railway station and offers a high speed rail network linking the city to Europe - Brussels (90km), Antwerp (120km), Cologne (120km), Luxembourg (140km), Amsterdam (340km), Paris (380km) and London (430km) while Maastricht is only a stone throw away.

Founded in the XIXth Century, the University of Liège (ULg) is one of Belgium’s largest universities with approximately 18.000 students and 2.800 researchers and scholars.

The university campus is located in the outskirts of the city. Getting to the city centre is
simple – regular public buses travel to and from the city centre in approximately 15 minutes.
Close to the city centre yet in a peaceful environment, the campus provides ideal surroundings for academic achievement.

The LL.M. in European Competition and IP law is organized under the auspices of the Liege Competition and Innovation Institute ("LCII"), an interdisciplinary (law & economics) research center dedicated to the study of innovation and competition.

The Institute was previously chaired by, and has hosted, many renowned EU law specialists
(F. Dehousse, P. Demaret, R. Joliet, P. Pescatore, S. Van Raepenbusch and M. Wathelet). Five of its former professors and members have been appointed Judges of the European Court of Justice.

The LCII is composed of 3 professors, 3 PhD candidates, 4 research assistants, and 2 research fellows. It hosts a European Documentation Centre (EDC). The library is certified by the European Commission (Directorate-General for Education and Culture). Through this channel, the Institute benefits from a privileged access to EU databases.

THE LLM SPIRIT

In just a few years, Competition and Intellectual Property (IP) laws have become central to business and public decision making. The advent of the new economy, with the rise of the internet of things, 3D printers, robotics and genetics, has led to an ever-increasing surge of IP applications and litigations, while the regulatory nature of competition law ensures that it will continue play a fundamental role in the push for growth and economic development.

The purpose of the programme is to prepare elite students for leadership functions as lawyers, managers and public decision makers.

To this end, the LL.M. programme provides students with a set of exclusive courses, taught by eminent practitioners and academics, in order to guarantee an in-depth and intense learning experience.

Reflecting our emphasis on an international teaching approach, lectures are in both French and English.

In Brussels and throughout Europe, our alumni provide expert advice in the fields of intellectual property, competition and business law. Our alumni now hold positions as specialized lawyers, officials of national and European competition authorities, IP and regulatory authorities, specialist consultants and researchers.


IN A NUTSHELL

The LL.M. in EU Competition and IP law offers:

- A cutting-edge courses in IP and competition law, taught by international specialists and leading practitioners;
- A seminar-sized group of students;
- Interactive lectures, based on reading assignments, comments and discussion;
- A complete choice of conferences and workshops focusing on hot legal topics;
- Opportunities for summer placement in law firms;
- Networking opportunities with many legal professionals;
- Possibilities for students to author case notes in the online law journal e-Competitions (www.concurrences.com).
- The conditions of access to the LL.M. programme are strict. For more information, please see our application requirements webpage.

>>> Non-EU students are able to choose between the French/English biligual version of our LL.M. and a full English version of that same LL.M.

>>> More information here : http://www.lcii.eu/ll-m/llm-eu-competition-ip-law/

Check also our website: www.lcii.eu

In addition to courses and seminars, the LL.M. offers students a unique opportunity to take part in multiple extra-curriculum activities.


STUDYTRIP

To help the LL.M. students improve their knowledge of the EU institutions, a study trip is organized each year to the EU Court of Justice. This trip allows students to discover the inner workings of a major EU institution. During the trip, students are guided by a lawyer fami¬liar with the institution and are privileged to attend a Court hearing. The study trip is an integral part of the academic programme.


EVENTS AND CONFERENCES

Each year, the LCII organizes several conferences on European, Competition or IP law issues, to which the LL.M. students are closely associated. Those events provide our students with the opportunity to network socialize with IP and competition professionals.


PUBLICATIONS

The LCII has established a partnership with the online journal e-Competitions. Under this partnership, LL.M. students are offered the op¬portunity to co-author case notes on Belgian competition law cases, which are subsequently published in an international online law journal (www.concurrences.com).


MOOT COURTS

Students are also given the opportunity to par¬ticipate in several Moot Courts during the aca-demic year.

In 2010, a team composed of four LL.M. students won the Competition Law Moot Court organized by Lamy publishing at the office of the French Competition Authority in Paris.

In 2015 a team composed of five LL.M. students was selected to take part to the final round of the EU Law Moot Court at the EU Court of Justice, Luxemburg.

The Faculty of Law of University of Liège has always had a stellar for European law. Over the years, no less than five professors of the Faculty of Law have been appointed as Judges to the European Court of Justice:

- Pierre PESCATORE,
- René JOLIET,
- Melchior WATHELET,
- Franklin DEHOUSSE, and
- Sean VAN RAEPENBUSCH.

The LL.M. faculty is composed of internationally renown experts in the field of competition
and IP law. In order to guarantee that the training offered to our students is practice-
oriented, most of the professors have a practical experience, acquired in prestigious law
firms, companies or public institutions.

The LL.M. faculty is also a true international team, characterized by the plurality of origins and backgrounds of its members, who come from various countries such as Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada and the United-States.

The LL.M. faculty is composed of teachers such as:
- David Hull (Covington & Burling);
- Jacques Derenne (Sheppard Mullin LLP);
- Jean-François Bellis (Van Baele and Bellis);
- Jean-Yves Art (Microsoft);
- Patricia Cappuyns (Cappuyns IP law);
- Benoit Michaux (Hoyng Monegier LLP);
- Christof Karl (Bardehle Pagenberg);
- Luc Gyselen (Arnold & Potter LLP);
- Nicolas Petit (ULg).

ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS

See information below in "application procedure"


LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

It is up to the student to determine whether he feels confident that his level is sufficient to follow/take part to law classes. To follow the LL.M. programme, a sound working knowledge of French and/or English languages is indispensable.

Students willing to improve their English or French may attend language courses organized at the University during the academic year. (See: http://www.islv.ulg.ac.be/fr_lm.html)

Every applicant must go through two procedures to enroll: the admission procedure, and the application procedure.

The admission procedure aims at determining whether the applicant has a sufficient background to be enrolled on our class list.

The admission Committee will then review the background of the student and the merits of its application before delivering an admission decision.

The LL.M. in European Competition and IP law is open to all applicants holding a Bologna Master s degree in law or a degree that is deemed equivalent by the admission commission (i.e. a 300 ECTS or 5 years educational programme in law).

Subject to a decision from the admission commission, the LL.M. degree is also opened to students with a 4 years diploma in law with relevant professional experience in competition or IP law.

The LL.M. degree is also opened to students with Bologna Master s degrees from business schools, subject to a decision from the admission commission.

The application procedure is an administrative procedure exclusively based on administrative criterions (passport, visa, fee, etc.)

If you want to apply for our LL.M. in EU Competition and IP law, you have to fill-in our online application form. Applications are open on a rolling basis from March to September.

The filling of the online form will launch both (admission and application) procedures.

The forms may be found at the following addresses:

http://www.lcii.eu/ll-m/admissions/

Please do note that for administrative reasons, the Full-English programme is open to non-EU citizens only.

The forms detail the documents you must send with your application in order to prove your qualifications (copies of your diplomas at least a five year degree in law, curriculum vitae, etc.).

In order to ensure a smooth processing of your application, it is recommended that you notify your application to the Executive Secretary once sent ([email protected]).

The University of Liège is a government-funded institution, whose fees are regulated. This allows the LL.M. programme to be financially accessible to the selected best students.

The tuition fee for the academic year approximates to 850 euros for EU citizens.

Tuition fees for non-EU citizens depend on the country of origin. For detailed information on this, please see http://www.lcii.eu/ll-m/admissions/ or contact Mrs. LIBERT: [email protected].

Information on the living costs in Liège may be found here: http://www.ulg.ac.be/cms/a_15749/cout-des-etudes-et-formalites-de-sejour (English language switching button available on the top right of the screen).

Students must be financially self-sufficient during their stay in Liège.

The University of Liège does provide any scholarship. For more information on access to scholarships, please see: http://www.lcii.eu/ll-m/admissions/

Any scholarship offered by a third party may of course be used to finance studies at the ULg.

The city of Liège is located in the heart of Europe.

Located in the close vicinity of Brussels, the city of Liège is one of the principal economic and cultural cities of Belgium. Situated in the valley of the Meuse River, the city is near Belgium’s eastern borders with the Netherlands and Germany.

It has a state of the art railway station and offers a high speed rail network linking the city to Europe - Brussels (90km), Antwerp (120km), Cologne (120km), Luxembourg (140km), Amsterdam (340km), Paris (380km) and London (430km), while Maastricht is only a stone throw away.

Two halls of residence are available on the campus. Many private student rooms are
available in the city centre for affordable prices.

For more information, please contact the Accommodation Service: http://www.ulg.ac.be/cms/c_201023/logement

Each year, the LL.M. is attended by a group of 25 students (maximum number of enrolled students). The number of LL.M. students is strictly limited.

The seminar size of the LL.M. student group ensures high-quality training conditions, fosters emulation through discussion and provides the ideal environment to create a convivial, friendly atmosphere between the students.

A majority of our students originates from Belgium and Western Europe. This being said, each year, the LL.M. welcomes foreign students from Eastern Europe, South America or Asia.

Due to the small number of enrolled students, strong bonds are often forged between them. Each year, students are invited to take part to Moot Courts.

In 2010, the students of the LLM won the first prize of the "Concours Lamy de la concurrence 2010", in Paris. Link: http://www.lamyblog.fr/2010/06/resultat-du-concours-lamy-de-la-concurrence/

In 2015 a team composed of five LL.M. students was selected to take part to the final round of the EU Law Moot Court at the EU Court of Justice, Luxemburg. See: http://www.lcii.eu/2015/04/25/lcii-team-wins-two-prizes-at-the-eu-law-moot-court/

The development of the city of Liège is closely intertwined with the one of the University. Student events and folkloric displays rhythm the life of the city.