Bachelor of Laws, LL.B. (Hons)

Overview

This Bachelor of Laws, LL.B. (Hons) course is offered on our Mauritius campus. Classes take place at the Pierrefonds Campus of Uniciti Education Hub.

Course aims:

• The curriculum was designed to equip students with all necessary skills required to pursue postgraduate courses in law or other related fields;
• The programme enables students to follow Vocational Courses for law practitioners;
• We also want to train students for a career in the public or private sector at national or international levels;

This 3-year course offers a unique blend of Common Law, Civil Law, Mauritian Law and International Law. With a focus on core business, international legal issues, it will provide you with an in-depth understanding of key legal subjects and is undoubtedly a strong basis for any legal career. After the first year, students may choose between Optional Streams focusing either on domestic law or modules with a more global outreach – ‘the global stream’ may be of interest to either local or international students.

Senior Leadership:	Anthony Mergey (Professor, Dean of the LL.B. (Hons))
Course name:	Bachelor of Laws, LL.B. (Hons)
Degree type:	Institutional degree (diplôme d’université)
Awarding body:	degree is awarded by Paris-Panthéon-Assas University
Level:	undergraduate
Duration:	3 years, full-time only (part time not available)
Study method:	face-to-face (e-learning if needed)
Intake:	September
Location:	Pierrefonds Campus, Uniciti Education Hub, Royal Road, 72448 Pierrefonds

Interview with Anthony Mergey, Academic Dean of the LL.B. Bachelor of Laws

Teaching & Structure

Teaching Method

About 75% of the professors teaching on the Mauritius Campus come from the Paris-Panthéon-Assas University campus in Paris, and 25% are Mauritian law practitioners. The small class size (maximum 40 students per class) facilitates the transfer of knowledge as well as interactions between students and professors. The curriculum includes lecture-style classes during which professors cover theoretical aspects of the course as well as tutorials where students get a chance to go deeper into certain topics covered in the lectures. Classes are taught exclusively in English.

Study mode

A hybrid way of study is currently in place with both face-to-face and online (live) classes. When possible, a majority of classes take place on campus in a face-to-face format. When sanitary allow, all classes (face-to-face and online) must be attended from the campus. In the event of a campus closure as a result of local sanitary restrictions, all classes are then transferred to an online format (via Zoom).

Assessment

The organisation of assessment follows a semester basis. At the end of each semester, students take a series of exams:

• Modules with practicals are usually subjected to a written examination of 3 hours.
  Each Professor is free to choose the form of the written examination for his/her class. Among other possibilities, the examination may take the form of a long essay (with one subject or a choice between different subjects), series of short and medium length answer type questions, case study (one or multiple case studies, with fixed or optional subjects), or a combination of two or more of those options. For each relevant subject, the written examination will be graded on a scale of 20 points and will make up 50% of the overall score for the said subject.
• Modules with practicals are also subjected to a continuous assessment grade.
  The continuous assessment grade is made of multiple types of evaluations, depending on the choice of each Professor: attendance and participation in classes, progress made, practicals’ assignments, and quizzes. Quizzes should be organized regularly (every 3 to 5 classes) in order to assess students with a short MCQ or short answer type questions. These quizzes of a duration of 5 to 15 minutes can take place during class or online outside of class. For each relevant subject, the continuous assessment will be graded on an overall scale of 20 points and make up 50% of the overall score for the said subject.
• Subjects which do not require practicals are subjected to either an oral exam or a written examination of 1.5 to 2h.
  Professors have free rein over the format of the final exam, which among other possibilities may consist of a medium length essay (with one subject or a choice between different subjects), series of short and medium length answer type questions, or a combination of two or more of those options. For each relevant subject, the assessment for the oral or written examination, graded on 20 points, makes up 75% of its overall score.
• Modules without practicals are also subjected to continuous assessment.
  The continuous assessment is made of multiple types of evaluations, such as attendance and participation in classes, progress made, and quizzes. Quizzes may be organized regularly (every 3 to 5 classes) in order to assess students with a short MCQ or short answer type questions. These quizzes of a duration of 5 to 15 minutes can take place during class or online outside of class (for example using the Agor@ssas platform). For each relevant subject, the grade for the continuous assessment, graded over 20 points, makes up 25% of its overall score.

During the written examinations, if necessary, documents will be distributed to the students at the same time as the examination topics. In the absence of the express authorisation of the lecturer responsible for the subject, all information support, processing or communication (programmable calculator, IT tool, etc.) is prohibited. The use of all handbooks or documents containing personal annotations is prohibited. All cheating or attempted cheating is liable to disciplinary actions.

The first session consists of two examination periods. The evaluations for the first examination period cover all subjects which have been completed by the end of the first semester of the current academic year. They are held at the end of the first semester. Students are informed about the grades obtained. The evaluations for the second examination period cover all subjects which have been completed by the end of the second semester of the current academic year. They are held at the end of the second semester. Students are informed about the grades obtained. The second exam session dates will be determined at the end of the second semester; they are usually scheduled 2 weeks after the final grade is made available.

The degree is awarded to students completing each of the 3 years of the LL.B. with the passing grade of 10 out of 20.

Structure

The total duration of the LL.B. is six semesters (three academic years) and the total time allotted to lectures and tutorials is as follows:

Entry Requirements

Entry requirements for the Bachelor of Laws, LL.B. (Hons) are as follows:

High School graduates (entry in First year)

• High School qualification (certificate of Secondary Education: Baccaulauréat, Higher School Certificate (HSC), General Certificate of Education A-Levels (GCE), International  Baccalaureate or equivalent). For HSC candidates, a strict minimum 2 ‘A’ levels and 2 subsidiary level subjects or  equivalent is required. 

Transfer/direct entry in second or third year
In certain cases, candidates who have already completed one or two years of a law degree may be eligible to enrol directly into the second or third year. In this case, the student’s application must be supported by his/her previous university transcripts.

It is important to note that academic performance is not the sole criterion for selection. Beyond this, motivation, extra-curricular activities as well as having an open and inquisitive mind are important elements which will be taken into consideration during the admission process. 

A list of required application documents can be found here.

Language Proficiency
The LL.B. (Hons) course is fully taught in English. International candidates whose main medium of instruction for their secondary school/university education was not English are encouraged to take an English Language Test (IELTS, TOEFL, PTE Academic and Cambridge English Advanced or equivalent). 

Mauritian candidates do not need to take a language proficiency test.

Admission process:

Candidates must submit their application via the application platform only.

Given the limited seats available on the course, early applications with mock results (or results from the first terms of your last year of high school) are strongly encouraged. Applications typically open in January of every year. Upon reception of your application, you will receive a response from the university’s admission committee within a maximum of 15 working days. Applications will only be considered and reviewed once complete. The review process is conducted by a committee consisting of two professors and/or senior lecturers at the Paris-Panthéon-Assas University.

Applications with mock results

Successful candidates applying with their mock results will receive a Conditional Offer of admission. With a Conditional Offer, a student’s seat is pre-reserved on the course. Candidates must inform the university of their intention to accept or decline the Conditional Offer. Candidates who decide to accept their Conditional Offer must then need to submit their final results (High School results/Transcripts) as soon as they receive them. Should the results be deemed satisfactory, the candidate will then receive a Full Offer of admission, following which they should notify the University of their decision to accept or decline, and proceed to the deposit of Tuition Fees.

Applications with full high school results

Successful candidates applying with their final secondary school exam results will receive a Full Offer of admission. Candidates with a Full Offer have 3 weeks to decide and inform the university whether they intend to accept or decline the offer. Candidates who wish to accept the Full Offer must proceed to the payment of minimum tuition fees deposit within this 3-weeks period  to confirm their seat on the programme (payment to be made within 3 weeks following receipt of Acceptance Letter). Please refer to the Tuition Fees & Funding section for more information.

Careers

The three-year LL.B. Honours programme focuses on core domestic, comparative and international legal issues. It is designed to meet the requirements of students who intend to pursue postgraduate studies or a career, in either civil law or common law jurisdictions, or in Private/Public international law practice.

Alumni Testimonial: what is it like to study on the LL.B.(Hons)?