TalTech’s law programme introduces future lawyers to the specifics of common and civil law, cultivating difference makers at the national, EU and international levels.

Our law programme:

• provides a thorough understanding of the mechanisms and systems of national and international law, enabling you upon graduation to navigate autonomously through the types of legal matters you will later focus on in your work;
• offers learning in a multi-cultural environment that is guided by highly qualified academics with PhDs and experienced professionals from all around the world;
• provides a firm foundation upon which to continue studies in any kind of master’s programme in law, especially in programmes taught in English and specialising in technology law or business law;
• makes studies informative and engaging thanks to small group sizes, hybrid-learning availability and participation in moot court competitions.

Introduction

The programme is a classical law programme that teaches the basics of law and covering legal theory, private law, public law, and with a specialisation in EU law and international law. Based on personal interests, you can choose between many optional courses. Traditional branches of law like constitutional law, contract law, property law, criminal law, etc., are taught by comparative analysis of different states’ law s, with a strong emphasis on law and technology and law and business. At the end of the programme, you have to write and successfully defend your final thesis. The programme also entails an internship, and you can participate in international moot court competitions. Upon graduation, you will be awarded a Bachelor’s degree in law with a specialisation in EU and international law.

Students for TalTech international study programmes are admitted based on the admission threshold. By the motivation letter and interview, candidate’s English, skills of expression, analysing and argumentation are evaluated. Max score is 10 points. An applicant who receives the minimum of 5 points is admitted.

Candidates who have achieved a medal of an international subjects proficiency olympiad are admitted based on the olympiad result, gaining maximum admissions points. This means passing the online test and interview is not applicable. The certificate confirming the result of the international olympiad, motivation letter and other required documents must be submitted via DreamApply. List of accepted olympiads can be found here. Please note that the medal must have been received within the three years prior to applying.

Programme Specific Requirements

ADMISSION DEADLINES AND HOW TO APPLY

Courses are delivered by profound experts of law and technology from Estonia and all around the world, including:

• Professor Tanel Kerikmäe, who has solid experience in assessing legal and ethical risks of different ecosystems and capacity building, including artificial intelligence.
• Professor Thomas Hoffmann's, whose research focuses on comparative private law, especially insolvency law, private international law, contracts in digital environments and consumer law. He provides comprehensive research on Estonian, German and international law to various stakeholders within numerous EC tenders.
• Adjunct professor Katrin Nyman-Metcalf, who specialises primarily in the area of information and communication technology law including freedom of expression, as well as e-governance.
• Adjunct professor Ondrej Hamulak, who focuses his research on the relations and interactions between EU law and national law, the theoretical impact of membership in the EU on the state sovereignty and the legitimacy and rule of law within the EU, in particular system of protection of fundamental rights at supranational level.

Curriculum outline (180 ECT credits):

• General Studies (21 ECT credits) – covers compulsory courses such as Sustainable Development and Legal Aspects of Environmental Protection, IT foundations I and II, Statistics and Introduction to Entrepreneurship.
• EU and International Law (18 ECT credits) – covers compulsory courses such as EU Law, Comparative Private Law and International Private Law, Public International Law.
• Basic Law Subjects (33 ECT credits) – covers compulsory courses such as Comparative Constitutional Law and Human Rights Law, Introduction to Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure, Legal Syllogism and the General Part of Civil Law Systems, Introduction to Property Law and Intellectual Property Law, Foundations of European Contract Law.
• Legal Theory and Methods (12 ECT credits) – covers compulsory courses such as Foundations of Law and Legal Theory, Legal Research, Argumentation and Writing.
• Specific Courses of EU and International Law (30 ECT credits) – Data Protection Law, Alternative Dispute Resolution, EU Internal Market and Competition Law, International Competition Law and Cyber Conflicts.
• Practical Law (6 ECT credits) – either Legal Internship or Moot Court participation.
• Optional Courses (42 ECT credits) – Legal Toolkit for Start-ups, Basics of Technology Law, Contract Negotiating and Drafting, Rights, Obligations and Liability of Actors on the Internet and Consumer Protection Law etc.
• Free electives (6 ECT credits) – students can choose from a wide variety of courses offered at the university.
• Graduation thesis (12 ECT credits) – individual legal research on a topic chosen by the student.

Division of courses according to semesters:

Career prospects

After graduating, you will be a high-skilled specialist with a thorough understanding of the mechanisms and systems of national and international law, enabling you to navigate autonomously through those legal matters you will later focus on in your work.

The programme provides a firm foundation to continue studies in any kind of master ’s programme in law, especially in programmes taught in English and specialising in technology law or business law.

Our graduates are qualified to work in EU and international organisations and institutions, international companies and different law offices.

Prominent alumni

• Kerli Veski is an Estonian Diplomat and Director General of Law Department in Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• Tatsiana Zaretskaya is a cofounder and the CEO of Laava Tech, which developed a combination of software and hardware that both decreases the energy consumption of lights in indoor farms and increases crop yields. Its technology combines LED lights with machine learning, AI, and IoT to produce optimized growing conditions for different crops.
• Margus Raava is an Estonian diplomat who is currently an ambassador at large for economic cooperation with Africa at MFA Estonia.
• Sandra Särav is the Head of Sustainability at Bolt.
• Bogdan Kelichavyi is the newly elected mayor of Kopychyntsi, in the western Ternopil region, Ukraine.

Interviews with alumni

Vladislav Rusinov, a student of the law curriculum, finds that law studies at TalTech open opportunities for an international career.
Read the interview here

Looking back, as a current Stanford Law School graduate student and having  worked in international law firms and in-house legal departments of leading technology companies, I can say that many of those opportunities would not have been there if not for my studies in TalTech. The way that the programme encourages students to think outside the context of their own country teaches an especially valuable lesson. I can highly recommend studying in TalTech for anyone who is willing to embrace an international career path.

Markku Räsänen (Finland), graduated from the curriculum in 2009.

TalTech is as innovative and progressive as Estonia itself: Mektory, for one, has played a vital role in inspiring and driving the study process. This is how our start-up was born - truly an experience unlike any other. Moreover, during my BA, I got a chance to spend an exchange year in Maastricht, in the Netherlands, which is virtually a promised land when compared to normal law student standards. Having graduated cum laude, I am continuing my education outside of Estonia, but the business that is left behind, the many great people that became friends, and the spirit of TalTech, will always drive me back to my alma mater.

Tatsiana Khamichonak (Belarus), graduated from the curriculum in 2016.

I was a TalTech student in the Legislative Drafting course and most importantly, Alternative Dispute Resolution. The ADR  course sparked my interest in dispute resolution, which is one of the reasons I also studied arbitration in Nottingham. Things I learned in ADR and in Legislative Drafting really helped me in my interview with the European Chemicals Agency, where I currently work in the Dispute Resolution team. My job is to resolve data sharing disputes of companies importing or manufacturing chemicals in the EU, and draft the decisions as well. I just wanted to let you know what a great impact your teaching has had on my career, and say thank you. Without the ADR course, I don’t think that I would be where I am right now.

Maiju Toivanen (Finland), graduated from the curriculum in 2016.
 

Find more stories from our students here