AS THE world starts to look farther and deeper for its energy resources, the legal issues of jurisdiction and access – which had seemed purely academic some years ago – are suddenly coming into focus.

This was highlighted last year when Russian flag-planting on the Arctic floor, although overrated as an action of legal significance, focused attention on the Law of the Sea and a host of unresolved territorial and seabed issues. If oil is discovered in an area where the jurisdiction is in dispute, the ramifications in terms of sovereignty and resources – whether in the Arctic or anywhere else – will be enormous.

As a result, public international law and energy law are increasingly intertwined so that lawyers who understand both are going to be in demand by governments, international agencies and by the law firms that have specialist energy practices.

An LLM (Master of Laws) bolted on to a professional qualification and experience can provide a fast track into this area, and the UK is a world leader academically in this field.

Probably the best known institution is Dundee University’s centre for energy, petroleum and mineral law policy whose international staff reflects its global reputation. The rumour is that Dundee stepped in a couple of decades ago to seize the funding for its centre when Cambridge hesitated on the grounds that energy was not an important enough legal field.

Whatever the truth, it is clear that Dundee now has premier status in this work, which will be of critical importance to developed and developing countries alike.

The centre’s suite of LLM courses – which in some cases can be combined with an MBA or an MSc – covers topics ranging through energy, the environment, natural resources, comparative water law, minerals, international dispute resolution, and taxation as well as international business law and transactions. What is more, Dundee is one of the few institutions to open its LLM courses to those who have not got a first degree in law.

Dr Sergei Vinogradov, a senior lecturer, says: “We have students from almost 50 countries on the LLM course. As well as lawyers, who make up about 60 per cent, we have scientists, geologists and so on. In most cases they are in their late 20s to early 30s having already had some significant professional experience.”

The diversity of backgrounds means that Dundee provides a short induction programme that introduces students to the basics of law because, although the sector is specialised, many of the issues can be traced back to fundamental legal principles.

Dundee’s number of postgraduate students has more than trebled in the past decade. With such demand, Swansea University has responded by opening its own equivalent institution, the centre for environmental and energy law and policy, which looks likely to become a lively centre of specialisation. A new LLM programme in environmental and energy law starts this autumn, and students are now being recruited.

Like Dundee, Swansea will favour the LLM applicants who are qualified and have relevant experience. The centre is building on the university’s strong reputation in maritime law, and already provides advice on policy to key players in the energy sector, including the energy group of the Welsh Assembly.

University College London also brings a distinctive approach to energy law issues. Regarded as being in the top ten in the world, it offers LLMs in international energy law, the international law of the sea and environmental law and policy. Moreover, into the usual mix of energy-related subjects, it adds the additional dimension of human rights issues and corporate accountability. For example, where do the interests of the Inuits stand in Arctic exploration? Who is going to be represent them in court?

Energy law is coming out of the cold to be one of the hottest areas around.

STUDENTS LOOK FOR A WORLDWIDE OVERVIEW

IYABO OLUWATINUWE ADEBIYI, above, could not have come to Dundee University’s renowned centre for energy, petroleum and mineral law and policy from a more different climate and way of life.

Describing Dundee as “small and peaceful but very cold,” she is halfway through an LLM in international business law and transactions. Her motive for coming to this chilly northeastern part of Scotland from her native Nigeria, where she worked as a lawyer for the Ministry of Justice, having qualified at the Nigerian Law School, was the realisation of how much her country relies on its oil and gas industry.

Adebiyi, known as Tinu to her friends. says: “It is important to understand how the industry operates. In order to become part of it I felt I needed to develop an international perspective and gain a relevant qualification.” Her LLM course is a broadly based introduction to the role of the World Trade Organisation, international trade law and how it shapes the energy business worldwide.

In common with many other postgraduate courses at the centre, her fellow students come from a wide range of countries and educational and career backgrounds. While many are lawyers, there are also petroleum engineers, scientists and economists.

Adebiyi adds: “One of the benefits of being here is that I am making a network of contacts, which may be invaluable later on in my career.”