Middlesex Dubai LLB — the module-by-module guide

Middlesex Dubai’s LLB program runs the Middlesex University (UK) law curriculum at the Dubai campus, with a growing cohort of students drawn from across the Gulf. The program is QAA-accredited and structurally similar to UK-based Middlesex law programs, with some module adjustments to reflect UAE-relevant content (UAE Commercial Law, GCC legal systems modules).

This is the working summary of the LLB modules at Middlesex Dubai in 2025 — useful both for students currently in the program and for editors handling Middlesex LLB briefs.

Year 1 (Level 4) — foundation modules

Contract Law

The first major LLB module and the one many students underestimate. Assessment is typically two pieces: a problem question essay (40%) and a coursework essay or exam (60%). Frameworks expected: offer and acceptance (focus on Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball, Hyde v Wrench), consideration (Stilk v Myrick, Williams v Roffey), intention to create legal relations, terms vs representations, breach and remedies.

UAE-adaptation note: Year 1 contract law sticks closely to UK common-law principles. UAE Civil Code material doesn’t typically appear until Year 2 or 3.

Public Law / Constitutional and Administrative Law

Constitutional principles (parliamentary sovereignty, separation of powers, rule of law), human rights (HRA 1998, ECHR), judicial review. UK-focused. UAE constitutional comparisons sometimes feature as comparative material.

Assessment: coursework essay (50%) plus exam (50%) is the typical pattern.

Legal System and Skills

Methods and skills foundation. Statutory interpretation, case reading, OSCOLA introduction, legal writing techniques. Lower-stakes than the substantive modules but the skills carry through everything that follows.

Criminal Law

Mens rea, actus reus, defences. UK criminal law foundations. Assessment usually combines problem questions (60%) with a coursework essay (40%).

Year 2 (Level 5) — core substantive modules

Tort Law

Negligence (the headline tort), occupiers’ liability, defamation, vicarious liability, economic loss, psychiatric harm. Frameworks: the Caparo three-stage test, but-for causation, remoteness (Wagon Mound), proximate cause.

Assessment typically problem question + coursework essay.

EU Law

EU institutional law, free movement of goods/services/persons/capital, direct effect and supremacy, Brexit implications. UK programs continue teaching EU Law post-Brexit because of its theoretical significance.

For UAE students, this module is sometimes baffling — UAE relationship with the EU is purely commercial. The module is still required by the QAA-accredited curriculum.

Land Law

The notoriously difficult Year 2 module. Property concepts, leases, mortgages, easements, covenants, registered vs unregistered title. UK-specific in framework; broadly applicable principles.

Assessment usually a long coursework essay plus an end-of-module exam.

UAE Commercial Law (Middlesex Dubai-specific module)

The UAE-curriculum adaptation. Federal Commercial Code, Federal Decree-Law No 2 of 2015 on Commercial Companies (and the 2022 update), Civil Code commercial provisions. This module is examined entirely on UAE law, not UK law.

OSCOLA citation extends to UAE statutes here. The format for UAE legislation citation is one of the marker-discretion areas — check your module handbook.

Year 3 (Level 6) — advanced and dissertation

Equity and Trusts

The most theoretically dense module on the LLB. Equitable maxims, constructive and resulting trusts, breach of trust, equitable remedies. Highly case-driven.

Jurisprudence

Legal philosophy. Hart vs Dworkin, natural law theory, legal positivism, critical legal studies, Islamic jurisprudence (often added for UAE-adapted programs).

Assessment is heavily essay-based. Quality of argument matters more than coverage breadth.

International Law (option)

Public international law: state sovereignty, treaty law, international human rights, international criminal law. Sometimes paired with International Commercial Arbitration as an option pathway.

Dissertation / Independent Research Project

Year 3 includes a dissertation component (10,000–15,000 words at Middlesex Dubai). The student chooses a research topic, develops a research question, conducts literature review and original analysis, and submits to a supervisor.

UAE-flavoured dissertation topics that have worked well at Middlesex Dubai: UAE Commercial Companies Law reform, GCC arbitration jurisdictional questions, UAE Personal Status Law, comparative analyses of UAE and UK law in specific areas.

OSCOLA at Middlesex Dubai

Middlesex Dubai uses OSCOLA throughout the LLB. The standard footnote format, the case citation rules, the statute citation rules — all OSCOLA conventional. UAE legislation is cited using the OSCOLA convention for foreign legislation.

The Middlesex Dubai library publishes a PDF guide adapted from the Oxford OSCOLA full edition. Use the Middlesex PDF, not the generic Oxford one — there are small differences.

Common marking patterns

Three patterns we see in Middlesex Dubai LLB feedback:

1. Issue-spotting rewarded. Problem questions where the student identifies all the issues (not just the obvious ones) score consistently higher than those where the student writes deeply about one or two issues but misses others.

2. OSCOLA strictness. Citation errors get flagged and marks deducted. Pinpoint references are expected on every case citation.

3. Integration of UAE and UK material where relevant. Modules that allow either jurisdictional focus reward students who can move between the two — particularly UAE Commercial Law alongside UK precedent for comparative purposes.

When The Essay Atelier writes Middlesex Dubai LLB briefs

Our law writers include OSCOLA-fluent practitioners with experience across UK common law and UAE Federal Law. The writer-editor pair is matched to the specific module at briefing time. UAE Commercial Law briefs go to writers with UAE-specific background.

If you have a Middlesex Dubai LLB assignment and want a second opinion on the issue-spotting before drafting, send the editors the problem question. Ten minutes from us catches the issues that are easy to miss.