Schedule 2025-2026
You will find the schedule for the courses in the academic year 2025-2026 below. You will find the dates listed under each course. Please look for enrollment details on the Open University Animal Law page (link).
Not all advanced courses are provided each academic year.
Please note that registration and admission is course specific. In other words, students are not enrolled to the program itself.
AniLex Program
Please note that all basic level Anilex courses (Course I-III) run simultaneously. The students who wish to take all basic courses are instructed to complete the courses in the following order:
1) Introduction to Animal Law
2) Animal Law Theory
3) Multidisciplinary Perspectives to Animal Law
Course I
INTRODUCTION TO ANIMAL LAW
Open online between 28 August 2025 – 30 May 2026
Previously:
Open online between 23 August 2024 – 15 June 2025
Open online between 20 August – 23 September 2023
Open online between 22 August – 25 September 2022
Open online between 1 September – 3 October 2021
Main content: Legal systems. Definitions of legal terminology specific for Animal Law. Animal Law as a discipline and subject of law. Legal sources. Global Animal Law. Animal Law and the EU.
Grading scale: F-5
Course II
ANIMAL LAW THEORY
Open online between 28 August 2025 – 30 May 2026
Previously:
Open online between 23 August 2024 – 15 June 2025
Open online between 15 October – 18 November 2023
Open online between 26 September – 30 October 2022
Open online between 25 October – 28 November 2021
Main content: Legal subjectivity. Legal personhood. Theory of rights. Fundamental and simple animal rights.
Grading scale: F-5
Course III
MULTIDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES TO ANIMAL LAW
Open online between 28 August 2025 – 30 May 2026
Previously:
Open online between 23 August 2024 – 15 June 2025
Open online between 10 December 2023 – 13 January 2024
Open online between 31 October – 4 December 2022
Open online between 10 January – 13 February 2022
Main content: Animal law & philosophy. Animal law & psychology. Animal law & sociology. Animal law & economics. Animal law & biology.
Grading scale: F-5
Exam dates
The dates for the written exams in the basic courses (on the learning platform Moodle are the following).
27-28.9.2025
25-26.10.2025
22-23.11.2025
13-14.12.2025
24-25.1.2026
21-22.2.2026
28-29.3.2026
18-19.4.2026
9-10.5.2026
30-31.5.2026
The following courses are advanced courses. Prerequisites for the advanced courses are all three basic courses in Animal Law listed above.
Course IV
INTERNATIONAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL ANIMAL LAW
Open online between 12 January – 15 February 2026
Previously:
Open online between 31 January – 7 March 2025
Open online between 4 February – 9 March 2024
Open online between 7 March – 10 April 2022
Main content: Definition and tools in Constitutional Law. Public International Law. State sovereignty & natural resources. Animal Law Treaties: An Overview. CoE conventions. CITES. WTO. Comparative Animal Law.
Grading scale: F-5
Course V
ANIMAL LAW AND THE EUROPEAN UNION
Open online between 2 March – 5 April 2026
Previously:
21 March – 28 April
31 March – 4 May 2024
2 May – 5 June 2022
Main content: The EU institutions and animal welfare as an EU shared competence. The EU’s court system and basic legal principles in case of infringement against EU animal welfare legislation. The challenges on the animal welfare legislation at EU level with the dual legal status of animals as both sentient beings and tradable goods.
Grading scale: F-5
Course VI
ANIMAL LAW AND ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROL
Open online between 20 April – 24 May 2026 (Preliminary information, course not yet confirmed)
Previously:
2 May – 6 June 2025
19 May – 22 June 2024
5 September – 9 October 2022
Main content: Administrative measures and coercions by animal protection legislation. General administrative principles. Interpretation and enforcement in relation to protection of animals. Case law. The participants can make suggestions about the content and countries in focus.
Grading scale: F-5
Course VII
ANIMALS IN PRIVATE AND CRIMINAL LAW
Open online between 4 September – 12 October 2025
Previously:
30 August – 4 October 2024
31 October – 4 December 2022
Main content: Theories of private law and animals. The concept of animals in private law. Legal history of animals in private law. Legal sources. Improving legal arguments. Introduction to basic principles of criminal law. Criminal offenses and culpability in animal abuse. Punishment for crimes against animals. Case law in relation to animals. The course will exemplify the content with cases, which will illuminate particular problematic areas of the law.
Grading scale: F-5
Course VIII
ANIMAL LAW AND SCIENCE
Open online between 27 October – 30 November 2025
Previously:
21 October – 24 November 2024
Main content: The scientific concepts of welfare, natural behavior, sentience, suffering, and pain. The legal interpretation of these same concepts. The possibilities and limitations of using scientific knowledge to enhance the protection of animals from negative human impact.
Grading scale: F-5
Course IX
THE LINK BETWEEN ANIMAL LAW, ENVIRONMENTAL LAW, AND FOOD LAW
20 October – 23 November 2025 (Preliminary information, course not yet confirmed)
Previously:
11 October – 15 November 2024
2 January – 3 February 2023
Main content: The content and principles of animal law in relation to environmental law and food law.
Grading scale: F-5
Course X
ESSAY ON AN ANIMAL LAW TOPIC
10 October 2025 – 30 April 2026
Previously:
22 November 2024 – 30 April 2025
27 February – 31 March 2023
Main content: Introductory lectures and supervision during the writing process.
Grading scale: F-5
Please see this page for course registration and more course details: https://www.abo.fi/en/cll-subject/animal-law/.