Public International Law

The Public International Law LLM is a one year long, full-time programme. The language of instruction and examination in the programme is English. The academic year in Groningen runs from the first week of September to the end of August and is divided into two semesters of two blocks each. Each lecture block is followed by periods of examinations.

Programme requirements
Below you will find the structure of our LLM programme Public International Law. You can also find full course descriptions in Ocasys.

*Course names and schedules are occasionally subject to change.

If you'd like to know more about the Public International Law LLM programme, you are welcome to join one of our Masters Week presentations for the programme. You can also watch a recording of our most recent (online) masters week presentation here.

Following an LLM programme in any field of international law in the Netherlands guarantees that students will study in an optimally international law-oriented environment: some of the most important international law institutions in the world reside (or have resided) in the Netherlands, including the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (1993 - 2017), the International Criminal Court and the Iran-US Claims Tribunal. Furthermore, one finds here some of the best international law libraries in the world, including the library of the Peace Palace, and internationally renowned international law research institutions, like the TMC Asser Institute for International Law. Access to these various institutions is available to LLM students and the International Office organises excursions to some of these institutions every year.

Further, the basic approach of the Public International Law programme is that students learn most from being actively engaged in working on international law topics. Lectures are useful form of teaching, but much of the work will be done through practical investigation of relevant issues in international law and critical interaction between lecturers and students and among students. The programme is also suitable for recent law graduates as well as for young professionals working in private practice or in the public sector.

If you'd like to know more about the Public International Law LLM programme, you are welcome to join one of our Masters Week presentations for the programme.

Finding a career in international law is not easy. You will face tough competition. Nevertheless, as international law can be found everywhere and is practiced all around the world, opportunities are not limited to the legal department of an international organization or the foreign ministry. Expertise in international law is needed in many national governmental institutions and ministries, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, internationally operating enterprises and academic institutions, be it in the field of trade & investment, environment, energy, human rights, social affairs, or fisheries. Moreover, in larger law firms and legal companies, expertise in public international law is relevant for international cases and arbitrations. Many young professionals have successfully participated in the programme in the past.

Below you will see a distribution of the different arenas where past students are currently working. And here you can read about the career paths of our Faculty international graduates, for example a graduate of this programme who works as a Caseworker for former migrant detainees.

Further, all students have access to the university Career Services which can help them in finding and preparing for internships and employment.

If you'd like to know more about the Public International Law LLM programme, you are welcome to join one of our Masters Week presentations for the programme. You can also watch a recording of our most recent (online) masters week presentation here.

You can read about the experience of previous students in the programme here.

You will find information about applying to our LLM programmes, including admissions requirements and application deadlines, here.

Prospective students
Prospective students interested in pursuing an LLB, pre-LLM or LLM at the Faculty of Law can fill out our information request form.

Applicants
If you have started an application to a degree programme and are applying with a non-Dutch educational qualification, please contact the Admissions Office if you have questions about your application. If you have applied to a degree programme with a Dutch educational qualification, please contact the International Office if you have questions about your application.

Current students
Current Faculty of Law students should contact the International Office if questions about their current studies or advise about admissibility to other Faculty of Law degree programmes.