Master In International Legal Studies (LL.M.)

It’s not uncommon to think of public international law as something that primarily concerns the regulation of, and disputes about, relations among states and international organizations. It is thus a matter for diplomats and lawyers working in governmental agencies, and only of marginal interest to professional lawyers working in law firms or corporate bodies and practicing primarily private law.

However, in today’s world, nothing could be further from the truth. The advent of the information society revolution radically changed economic, commercial, social and political life, with huge consequences for the practice of law. To give but one example, consider how the major players in the digital universe are private corporations (the Googles, Metas, etc. of the world) and consider further the impact, transcending national borders, which digital platforms have on global commercial, social and political life. The regulatory landscape is bewilderingly complex and dominated by the three often competing behemoths—China, the EU and the US. But can economic operators and their legal advisors afford to disregard this regulatory jungle? The same is true in the world of litigation—the very notion of “international” has been transformed in terms of jurisdiction, with a challenging mixture of the national and the transnational.

The Master in International Legal Studies (LL.M.) is designed and shaped to take account of this transformed legal universe, and to provide its graduates with the skills needed to tackle this challenge. This is achieved by providing an experiential and academically rigorous program in the field of international and comparative legal studies, exploring two pivotal areas: International Economic Law and Human Rights in the Digital Society.