Public International Law

Specialisation of: Law
Degree: Master of Laws in Law
Mode of Study: Full-time, part-time
Duration: 1 year
Start date: September, February
Language of instruction: English
Location: Leiden
Croho/isat code: 60084
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The Master’s specialisation in Public International Law is an English-taught programme concerning the law that governs international relations. In the not so distant past, this was more or less limited to relations between states, but in recent years international organisations, peoples, enterprises and individuals have also become part of the increasingly complex global society and therewith of the realm of international law.

Staff

Teaching staff

The courses are taught by faculty members of the Leiden Law School, visiting professors, guest lecturers, and distinguished legal practitioners from international legal institutions and tribunals in The Hague. Our current Leiden staff includes, among others:
• Prof. Nico Schrijver (Public International Law, International Law in Practice)
• Prof. Niels Blokker (The Law & Practice of International Organizations)
• Prof. Fred van Staden (International Relations)
• Prof. Hugh Thirlway (Visiting professor, International Dispute Settlement)
• Prof. Liesbeth Zegveld (International Humanitarian Law)
• Dr Larissa van den Herik (Public International Law)
• Dr Robert Heinsch (International Criminal Law, Public International Law)
• Dr Eric De Brabandere (International Dispute Settlement, Theoretical Perspectives of Human Rights)

For Curriculum Vitae and further information on all teaching staff, please consult our website.

Prof. Nico Schrijver

Academic Director

“The intercultural character of this programme serves as a strong motivation both for students and lecturers. We make considerable demands of our students, but they respect this. In my experience they want to be challenged.”

“International Law is a field with élan, with a diverse range of legal sources and a plurality of legal parties, both state and non-state. Leiden has the oldest Chair in International Law in the Netherlands and enjoys an eminent international reputation in this field. What is special is that our staff are also members of many relevant institutions or act as advisers to such institutions. We have, for example, recently prepared an advisory document on terrorism for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Our students come from all parts of the world. The intercultural character of this study serves as a strong motivation both for students and lecturers. A number of lectures are offered at Leiden University’s location in The Hague. A particularly valuable privilege which our students enjoy is access to the library of the Peace Palace, one of the best law libraries in the world.

A distinctive aspect of this master’s is the teaching methodology which we apply: the privatissimum and the practicum. We allow our students to carry out independent studies into a current international legal case, such as the affair with Argentina, which has filed a complaint against neighbouring Uruguay for the pollution caused by the construction of a paper factory on the river bordering the two countries. Students also have to gain experience of assuming different roles: one week they are a defence lawyer, then a prosecutor, then a judge. My students have to submit a paper each week in which they address current conflicts between national and international, eco¬nomic and environmental law. We make considerable demands of our students, but they respect this. In my experience they want to be challenged.”