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Specialized Master in International Law

  • academic year
    2024-2025
Specialized Master in International Law

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  • Programme title
    Specialized Master in International Law
  • Programme mnemonic
    MS-DINT
  • Programme organised by
    • Faculty of Law and Criminology
  • Degree type
    Advanced master
  • Tier
    2nd cycle
  • Field and branch of study
    Human and social sciences/Law
  • Schedule type
    Daytime
  • Languages of instruction
    english / french
  • Theoretical programme duration
    1 year
  • Campus
    Solbosch
  • Category / Topic
    Human and social sciences - Law
  • Jury President
    François DUBUISSON
  • Jury Secretary
    Anne LAGERWALL

Presentation

Details

General information

Degree type

Advanced master

Theoretical programme duration

1 year

Learning language(s)

english / french

Schedule type

Daytime

Campus

Solbosch

Category(ies) - Topic(s)

Human and social sciences - Law

Organising faculty(s) and university(ies)

Presentation

The Advanced LL.M in Public International Law aims to give specialised training in public international law. Courses are given in English or in French.

The majority of the courses of the LL.M are taught in seminars, which include, among others, the analysis of case studies and oral pleading exercises.

Through the various courses, students acquire an in-depth knowledge of public international law. They become acquainted with methodological and theoretical principles of international law as well as its argumentation techniques, mainly through participation in moot court competitions. Optional courses allow students to direct their studies towards areas which are of particular interest to them : « Security and Conflicts » or « Human Rights ».

The LL.M requires an active knowledge of either English or French and a passive knowledge of the other language.

The students will be in the heart of Europe, home to multiple international representations. They will be trained by a highly qualified and dynamic teaching staff, composed of academics and practitioners who have acquired internationally renowned experience by acting as counsels before the International Court of Justice, as counsels for governments, embassies, international organisations…

Courses are taught in English or in French. Students can express themselves in whichever language they prefer, both during the courses and for the purposes of the (written or oral) exams.

Access conditions

Access conditions
CONDITIONS COMMUNES MASTERS DE SPECIALISATION / COMMUNES MASTERS DE SPECIALISATION

The conditions of access to the selected Master of Specialisation meet the requirements of articles 111, 112 and 73 of the Decree of 07/11/2013.

ACCES PLEIN DROIT

A. Full right to admission for holders of a degree obtained in the French-speaking Community of Belgium

ACCES PLEIN DROIT / 2EME CYCLE UNIVERSITAIRE

Rem. concerning admission to a university Master's degree.

There is no direct access to this specialized master.

ACCES PLEIN DROIT / 2EME CYCLE HE

Rem. concerning admission to a Master's degree from a Non-University Higher Education Institution (long course) -HE or ESA-.

There is no direct access to this specialized master.

DIPLÔME EQUIVALENT

B. Admission granted to the holder of a degree obtained abroad which is recognised as equivalent to master degrees mentioned previously in application of the Decree of 7 November 2013, of a European directive, of an international agreement or other legislation, under the same conditions.

ACCES DOSSIER JURY

C. Admission granted following submission of a dossier and decision by the jury

ACCES DOSSIER JURY / PORTEURS DIPLÔME 2EME CYCLE (HAUTE ECOLE)

Admission granted, under the general conditions laid down by the academic authorities, to students who meet the entry requirements pursuant to Art. 111 of the Decree of 7 November 2013 and who have a Non-University Higher Education qualification -HE or ESA-, degree (Master’s or equivalent), awarded in or outside the French-speaking Community (by an institution in the Flemish Community, German-speaking Community, by the Royal Military Academy or a by foreign institution). If the jury specifies any additional conditions, the extra courses will form part of the student's Master's programme, for a maximum of 60 credits.

To access the specialized Master, the student must hold asecond cycle diploma (Master 60 or 120 credits) and the jury must be able tovalue at least 240 credits in the previous academic course.

By way of derogation, students who do not have a Master'sdegree but who hold a degree obtained outside the French-speaking Community maybe admitted, provided that they can prove that it gives access to third cyclestudies (PhD) in their country of origin.

ACCES DOSSIER JURY / PORTEURS DIPLÔME 2EME CYCLE (UNIVERSITAIRE)

Admission granted, under the general conditions laid down by the academic authorities, to students who meet the entry requirements pursuant to Art. 111 of the Decree of 7 November 2013 and who have a university degree (Master’s or equivalent), awarded in or outside the French-speaking Community (by an institution in the Flemish Community, German-speaking Community, by the Royal Military Academy or by a foreign institution). If the jury specifies any additional conditions, the extra courses will form part of the student’s study programme, for a maximum of 60 credits.

To access the specialized Master, the student must hold asecond cycle diploma (Master 60 or 120 credits) and the jury must be able tovalue at least 240 credits in the previous academic course.

By way of derogation, students who do not have a Master'sdegree but who hold a degree obtained outside the French-speaking Community maybe admitted, provided that they can prove that it gives access to third cyclestudies (PhD) in their country of origin.

ACCES DOSSIER JURY / COMPETENCES VALORISEES 240 CREDITS

Admission granted, under the general conditions laid down by the jury, to students who meet the entry requirements pursuant to Art. 111 of the Decree of 7 November 2013 and who have acquired competences recognised by the jury to be equivalent to at least 240 credits, with, in some cases, additional conditions determined by the jury (if the jury specifies any additional conditions, the extra courses will form part of the student's study programme).

ACCES DOSSIER JURY / CONDITIONS SPECIFIQUES JURY

Criteria laid down by the jury.

The admission requirements are the following :

  • Access to holders of a master's degree (or licence) in law issued by a University of the French Community of Belgium.

  • Access to holders of another second cycle diploma, delivered by a University of the French Community of Belgium, with a possible additional programme.

  • Access to holders of an academic degree awarded in the Flemish Community, in the German-speaking Community, by the Royal Military School, judged similar by the jury, under the same conditions as those mentioned above.

  • Access to holders of a foreign academic degree recognised similar to the academic degrees mentioned in the previous paragraphs, under the same conditions and according to the provisions of the decree.

All candidates must provide proof of an average of at least 13/20 in the second cycle diploma(s) (master) leading to admission. A derogation from this requirement can only be granted if the candidate has at least 5 years of professional experience in the field of international law.

Application instructions :

  • All candidates residing outside the European Union must submit their application by 31 march at the latest.

  • Applicants residing in the European Union but outside the Kingdom of Belgium must submit their applications by 15 June at the latest.

  • Belgian resident applicants must submit their applications by 12 September.

Students who have not completed their current academic year in the first session will be admitted subject to passing their second session.

As the number of places available in the Master of specialisation in international law is not unlimited, it is strongly advised to apply as soon as possible.

VAE

D. Accreditation of prior experience

VAE / VAE CONDITIONS

In line with the procedure defined by the ULB, juries can recognise knowledge and skills acquired through professional and/or personal experience, and may grant access to the MA to any person who does not fall under the categories listed above. The jury determines the additional courses and any possible exemptions which constitute supplementary entry requirements for the student. The personal or professional experience must be equivalent to at least five years of activity. A maximum of two years of higher education can be taken into account, providing 60 credits were obtained per year.

HORS UNION EUROPÉENNE

Administrative fee for Applicants from outside the European Union

HORS UNION EUROPÉENNE / FRAIS ADMINISTRATIFS

Applicants from outside the European Union who do not meet the assimilation criteria and do not meet a criterium of article 3 of the Decree of the 11 April 2014 adapting the financing of higher education institutions to the new organisation of studies are required to pay an administrative fee of 200 euros. This payment is a prerequisite for the examination of the application. We invite you to check whether you meet the access conditions to the studies envisaged before submitting your application insofar as the administrative fee is not refundable.

Programme

The Advanced LL.M in public international law consists of day courses, spanning over a period of one year. The program is divided between compulsory courses (20 credits, i.e. 4 courses of 5 credits each), optional courses (25 credits, i.e. 5 courses of 5 credits each) and a dissertation (15 credits). Optional courses allow students to direct their studies towards areas which are of particular interest to them. The program offers two specialization tracks: «Security and Conflicts » and «Human Rights ».

grid
list
2024/MS-DINT/unique year
Specialized Master in International Law - unique year
Courses programme
Courses distribution
Technical details
Cours obligatoires
DROI-C5106
fr
second term
Olivier CORTEN (Coordinator) , Eugénie Delval and Anne LAGERWALL
5 credits [lecture: 24h] - second term
DROI-C643
fr
first term
Nabile Hajjami (Coordinator) and Olivier CORTEN
5 credits [lecture: 24h, tutorial classes: 12h] - first term
DROI-C644
en/fr
first term
Marie-Laurence Hébert-Dolbec (Coordinator) , François DUBUISSON and Vaios KOUTROULIS
5 credits [lecture: 12h, tutorial classes: 24h] - first term
MEMO-C603
en/fr
academic year
15 credits - academic year
One course chosen from the following :
DROI-C646
en/fr
first term
Olivier CORTEN (Coordinator) , François DUBUISSON and Eugénie Delval
5 credits [tutorial classes: 24h] - first term
DROI-C647
en
first term
Vaios KOUTROULIS (Coordinator) and Anne LAGERWALL
5 credits [tutorial classes: 24h] - first term
Cours à option

Les étudiants doivent choisir des cours à option, pour un total de 25 crédits, parmi les enseignements indiqués ci-après. S’ils le souhaitent, les étudiants peuvent se spécialiser dans l’un des deux domaines proposés dans le cadre du Master spécialisé, à savoir le domaine « Sécurité et conflits » ou le domaine « Droits de la personne ». Une liste des cours à option propre à chacun des deux domaines est proposée (voy. modules ci-dessous). Les étudiants qui ne souhaitent pas suivre un domaine de spécialisation peuvent choisir leurs cours à option parmi tous les enseignements, y compris ceux figurant dans la liste résiduelle (Voir liste d'options générales) Afin que le contenu des études réalisées reflète la spécialisation désirée, il est conseillé aux étudiants d’acquérir au moins 30 crédits sur la base des cours liés au domaine en question et du mémoire de fin d’études. A titre d’exemple, un étudiant pourra réaliser son mémoire de fin d’études sur un sujet lié au domaine de spécialisation désiré (15 crédits) et choisir 15 crédits en sélectionnant 3 cours à option de 5 crédits relevant du domaine en cause. Par ailleurs, les étudiants pourront être autorisés à choisir un cours à option parmi les cours en lien avec le droit international disponibles au programme de la Faculté de droit ou de la VUB et de Kent University, sur demande motivée, adressée au Président et au Secrétaire du Jury du Master spécialisé.

A total of 25 credits chosen from the following :
Module Sécurité et conflits

Attention le cours POLID520 Security Practices and Political Violence est

limité à 8 inscriptions. Nous appliquerons la règle du « premier arrivé,

premier servi »

DROI-C5149
en/fr
first term
Vaios KOUTROULIS (Coordinator)
5 credits [lecture: 24h] - first term
DROI-C5155
fr
first term
Pierre KLEIN (Coordinator)
5 credits [lecture: 24h] - first term
DROI-C648
fr
second term
Vaios KOUTROULIS (Coordinator)
5 credits [lecture: 24h] - second term

Cours dispensé un an sur deux.

DROI-C685
en
first term
Pierre KLEIN (Coordinator)
5 credits [lecture: 24h] - first term
DROI-O605
fr
second term
Olivier CORTEN (Coordinator)
5 credits [lecture: 24h] - second term
POLI-D520
en
second term
Christian OLSSON (Coordinator) , Elisa LOPEZ LUCIA and Romain Weikmans
10 credits [lecture: 36h, practical work: 12h] - second term
Module Droits de la personne
DROI-C5145
en
first term
Marie-Laurence Hébert-Dolbec (Coordinator) , Vaios KOUTROULIS , Amy WEATHERBURN and Anne WEYEMBERGH
5 credits [lecture: 24h] - first term
DROI-C5148
fr
second term
Isabelle RORIVE (Coordinator)
5 credits [lecture: 24h] - second term
DROI-C5164
fr
second term
François DUBUISSON (Coordinator)
5 credits [lecture: 24h] - second term
DROI-C5166
fr
second term
Anne LAGERWALL (Coordinator)
5 credits [lecture: 24h] - second term
This course is not offered in 2024-2025
DROI-C691
en
second term
Chiara ARMENI (Coordinator)
5 credits [lecture: 24h] - second term
DROI-O616
en
second term
Philippe DE BRUYCKER (Coordinator)
5 credits [lecture: 24h] - second term
Liste d'option générale
DROI-C4014
fr
second term
Emmanuel SLAUTSKY (Coordinator) and Anne-Marie SCHAUS
5 credits [lecture: 24h] - second term
DROI-C5021
fr
first term
Christine FRISON (Coordinator) and Chiara ARMENI
5 credits [lecture: 24h] - first term
DROI-C615
fr
second term
Nicolas ANGELET (Coordinator)
5 credits [lecture: 24h] - second term
DROI-C670
fr
first term
Nicolas ANGELET (Coordinator)
5 credits [lecture: 24h] - first term
DROI-O611
en
second term
Laura PUCCIO (Coordinator) and André SAPIR
5 credits [lecture: 24h] - second term

What's next ?

Prospects

Former students of the ULB program in international law have had outstanding professional careers as members of international courts and tribunals (ICJ, ICTY, African Court of Human Rights…), officials in international and local NGOs (ICRC, Greenpeace, Amnesty International, Human Rights First, Handicap International …), diplomats, parliamentary assistants, professors at various universities…