Presentation

LLM students during a course LLM students during a course

Our LLM (60 ECTS) is one of the most innovative and intellectually challenging programmes in international humanitarian law (IHL) and human rights in armed conflict offered in Europe today. It focuses primarily on all rules applicable to armed conflicts, and their interaction and promotes both academic excellence and independent critical thinking.

It is structured around the following seven components:

Core Courses

Core courses are mandatory and provide a solid legal basis and understanding of public international law, IHL, international human rights law in armed conflict, international refugee law and international criminal law. Weekly tutorials given by our Teaching Assistants complement the core courses and allow students to revise and discuss concepts and issues address in class and prepare for exams.

Optional Courses

Optional courses allow our students to deepen their expertise in a particular issue such as armed non state actors in international law, the conduct of hostilities, enforced disappearances or the Islamic law of armed conflict. Places in the optional courses are limited to 20 in order to guarantee the quality of exchanges and discussions.

Internships

During Spring Semester, our LLM students acquire first-hand professional experience via internships with Geneva-based humanitarian and human rights actors.

Moot Court and Public Pleadings

As part of the curriculum, our LLM students can participate in the prestigious Jean-Pictet Competition on IHL as well as in public pleadings on specific conflict situations.

Extracurricular Activities

Extracurricular activities allow our LLM students to focus on issues addressed in class with experts and practitioners, explore new subjects, and develop their network in Geneva and beyond. They enrich the LLM programme by widening our students’ perspectives and knowledge of the law and its implementation.

 LLM Paper

Our LLM promotes academic excellence and independent critical thinking. One of its core outputs is an LLM paper on a specific issue addressed by the programme and written under the guidance of a faculty member.

Study Trip

In Spring Semester, LLM students have the opportunity to organize a study trip to learn about leading institutions and organizations active in the field of IHL and human rights.