International Human Rights Law LLM

International Human Rights Law LLM is a unique programme designed to enable students to progress to become human rights practitioners and specialists in this dynamic area of law.

Students will critically engage with many of the human rights issues that feature strongly in public debate today, gaining comprehensive understanding of international human rights law and its interconnection with international criminal and comparative criminal law.

This course places particular emphasis on the radical transformations that international human rights law has experienced since the beginning of the 21st century, with the genesis of the International Criminal Court, the on-going process of the United Nations reform and the post 9/11 shift to a more securitarian approach to criminal process values, especially regarding the war against terror.

The course offers:

• A detailed analysis of the theory, history and development of human rights, and an examination of the main regional mechanisms of human rights protection.

• An overview of a variety of contemporary human rights topics, including the examination of major developments and recent tendencies in the field of international human rights protection.

• Analysis of contemporary topics and challenges of international human rights protection including:

• the emergence of the right to development and the so-called third- generation rights
• human rights advocacy and global governance though NGOs and non-State actors
• the crystallisation of group rights, minorities and indigenous peoples’ rights
• the challenges posed to international human rights law by international migration and the enhanced need of protection of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees
• women’s rights and the rights of the child, including protection against victims of human trafficking
• the crystallisation of general equality and the development of human rights advocacy for sexual and gay rights.

Brunel Law School has an excellent reputation in this field. The International Human Rights Law Review - a peer-reviewed international journal - is edited at Brunel Law School. The School is able to attract a number of leading guest speakers to support further debate and learning’s around the complexity of human rights, and provides students with a wider variety of perspectives particularly in the international context.

The programme is available full-time:

• September (12 months)
• January (15 months due to dissertation submission requirements)

And also part-time:

• September (24 months)
• January (27 months due to dissertation submission requirements)

The course is aimed at graduates from all over the world who are keen to develop an expertise in the evolving discipline and develop a career in international human rights law.

Publications from Brunel Law Lecturers.

Aims

• You will develop an expertise in the corpus and complexities of international human rights law.
• You will acquire critical and analytical skills in the complex field of international human rights law.
• You will be able to demonstrate through original research the application of knowledge, practical understanding and critical appreciation that can contribute to the discourse on international human rights law.
• You will gain professional skills required to develop a career in international human rights law.
• You will gain detailed knowledge of the European system of human rights protection in particular, both at a theoretical and practical level, including the ability to handle cases before the European Court of Human Rights.

Download the full course programme