Master's Degree in Internatioan Law

Academic Description: Serving as the cornerstone for building master-level research and analytical capabilities, this course is the first one students take. It covers the foundational philosophical and logical methodologies in legal research, including inductive, deductive, comparative, and historical methods. Students train in critiquing legislative texts and deconstructing international judicial rulings (Case-Law Analysis) to extract legal principles. It emphasizes applied skills for drafting rigorous research papers, from topic selection and formulation of core problems and hypotheses, to gathering and analyzing multiple references, culminating in intensive training on preparing and drafting Thesis Proposals according to global academic standards. The course is studied through research seminars utilizing multiple references according to scientific research methodology.

Academic Description: This course provides an advanced critical and analytical review of the evolution of international legal thought and its philosophical foundations. It transcends historical narrative to delve into the crisis of traditional sources of international law, and deeply analyzes the concept of peremptory norms (Jus Cogens) and their contemporary applications and complexities. Furthermore, it highlights the principle of sovereignty, tracing its transformations and challenges amidst globalization and the growing role of non-state actors, such as international organizations, multinational corporations, and liberation movements. The course aims to equip researchers with critical thinking skills regarding the structural architecture of international law and evaluating its responsiveness to global geopolitical and economic shifts, delivered through intensive research seminars based on multiple references.

Academic Description: This course provides an in-depth analysis of the legal and institutional frameworks of international and regional organizations, focusing on their jurisdictions, decision-making mechanisms, and effectiveness in maintaining international peace and security. It critically examines the legitimacy and efficacy crisis facing the UN, particularly the Security Council, amidst current global balances. It also discusses and analyzes contemporary proposals and initiatives to reform global governance institutions, exploring ways to develop the operational mechanisms of international organizations to enhance their role in confronting complex global challenges such as climate change, armed conflicts, and human rights. The course is studied through research seminars using multiple references.

Academic Description: This course offers an advanced and detailed study of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). It analyzes the legal rules concerning the delimitation of various maritime zones (territorial sea, contiguous zone, EEZ, and continental shelf), and examines the legal issues associated with dispute settlement over continental shelves and economic zones. It also deeply explores the legal status of exploration and exploitation of marine resources, and international obligations regarding marine environmental protection, with a focus on analyzing the jurisprudence of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) and extracting established legal principles. The course is delivered through research seminars using multiple references.

Academic Description: This course provides an advanced critical and applied study of the four Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols. Transcending general rules, it focuses on contemporary challenges such as non-international armed conflicts and the legal classification of complex conflicts. It discusses the problems of applying humanitarian law in the context of counter-terrorism, and the legal status of newly developed and internationally prohibited weapons. It also dedicates significant space to studying legal mechanisms for protecting vulnerable groups, such as children, women, refugees, and internally displaced persons, and explores the development of international criminal accountability mechanisms for perpetrators of war crimes and grave breaches of IHL. The course is studied through research seminars based on scientific methodology.

Academic Description: This course delves into the legal and procedural architecture of international criminal justice, with a particular focus on the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. It analyzes the elements of core international crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression). It extensively discusses the principle of complementarity and its implementation challenges, and legal and political issues regarding sovereign immunities and the non-applicability of statutory limitations to international crimes. The course relies heavily on analyzing case studies of major international trials and providing a critical reading of recent decisions and jurisprudence from the ICC and other criminal judicial bodies. The course is delivered via research seminars.

Academic Description: This course provides an in-depth and applied study of complex issues in private relations involving foreign elements. It focuses on problems of legal characterization and renvoi in private international law. It deeply analyzes the concept of overriding mandatory rules and the international public policy exception as restrictions on the application of foreign law. It also comprehensively addresses contemporary challenges in international conflict of jurisdictions and conflict of laws in vital areas such as international e-commerce contracts, intellectual property rights, and disputes related to modern technology and AI in a cross-border context. The course is studied through research seminars based on multiple references.

Academic Description: This is a highly applied and practical course addressing the complexities associated with international commercial and investment arbitration mechanisms. Students train in drafting and interpreting complex arbitration clauses and submission agreements, and study the conduct of arbitral proceedings under prominent international rules (e.g., ICC, UNCITRAL, ICSID). The course discusses the powers of arbitral tribunals, particularly regarding interim and conservatory measures. It also deeply analyzes grounds for annulment of arbitral awards and the practical and legal hurdles obstructing the cross-border enforcement of foreign awards under the 1958 New York Convention, supported by real arbitration case studies. The course is delivered via research seminars.

Academic Description: This course offers a critical and analytical study of the legal system governing international economic relations. It begins by analyzing the legal frameworks of the WTO and its dispute settlement mechanisms. It then transitions to studying bilateral and multilateral foreign direct investment protection agreements (BITs/MITs). The course focuses on international investment protection standards, such as Fair and Equitable Treatment, and protection against direct and indirect expropriation. It discusses the legal issues related to sovereign investment contract disputes between host states and foreign investors, and the recourse to international arbitration in this context. The course is studied through research seminars utilizing multiple references.

Academic Description: This course provides a detailed and in-depth analysis of international judicial operations, focusing particularly on the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Students study the Court's compulsory, optional, and advisory jurisdictions. The course covers the study of formal and preliminary objections, rules of pleading, and rules of evidence presentation and evaluation before the Court. The course relies heavily on studying and analyzing historical and modern judicial precedents of the ICJ, especially in strategically important cases such as border and territorial disputes, armed conflict issues, and state responsibility for internationally wrongful acts. The course is delivered via research seminars based on multiple references.

Academic Description: The student is assigned an undergraduate course they have previously studied as practical training. This course aims to enhance the student's abilities in knowledge transfer and academic presentation skills. The student is required to divide this course into six or seven concise lectures. For each lecture, the student prepares a comprehensive written summary in Word format, detailing the objectives and scientific content of the lecture. This summary is accompanied by a video recording where the student presents the lecture using a presentation program (PowerPoint). The presentation must be scientifically accurate and focused, with the recording for a single lecture lasting no less than 10 minutes and no more than 20 minutes. This practical training evaluates the student's competence in strategic summarization, presence, and presentation skills essential for legal and academic leadership.

Academic Description: The student completes the applied practical training on the virtual course started in the third semester. The student divides the remaining part of the course into another six or seven concise lectures. For each lecture, the student prepares a comprehensive written summary in Word format, accompanied by a video recording where the student presents the lecture using a presentation program (PowerPoint). The recording for a single lecture must not be less than 10 minutes and not more than 20 minutes. This course contributes to consolidating the student's executive presentation skills and successfully completing the requirements for academic knowledge transfer.

Academic Description: This course represents the second and final half of the work on the master's thesis. In this section, the research and field work (if any) started in the third semester is completed. The student writes the analytical and applied chapters, discusses the results, provides recommendations, and drafts the conclusion. The final draft of the thesis is prepared for review by the supervisor, in preparation for submission to the discussion and arbitration committee to obtain final approval for awarding the Master's degree in International Law.