The Department of Legal Studies provides high quality advanced education in human rights, comparative constitutional law, and international business law. Its programs enable students to obtain a solid intellectual, professional, and practical skills in these domains in a global and intercultural classroom. Particular attention is played to analysing legal problems in their broader social, cultural and political context and seek solutions across continents and disciplines.
Our first master programs were established in 1992 to respond to the challenges of constitutional, legal and political transition to democracy. We have gradually expanded our curriculum to explore the challenges established and emerging democracies and their societies face in an increasingly globalized world. Today, our students come from over 30 countries and are received by our outstanding international faculty from 20 countries. The diversity of our academic community serves as a resource for professional development, a constant source of inspiration for developing new ideas and an unmatched opportunity for personal development in and outside classes.
The Department's Master's program in Comparative Constitutional Law is the only such degree in this subject in the world, training future civil servants, NGO leaders and IGO professionals, and academics to respond to domestic and global constitutional challenges in a theoretically grounded and policy-relevant manner. The Master’s program in International Business Law enables graduates to become competent participants in international business structures and transactions through offering a range of courses in dispute resolution, comparative and international business law and the regulation of business environments.
The MA degree in Human Rights remains the first in the region to offer graduate education in international and European human rights for committed future practitioners of human rights. Students studying for an LLM degree in Human Rights also benefit from the highly interdisciplinary environment of the Human Rights Program, while they receive an advanced degree in the legal dimensions of human rights protection.
Our Doctoral Program offers an opportunity to conduct independent research, complete doctoral-level course work and gain experience with teaching and other academic activities. The Department of Legal Studies welcomes doctoral projects on topics pertaining to our research and teaching areas. Applicants holding a law degree or an LLM degree form an accredited University qualify for an SJD degree offered by the Department of Legal Studies.
The student/faculty ratio for the Department of Legal Studies is 7:1.