University of Essex

LLM International Criminal Law

Every day we hear about new atrocities and mass crimes in all parts of the world. Increasingly, efforts are underway to ensure that the perpetrators of these acts are brought to justice.

The LLM International Criminal Law provides students with a concentrated opportunity to study with leading experts with both practice-based and academic expertise in International Criminal Law. Students will study all facets of issues pertaining to achieving international justice and preventing impunity, across a wide range of specialist modules covering substantive and procedural aspects of international criminal law, and transnational criminal law.

The field of International Criminal Law, with its historical antecedents in the Nuremberg Tribunal and the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, both established at the end of the Second World War, has been fundamentally transformed in recent decades with the establishment of the International Criminal Court, the creation of numerous ad hoc and specialised tribunals to address mass crimes in a variety of countries including Cambodia, Sierra Leone, the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and the resort to international crimes prosecutions by national courts around the world.

These proceedings continue to be practically and procedurally challenging to pursue. They are also politically sensitive, both domestically, regionally and internationally, and involve crucial debates about the appropriate placement of justice in international peace and security. Yet international criminal law proceedings are crucial avenues to justice for victims and important tools to end impunity for some of the worst crimes the world has experienced.

As a student of the LLM International Criminal Law, you will have the opportunity to become technically capable in this area and to enhance your analytical, communication and advocacy skills needed to operate effectively in the specialist field of International Criminal Law. You will learn about the different actors involved in international criminal law proceedings, and how they interact in the different phases of a case. You will learn about professional ethics and fair trial considerations as they apply to international criminal law proceedings and will gain experience of crafting legal arguments. You will also learn about evidentiary matters, and in particular what evidence is required to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that a particular international crime has taken place.

Throughout the degree you will have the opportunity to study key areas, including the substantive contents of international criminal law as well as a practice-based module on international criminal law advocacy and litigation. In this way, you will learn about litigating grave international crimes, both from a legal and procedural perspective. As part of the degree, you will also be required to research and write a dissertation on a topic linked to International Criminal Law. The dissertation is normally between 12-15,000 words. Supervision and guidance are provided.

Students will also have the opportunity to consider how the legal principles interact with wider historical, political, philosophical, sociological approaches. Students will also benefit from the Law School's wider offerings in other relevant subjects, including human rights law, international humanitarian law, transitional justice, and public international law. Therefore, you will be able to tailor your LLM to your own specific interests and requirements.

The degree will develop your intellectual and critical faculties, encourage you to think independently and teach you to present rational, coherent and accurate arguments orally and in writing. It will provide you with an excellent foundation for a wide range of careers.

This course is also available on a part-time basis (24 months). Please note that any students who require sponsorship for a Student visa to study in the UK will not be able to undertake the part-time course, in accordance with Home Office regulations.