International Law

Profession

A lawyer in public international law is a specialist dealing with issues of various areas of public international law and is in demand in such spheres as national legislative and executive authorities (parliaments, ministries, departments), in the structures of international organizations (UN, UNESCO, WHO, etc.), nongovernmental organizations, diplomatic institutions, universities, transnational corporations, human rights organizations, etc.

Educational Process

The programme is designed for Master programme students if they have knowledge acquired in the disciplines of international legal profile within the framework of the bachelor’s degree in the specialty “Jurisprudence”, as well as if they have no basic legal education. All special courses of the programme are of a cross-sectoral nature, taught using an interdisciplinary approach, which makes it possible to invite specialists in the particular subject to teach the course.
The program is structured in such a way that its theoretical component is reduced to a minimum and the practice-oriented part is maximally expanded.
Among the special courses, along with traditional ones (for example, international space law, international air law, international maritime law), there are unique special courses that meet modern challenges and needs, such as “Environment, climate, energy: international legal regulation”; “Business, Human Rights and Sustainable Development”, etc.
During their studies, undergraduates are widely involved as co-authors in international legal research projects on regional issues, in the framework of which the monographs “Africa and International Law”, “The Middle East and International Law” and “Latin America and International Law” have been already published.
Second year undergraduates showing success in their study have the opportunity to conduct practical classes in groups of the first year of study in the Master programme under the guidance of supervisors.
Those who have successfully completed their Master programme have the opportunity to enroll in graduate school on a budgetary basis.

Practice

The Department of International Law of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia provides internship on the basis of the department itself and support for students who apply for internships in RUDN or in foreign universities, international organizations and companies. The Department has a number of agreements signed with Moscow offices of international organizations, ministries and departments such as, the International Organization of Space Communications “Intersputnik”, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, the Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Representation in the Russian Federation), the Regional Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Russian Federation, Belarus and Moldova, Ombudsman for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, Russian Red Cross, St. Petersburg Research Center for Environmental Safety of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Between People's Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Society, Representative Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, Federal Institute of Mediation.

Career

Graduates of this programme are in demand and work at the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the General Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN human rights treaty bodies, the IAEA, UNAIDS, FAO, UNESCO, national parliaments, ministries, departments, permanent representations at international organizations, advocacy, international law firms, transnational corporations, the European Telecommunications Satellite Organization (EUTELSAT), etc.