War crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide disrupt societies and pose a threat to international peace and security. Developing theories to understand this human behavior and designing effective strategies to react to these atrocities is extremely challenging. International Crimes and Criminology is an interdisciplinary Master’s programme in which you will learn how to measure and investigate these crimes. You are challenged to critically reflect on international criminal law and alternative modes of transitional justice, such as truth commissions and amnesties. The Master’s programme is unique: it is not offered by any other university worldwide. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is close to The Hague, the legal capital of the world.... [-]

When human rights are violated by a particular state, is it more effective to use the national, regional or international human rights protection mechanisms to address the issue? And what mechanism will probably be most effective in addressing specific types of human rights violations?

What does this master's programme entail?

In the contemporary world the coexistence and interaction of legal regimes has become a characteristic feature. The same holds true for the human rights systems that have developed nationally, regionally and globally.

This programme is a focused and demanding postgraduate degree programme.

Small-scale teaching enables intensive interaction between students and lecturers, thus allowing for in-depth analysis, teaching and research. The programme focuses on studying human rights law in a comparative perspective whilst covering both international and regional human rights systems.... [-]

When human rights are violated by a particular state, is it more effective to use the national, regional or international human rights protection mechanisms to address the issue? And what mechanism will probably be most effective in addressing specific types of human rights violations?

What does this master's programme entail?

Human rights are at risk in all societies. Though various national, regional and international laws and treaties have been developed to protect the human rights of all people, some laws are more effective than others in particular situations. In this programme, you will compare the functionality of different protection mechanisms that are currently in place. You will also learn how to apply them successfully in different political, social and cultural settings.... [-]

The Master of Laws: Advanced Studies in International Children’s Rights is a one of a kind program, offering an advanced master (LL.M) dedicated to the rights and interests of children from a legal perspective. Today – more than 25 years after the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child – the role of international, regional and domestic systems in issues of child protection, participation and empowerment is ever-growing and requires in-depth specialization.

Multi-layered and interdisciplinary

International children's rights (law) is a unique area of law because it is multi-layered (covering international, regional and national legal spectrums) and interdisciplinary (crossing different areas of law, both domestically and internationally).... [-]

Visit the LLM programme pages here.

Human rights are universal, yet are not recognized everywhere, nor interpreted the same in all countries. In some cases, this can leave victims and their lawyers in a situation where they must choose which forum to go to or which human rights legislative system to navigate in order to find their justice.

In this one year International Human Rights Law LLM programme, you will be trained in human rights at the international level, but also in international humanitarian law and other related fields.

You will learn about different human rights systems and how they are interpreted within these systems and within different countries. Our mission in teaching not only focuses on conveying specialized knowledge but also on enhancing students’ academic research skills as well as oral and written presentation skills. This should prepare students for any type of future career in an international legal environment related to international human rights, such as in the United Nations and other international and non-governmental organizations. Further, students will study in a truly international environment, in a very lively town which is extremely popular among students.... [-]