International Human Rights Law LLM

Overview

The Brunel International Human Rights Law LLM is designed for graduates wishing to develop the specialist skills needed for a career in this dynamic field of law.

Through a detailed analysis of the theory, history and development of human rights, and an exploration of the mechanisms of human rights protection you will acquire a comprehensive understanding of international human rights law and its interconnection with international criminal and comparative criminal law.

The course places particular emphasis on the radical transformations in international human rights law since the beginning of the 21st century, with the establishment of the International Criminal Court, the on-going process of the United Nations reform, and the post 9/11 shift to a more ‘security-at-all-costs’ approach to criminal process values, especially with regards to the war against terror.

You will explore key contemporary issues, such as:

human rights advocacy and global governance though NGOs and non-State actors
the European system of human rights protection
group rights and the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples
the challenges posed by international migration and the protection of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees
women’s rights and the rights of the child, including protection for victims of human trafficking
sexual and gay rights
the right to development and “third- generation” rights

With human right issues featuring more and more prominently in public debates and institutional policy considerations, employers are looking for job candidates with the specialist training needed to keep up with the new realities. Your International Human Rights Law LLM will give you that expertise and make you a sought-after prospect by law firms, businesses and government bodies.

Commonwealth Shared Scholarship: You may be eligible for a full tuition fee waiver, as well as range of other financial incentives, on this course. Find out more.

You can explore our campus and facilities for yourself by taking our virtual tour.

Course content

The International Human Rights Law LLM consists of compulsory and optional modules and a 15,000-word dissertation.

Full-time students should complete four modules per term, excluding the dissertation.
Part-time students should complete two modules per term, excluding the dissertation.

You can gain valuable work experience while studying postgraduate law at Brunel. Optional work placements (12 months) and internships (6-12 weeks) are available and you can choose to start your course in January or September; studying full-time or part-time.

Year 1

Compulsory

LX5634 European System of Human Rights Protection
This module aims to provide a detailed overview of the European Convention of Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights and the other European mechanisms of human rights protection. As part of the module you study and assess the development and impact of the ECHR as well as other European instruments on human rights.
LX5635 - Foundations of International Human Rights Law
Providing a detailed overview of international human rights law in context (placing it within public international law) for you to study and assess the development and impact on States of international human rights principles and rules, examine the implementation and enforcement of international human rights, especially within the UN human rights regime, and evaluate the efficacy of the human rights project to date and recommend strategies for improvement.
LX5614 - Theory and Practice of International Human Rights
A module that provides comprehension of the role and significance of international human rights in economics, social and political contexts, including the implementation and enforcement of international human rights.
LX5641 - Regional Systems of Human Rights Protection: Americas, Africa, Asia
Providing a detailed overview of the American and African human rights frameworks, as well as the emerging Asian human rights framework, allowing you to study and assess the development and impact of States on these regional human rights principles and rules, examine the implementation and enforcement of these regional human rights, and to evaluate the efficacy of these regional human rights frameworks to date and recommend strategies for improvement.
LX5500 - Dissertation
A 15,000 word assignment to enable you to acquire a well-developed knowledge and understanding of an area of law within the scope of your programme and to improve skills in legal research and writing.

Optional

LX5544 - Comparative Criminal Justice
Providing you with a comprehensive understanding of the core elements of pre-trial and trial criminal procedures in common law systems (with reference mainly to English and United States law, but also taking examples from Canadian, Australian, Indian and Hong Kong law) and civil law systems (with reference mainly to French law, but also taking examples from German and Greek law, and the law of Eastern European countries).
LX5612 - World Trade Organisation (WTO) and Human Rights Law
This module aims to allow you to understand that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is often accused of, at best, not paying enough attention to human rights or, at worst, facilitating and perpetuating human rights abuses particularly its impact on poor people within developing States. It also aims to allow you to undertake a detailed analysis of the main human rights concerns relating to the WTO. These include the alleged democratic deficit within the WTO and the impact of WTO rules on the right to health, labour rights, the right to food, and on questions of poverty and development.
LX5616 - Privacy and Data Protection
This module aims to provide you with essential knowledge about the theoretical rationales and policy arguments for both privacy and data protection.
LX5661 Energy Law
The module will examine how states and the international community, in particular the United Nations, have responded to various challenges for the energy sector and attempted to find solutions.
LX5553 - The Migrant, The State and the Law
This module aims to provide a critical and theoretical overview of the central features of migration and refugee law and policy. You will assess the legal and political processes behind the construction of ‘the migrant’ and ‘the refugee’ as ‘others’ in relation to ‘the state’. You will also examine formulation, implementation and enforcement of refugee and migration law and policy at the international, regional and state level.
LX5637 Multiculturalism and Human Rights
This module focuses on current international affairs related to multiculturalism and human rights. It discusses these issues with reference to case studies and examples from the international scene, in order to evaluate the efficiency of the existing regulatory framework internationally.
LX5656 Refugee Policy and Practice: The European Experience
In this module you will assess the effectiveness of the international legislation on refugee law in practice. You will examine the actors involved in refugee law, policy and practice (enforcement mechanisms, civil society, and state bodies) and evaluate the efficacy of the asylum/ refugee law and recommend strategies for improvement.
LX5608 - International Human Rights and Islamic Law
The main aim of this module is to introduce you to comparative perspectives on Islamic law and human rights, drawing upon English language scholarship in the field. This exercise, it is intended, would provide an understanding of the Sharia and its compatibility with modern international law in general and human rights law in particular.
LX5629 - Public International Law
Providing a detailed overview of the international legal system for you to study and assess the development and practice of International law generally, analyse current issues in international law, and to evaluate the efficacy of the international legal system and recommend strategies for improvement.
LX5543 - International Criminal Law
This module aims to develop your analytical skills in relation to the function, scope and operation of the international criminal justice system and its likely future development, as well as to enable you to apply the law to various situations.
LX5528 - International Environmental Law
This module allows you to study and assess the core legal provisions and principles relating to the environmental law of the International community of States and the European Union, and to study and assess developments in specific areas or sectors of concerned with environmental protection.
LX5672 - Corporate Responsibility, Sustainability and ESG
The module examines and critically analyses corporate responsibility, and the requirements of Sustainability and ESG in modern business and the international dimensions of these concepts.
LX5666 Artificial Intelligence, Law and Ethics
This module is designed to explore the legal and ethical concerns raised by AI and innovations centred on it. It covers topics including the ethical compatibility of AI-driven decisions, AI and Credit Scoring, AI and Public Law including Administrative and Judicial Decisions. The aim of the module is to provide students a solid understanding of the most significant legal, policy and ethical debates in these area by examining advanced literature, statutes, judicial and administrative decisions and soft laws (guidelines and recommendations).
LX5647 - Business and Human Rights
This module addresses the links between business (broadly understood) and human rights. It seeks to identify how corporations (including supply chains), investment, trade liberalisation, sovereign debt and intellectual property affect the enjoyment of human rights.
LX5665— International Humanitarian Law
The module will introduce theoretical and practical foundations of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL), enabling students to become familiar with the historical, moral, and political sources of this branch of international law.

This module will take a critical approach at the rules that govern the conduct of hostilities, with an emphasis on the humanitarian aspect of the legal protection that is applied to certain protected groups (e.g. non-combatants and civilians).

Students will also be able to make the necessary connections with human rights law in times of conflict, and the underlining rationale for the protection of certain groups/individuals in armed conflicts.

We will start this module by looking at the historical development of this set of rules, and essentially questioning the morality of the laws of war followed by fundamental principles that govern IHL.

Geneva Conventions, paying particular attention to the rights of lawful combatants and civilians and then examine specific contemporary issues in relation to the protection offered by IHL in armed conflict: human rights, the environment, and cultural property.

This course has a placement option. Find out more about work placements available.

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Read more about the structure of postgraduate degrees at Brunel

Careers and your future

You will leave Brunel with a firm grounding in International Human Rights Law and with solid legal knowledge, allowing you to be flexible in your future choices. While many choose to move from the LLM to progress towards becoming PhD students you’ll also be well equipped for career opportunities in human rights advocacy or in governmental and non-governmental human rights organisations at the national and international level.

Our students in recent years went on to pursue careers in range of high-profile organisations such as European Parliament, National Commission on Rights of Child, Oxfordshire County Council, Dentons, White and Case LLP.

UK entry requirements

A 2:2 (or above) UK Honours degree, or equivalent internationally recognised qualification, in Law or a related subject (International Relations, Political Science, Criminology, Criminal Justice and Sociology).
Other related disciplines and qualifications will be considered on an individual basis.

EU and International entry requirements

Select your country

If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list. This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made.

English language requirements

IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
Pearson: 59 (59 in all subscores)
BrunELT: 63% (min 58% in all areas)
TOEFL: 90 (min 20 in all)

You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our English Language Requirements page.

Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options through our Brunel Language Centre.

Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants. This information is for guidance only and each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Entry requirements are subject to review, and may change.

Fees and funding

2025/26 entry

UK

£14,435 full-time

£7,215 part-time

£1,385 placement year

International

£22,320 full-time

£11,160 part-time

£1,385 placement year

More information on any additional course-related costs.

Fees quoted are per year and are subject to an annual increase.

See our fees and funding page for full details of postgraduate scholarships available to Brunel applicants.

Scholarships and bursaries

Teaching and learning

You'll be taught by experts in your field of study, and you'll have the opportunity to interact and engage with academics and your fellow students throughout your programme.

Your programme will consist of a variety of learning and studying activities, including lectures and seminars which will be delivered in person on campus. These will be supported by a number of online learning and studying activities when appropriate to provide a rich and dynamic experience. At LLM level students will study four 15 credit modules each term for two terms across the academic year.

Each module will have on average eight two-hour in person contact time per week in seminars, workshops or lectures. After the end of the taught part of the Programme, there is the dissertation. All students will also have the opportunity to seek guidance during the feedback and consultation hours of their lecturers (2 1-hour slot every week).

Additionally, students can seek support in individual meetings with their personal tutors, both on campus and online. There will also be regular cohort meetings and student society events, at both programme and departmental levels.

All lectures, seminars, and other social activities will occur in person on the Brunel campus. Online activities will be used to support your learning when appropriate. It is expected that students will regularly attend these events, as sustained engagement with a learning community is a central dimension of the Brunel experience.

How the course will be delivered

You'll be taught by experts in your field of study, and you'll have the opportunity to interact and engage with academics and your fellow students throughout your programme.

In Levels 5 students will study four 30 credit modules for two terms across the academic year. Each module will have on average two-to-three hours in person contact time per week in lectures and seminars. In Level 6 students will study four 20 credit modules and the dissertation module. Each module will have on average two hours in person in lectures, seminars or workshops.

All students will also have the opportunity to seek guidance during module lecturers’ feedback and consultation hours. Additionally, students can seek support in individual meetings with their personal tutors, both on campus and online. There will also be regular cohort meetings and student society events, at both programme and departmental levels.

Required equipment

Access to a laptop or desktop PC is required for joining online activities, completing coursework and digital exams, and a minimum specification can be found here.

We have computers available across campus for your use and laptop loan schemes to support you through your studies. You can find out more here.

How you'll learn on your course

Brunel has a strong research status. The 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021) rated the majority (72.7%) of our research activity as either world-leading or internationally excellent. Our research was rated 58th globally for research impact. This robust culture provides a dynamic space for students to learn and contribute to current knowledge.

Your International Human Rights Law LLM modules will be delivered through seminars, with two hours of teaching per module a week alongside your own self-directed study. Optional modules have class sizes of 10-12 students, and compulsory modules have class sizes of around 25 on average.

You’ll also learn through:

research centre activities and research trips
contributing to newsletters
making oral presentations
attending law film screenings
participating in debating events and reading group sessions.

You'll receive your timetable in advance of the course starting. Part-time study is based on a full-time timetable, with one less module per semester.

Should you need any non-academic support during your time at Brunel, the Student Support and Welfare Team are here to help.

Assessment and feedback

All modules are assessed through a variety of diverse and authentic assessment methods. Guidance and support is offered to all students ahead of the assessment periods. General and personalised feedback is also available after the assessment periods and the publication of the results.

Read our guide on how to avoid plagiarism in your assessments at Brunel.

Key Information