Olivier Chamard/Geneva Academy
30 March 2020
Our Executive Master in International Law in Armed Conflict is one of the few part-time, innovative and intellectually challenging programmes in the law of armed conflict offered today.
Designed for professionals with demanding jobs and responsibilities, it provides strong theoretical and practical knowledge and responds to the growing need for specialists to address complex humanitarian and human rights challenges and challenging processes such as criminal proceedings, international negotiations and humanitarian interventions.
Courses cover international law, international humanitarian law (IHL), international human rights law (IHRL), international criminal law (ICL) and the interplay between them, providing solid theoretical and practical knowledge of the law that applies to armed conflicts. They also address current issues and challenges, including the repression of terrorism, the responsibility to protect and international refugee law. Courses are complemented by the writing of a final master’s paper.
Diplomats, lawyers, legal advisers, NGO staff, human rights advocates, professionals working in emergency situations, UN staff and staff from other international organizations share expertise, discuss pressing concerns and reflect on the application of international law to their work.
Based in Geneva, this executive programme runs for 9 months (October–June) and admits 20 to 25 practitioners annually.
Courses take place on Thursdays (18:00–20:00) and Fridays (15:30–17:30 and 18:00–20:00) at our headquarters, Villa Moynier. When participants cannot attend a course for professional reasons (e.g. missions, travel, conferences), they can either follow the course remotely or listen to a podcast afterwards.
Exams take place at the end of the first year (June) with retakes in October.
After the completion of courses, six additional months are needed to complete the master’s paper and defend it before a jury. Participants are not required to remain on campus or in Geneva to write their paper.
Our Executive Master is organized around a small and intimate learning community. Participants have the opportunity to be taught by leading academics and experts and gain specialized knowledge directly applicable to professional work.
The admission section provides detailed information about:
You can apply via a straightforward online form. The online application is divided into the following four steps:
Make sure you have all the requested information and documents before starting your application!
Applications will close on 14 September 2020.
We are busy preparing for the 2020-2021 academic year as planned and look forward to welcome new participants enrolled in this programme in October 2020.*
‘Based upon the wish of participants to better understand how institutions, which are often Geneva-based, can contribute to enforcing the rules they study, we have added two new courses to the programme for the upcoming academic year. The first one, given by Dr Lindsey Cameron, Head of the unit of Thematic Legal Advisers in the Legal Division of the International Committee of the Red Cross, will focus on the implementation of IHL. The second one, given by Professor Olivier de Frouville from the University of Paris II, member of the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances and past member of the UN Human Rights Committee, will focus on the implementation of human rights’ explains Professor Marco Sassòli, Director of the Geneva Academy.
If you still have questions, our FAQ addresses the main questions related to our Executive Master, the programme and the admission procedure.
* However, if the situation does not evolve positively until October 2020 (i.e. in the very unlikely event that we cannot teach face to face in October), participants will have the possibility to follow the programme online.
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