Curriculum | LLM in Brussels

Information on COVID-19. If you are interested in signing up for this LLM programme for the 2021-22 academic year, please note that we are already accepting applications. We hope that we will be able to welcome you, our students, in our classrooms at that time for a full onsite experience. We are, however, also fully prepared for other options, should the circumstances so require. In line with the latest instructions issued by the Belgian government and our university (the VUB), we recently moved our teaching from the classroom to entirely online until further notice for the current year (2020-2021), and our students have been able to continue to benefit from an excellent learning environment, facilitated by trained teachers and a solid learning platform. We continuously fine-tune our online education infrastructure and services, so that students can flexibly – and safely – get the most out of their 'PILC' experience. (Last updated 12 November 2020)

A demanding full-time day programme.*

The LLM in International and European law is a 60 ECTS Advanced Master's degree obtained in one academic year (from end September until early July). After a solid set of core courses on EU institutional law and judicial protection, EU external relations law, public international and comparative law, human rights and competition law, students can choose to focus on one of 3 specialisation options: Public law; Business law; and Data Law. The Data Law option has become available as of the 2018-19 academic year. See below for more details.

Compulsory courses

Giving you a broad overview (18 credits) as well as deepening insights (12 credits) into international and EU law, including a short research paper by teams of up to four students.

Optional courses

Specialise in either the public, business, or data law option (12 credits), including practical exercises and a real life case study simulation, for instance in the field of European competition law.

Master's thesis

Finish the Programme with a Masters' thesis, worth 18 credits. Engage in an exciting intellectual journey on the topic of your choice.

Special course: Moot Court

The moot court will enable students to further deepen their skills in pertinent areas of law and supplement their theoretical knowledge with the practical aspects of international law, human rights law, and EU procedural law.

Compulsory courses enriched with specialisation options.

The moot court will enable students to further deepen their skills in pertinent areas of law and supplement their theoretical knowledge with the practical aspects of international law, human rights law, and EU procedural law. Furthermore, the moot court will enhance the students’ ability to conduct practice-oriented research and develop oral presentation, communication, and legal argumentation skills in respected and prestigious venues such as Jessup International Law Moot Court, ELSA Human Rights Moot Court, and European Law Moot Court.

Find out more

Meet the Team

Our staff is a unique mixture of renowned EU scholars and top level EU and international law practitioners. They combine academic rigour with the latest practical insights in a context of cultural diversity.

Prof.
D. ARTS

Prof.
P. DE HERT

Prof.
Y. DEVUYST

Prof.
R. GOSALBO BONO

Prof.
S. GUTWIRTH

Prof.
F. HOFFMEISTER

Prof.
T. JORIS

Prof.
H. KALIMO

Prof.
M. LAMENSCH

Prof.
K. DE GUCHT

Prof.
A. NUYTS

Prof.
S. SMIS

Prof.
B. SMULDERS

Prof.
S. VAN THIEL

Prof.
H. HIJMANS

Prof.
J. VAN HOBOKEN

Prof.
G. GONZÁLEZ FUSTER

Case Study Tutors

• Bertold BÄR-BOUYSSIÈRE, DLA Piper
• Etienne CLAES, LeBoeuf Lamb Greene & MacRae
• Maurits DOLMANS, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
• Rupert ELDERKIN, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
• Porter ELLIOTT, Van Bael & Bellis
• Christoph FEDDERSEN, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
• Kent KARLSSON, Kastell
• Jonas KOPONEN, Linklaters
• Anne MacGREGOR, Cadwalader
• Robert MURRAY, Mischon de Reya
• Robert O’DONOGHUE, Brick Court Chambers
• Mike PULLEN, DLA Piper
• Steven SPINKS, Sidley Austin LLP
• Irina TANASESCU, European Commission
• Bertold THEEUWES, Lorenz
• Filip TUYTSCHAEVER, Contrast. European & Business Law

Emeritus Professors

• Bart DE SCHUTTER, Founding PILC Director, former President of the VUB Institute for European Studies, former VUB Rector and former Dean of the Law Faculty of the VUB
• Jonathan FAULL, Head of Task Force for Strategic Issues related to the UK Referendum
• Edward Patrick LATHAM, European Commission official (retired)
• Bernhard SCHLOH, Legal Adviser at the Council of the European Union (retired)
• Neri SYBESMA-KNOL, Former full-time Professor at the Law Faculty of the VUB, former Director of the Centre for the United Nations law (VUB)