Postgraduate Courses in Public International Law
To what end should we study Public International Law? Law students all over the world can graduate with little or no knowledge of Public International Law. A postgraduate course in Public International Law allows for studies of previously neglected areas, or for gaining deeper insight into areas that could only be touched upon at undergraduate level. Why should one use this valuable period for studying a postgraduate course in Public International Law when (at least in the common perception) there are so much more lucrative disciplines for the future practitioner?
The short (and, of course, quite naïve) answer is that Public International Law itself requires the dissemination at least of some of its rules (see, for example Article 47 of the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, 1949). Also, some rules of Public International Law can be invoked in national courts occasionally.
The World Trade Organization: Building a New World Trade Order
The long and more relevant answer to this question can partly be borrowed from thoughts about the more general problem: why is there such a thing as Public International Law in the first place? Public International Law must safeguard international peace, security and justice in relation between States. But, probably, more tangible objectives can be added - such as the protection of a sound and sustainable environment, open trade, fair distribution of the use of natural resources and the protection of international human rights.
These diverse scholarly fields indicate that today Public International Law is an umbrella covering much more than rules about sending ambassadors to other States, struggling for disputed boundaries, or deciding questions of war or peace (even though these are still crucial aspects). “Globalisation” is not only the most multi-faceted, but also the most important notion when describing today’s state of the world and its political and economic order. Some scholars claim that this development strengthens the position of actors such as multi-national companies and informal transnational networks, and at the same time marginalises a Public International Law that is still built around the State as its pre-eminent actor. A more realistic assessment is that the content of, and demand for, Public International Law changes. It goes beyond the traditional inter-State relationship and intervenes intensely in national legal systems (though in most cases it is still mediated by the State in question) by, for example, protecting citizen’s human rights against his own State, by prosecuting crimes against humanity even if they take place within a State (against minorities, for example), or by requiring a State to introduce an emission trading system to protect the environment against further global warming.
As a result, postgraduate courses in Public International Law satisfy the theoretically-minded intellectual looking at the history and theory of this subject or the relationship between law and politics. It also addresses the high-spirited idealist crusading to save the world by avoiding or limiting international conflicts, or by protecting human rights or the environment, or by promoting a fair distribution of wealth between the North and the South. But Public International Law also helps international business to protect investments in foreign markets or to enter these markets in the first place.
To reflect this wealth and diversity of problems, motives and approaches, many universities offer some specialisation in the field of Public International Law. Though a general LLM in International Law is still a popular choice with many postgraduate students, more specialised programmes such as an LLM in International Commercial or Business Law, or International Taxation, or International Criminal Law, or International Human Rights or Sustainable Development help postgraduate students to focus on more particular areas of Public International Law without losing sight of the grand scheme.
The advantage of studying a postgraduate course in Public International Law is obvious: even though there are many different angles from which its rules can be interpreted they are, by definition, the same all over the world. This opens up fascinating opportunities for those lawyers that choose to think and work beyond their own nose. Classic career paths have led Public International Lawyers into the civil service of their country (foreign office), into International Organisations (such as the UN) with their innumerable sub-organisations; or global or regional organisations for trade and finance. Here, occasionally, tax-free earnings and generous packages exceed even what one can expect financially in private practice. Other employment opportunities might arise in Non-Governmental Organisations (Greenpeace, Amnesty International etc.). But private practice also uses the services of practitioners with a background in Public International Law when setting up international deals or ensuring elbowroom for transnational companies vis-à-vis the extraterritorial application of one State’s competition law. Studying Public International Law at postgraduate level might even encourage one to pursue an academic career!
To sum it up: a postgraduate course in Public International Law is a multi-faceted and extremely interesting course. It is intellectually demanding, but at the same time highly relevant for the legal practise. Devoting a period of postgraduate study to Public International Law is an opportunity not to be missed.
Contributor: Professor Florian Becker, Programme Coordinator for International and European Law at Aberdeen University Law School (recently ranked 5 th in the UK by the London Times); see http://www.abdn.ac.uk/law/graduate/gradtau.php).
