07/06/2006 | Law/LLM

The globalization of international law

By: David Nelkin

Moving from the US to Europe, graduate legal studies are approached in a different manner, often reflecting the system of law in operation in any one particular country. In the United Kingdom, students tend to follow programmes based on common law; while in continental Europe the framework is most often that of the civil court. But differing systems aside, popularity of LLMs is close to the US. According to ELSA�s (European Law Students Association) Guide to Legal Studies in Europe (GLSE), 319 law schools and law faculties currently offer 227 LLM qualifications covering both the general and specialised fields.

One of the topical attractions of studying an LLM in Europe, is the focus on globalisation and the integration of Europe, thus the emphasis on learning to cope with the multinational nature of legal practise may lure many graduates. Aside from this, benefits include small programmes allowing close interaction, options of many part-time courses, and very good value compared to the high US fees � as well as the factor of programmes in various languages.

So what other characteristics differentiate US from European LLM programmes? According to Maria Litzell, Vice President of Marketing at the ELSA, content and theme are also very different. �Our view is that US LLM programmes are more commerce-based than in Europe. It is felt that LLM curriculum across the US emphasises the importance of business-vocational training, while in Europe criminal law, human rights and EU institutions are of better quality than commercial law programmes (except for law schools in London). We also see more and more specialisation in LLM programmes, probably in response to increased demand in certain subject areas. Most noticeable is the increase of specialised masters in human rights programmes, as well as international law European community law and, possibly, environmental law.�

An interesting development in European LLM programmes, facilitated by the advent of the Bologna Accord, is the cross-border programme, allowing students to study at a variety of institutions for a single qualification. According to the ELSA, �the tendencies of cross-border and cross-disciplinary movements in European LLMs differ from region-to-region, but is on the increase. An example is the LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation requires students to spend their first semester in Venice, but their second semester in any of their various partner universities across Europe. This pattern is likely to become more and more common as the effects of the Accord grow stronger.�

Cost and funding

�An LLM from a US law school offers a unique experience that is valued in a student's home legal profession. The same degree may be offered by a European university, but tuition for a European LLM is often the cost of tuition at a US law school.�

The final and often deciding factors are costs and funding of LLMs. In the US, ranges can vary from one end of the scale to the other, but costs can run into tens of thousands of dollars in fees, with little financial aid available. Contrastingly, European schools also have a wide range of fees, but are generally a fraction of this cost.

Carole Silver, Senior Lecturer at Northwestern's School of Law and an expert on LLM education comments expresses her views on the divide: �An LLM from a US law school offers a unique experience that is valued in a student's home legal profession. The same degree may be offered by a European university, but tuition for a European LLM is often the cost of tuition at a US law school.�

Some LLM alumni from European institutions also believe there are financial benefits to studying in Europe. One Cambridge LLM graduate reported: �I was offered a place at a top ten American LLM programme, but I chose Cambridge because I was able to get more scholarship money and in the end it cost less because the course is shorter.�