Public International Law

Find your Pathway!

International lawyers engage in a wide array of activities, from advocacy, litigation, and transactional work, to diplomacy, treaty-drafting, and policy-making. Typical employers include governments, law firms, intergovernmental organizations, and nongovernmental organizations. As the substantive scope of international law expands, there are increasing opportunities to specialize in particular fields, such as International Environmental Law, the Law of the Sea, the Law of State Responsibility, International Human Rights Law, International Humanitarian Law (the Law of Armed Conflict), International Criminal Law (in the broad sense), the Law of International Criminal Prosecution, the Law of International Dispute Settlement, International Economic Law, the Law of Treaties, the Law of the Res Communis (Global Commons), the Law on the Use of Force, the Law of Communications and Transport, the Law of Jurisdiction and Immunities, the Law of International Organizations generally, UN Law, or the Legal Regimes of Regional Intergovernmental Organizations. Further information on these different specialty areas, as well as advice on careers in international law, may be found at http://www.asil.org/career-development.cfm.

Your pathway will depend greatly on whether you would like to specialize in one of these areas or whether you would like to use your time in law school to obtain a broad overview of each area. The foundation course for any pathway in International Law is Public International Law, which in addition to providing an introduction to the International Legal System, contains a brief survey of several of the most common specialty areas, such as International Human Rights Law, the Law on the Use of Force, International Criminal Law, and the Law of International Organizations.

Students interested in International Human Rights Law also have an opportunity to study during the summer through New England Law’s program in Galway, Ireland. This program gives students the opportunity to study law at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, National University of Ireland, Galway. Taught by experts in the field from Ireland and the United States, the six-week program focuses on courses related to international and comparative human rights law and accountability for human rights violations.

Public International Law Faculty:

John P. Cerone

Dina Francesca Haynes