CH · Master's
Geneva Graduate Institute
LL.M. in International Law
Geneva Graduate Institute
Deadline detail: Mid-January (applications close roughly eight months before the September start; interviews run late January to mid-March)
Course Overview
The Geneva Graduate Institute's LL.M. in International Law is a one-year, English-taught professional master's for qualified lawyers, taught two hundred metres from the UN's European headquarters. The curriculum covers public international law, international dispute settlement, international economic and trade law, international humanitarian law and human rights, and the law of international organisations. Much of the teaching is done by people who practise what they teach — legal advisers from the UN Office of Legal Affairs, the ICRC, the WTO, WIPO and UNHCR, alongside the Institute's own international law faculty, and by arbitration and public international law counsel from Geneva's private bar.
The single strongest reason to study international law in Geneva rather than anywhere else is proximity. The city hosts the UN Office at Geneva, the WTO, WIPO, WHO, the ILO, UNHCR, IOM, the UN Human Rights Council and the ICRC within a few tram stops of each other. Court visits, treaty negotiations and Human Rights Council sessions are things you attend, not things you read about. The cohort is deliberately small and internationally mixed, and admission requires a completed legal education that would entitle you to sit the bar in your own country — so your classmates are practising lawyers, not undergraduates.
For a Sri Lankan applicant this is the most direct academic route into the international organisations and treaty bodies that shape Sri Lanka's own external legal position — on human rights and accountability at the Human Rights Council, on trade preferences and GSP+ at the WTO, on refugee and migration law, on maritime boundaries and law of the sea in the Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka's Attorney General's Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Legal Draftsman's Department all need people with formal training in public international law, and very few Sri Lankan lawyers hold a specialist LL.M. from a Geneva institution. Be realistic about one thing: this is a specialist academic and policy credential, not a Swiss practising qualification. It does not admit you to any bar, and Switzerland's legal profession is regulated cantonally and effectively closed to foreign-qualified lawyers without a Swiss law degree.
Entry Requirements
Academic
- check_circle A complete legal education that entitles you to sit the bar examination in your home country — for Sri Lankan applicants that means an LL.B. from Colombo, Peradeniya, Jaffna, OUSL or a recognised UK-affiliated LL.B., or admission as an Attorney-at-Law through Sri Lanka Law College.
- check_circle A strong academic record; a Second Upper or First Class LL.B. is the realistic competitive standard for a cohort this small.
- check_circle Bar-association professional training (the Sri Lanka Law College apprenticeship year, for example) is not a separate requirement, though practice experience strengthens an application considerably.
- check_circle Two reference letters, a CV, and a one-page motivation letter setting out which area of international law you intend to work in — vague 'general interest in international law' letters do badly here.
- check_circle Official transcripts and degree certificates; certified English translations where a document is not already in English or French.
- check_circle Shortlisted candidates are interviewed (usually online for applicants based overseas) between late January and mid-March.
- check_circle A non-refundable application fee of CHF 100 is payable with the online form.
- check_circle Proof of funds covering tuition and living costs is required for the Swiss national D student visa, applied for through the Swiss Embassy handling Sri Lanka; allow 8-12 weeks for processing.
English Proficiency
- check_circle IELTS Academic: 7.0 Overall.
- check_circle TOEFL iBT: 100 Overall.
- check_circle Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) grade A-C or C2 Proficiency (CPE) grade A-B is also accepted.
- check_circle The requirement is waived if your secondary or university education was conducted in English — a Sri Lankan English-medium LL.B. with a Medium of Instruction letter from your university normally satisfies this, but confirm in writing with admissions before skipping the test.
- check_circle Teaching and assessment are in English; French is useful for living in Geneva but is not required for the degree.
Estimated Cost of Study
| Expense Category | Amount (CHF) | Approx. LKR |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition Fee (full one-year programme) | CHF 28,000 | Rs. 10,360,000 |
| Living Expenses in Geneva (12 months) | CHF 24,000 | Rs. 8,880,000 |
| Health Insurance & Residence Permit | CHF 2,000 | Rs. 740,000 |
| Visa, Application Fee, Books & Airfare | CHF 1,800 | Rs. 666,000 |
| Total Programme Investment | CHF 55,800 | Rs. 20,646,000 |
*LKR conversion based on current bank rates. Subject to change.
Career Outcomes & PR
Non-EU graduates of a Swiss university may apply for a six-month residence permit to look for work in a field related to their studies; converting it into a work permit requires an employer and is genuinely competitive, because Switzerland applies a quota system to non-EU workers. That said, the international organisations themselves sit outside the ordinary labour market — the UN, ICRC, WTO, WIPO, UNHCR, IOM and the treaty-body secretariats recruit internationally and Sri Lankan nationality is an advantage in a system that watches geographic representation. Graduates go into legal officer and associate legal officer roles at UN agencies, into the ICRC's legal division, into Geneva's international arbitration and public international law practices, into NGOs such as the International Commission of Jurists and the Geneva-based human rights organisations, and into national foreign ministries. Sri Lankan returnees are strongly placed at the Attorney General's Department, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (treaties and legal division), the Legal Draftsman's Department, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, and the Colombo commercial bar's growing international arbitration practice.
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