Law - Human Rights Law & Transitional Justice

Based at the Transitional Justice Institute and with staff expertise across a range of areas, this degree is designed to give you a unique lens on the study of human rights.

Using the local Northern Ireland political and legal context as a starting point, you will develop working knowledge of international norms and principles, while moving beyond the local to reflect critically on present international law norms and their application to other situations and contexts.

You will be encouraged to develop and transfer knowledge, experience and expertise of the transformative possibilities of human rights law both in respect of societies emerging from violent conflict and in relation to the local and global management of other particular societal problems. This dual focus - from the local to the global and back, is a core part of the course’s aim to equip you with the knowledge and skills base to contribute internationally as well as locally.

Work placement / study abroad
The Transitional Justice Institute works closely with a range of human rights organisations that regularly offer internship opportunities to our LLM students – including the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Human Rights Consortium, Law Centre (NI) and Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities (NICEM).

For further course details please see "Course Web Page".

Year one
• Foundations of Transitional Justice
• Research and Advocacy Methods
• Foundations of International Human Rights Law
• Dissertation

Optional Modules
• Using Film for Human Rights Research and Advocacy
• Gender, Conflict and Transition
• Memory, Transition and Conflict
• Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• Equality Law
• Transitions from Conflict: Law and Politics
• Transitional Justice in Comparative and Regional Perspectives
• International Humanitarian Law in Transitional Justice Contexts

Standard entry conditions
To apply to our postgraduate taught programmes, you must meet the University’s General Entrance Requirements and any course-specific requirements.

Entry Requirements
A second class Honours degree or above or equivalent recognised qualification in Law, Social Sciences, Humanities or a cognate discipline. Allowance may be made for special qualifications, experience and background, and students with other academic backgrounds will be considered, where applicants can demonstrate their ability to undertake the programme through the accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL) or accreditation of prior learning (APL).

Your Application
Application is through the University's online application system (see "Application Weblink").

Start dates: September 2024 and January 2025

Career options
Successful completion of the LLM.

Previous graduates have gone onto positions in the local human rights sector and public sector in Northern Ireland, to legal practice in areas related to the LLM and to PhD research. Further, previous graduates have secured work in the United Nations and in international non-governmental organisations.