International law: online courses
This page provides an overview of massive open online courses (MOOCs) for all those interested in international law.
What is a massive open online course, you can read here.
Child Protection: Children's Rights in Theory and Practice
Course participants will consider the strategies, international laws, standards and resources required to protect children from violence, exploitation and neglect.
Duration: 16 weeks, 2–6 hours/week.
Language: English.
Provider: Harvard University; edX.
Course syllabus:
1. Every child has the right to protection.
2. Violence against children.
3. Children and the law.
4. A systems approach to child protection.
Children’s Human Rights – an Interdisciplinary Introduction
Successful international strategies and programs promoting children’s rights will be highlighted, as well as the role of key actors involved in international organizations working in this field.
Duration: 7 weeks.
Language: English; subtitles available in Russian.
Provider: University of Geneva; Coursera.
Course syllabus:
1. International standards and monitoring systems.
2. The history of children’s rights in the context of human rights.
3. Interdisciplinary children’s rights studies.
4. Juvenile justice.
5. Violence against children.
6. Children’s right to participation.
7. Children’s rights and global health.
This course is the third in a series of three exploring some of the main business aspects of European Union law. The course discusses how to compete on the internal European Union market and protect a company’s products, brands or invention.
Duration: 6 weeks.
Language: English; subtitles available in Russian.
Provider: Lund University; Coursera.
Course syllabus:
1. Trademarks as essential assets.
2. Defending patents.
3. Competition: illegal cooperation.
4. Competition: abuse of dominance and mergers.
5. Selling to the state and state aid.
6. Legal writing and argumentation.
Other courses in the series: “European Business Law: Understanding the Fundamentals”, “Doing Business in Europe”.
This course is the second in a series of three exploring some of the main business aspects of European Union law. The course provides learners with a sound knowledge base of European laws and regulations relevant to establishing and managing a company within the European Union.
Duration: 6 weeks, 10–15 hours/week.
Language: English; subtitles available in Russian.
Provider: Lund University; Coursera.
Course syllabus:
1. Making business transactions.
2. Establishing a company.
3. Employing and working in Europe.
4. Paying taxes and complying with environmental standards.
5. Resolving cross-border disputes.
6. Case clinic.
Other courses in the series: “European Business Law: Understanding the Fundamentals”, “Competing in Europe”.
This course teaches the basics of human rights, placing the EU at the centre of investigation.
Duration: 6 weeks, 4–6 hours/week.
Language: English.
Provider: Université catholique de Louvain; edX.
Course syllabus:
1. Human rights challenges in EU policies.
2. The EU as a human rights actor.
Weeks 3. The EU’s internal setting and fundamental rights policies.
4. Themes and priorities of EU external human rights policies.
5. Actors and geographic scope of EU external relations.
6. Effectiveness challenges and the way forward.
European Business Law: Understanding the Fundamentals
This course is the first in a series of three that will provide students with an insight into European Business Law. In this course the students will examine the core structures and principles of the European Union as well as the main sources of law.
Duration: 6 weeks, 10–15 hours/week.
Language: English; subtitles available in Russian.
Provider: Lund University; Coursera.
Course syllabus:
1. Introduction to EU law.
2. Sources and method of EU law.
3. Fundamental principles.
4. Enforcement of EU law and judicial review.
5. The economic freedoms.
6. The external dimension.
Other courses in the series: “Doing Business in Europe”, “Competing in Europe”.
This course examines the development, the scope and the challenges of European Union citizenship. The participants will consider what rights and opportunities this supra- and transnational citizenship provides, and what are the challenges and dilemmas of the two-level citizenship – for individuals, for the member states and for the union.
Duration: 3 weeks, 2–4 hours/week.
Language: English.
Provider: University of Copenhagen; Coursera.
Course syllabus:
1. The development and status of European citizenship.
2. EU citizenship for 'movers' and 'stayers'.
3. Challenges to European citizenship.
Human Rights for Open Societies
The course introduces the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the practice of the European Court of Human Rights.
Duration: 6 weeks, 2–3 hours/week.
Language: English; subtitles available in Russian.
Provider: Utrecht University; Coursera.
Course syllabus:
1. Introduction to the ECHR.
2. General principles.
3. Human rights and democracy.
4. Insiders and outsiders: non-discrimination, vulnerable groups, migrants and asylum seekers.
5. Freedom of expression and public protest.
6. Closure.
International Human Rights Law
This course provides an overview of how human rights are protected under international law, how and by whom such rights may be claimed, and what limitations and restrictions to rights are admissible.
Duration: self-paced.
Language: English.
Provider: Université catholique de Louvain; edX.
Course syllabus:
1. What are human rights?
2. To which situations do human rights apply?
3. When may human rights be restricted?
4. When must the state intervene to protect human rights?
5. How much must states do to fulfil human rights?
6. What is discrimination?
7. How are human rights protected at domestic level?
8. How are human rights protected at international level?
International Humanitarian Law
The participants of the course will learn how international law regulates armed conflicts, protects individuals in wartime and guarantees minimum compliance.
Duration: 12 weeks, 4–12 hours/week.
Language: English.
Provider: Catholic University of Louvain; edX.
Course syllabus:
1. Introduction to International Humanitarian Law.
2. Sources and subjects.
3. Scope of application.
4. The Geneva Law.
5. The Hague Law.
6. Implementation and enforcement of IHL.
International Humanitarian Law in Theory and Practice
The course will give you a deep insight into the rules that govern armed conflict, and aim to mitigate human suffering on the battlefield.
Duration: 5 weeks, 5 hours/week.
Language: English; subtitles available in Russian.
Provider: Leiden University; Coursera.
Course syllabus:
1. Introduction to International Humanitarian Law.
2. Conflict classification.
3. Conduct of hostilities.
4. Protection of persons.
5. Implementation and enforcement.
The course introduces the features and dynamics of an important field of international law that grants rights to foreign investors to foster States’ development.
Duration: 10 weeks, 6–8 hours/week.
Language: English.
Provider: Université catholique de Louvain; edX.
Course syllabus:
1. The history of international investment law.
2. The standards of treatment.
3. The protection against illegal expropriations.
4. Investor-state arbitration: institutional and procedural aspects.
5. Investor-state arbitration: interpretation, applicable law and State responsibility.
6. The future of international investment law.
The course introduces the most important international standards. Participants will learn about the specifics of protecting labour rights as human rights, the history and future of the International Labour Organization, and will analyse the concept of corporate social responsibility.
Duration: 7 weeks, 2–3 hours/week.
Languages: Russian, English.
Provider: Saint Petersburg State University; Coursera.
Course syllabus:
1. General part: the subject, system and sources of international labour law.
2. Instruments and activities of the International Labour Organization.
3. The critical assessment of the ILO's one hundred years quest for social justice.
4. International and regional human rights instruments as sources of international labour law.
5. The relevance of the European Convention on Human Rights to labour rights protection.
6. International labour standards and responsibilities of corporate actors.
7. The efficiency of international labour standards.
International Labour Standards: How to Use Them
This course provides knowledge and practical skills for using international labour standards to promote and defend worker’s rights worldwide.
Duration: self-paced.
Language: English.
Provider: Global Labour University, International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization; Iversity.
Course syllabus:
1. Introduction to international labour standards.
2. Supervision of international labour standards.
3. Freedom of association, collective bargaining and the right to strike.
The course explains what is international law, what role it plays in the world of today, by whom it must be respected and how it is applied.
Duration: 8 weeks, 4–6 hours/week.
Language: English.
Provider: Université catholique de Louvain; edX.
Course syllabus:
1. Introducing international law.
2. Subjects of international law.
3–4. Making international law.
5. Applying international law.
6. Claiming responsibility.
7. Seeking justice.
8. Upholding peace.
International Law in Action: the Arbitration of International Disputes
This course is the third in a series of courses on international law. It explores the major aspects of international arbitration as one of the most common method of international dispute settlement.
Duration: 4 weeks, 4–6 hours/week.
Language: English; subtitles available in Russian.
Provider: Leiden University; Coursera.
Course syllabus:
1. The history and general principles of international arbitration.
2. Arbitration and the law of the sea.
3. Investment arbitration.
4. State immunity and the enforcement & validity of international arbitral decision.
Other courses in the series: “International Law in Action: a Guide to the International Courts and Tribunals in The Hague”, “International Law in Action: Investigating and Prosecuting International Crimes”.
International Law in Action: a Guide to the International Courts and Tribunals in The Hague
This course maps the unique roles played by international courts and tribunals located in The Hague and explains how they promote peace and global justice.
Duration: 5 weeks, 4–6 hours/week.
Language: English; subtitles available in Russian.
Provider: Leiden University; Coursera.
Course syllabus:
1. An introduction to the international courts and tribunals in The Hague.
2. The International Court of Justice (ICJ).
3. The arbitration of international disputes.
4. International criminal courts and tribunals.
5. Conclusions of the three course themes.
Other courses in the series: "International Law in Action: Investigating and Prosecuting International Crimes", “International Law in Action: the Arbitration of International Disputes”.
International Law in Action: Investigating and Prosecuting International Crimes
This course is the second in a series of courses on international law. Participants will learn how international criminal justice functions, who the actors are, what outcomes it produces, and how it can be improved.
Duration: 4 weeks, 4–6 hours/week.
Language: English; subtitles available in Russian.
Provider: Leiden University; Coursera.
Course syllabus:
1. The international criminal justice system: core concepts and foundations.
2. The international criminal justice system: justice institutions and procedures.
3. Trying perpetrators.
4. Remedying wrong and look to the future.
Other courses in the series: "International Law in Action: a Guide to the International Courts and Tribunals in The Hague", “International Law in Action: the Arbitration of International Disputes”.
This course introduces the principles and legal standards that govern the use, sharing, management and protection of transboundary freshwaters, especially rivers, lakes and aquifers.
Duration: 5 weeks.
Language: English; subtitles available in Russian.
Provider: University of Geneva; Coursera.
Course syllabus:
1. Introduction to international water law.
2. The evolution of the international regulation on fresh water resources.
3–4. The principles of the law on transboundary water resources.
5. Prevention and resolution of water-related disputes.
Introduction to International Criminal Law
The course educates students about the fundamentals of international criminal law and policy.
Duration: 8 weeks, 7–8 hours/week.
Language: English; subtitles available in Russian.
Provider: Case Western Reserve University; Coursera.
Course syllabus:
1. Introduction.
2. Peace versus justice.
3. Terrorism and piracy.
4. Unique modes of liability.
5. Specialized defenses.
6. Gaining custody of the accused.
7. Pre-trial issues.
8. Maintaining control of the courtroom.
Rethinking International Tax Law
This course explains the foundations and practice of international tax law as well as current developments and the ethical aspects of tax planning.
Duration: 6 weeks, 4–12 hours/week.
Language: English; subtitles available in Russian.
Provider: Leiden University, Coursera.
Course syllabus:
1. International tax planning – base case.
2. Design of corporate tax law systems.
3. Principles of international taxation and tax treaties.
4. Transfer pricing.
5. European Union law and fiscal state aid.
6. Tax planning and ethical dimensions.
