Short Course: Public International Law in Practice
Date: 10 sessions: 23, 30 September, 7, 14, 21, 28 October, 4, 11, 18 and 25 November 2025
Time: 13.00 - 15.00 (UK time)
Venue: Online
Course Outline
The Public International Law in Practice course offers a dynamic introduction into applied public international law from the British Institute of International and Comparative Law. The programme focuses on current developments in public international law and their application in national and international dispute resolution, policy-making and in international legal and diplomatic practice.
Led by many of the Institute's leading researchers and practitioners, the course gathers primarily senior practitioners, academics and government officials interested to improve their knowledge of key areas international law: from the sources of international law to the law of armed conflict, from human rights to international investment law.
Indicative course topics:
- Legal Foundations of Public International Law
- International Human Rights Law
- International Trade Law
- International Investment Law
- International Migration and Refugee Law
- Law of the Sea
- International Law Concerning Armed Conflict
- International Criminal Law
- International Environmental and Climate Change Law
- Business and Human Rights
Course leaders:
- Dr Jean-Pierre Gauci, Arthur Watts Senior Research Fellow in Public International Law and Director of Teaching and Training, British Institute of International and Comparative Law
- Alina Holzhausen, Research Fellow in Public International Law and Climate Change, British Institute of International and Comparative Law
Who is the course for?
The course is ideal for those in the early and middle years of legal practice, those working in governmental and non-governmental organisations with legal elements to their work, those moving legal practice areas, and students who are studying for a postgraduate degree which includes aspects of international law.
Course format
The virtual course format will consist of a series of 10 sessions in which live (synchronous) teaching is offered via Zoom. Participants will be able to interact with the tutors and amongst themselves on screen.
Testimonials from past attendees
"A great introduction to many aspects of international law with very knowledgeable speakers...
"An extremely helpful course! And importantly the speakers were able to answer our questions"
"Very interesting and comprehensive course. It covered a lot in the two days."
Training scholarships
We are delighted to be able to offer scholarships designed to enable individuals from communities currently under-represented in the legal field to access our world-class courses and benefit from unparalleled learning experiences.
Scholarships are aimed at 3 categories: individuals from communities and backgrounds that are under-represented in the legal field in the UK and abroad; individuals who have recently received a needs-based bursary from their university or further-education college and representatives from Small Charities, NGOs, and Community-Based Organisations.
Applications for training scholarships must be received at least three weeks ahead of the course start date (2 September 2025). Applications must be made via the online form and applications received via any other means will not be considered.
Find out more and apply for a scholarship here
