Our Novel Approach to International Law Curriculum
Thirty-plus Case Western Reserve School of Law professors teach in the area of international law; together, they offer more international law electives than all but a handful of U.S. law schools. We call our three-year learning arc "Core, Concentration, Capstone."
Core
As a 1L, you can take "Fundamentals of International Law," a one-credit elective in the spring semester—an internship funded by the Cox Center—that introduces you to:
- Norms of customary international law
- Rules of treaty interpretation
- Basics of researching international precedents
- Principles that govern international dispute resolution and international criminal trials
Concentration
As a 2L student pursuing an international law concentration, you will begin to focus on one of four areas by taking a sequence of electives related to public international law, international business law, national security law or immigration law.
You can choose from 34 specialty courses in these areas, including:
- "International Law Research Practicum": work on legal issues outsourced by international tribunals and organizations
- “International Development Law Practicum”: assist NGOs with legal issues related to social impact investing in the Global South
Capstone
In your third year, you will take a semester-long, full-time international law capstone course. Options include:
- Immigration Law Clinic experience
- One of 30-plus externships around the world
- A year abroad earning a foreign LLM degree at one of our five partner universities in Canada, France, Spain or the UK, while concurrently earning a JD with no extra time or cost
International Law Courses
Below is the list of our international law electives divided into our four focus areas for ease of reference. View full course descriptions in the General Bulletin.
Public International Law Focus
- Archeological Relics
- Contemporary Issues in International and Comparative Law
- Chinese Law
- Conflict of Laws
- Cyberlaw
- European Union Law
- Health Care & Human Rights
- Immigration Law
- Immigration Law 2: Asylum
- Immigration Law 2: Business Immigration
- Immigration Law Clinic
- International Law
- International Criminal law & Procedure
- International Environmental law
- International Humanitarian Law
- International Human Rights Law
- International Human Rights Law Clinic
- International Law Research Practicum
- International Perspectives on the Death Penalty
- National Security Law 1: Counterterrorism Law
- National Security Law 2: Foreign Affairs Law
- National Security: Surveillance
- Spring Break in The Hague: International Institutions
- Transnational Litigation
- War and Morality
International Business Law Focus
- Admiralty
- Archeological Relics
- Contemporary Issues in International & Comparative Law
- Chinese Law
- Comparative Corporate Governance
- Conflict of Laws
- Cyberlaw
- European Union Law
- Financial Institutions Regulation
- Financial Systems Integrity
- Government Contracts (National Security Procurement Law)
- International Arbitration
- International Business Transactions
- International Humanitarian Law
- International Intellectual Property
- International Law
- International Real Estate Transactions
- International Tax
- International Trade and Policy
- International Securities Law
- Transnational Litigation
National Security Law Focus
- Archeological Relics
- Contemporary Issues in International & Comparative Law
- Chinese Law
- Cyberlaw
- Health Care & Human Rights
- Homeland Security Lab
- Immigration Law
- Immigration Law 2: Asylum
- International Criminal Law & Procedure
- International Environmental Law
- International Humanitarian Law
- International Human Rights Law
- International Law
- International Law Research Lab
- International Perspectives on the Death Penalty
- National Security Law 1: Counterterrorism Law
- National Security Law 2: Foreign Affairs Law
- National Security: Surveillance
- War and Morality
Immigration Law Focus
- Administrative Law
- Human Trafficking Law Clinic
- Immigration Law
- Immigration Law 2: Asylum
- Immigration Law 2: Business Immigration
- Immigration Law Clinic
- International Law
- International Human Rights Law
*Some courses are offered every other year. The list does not include courses offered at our 17 foreign semester exchange programs or five year-long concurrent degree programs.