Summer Schools

Leiden Law School offers several events during the summer months in cooperation with Columbia University in New York and our own Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies in The Hague.

Columbia Summer Program

The Columbia Summer Program is a four week intensive summer programme for Dutch and international students, organised by the Law Schools of Leiden University, the University of Amsterdam and Columbia University in New York. The programme is taught in its entirety by Columbia Law School professors.
Since 1963 this highly renowned summer programme is held alternately at the Leiden Law School (in even years) and at the Amsterdam Law School (in odd years). It teaches a general introduction to the American legal system, and is intended for legal professionals and law students in an advanced phase of their studies.
Besides the excellent educational aspects, the Columbia Summer Program is also known for its exceptional fine atmosphere amongst participants and professors from Columbia University. 

Venue: Leiden Law School of Leiden University or the Law school of University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Further information can be found on the Columbia Summer Program website.


Summer Program on International Criminal Law

From Theory to Practice
The Summer School on International Criminal Law has been organized by the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies since 2003 and is held each year in The Hague, the International City of Peace and Justice. In light of its location and the quality of its contributors from Leiden University and the surrounding international courts and tribunals, this School offers a unique opportunity for law students and young professionals to gain expertise in international criminal law in two weeks time. The curriculum combines theory with practice: sessions on topics as Genocide, the Crime of Aggression and Modes of Liability are followed by a cross-examination exercise and a Moot Court in which students can apply the knowledge and skills that they acquired during the course. Field-trips to the International Criminal Court, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia are included on the programme. 

Venue: Campus The Hague, Leiden University, The Hague, the Netherlands.
Further information can be found on: Summer School on International Criminal Law.


Summer School on Women, Peace and Security

The role of women in peace building and peacekeeping
In 2000 the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. This unprecedented resolution reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peace-building, and stresses the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security, and the need to increase their role in decision-making with regard to conflict prevention and resolution. Resolution 1325 urges all actors to increase the participation of women and incorporate gender perspectives in all United Nations peace and security efforts. It also calls on all parties to conflict to take special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence in situations of armed conflict. This course takes a close look at the Women, Peace and Security agenda and examines how it can be enhanced. Professionals as well as students are welcome to apply.

Venue: Campus The Hague, Leiden University, The Hague, the Netherlands.
Further information can be found on: Summer School on Women, Peace and Security.

Summer School on Human Rights and Transitional Justice

Human Rights Fact-Finding, Evidence and International Crimes
This Summer School examines the interplay between fact-finding bodies and accountability mechanisms in conflict and post-conflict situations, based on experiences and lessons learned from specific missions. It explores dilemmas of human rights and humanitarian fact-finding, including potential tensions between transitional justice and international justice in relation to fact-finding. It investigates whether and how fact-finding bodies and criminal investigators and prosecutors can interact more effectively with each other and with other investigators (including commissions of inquiry, UN panels of experts and the OHCHR, truth commissions) without compromising their respective mandate. The course is open to advanced law students and professionals working in the field.  

Venue: Campus The Hague of Leiden University, The Hague, the Netherlands.
Further information can be found on: Summer School on Human Rights and Transitional Justice

Summer School on International Children’s Rights

Children’s Rights at Cross-roads
Children’s Rights at Cross-roads provides a comprehensive children’s rights course, which zooms in on contemporary children’s rights issues in which different human rights systems, different disciplines, different perspectives, different perceptions and different realities come together, collide or concur. Leading experts in the field of children’s rights, international law and other relevant disciplines offer inspiring and interactive lectures, seminars and excursions in and around Leiden Law School. Professor Ton Liefaard, UNICEF Professor of Children's Rights at Leiden University and Professor Julia Sloth-Nielsen, University of the Western-Cape, are the coordinators of the course.

Venue: Leiden Observatory and Campus The Hague, Leiden University, the Netherlands.
Further information can be found on:

Bilingual Summer School on International Criminal Law

The Summer School on International Criminal Law is organised by the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, and held in The Hague, the City of Peace and Justice. In light of its location and the quality of its contributors from Leiden University and the international courts and tribunals, this School offers a unique opportunity for (nearly) graduated law students and young professionals to gain expertise in international criminal law in two weeks time. Lectures will be given in English or French. Simultaneous translation will be provided during all classes.

Venue: Campus The Hague of Leiden University, The Hague, the Netherlands.
Further information can be found on: Bilingual Summer School on International Criminal Law.

Brandeis in The Hague Summer Program

This Program is a collaboration between Brandeis University and the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies. Students (American undergraduates) in this Program will study in The Hague, the historic Dutch city that has become a modern symbol in the search for global justice. They will explore first-hand how international courts confront a range of global problems; meeting with judges, advocates, and academic specialists for a broad survey of the international legal process. Students will live in the adjacent university town of Leiden and will have direct access to major tribunals sitting in The Hague; including the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, the Peace Palace, and special war-crimes tribunals. The curriculum for the Brandeis Summer Program combines coursework, field visits to international courts, and interactive workshops with court advocates and international lawyers. Seminars lay the groundwork for understanding the origins and purposes of the tribunals, while workshops provide an intensive experience with the International Criminal Court. The Brandeis University Office of Study Abroad will administer the application and student selection process.

Venue: Campus The Hague of Leiden University, The Hague, the Netherlands.
Further information can be found on: Brandeis in The Hague Summer Program.

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Last Modified: 22-04-2013