Human Rights LL.M. & Hungarian Degree of Specialization

The one-year, English language post-graduate program in international human rights law at Legal Studies Department's Human Rights Program responds to the challenges traceable in post-authoritarian societies. The program provides both theoretical and practical training for future scholars and professionals in human rights, with special emphasis on the legal aspects of human rights protection. For those students who intend to teach and conduct research in the field of human rights the program offers a broad theoretical background, covering both general problems and specific human rights issues in a variety of domestic and international jurisdictions. At the same time, those students who intend to become professionals in the NGO, the IGO or the government sector, gain indispensable legal knowledge as well as undergo intense training in strategic and procedural skills vital for the practical implementation of such measures.

An interdisciplinary approach allows students to view relevant aspects of human rights issues from radically different perspectives. While pointing to challenges faced by emerging democracies the courses discuss how such challenges might affect contemporary discourse on globalization and the universality of human rights. A context-sensitive analysis of strategies of human rights enforcement and policy making in post-authoritarian systems forms an equally important pillar of the training program. Through this comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach young lawyers committed to the protection of human rights acquire indispensable skills for effective litigation before domestic courts and international human rights tribunals. Students are encouraged to analyze and theorize their particular histories and experiences, which consequently enables them to develop pertinent policies and strategies adapted to the specific needs and to poignantly identify and develop remedies to human rights violations.

Students completing the HR LL.M + HDS track receive, apart from the US-accredited LL.M. degree, a certificate of specialization in Human Rights accredited by the Hungarian Ministry of Education.

Entry requirements for the HR LL.M. & Hungarian Degree of Specialization

Applicants must meet the general CEU admissions requirements and undergo the admissions examination of the Human Rights Program. Please note that only students who have completed and earned a bachelor's diploma in a legal training of at least 4 years are eligible to apply for the program.

Program requirements

HR LL.M + HDS students follow a study track similar to that of the Human Rights LL.M. program (for details see: courses), but in addition they are subject to a final oral examination at the end of Module VI consisting of course topics from selected mandatory courses. Moreover, these students have to defend their master’s thesis before a thesis committee.