MA/MS in Advanced Studies in International Civil and Commercial Law

What effects has globalisation had on international trade? What are the essential elements of international business contracts? When there is a dispute concerning a cross-border business transaction, which country's or region's laws apply and which court has jurisdiction? Learn how to deal with questions like these from both an international and comparative perspective.

Globalisation and increasing international trade have led to the rapid internationalisation of civil and commercial law, thus forming a complex and multi-layered discipline. Leiden University’s International Civil and Commercial Law programme deals with different levels of international, EU and national laws as they coexist and interact with one another. This programme will equip you with the skills necessary to fully understand and apply such intertwined layers to domain-specific legal issues.

You will study transnational sources of hard law (treaties, regulations and directives) and soft law (model laws, legislative guides, principles), as well as relevant case law. You will also investigate the comparative side of international civil and commercial law, in particular looking at the differences between civil law and commercial law and between certain national legal systems.