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Studying Law in English

in The Netherlands

1. Will my law
degree from a Dutch
university be
recognised in the
UK?
If you study law in the European Union then
your degree will be recognised. BUT, if you
study law abroad it is unlikely that you will
study English law. If you wish to practise law
in the UK you will probably need to do a
conversion course on your return.

Increasingly, however, law graduates with

knowledge and experience of International
and European law are highly sought after.

2. Why study law in

the Netherlands?
The Dutch legal system is one of the best
performing and most democratic in the world
according to the Rule of Law Index, a global
comparison of 97 national legal systems
(published October 2012). In this index,
developed by non-profit organization The
World Justice Project (WJP), the
Netherlands scored an extra high index on
the functioning of the civil law and the
transparency of the government. On both
aspects, the Netherlands finished second
within the 97 legal systems examined.

The Hague is called the legal capital of the

World and is home to many international
courts: including the International Court of
Justice; the Permanent Court of Arbitration;
the Yugoslavia War Crimes Tribunal; the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon; the European
judicial and police organizations Eurojust
and Europol; the Organization for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW);
and the International Criminal Court. The
Dutch security policy is based primarily on
membership in NATO, which the Netherlands
joined as a charter member in 1949.

The Netherlands is one of the founding

members of the European Union and has a
long educational tradition in this field of Law.

Dutch foreign policy is geared to promoting a

wide variety of goals: the rule of law, human
rights, and democracy. Priority is given to
enhancing European integration, ensuring
European security and stability (mainly
through the mechanism of NATO and by
emphasizing the important role the United
States plays in the security of Europe), and
participating in conflict management and
peacekeeping missions.

3. Undergraduate
opportunities to
study law in the
Netherlands
There are four undergraduate options for
studying law in English in the Netherlands at
the University of Groningen, The Hague
University of Applied Sciences, Maastricht
University and Tilburg University. Entry
requirements are relatively low in
comparison with British law schools.
However, this is likely to change in the next
few years as competition for places
increases.

1. University of Groningen

LLB International and European Law at

University of Groningen is a 3-year bachelor
programme focusing on the fields of
international politics, law and justice. All
basic law areas including private law,
constitutional law and criminal law, are
covered. In addition, European Union Law
and Public International Law are studied in
depth within the context of the basic law
fields.

What's unique?

Groningen's LLB programme is unique within

Europe. It also holds a compulsory semester
of law courses abroad in year 3.

First year students are offered workshops

'Starting your Academic Career'. This
workshop offers a mentor-system in which a
small group of 1st year students are
supervised weekly by a senior student and
this enables you to start up your studies
within a supportive environment.

And it's worth adding ...

The University of Groningen has a strong

international profile with a classification in
the top 100 of the Shanghai ARWU, the
Times Higher Education (THE) and the QS
World University ranking lists, the most
influential ranking lists in the academic
world.

After graduating ...

Groningen graduates go on to work for

international organisations such as the
European Union and the United Nations
drafting international laws and regulations, or
working as legal or policy advisers.

After further postgraduate study Groningen

graduates are qualified to work in diplomacy,
as civil servants for national ministries, the
EU, the UN or other international
organizations, in non-governmental
organizations (e.g. Amnesty International or
Greenpeace), in the international commercial
sector (e.g. Unilever or Shell), or in
academic teaching and research.

2. The Hague University of Applied

Sciences

The Hague University of Applied Sciences

also offer a 4-year International and
European Law degree. The programme
covers key aspects of International Law,
European law, and national law in
comparative perspective. More generally, it
also looks at the wider principles and skills
you need for a legal career - like listening,
writing and presenting.

What's unique?

You couldn't ask for a more inspiring setting

to study in. The Hague is an International
City of Peace and Justice, home of the
International Criminal Court, War Crimes
Tribunal, Europol, Permanent Court of
Arbitration and The Hague Conference on
Private International Law. This means there
are great opportunities for work placements
or traineeships.

Students and staff within the law faculty

represent over 30 different nationalities. This
means you'll work in multicultural teams,
learn to embrace various ways of thinking
and develop your cultural awareness.

After graduating ...

Hague graduates are well prepared for a

wide variety of international careers in
international, multinational or governmental
organisations, firms or NGOs. With its strong
focus on legal training in an international
environment, the programme will boost your
ability to analyse legal problems from an
international perspective and help you
embrace new ways of critical thinking.

Hear from current Hague Law students on

the Law Faculty's introductory video.

3. Tilburg University

The Bachelor of Global Law at Tilburg

University offers a unique learning
experience. This challenging programme is
taught by leading researchers, at one of the
largest research faculties for law in the
Netherlands.

A limited amount of students are admitted

each year and this makes for an ambitious
and energetic class environment. The
programme has a strong interdisciplinary
component, which means it allows students
to integrate knowledge from different fields
(like economy and sociology) and see the
bigger picture. Law is studied from a
transnational perspective, allowing you to
oversee legal issues in a way that is not
limited by one single legal system.

What's unique?

Global Law provides a new point of view

when it comes to law: it puts "global" before
"local". Global Law goes beyond the limits of
one jurisdictional system and allows you to
integrate knowledge from different research
fields when you tackle an assignment. These
skills are essential when you work in an
organisation where legal cases can involve a
range of different jurisdictions, perspectives
and solutions.

After graduating ...

Graduates from the program can apply

directly for functions in international
organisations, in the public sector or in
academia.

4. Postgraduate
opportunities to
study law in the
Netherlands
Below are a selection of postgraduate law
opportunities in the Netherlands. You will find
more on our Masters Course Search
database.

The LLM programme in European Law at

the Radboud University is primarily
designed for students who wish to develop
their understanding and knowledge of
European Union law with the intent of
pursuing a legal career with a strong
international dimension. This Master's offers
you a thorough education in European law,
including competition law, immigration law,
external relations law, judicial protection,
human rights law and public international
law.

With international and European law exerting

an increasing influence on the contents of
national legal systems, expertise in this area
is becoming sought-after by both private and
public organizations. Tilburg University’s
LLM in International and European Public
Law (IEPL) deals with the interplay between
national, international and European Union
law - focusing on the manifold ways in which
the laws emanating from international
organizations are influencing the legal
developments within national states.

As a student of the LLM in Public

International Law at the University of
Groningen you enjoy great freedom to
design your own programme. You can
choose from a wide range of optional
courses in International Law, such as
Economic Law, Peace and Security,
Environmental Law and Humanitarian Law.
Moreover, there are 35 courses in other
areas of law from which you can choose,
including Comparative Law and Sociology of
Law.

VU University of Amsterdam’s one-year

Master's programme in Law and Politics
of International Security aims at
transferring to students the knowledge, skills
and insight necessary to operate as a
professional or academic researcher in the
area of international peace of security.
Issues of international peace and security
are becoming increasingly important in legal,
political and administrative practice. The
concept of ‘international security’ is no longer
confined to traditional issues of war and
peace, but now also covers topics such as
terrorism, criminal law, the protection of
human rights and ‘human security’.

The MSc in Victimology and Criminal

Justice at Tilburg University is the only
Master's programme in Europe and one of a
handful of programmes worldwide, focusing
on victimology. Victimology can be
considered the younger sister of criminology.
Its object of study is the position of victims in
society. Drawing upon the insights offered by
law, psychology, criminology and other social
sciences, victimologists look at the
consequences of becoming a victim of crime,
accidents or disasters with the ultimate aim
of setting people on the path to recovery and
restoration.

Why do witnesses of a crime remember the

colour of the perpetrator's coat differently?
How can countries work together to fight
crimes? In this degree you will learn all about
these sorts of issues.

Crime is of all times and all places. But the

nature of crime changes over time. More
options are available to people as
technology evolves and travelling the world
becomes easier. Countries need to work
together to fight transnational crime. This
can lead to a clash of different legal regimes.

This LLM programme in Global Criminal Law

at the University of Groningen will provide
you with some insight into these and many
other issues.

Tilburg University’s LLM in Law and

Technology offers students the chance to
develop cutting-edge and interdisciplinary
expertise within the burgeoning field of
technology regulation. Strongly
multidisciplinary and incorporating both
European and international law, the masters
in Law and Technology offers you the chance
to develop both multidisciplinary knowledge
and an area of specialised expertise within
the field of Law and Technology - giving you
more options to pursue the career of your
choice.

The LLM in Commerical Law -

specialisation in Commercial and Company
Law at the Erasmus University Rotterdam
provides you with a unique combination of
specialist courses in the field of company
and commercial law, the impact of EU
legislation and general courses in European
Private Law and comparative private law.

The LLM programme in Commercial Law -

specialisation Maritime and Transport Law,
also at Erasmus University Rotterdam,
gives you a unique opportunity to obtain the
legal know-how, the skills and practical
experience needed for a career in maritime
and transport law.

5. Does it make
sense to study law
abroad?
If you are interested in:

law with a local or national focus it

may not make sense to study abroad. If
you study law abroad it is unlikely that
you will study English law. If you wish to
practise law in the UK you will probably
need to do a conversion course on your
return. If you are interested in studying
English law abroad, this currently is not
possible.

commercial law you would be well

advised to consider international
experience as an integral part of your
education. Understanding more than
one legal system will stand you in good
stead as you will be competing in an
international job market when you
graduate whether you like it or not.

international criminal law or human

rights law, for example, then you are
well advised to go abroad to study.
These branches of the law are
international by their very nature and
most of the institutions and
organisations operating in these
spheres are located outside this
country.

studying law but do not intend to

work as lawyer then an understanding
of comparative law will be very useful if
you intend to work for a multinational
organisation.

6. What else should I

bear in mind?
For the reasons mentioned above, British
universities have started to offer a number of
law degrees that incorporate international
experience. These might be viable
alternatives to taking your full degree
abroad.

Some thoughts from

law students at
Dutch universities
Caitlin Bones

Jade Knight

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