Internationalisation
The University of Lucerne Faculty of Law: A Commitment to Internationalisation
The Lucerne University Faculty of Law has developed in less than two decades into an institution that is strongly internationally positioned in research and teaching. Our pursuit for excellence in both fields has been unwavering and we have been fortunate to attract great scholars and students and to create a dynamic international community over time.
Our commitment to internationalisation remains strong and has been defined as one of the key tasks of the Faculty. The Steering Committee Internationalisation (SCI) and the Managing Director Internationalisation have been specifically appointed to carry out this task in close co-operation with the University’s International Relations Office, and to bolster the Faculty of Law as an international house. We seek to continue doing high quality research with international appeal and engaging a vivid group of students from around the world. As a relatively young university, we seek innovation and societal impact in both legal and interdisciplinary research and cooperate with a large number of partners both locally and globally in endorsing this mission.
It is the purpose of this website to serve as an informational hub for all international activities of the Faculty of Law of the University of Lucerne. We invite you to explore our international academic programme and our expanding network of research and student mobility partners.
For any queries that you may have, please write to: international-rf@unilu.ch.
A rich and diverse offer of courses in English
As a Faculty committed to internationalisation, we have over the years created a wide and diverse offer of English courses that are attractive to both Lucerne-based and international students. The thematic scope is broad and ranges from International Humanitarian Law to Internet and Financial Law.
Take a look at the brochurethat gives you an overview of the courses offered over the coming 3 semesters or consult our course catalogue for the current courses and their schedule.
Next to the high-quality courses, the University of Lucerne is unique in offering a personal atmosphere and an optimal support network for helping students to achieve academic success. Motivated and highly committed lecturers, teaching assistants and administrators provide help to students with all aspects of their studies. A personal tutor is on hand with additional invaluable tips and guidance with planning individual courses of study.
New Certificate Programme “Global Legal Studies” (GLS)
What is the GLS Programme?
“Global Legal Studies: International Economic Law, Human Rights and Sustainability (GLS)” is a dedicated certificate programme offered at the Faculty of Law at the University of Lucerne for exchange students at Master’s level. It reflects the different specialisations of the Faculty’s teaching activities and covers its rich palette of courses in English.
Why?
Are you interested in a unique learning experience with active academic interaction in an inspiring environment? Are you eager to understand international, transnational and comparative legal systems, processes and actors? Then join the GLS! The GLS certificate adds value to your academic and professional profile – it provides additional know-how, in particular in the fields of international economic and human rights law, and a comparative advantage on the market for jobs that demand a deeper understanding of global law and policy.
How?
- Open for exchange students at the Faculty of Law in Lucerne
- Successful completion of 5 law courses in English equivalent to 25 ECTS credits
- No fees
- Upon completion, a certificate in “Global Legal Studies: International Economic Law, Human Rights and Sustainability” will be awarded
If you interested in knowing more about our GLS programme, please, take a look at the Faculty guidelines here: Guidelines Certificate Programme Global Legal Studies
Our Summer School on Human Rights Implementation
Our well-established Summer School "Lucerne Academy for Human Rights Implementation"is a worldwide unique, multifaceted human rights law programme. Participants learn the theoretical and trial skills necessary to prepare for a career in defending human rights. Over the course of three weeks and guided by distinguished professors and practitioners, students take classes focused on human rights law, author a hypothetical appellate brief and participate in a prominent moot court competition. The Academy is limited in size to ensure a real student and staff interaction and includes lunch-time seminars, excursions to the United Nations in Geneva and the European Court of Human Rightsin Strasbourg.
For any queries you may have about your studies, please write to: international-rf@unilu.ch.For further consulting, please get in touch with the academic student advisors at: studienberatung-rf@unilu.ch.
The Faculty of Law of the University of Lucerne has an extensive network of research and student exchange partners that has a truly global reach – currently involving 46 institutions on 5 continents.
Student Exchange Network
We co-operate with partner universities in Europe and around the world and seek to develop and nurture a dynamic and global studies atmosphere in Lucerne.
For Lucerne Students
Our local students can get great ‘international’ experience already at home by engaging more actively in the advanced master level courses offered in English. We strongly encourage them to use the incredible international offer that we have, to go abroad and spend a semester in our partner universities – for instance, in Austin, Maastricht, Singapore or Edinburgh. This will not only boost their careers and give them a comparative advantage at the job market but will also enrich their personal experience, language skills and enhance their overall competence.
We seek in the next couple of years to complement this international studies portfolio by adding the possibility to earn a double degree of the University of Lucerne and a foreign university.
Take a look at our partner universities in Europe and in the rest of the world and make your choice. Check the important dates and information offered here and use the excellent guidance and services offered by the Faculty of Law and the International Relations Office.
For International Students
Situated in the middle of Europe and best connected in all travel networks, the University of Lucerne is not only a superb place to advance your legal studies but also a good starting point to explore Switzerland and Europe.
We offer a high quality academic programme in English and a wide variety of courses that lets students choose and tailor their studies. As a small University, Lucerne offers a closely-knit international community and excellent student supervision. The administration is smooth and unbureaucratic; everyone is well taken care of and integrated into university lifewith great sport and free time offers. The feedback from our international alumni has been highly positive, and our international team is only working to sustain and improve the academic and experience of our international students.
Research, both legal and interdisciplinary, is core to each university and the Faculty of Law in Lucerne has excelled in offering widely and highly acknowledged and innovative research in a large number of legal domains, ranging from private through criminal to international human rights law. This research matters domestically and has had impact on policies in Switzerland but it is also internationally connected, further disseminated and enriched through a vast network of international research partner institutions and individual collaborators.
As it is hardly possible to cover all research activities of all Faculty members, we encourage you to visit their individual webpages and discover the wealth of legal knowledge and ongoing research projects there. To give you an idea here, we offer you below a sneak peak of one featured centre or project and relevant current news.
The Center for Law and Sustainability (CLS) was created in 2011 with the goal to bring together relevant research activities and chairs of the Faculty of Law of the University of Lucerne in the field of law and sustainability, to interlink these research efforts and make them visible beyond the bounds of the Faculty.
The Center for Law and Sustainability serves as a valuable platform for scholarly exchange between research units of the University of Lucerne and other academic institutions that work on similar topics. The Center facilitates further the acquisition of third party funding and the development of advanced studies programmes.
The Center for Law and Sustainability is interdisciplinary and engages in active collaboration with different branches of the social sciences, such as economics, political science and last but not least, philosophy. The topics covered by the Center, such as energy, climate or agricultural law, are diverse but all contribute to both theoretical conceptualisations and policy-relevant formulations of sustainability. Sustainability has emerged in the last decade as one of the overarching policy goals at both the national and at the global level, and this not only in relation to the critical to mankind and well-publicised theme of climate change. The interaction between sustainability and legal frameworks, and the potential impact of law as a factor enabling (or hindering) the attainment of sustainability can be explored in many areas and ultimately, contribute to improved forms of governance. The Center for Law and Sustainability provides cutting-edge research and teaching in this context.
Successful participation in the John H. Jackson Moot Court Competition
(Previously called the ELSA Moot Court Competition)
A Moot Court is a simulated hearing of the WTO dispute settlement system with a fictitious case. At the Faculty of Law they are part of the permanent academic offer for years. Interested students have the opportunity to apply for no less than six national and international competitions.
Further Information:
Overview Moot Courts University of Lucerne
18th Edition of the John H. Jackson Moot Court Competition
5 March 2020
Lucerne's John H. Jackson Moot Court team, consisting of Anouk Lichtsteiner and Joëlle Marciano, made it directly to the Semi-Finals of the regional round in Kiev. This year's case dealt with the question of whether and under what circumstances the WTO agreements allow trade-restrictive measures that protect the biodiversity of flora and fauna.
Anouk and Joëlle had worked intensively on these issues for ten months and submitted a detailed statement of claim for both for the complainant and the respondent. They were supported by their two coaches Ankita Shanker (BCL, LL.B.) and Rahel Schär (MLaw) as well as by PD Dr. Mira Burri.
Joëlle Marciano was also awarded "Best Orator in Preliminary Rounds" for her excellent presentation. "It was an incredibly interesting and intensive time in Kiev, with many exciting encounters and valuable input for the future," Anouk Lichtsteiner sums up.
16th Edition ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law
27 June 2018
On their first time participating at the ELSA Moot Court on WTO Law, the Lucerne team made it right into the finals.
In the regional round held in Wroclaw, Poland, our students Vanessa Oesch, Luisa Schwegler and Eva Diener qualified for the finals of the ELSA Moot Court Competition that took place in the headquarters of World Trade Organization in Geneva from 19 to 24 June 2018. The competition, which is organized by the European Law Students’ Association (ELSA), simulates a WTO Dispute Settlement. This year the case addressed under which conditions WTO law allows for trade restricting climate protection measures.
With the acquired knowledge, the students are well equipped to enter the workplace in the field of WTO, European and trade law. "The participants took the chance to learn for the work environment important skills such as presenting, arguing and convincing", Nicolas Diebold said.
The team prepared during ten intense months under the lead of Prof. Dr. Nicolas Diebold and PD Dr. Mira Burri as well as the coaching of Dr. Charlotte Sieber Gasser and Stéphanie Rossé.
Contact
University of Lucerne
Faculty of Law
Prof. Dr. Mira Burri
Frohburgstrasse 3
P.O. Box
6002 Lucerne, Switzerland
Cornelia Sidler (Administrative Assistant)
international-rf@unilu.ch
