UNITAR offers five courses aimed at providing participants with a comprehensive theoretical and practical knowledge of the key issues of International Law, Law of Treaties, Law of International Organizations, International Environmental Law, and Techniques and Procedures in International Environmental Law. These courses will provide the necessary knowledge to understand the importance of international law and the role and position of international organizations in the contemporary legal order and international community. They will also provide critical skills of analysis and interpretation of cases regarding contemporary practice and will offer key insights to understand and apply rules and procedures of different branches of international law, such as Law of Treaties or International Environmental Law.
Some of these courses are offered both in a self-paced and webinar track. The self-paced track promotes an interactive approach through lessons and multimedia material, with a high degree of flexibility in the completion timeframe. The webinar track provides an extended version of the self-paced course by providing participants with the chance to interact with a senior expert of the field in a live Q&A session.
Please find more information on the respective International Law courses below.
International Law
The subject of international law brings a lot of concepts to mind, from war and settlement of disputes between States, protection of the environment, responsibilities and obligations, to human rights protection between citizens, refugees of different States and corporations. Globalization has forced us to interact with each other, making it essential to have common rules to guide and sustain relationships (of trade, investment, technology, etc.) between individuals and States from different regions and continents. Now, many of domestic laws are highly influenced and molded by the rules of international law. International law provides mandatory principles, norms and rules that regulate the relations between States as well as with other non-State actors, like international organizations and individuals.
International Law - Self-paced Track
This self-paced course aims to provide participants with a comprehensive knowledge of the fundamentals of International Law that is necessary to understand the importance, role and purpose of international law in the contemporary legal order and international community.
Deadline for applications: 2 July 2023
Dates: 3 July 2023 - 2 October 2023
Register for the self-paced track here
International Law - Webinar Track
Check back for details on future editions.
Law of International Organizations
International organizations are playing an increasingly important role in the international legal order. They are active in virtually all fields of human activity, they regularly conclude international treaties and continuously interact with other actors of international law. Nowadays, they wield growing normative powers. For those working for or dealing with international organizations, a sound understanding of the law of international organizations thus appears indispensable.
Law of International Organizations - Self-paced Track
UNITAR’s self-paced course on the Law of International Organizations is structured in a way to cover the main legal questions related to international organizations, from both a theoretical and practical perspective. In addition, the e-learning methodology used to deliver the Course allows participants the flexibility to combine their learning activities with work responsibilities and to benefit from high-quality training.
Deadline for applications: 2 July 2023
Dates: 3 July 2023 - 2 October 2023
Register here for the self-paced track.
Law of International Organizations - Webinar Track
This webinar edition of UNITAR's traditional online course offers participants the chance to ask questions to a high level expert during a Q&A webinar.
Check back for details on future editions.
Law of Treaties
UN Photo
The International Law of Treaties is a set of international principles and rules regulating the conclusion procedure of treaties, as well as the issues of operation, amendments and modifications, termination, suspension and invalidity of treaties. For those involved in the drafting, negotiation and conclusion of international treaties, a sound knowledge of the Law of Treaties is indispensable. Efficient implementation and application of international legal norms is impossible without knowing the essentials of the International Law of Treaties.
Law of Treaties - Self-paced Track
UNITAR’s course on the Law of Treaties is designed to cover both the theoretical and the practical aspects of this subject, starting with the basic notions, sources, subjects, principles, and scope of application of conventions forming the base of the Law of Treaties.
Deadline for applications: 2 July 2023
Dates: 3 July 2023 - 2 October 2023
Register here for the self-paced track.
Law of Treaties - Webinar Track
This webinar edition of UNITAR's traditional online course offers participants the chance to ask questions to a high level expert during a Q&A webinar.
Check back for details on future editions.
International Environmental Law
UNITAR/Sabrina Wollman
Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) are the predominant legal method for addressing transboundary environmental problems. Adopted by States, MEAs are standard-settings instruments for effective global environmental protection. However, nowadays some States, particularly least developed and developing countries, face the challenge of implementing over 300 MEAs due to limited technical, financial and human resources. This course will provide you with the basics of International Environmental Law (IEL) by identifying its sources and fundamental principles, the law-making process, its main actors, as well as the implementation and compliance procedures needed to understand and apply Multilateral Environmental Agreements.
International Environmental Law - Self-paced Track
Deadline for applications: 2 July 2023
Dates: 3 July 2023 - 2 October 2023
Techniques and Procedures of International Environmental Law
For the adequate implementation of and compliance with MEAs at a national level, there is a need to raise awareness on International Environmental Law (IEL) and develop specific capacities for its implementation at the national level. This course explores the the technical and procedural aspects of the different mechanisms made available in international environmental law to facilitate the creation and implementation of sound environmental norms; from the regulatory and economic instruments used by policy-makers, to the role of Environmental Impact Assessments and public participation in environmental decisions.
Techniques and Procedures of International Environmental Law - Self-paced Track
Deadline for applications: 2 July 2023
Dates: 3 July 2023 - 2 October 2023
New Course: International Humanitarian Law
International Humanitarian Law
War might be the “end of the law” as one said, but International Law is not silent on armed conflicts. From its conception in 1859 on the battlefield of Solferino to contemporary warfare, modern International Humanitarian Law (IHL) has been confronted with significant challenges. Since the times of horses and bayonets to drones and other ‘Lethal Autonomous Weapons System’ (the so-called “killer robots”), IHL has always had the purpose of regulating the means and methods of warfare in order to limit human suffering. The development and sophistication of weapons has made it paradoxically problematic to distinguish between civilians and combatants in order to better protect the former. In addition, the proliferation of non-international armed conflicts (civil wars) and the emergence of new forms of armed conflicts, i.e. the “war on terrorism”, pose new challenges to the protection of civilian persons and goods.
Deadline for applications: 23 August 2023
Dates: 4 September – 1 October 2023
Have any questions?
For more information, kindly contact info.ilp@unitar.org.
Click here for all International Law and Legal Skills programmes