The Washington Semester in International Law and Organizations focuses upon the expanding role of law in governing relations among nations, while an interdependent world turns to multinational organizations in the making of global policy.

You spend 13 weeks in Washington, D.C., meeting with international law practitioners and visiting organizations that shape policy. Beyond this, you spend a week in New York City for a first-hand examination of the United Nations. You’ll cap your experience by flying to Europe for a series of seminars focusing on NATO and the European Union in Brussels; a visit to Strasbourg to examine the European Court of Human Rights; and then to The Hague for sessions on the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.

First, you will visit the United Nations Palace, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and the International Committee of the Red Cross Museum.  You will also speak with representatives of the World Trade Organization, the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. Students travel to The Hague, Netherlands for lectures with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and observe an ICTY Trial.  They also briefly travel to Luxembourg City to visit the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and get a tour of The Peace Palace.

You will also attend a live House of Commons debate at the British Parliament in London, meet the European Scrutiny Committee and speak with a representative from the Diplomatic Academy of London.  Students will also have an opportunity to visit the Foreign and Commonwealth Office/Secretariat.