Advanced Diploma in International Law

Course Overview

The Advanced Diploma in International Law at the London School of Law, Politics and Economics is a UK Level 5 senior-track qualification running 12 to 15 months across on-campus, online and distance learning modes. It carries confirmed credit transfer into UK Bachelor's top-ups and is mapped to competencies referenced by the International Bar Association, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, the Bar Standards Board and the SRA international practice guidance.

By graduation you will have argued a moot on jurisdiction and immunity, drafted a memorial suitable for a Jessup-style competition, produced treaty-interpretation memos, and defended a case portfolio on a live international-law question.

Every intake of the Advanced Diploma in International Law joins the same LSLPE weekly rhythm, whether on-campus, online or by distance learning, and students are placed in small named cohorts from week one. Reading is drawn wherever possible from primary UK sources including Supreme Court judgments, Law Commission working papers and Sentencing Council guidance, giving senior-track students a direct working relationship with the evidence base used by the SRA, Bar Standards Board and CILEX. Assessed work rewards clean writing and structured argument over volume, and tutors emphasise the everyday drafting skills that senior-track practitioners use in first practice.

Key Features

• Syllabus mapped to competencies referenced by the IBA, CIArb, SRA and Bar Standards Board.
• Case-room seminars on treaty, jurisdiction and dispute-resolution questions.
• Workshops on memorial drafting and international-court advocacy.
• Guest sessions from international lawyers and CIArb-listed arbitrators.
• Confirmed credit transfer into UK Bachelor's top-ups.
• Capstone case portfolio defended before an LSLPE tutor panel.
• Named tutor written feedback on every graded submission with an interim tutor review at the halfway mark.
• Structured induction reading list drawn from primary UK legal sources including Supreme Court judgments, Law Commission working papers and Sentencing Council guidance.

What You Will Learn

• Apply sources of public international law under Article 38 ICJ Statute.
• Interpret treaties using the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.
• Analyse state responsibility and international dispute resolution.
• Argue jurisdiction and immunity in international-court settings.
• Prepare submissions for arbitration under LCIA and ICSID rules.
• Assess international humanitarian and human-rights obligations.
• Advise on international-organisation compliance frameworks.
• Produce a memorial-standard international-law case study.
• Read published UK legal evidence sessions, working papers and reports at practitioner standard.
• Manage timed writing and oral defence under seminar and committee-style conditions.

Who This Course Is For

• Paralegals and legal executives in international-practice firms.
• NGO researchers and campaigners advancing into international-law roles.
• Civil servants and diplomatic staff working on international legal questions.
• International applicants targeting UK-facing international practice.
• Working professionals preparing for a Bachelor's top-up in law.
• Applicants moving into the Advanced Diploma route from a UK Access to HE Diploma, a mature-applicant portfolio or a related LSLPE credential.

Career Pathways

• Senior Paralegal in an international-law chambers set or firm.
• Legal Executive on a CILEX route with an international specialism.
• In-house Counsel to an international body or multinational.
• Legal Adviser to a diplomatic mission or multilateral organisation.
• Human Rights Adviser working on international human-rights casework.
• Contract Lawyer specialising in cross-border commercial matters.
• Legal Researcher in an international-law think tank.
• Support-role progression across chambers, City firms and Whitehall departments and legal-policy adjacent teams in central London.

The LSLPE careers service links Advanced Diploma students with placements at international-law chambers, City firms and multilateral bodies. The service runs at least one careers day each academic year specifically for Advanced Diploma students on the Advanced Diploma in International Law, connecting them with employers across the Royal Courts of Justice, the Inns of Court, chambers, City firms and Whitehall departments and the wider LSLPE alumni network.

Entry Requirements

• A relevant Diploma (Level 4), Foundation Year, or at least two years of relevant professional experience in international law or international affairs.
• GCSE English at grade 4/C and Mathematics at grade 4/C or equivalent.
• IELTS 6.0 overall (no band below 5.5) for non-native English speakers.
• One academic or professional reference.
• Applicants with international case-work, moot or NGO portfolios are encouraged to include them.

Why Study at LSLPE

The London School of Law, Politics and Economics teaches international law within a short tube ride of the Inns of Court, international-arbitration chambers, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Chatham House and the London arbitration hub. Advanced Diploma students engage directly with the practitioners arguing the same international cases their syllabus interprets.

Every intake, on-campus or remote, joins the same weekly seminar structure with named programme-tutor support, and curriculum alignment is refreshed annually against Bar Standards Board, IBA and CIArb guidance.

Study skills teaching is embedded across the Advanced Diploma in International Law, covering scholarly referencing, timed writing under committee-style time pressure and the reading of published UK legal materials. International applicants receive additional English-language coaching from the LSLPE admissions team, and mature applicants without recent formal study join a bridge-week before term begins to consolidate written English and note-taking habits. Tutors provide named written feedback on every submission, and every graded piece is reviewed by a second tutor for consistency across cohorts and study modes. Students shadow LSLPE tutors on structured observation sessions at the Supreme Court, the Administrative Court and the Central Criminal Court where relevant, and are encouraged to follow live UK debate through the UK legal-affairs press and the UK Human Rights Blog community.

Apply for Advanced Diploma in International Law

Applications for the Advanced Diploma in International Law are reviewed on a rolling basis and admissions responds within one working day. Enrol on a UK Level 5 Advanced Diploma at LSLPE, credit transfer into Bachelor top-ups confirmed in writing at enrolment. International applicants receive dedicated visa and accommodation guidance from the LSLPE admissions team throughout the enrolment cycle, and progression maps into an LSLPE Bachelor’s top-up are set out in writing at offer stage. Enrol Now.