Certificate Program in International and Comparative Law
As a student of comparative and international law, I understood how the laws of different nations diverge and intersect. Having gone through the certificate program, I can now analyze how and why this happens. My skills in international law give me a unique opportunity to specialize in something so broad that it affects the majority of the world’s population. With this certificate, I feel confident to practice law anywhere.
The complexity of transnational business and the growing significance of international organizations underscore the need for lawyers to be well versed in international and comparative law. Willamette’s Certificate Program in International and Comparative Law was designed to prepare students to meet the challenges of legal careers in an increasingly global profession.
The program offers a rich blend of coursework and practical training for law students interested in the intricate and exacting study of international and comparative law.
The Certificate Program in International and Comparative Law requires 16 hours of specialized study as part of the 90 hours required to earn the J.D. Participation in the certificate program is open to 16 students from each class. The program provides students with a rigorous and comprehensive foundation in the fundamentals of public international law and dispute resolution, international business transactions, comparative law, private international law, and transnational arbitration and litigation. In addition, students can study a wide range of international law specialty subjects, such as European Union law, ocean resources law, human rights law, conflict of laws, comparative constitutional law, immigration law, international taxation and international cultural heritage law.
First-year students interested in admission to the program should enroll in the introductory international law course offered in the spring semester. In addition to the introductory course, the program requires four other courses and a seminar.
Program Requirements
In order to receive a Certificate, a Certificate candidate must satisfy all four of the following requirements:
- Have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher to be eligible for admittance into the Program.
- Apply and be admitted to the Certificate Program, preferably during the summer after the first year, but before graduation.
- Complete a total of sixteen hours in the Certificate Program courses listed below, all of which must be taken on a graded basis, with a cumulative Program GPA of 2.8 or higher.
- Graduate with a cumulative College of Law GPS of 2.5 or higher.1
1L/2L/3L Introductory Required Course (3 hours)
- 117: International Law or
- 316: Dispute Resolution
2L/3L Other Required Courses (2-3 hours)
Take any three of these courses:
- 320: Comparative Law
- 318: International Business Transactions2
- 372: International Arbitration and Litigation Law
- 313: Private International Law
2L/3L International or Comparative Law Seminar Writing Requirement (2-3 hours)
- 359: Selected Problems in International Law or
- Other international or comparative law seminar requiring a research paper, or, with the Certificate director’s approval, a paper in another seminar on an international or comparative law topic
2L/3L Elective Course
- 210: Admiralty Law
- 378: Bucerius Law School (Germany program) courses, with approval of the Certificate director
- 526: Chinese Law and Legal Institutions (China Summer Program)
- 358: Comparative Constitutional Law
- 383: European Union Law
- 478B: Externship on International or Comparative Law Issues
- 373: Human Rights Law
- 470: Independent Research, with approval of the Certificate director
- 350: Immigration Law
- 372: International Arbitration and Litigation
- 318: International Business Transactions
- 658: International Finance3
- 415X or 416X: International Law Moot Court
- 420X: International Law Journal
- 656: International Management3
- 245: International Tax
- 365: Latin American Law and Legal Institutions (Ecuador program)
- 657: Managing Entry Into Foreign Markets3
- 313: Private International Law
- 359: Selected Problems in International Law
Certain courses are approved but only offered occasionally:
- 376: Comparative Dispute Resolution
- 247: Foreign Relations Law
- 363: International Environmental Law
- 518: Ocean Resources Law
Program Faculty
1: Students should have the practical ability to take and complete all courses required for the Certificate in International and Comparative law prior to graduation. If, for any reason, a Certificate candidate is unable to complete all courses prior to graduation, the student shall either opt to graduate on time without the Certificate or graduate on time and continue at the College of Law for such additional period as is necessary to complete the Certificate requirements.
2: This course is normally offered in alternate years. Thus it will only be offered once during your second and third year of law school and it is recommended that you enroll at the time offered.
3: Courses in the Atkinson Graduate School of Management (GSM) are subject to approval for admission to the course by the Atkinson School and to College of Law limits on Atkinson courses described in the Student Handbook.
