Main Content

Programme Structure

The master's degree "International Criminal Justice: Law, History, Politics" consists of the following compulsory and elective modules:

Introduction to Legal Science

In this module, students gain basic knowledge of legal research methods and working techniques based on concrete application examples from (international) criminal law and/or international law.

After successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

  • recognize and explain the structure of norms, legal systems, and regulation techniques.
  • understand the content of norms with the help of legal interpretation techniques.
  • apply legal methods such as the expert opinion style with confidence and use them to solve unfamiliar case constellations.
  • research specific questions in legal libraries, collections of judgments, and databases, to compile the results in a structured manner, formulate them comprehensibly, and communicate them convincingly.
  • critically analyze the structure, mode of action, and scope of norms.
  • transfer the acquired organizational and methodological skills to different fields of application.
  • apply the learned methods and working techniques independently and across disciplines.

Introduction to Historical Research

In this module, students gain basic knowledge of the methods and working techniques necessary for historical research. The students will familiarize themselves with the basics of historical science. Hence, they will deal with the organization and execution of historical research as well as the handling of historical sources.

Upon successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

  • evaluate, interpret, and critically analyze historical primary sources and historical literature.
  • select or combine historical methods according to the specific question.
  • translate problems into a task that allows the derivation of questions as well as their processing.
  • transfer the acquired organizational and methodological skills to different fields of application.
  • apply the learned methods and working techniques independently and across disciplines.

Peace and Conflict Studies

In this module, students gain basic knowledge of the methods and working techniques necessary for social science research. The focus is on acquiring knowledge in the field of peace and conflict studies.

Upon successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

  • access, interpret, and critically analyze social science sources, literature, and empirical findings.
  • select and combine social science methods according to the specific question.
  • translate problems into a task that allows the derivation of questions as well as their processing.
  • transfer the acquired organizational and methodological skills to different fields of application.
  • apply the learned methods and working techniques independently and across disciplines.

Principles of International Criminal Law

In this module, students acquire the basic principles of international criminal law. In addition to background knowledge of its origins and development, students acquire knowledge of the general and advanced parts of international criminal law.

Upon successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

  • understand the legal foundations of international criminal justice and reflect critically on them.
  • discuss the factual and contextual prerequisites of responsibility under international criminal law, taking into account the relevant international case law.
  • work independently and in a problem-oriented manner on international criminal law cases and provide a reasoned solution.

Advanced Topics in International Criminal Law and Procedure

In this module, students deal with specific issues or concrete examples in the application of international criminal justice.

Upon successful completion of the module, they will be able to:

  • grasp and analyze more complex issues and problems from the areas of international criminal law and international criminal procedural law.
  • describe and assess the development and dynamics of norms and procedures in international criminal law.
  • critically reflect on the purposes, effects, and performance limits of international criminal justice.

History and Politics

In this module, students examine the political and historical conditions of the emergence and impact of international criminal justice based on concrete questions or examples of application.

Upon successful completion of the module, they will be able to:

  • comprehend and reflect on the historical, political, social, and cultural framework and dynamics of international criminal justice.
  • critically and comparatively assess the (power-political) role of the various actors in international criminal justice.
  • work independently or in groups in cross-disciplinary contexts.
  • conduct scientific research, compile the results thus obtained, formulate them in a comprehensible manner, and communicate them convincingly.
  • transfer the acquired organizational skills to different fields of application.

Genocide (Interdisciplinary Approaches)

In this module, students examine and analyze the crime of genocide as a legal, empirical, and social phenomenon.

Upon successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

  • explain the origin, development, and content of the concept of "genocide" (and alternative concepts).
  • recognize cases of genocide and ethnic cleansing, describe their course, and place them in a broader comparative framework.
  • develop an analytical understanding of the legal, historical, political, social, cultural, geographic, and economic frameworks and dynamics of the commission and/or prosecution of genocidal acts.
  • work independently or in groups on cross-disciplinary issues.
  • conduct scholarly research, compile the results thus obtained, formulate them in a comprehensible manner, and communicate them convincingly.
  • transfer the acquired organizational skills to different fields of application.

Crimes Against Humanity (Interdisciplinary Approaches)

In this module, students consider and analyze crimes against humanity as legal, empirical, and social phenomenon.

Upon successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

  • explain the origin, development, and content of the concept of "crimes against humanity" (and alternative concepts).
  • recognize cases of crimes against humanity, describe their course, and place them in a broader comparative framework.
  • develop an analytical understanding of the legal, historical, political, social, cultural, geographic, and economic frameworks and dynamics of the commission and/or prosecution of crimes against humanity.
  • work independently or in groups on cross-disciplinary issues.
  • conduct scholarly research, compile the results thus obtained, formulate them in a comprehensible manner, and communicate them convincingly.
  • transfer the acquired organizational skills to different fields of application.

War Crimes (Interdisciplinary Approaches)

In this module, students consider and analyze war crimes as legal, empirical, and social phenomenon.

Upon successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

  • explain the origin, development, and content of the concept of "war crimes" (and alternative concepts).
  • recognize cases of war crimes, describe their course, and place them in a broader comparative framework.
  • develop an analytical understanding of the legal, historical, political, social, cultural, geographic, and economic context and dynamics of the commission and/or prosecution of war crimes.
  • work independently or in groups on cross-disciplinary issues.
  • conduct scholarly research, compile the results thus obtained, formulate them in a comprehensible manner, and communicate them convincingly.
  • transfer the acquired organizational skills to various fields of application.

Aggression (Interdisciplinary Approaches)

In this module, students consider and analyze the crime of aggression and other (stateside) acts of aggression as legal, empirical, and social phenomenon.

Upon successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

  • explain the origin, development, and content of the concept of "aggression" (and alternative concepts).
  • recognize cases of interstate aggression, describe their course, and place them in a broader comparative framework.
  • develop an analytical understanding of the legal, historical, political, social, cultural, geographic, and economic contexts and dynamics of crimes and acts of aggression.
  • work independently or in groups on cross-disciplinary issues.
  • conduct scholarly research, compile the results thus obtained, formulate them in a comprehensible manner, and communicate them convincingly.
  • transfer the acquired organizational skills to various fields of application.

Transitional Justice

In this module, students examine the legal, social, and political challenges that societies face in transitional situations, such as the end of a civil war or the replacement of authoritarian models of rule with democratic forms of government. Students will deal with various judicial and extrajudicial mechanisms for addressing serious human rights violations and the interrelationships between these mechanisms.

Upon successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

  • situate the role of international criminal justice as part of a broader response to serious human rights violations or state mass violence.
  • assess the functional requirements, effects, and limitations of various transitional justice mechanisms, institutions, and strategies.
  • independently conduct scientific research in a multidisciplinary field, compile the results thus obtained, formulate them in a comprehensible manner, and communicate them convincingly.
  • transfer the acquired organizational and methodological skills to different fields of application.

International Humanitarian Law & Human Rights

This module provides an introduction to international law and an overview of specific topics in international humanitarian law and human rights. Students will study the legal and theoretical foundations and institutions of (international) humanitarian law, its history of origins, and its relationship to (international) politics.

Upon successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

  • understand and critically reflect on the foundations of the international legal order and in particular international humanitarian law and human rights.
  • distinguish between different branches of international law and understand their significance for different legal subjects.
  • analyze legal, social, political, cultural, and economic relations between states.
  • comment on and discuss legal, historical, or political questions of international law and its subfields relevant to international criminal justice in an independent and critically reflective manner.

Criminology

This module deals with the causes and effects of (macro-)delinquent behavior. Students acquire criminological theories and topics and consider (international) crime as an empirical phenomenon.

Upon successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

  • recapitulate basic terminology and theories of criminology and apply them to crimes under international law.
  • discuss the causes and conditions of the emergence of (international) crime and identify factors potentially conducive to crime.
  • access and critically reflect on criminological knowledge and research.
  • conduct scientific research in a multidisciplinary field, compile the results, formulate them comprehensibly, and communicate them convincingly.

Current and Critical Issues

In this module, students take a closer look at selected problems and challenges in international criminal justice. Through an in-depth examination of current and critical issues, students expand their knowledge of international criminal law and develop an individual academic profile.

Upon successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

  • follow current legal, historical, or political debates as well as identify and discuss contemporary challenges in international criminal justice.
  • assess the options for action developed in academia and practice.
  • use their (inter-)disciplinary knowledge to independently develop future and application perspectives of international criminal justice.
  • work independently or in groups on cross-disciplinary issues.
  • transfer the acquired organizational and methodological skills to different fields of application.InternshipInternship

Internship

Students gain insight into practical fields of activity in international criminal justice. They acquire knowledge about the tasks and function of the institution they are visiting as well as about the design of the respective work processes. In doing so, they develop perspectives for their further studies and their later professional activities. At the same time, they deepen their specialist knowledge and develop additional and key qualifications required by the employment market.

After successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

  • reflect on their practical experience and relate it to the content of their studies.
  • develop perspectives for their further studies and their later professional activities.
  • identify possibilities for the demand- and goal-oriented use of their knowledge and skills.

Master's Thesis and Disputation

The students work independently on a self-developed scientific question from the research area of international criminal justice and defend their research performance against critical objections. In doing so, they demonstrate methodological competence, rhetorical and argumentative skills as well as the ability to conduct independent scientific work.

Optional Courses

Students can also opt for elective courses up to 18 ECTS points from other Master's Programmes of the Philipps-University Marburg, as well as for the courses offered by the Centre for Gender Studies.