Human Rights & International Humanitarian Law

Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law deal with fairness and protection of fundamental rights as well as freedom of persons or groups by governments around the world, especially in the times of war. It obligates governments to serve the basic human rights of all individuals irrespective of their ethnicity or citizenship. One can learn all about Human Rights & International Humanitarian Law at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels in law schools. Read on to know in detail about Human Rights & International Humanitarian Law courses, eligibility, skillset, and job prospects.

Latest Updates:

• CLAT 2025 Applications for admission to 5-year Integrated LLB (UG) and 1-year LLM courses are now open. The last date to apply is Oct 15, 2024.
• CLAT 2025 Exam will be scheduled on Dec 1, 2024.

What are Human Rights & International Humanitarian Law?

Two distinct but complementary law specialisations, Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law are both concerned with protecting the life, health as well as the dignity of individuals. While International Humanitarian Law applies to a situation of armed conflict whereas International Human Rights Law applies at all times, that is, at the time of peace as well as in times of war.

Candidates can pursue undergraduate (UG) as well as postgraduate (PG) programs in the field of Human Rights & International Humanitarian Law. In UG-level courses in this law specialisation candidates need to pursue integrated law programs which offer Human Rights & International Humanitarian Law as a specialisation whereas in a PG-level law course aspirants can straight away specialise in Human Rights & International Humanitarian Law. Some popular PG level courses offered in the field of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law are LLM in Human Rights Law, LLM in Constitutional Law and Human Rights, LLM in Human Rights, etc.

Apart from degree programs, candidates can also pursue diploma and certificate courses in the field of Human Rights & International Humanitarian Law. Some of the popular courses are Diploma in Human Rights, Post Graduate Diploma in Human Rights, Diploma in Human Rights and Law, Certificate in Human Rights, Post Graduate Diploma in Human Rights and Values in Education, Post Graduate Certificate Course in Human Rights, Certificate in Human Rights Law and the likes.

Eligibility Criteria for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law

The eligibility criteria for a Human Rights & International Humanitarian Law course may vary from one college to the other. However, candidates are eligible to apply for an integrated course with Human Rights & International Humanitarian Law as a specialisation if they have completed their Higher Secondary School/ Intermediate (10+2) or equivalent education from a recognised board.    

To pursue an LLM course offered in the field of Human Rights & International Humanitarian Law candidates need to possess an LLB degree or equivalent education. 

Desired Skills for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law

Candidates who want to pursue Human Rights & International Humanitarian Law need to have empathy and be well-versed in written as well as oral communication. Some key skills that an aspirant should possess in order to be successful in the field of Human Rights & International Humanitarian Law are listed below:

Top Entrance Exam for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Courses

Some popular law entrance exams that aspirants should consider appearing for in order to secure admission in the best law colleges in the country are mentioned below:

• Common Law Admission Test (CLAT)
• Law School Admission Test – India (LSAT India)
• Maharashtra-Common Entrance Test in Law 
• All India Law Entrance Test (AILET)
• Delhi University LLB Entrance Exam (DU LLB Entrance Exam)
• Symbiosis Law Admission Test

Read More: Law Entrance exams in India.  

Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Course Curriculum for PG programs

The subjects/ topics taught as part of a Consumer Law course may vary from college to college. Candidates can view the syllabus of PG level courses offered in the field of Human Rights & International Humanitarian Law below:

Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Course: Diploma & Certificate Programs

Aspirants can go through the syllabus for Diploma as well as Certificate courses offered in Human Rights & International Humanitarian Law below:

Top Colleges for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law

Some of the top colleges for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law include the following: 

Job Opportunities for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law

Human Rights & International Humanitarian Law is an extremely important law specialisation. It is worth knowing that anyone pursuing Human Rights & International Humanitarian Law as a specialisation would have a plethora of opportunities before them and one of the reasons for this is that Human Rights & International Humanitarian Laws affect anyone and everyone.

After completing an integrated UG level course with Human Rights & International Humanitarian Law as a specialisation aspirants can consider pursuing a PG level course in the same field or even opt to join a job. One of the most popular job profiles that candidates can pursue after completing a course in Human Rights & International Humanitarian Law is to become a lawyer.

Apart from this, candidates can also pursue other law job profiles after completing their Human Rights & International Humanitarian Law from a reputed college/ university. 

Some of the job profiles include the following:

• NGO Worker
• Human Rights Activist
• Journalist
• Human Rights Lawyer

Top Recruiters for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law

Some of the top recruiters for Human Rights and International Law include the following:

• Amnesty International
• National Human Rights Commission
• State Human Rights Commission
• All India Human Rights Organisation
• Charitable Society of Human Rights
• United Nations HRC

Also Read: Career in Law