FAQ & Regulations

Regulations for the Certificate in Transnational Law

Unanimously amended by the Participative Council on October 2nd, 2013

 

Art. 1. General Principle.

The Faculty of Law of the University of Geneva offers the following programmes: the ‘Certificat de droit transnational (CDT)’ and the ‘Certificate in Transnational Law (CTL)’ (art. 1(2) and 14(2) of the Règlement d’Etudes of October 15th, 2004).

Art. 2. Objective.

The Certificate offers students the possibility to follow a series of courses addressing transnational legal issues, i.e. problems that transcend the perspective of a single jurisdiction; the approach is comparative, based on international uniform law, European law or international law (public or private).

Art. 3. Admission Criteria.

(1) The candidate must, in principle, still pursue a basic law degree in a Swiss or foreign faculty of law. Each application is examined individually.

(2) The candidate must have successfully completed two years of legal studies, which in Europe is equivalent to 120 ECTS credits.

(3) Good knowledge of French or English is necessary.

(4) By the decision of the Dean of the law faculty, requirements featured at (1) and (2) can be exceptionally waived.

Art. 4. Duration.

The Certificate can be obtained after one or two semesters.

Art. 5. Legal Nature.

The Certificate in Transnational Law is a certificate issued by the Faculty of Law.

Art. 6. Course Programme.

(1) The candidate has to take one required course (6 ECTS credits) and four optional courses (24 ECTS credits in total) of the CDT/CTL programme. The Participative Council, after consultation with the College of Professors, approves the curriculum.

(2) The Certificate is equivalent to 30 ECTS credits.

(3) Students who are not enrolled in a Bachelor or Master programme at the Faculty of Law of the University of Geneva can substitute two optional courses of the programme with a seminar included in the curriculum of the CDT/CTL, provided there is available space.

Art. 7. Validating Credits.

(1) The credits and grades obtained for a maximum of two courses followed in the CDT/CTL programme can be validated as Master courses for students pursuing a Master of Laws at the University of Geneva (maîtrise en droit), provided that these courses also feature in the curriculum of the Master degree; the decision is irrevocable.

(2) In the same terms, credits and grades obtained during the course of a Master of Laws at the University of Geneva (maîtrise en droit) or the Geneva Summer School in Transnational Law can be validated for the CDT/CTL programme.

Art. 8. Languages.

(1) The required course and the optional courses are offered in French or English. The Participative Council may grant exceptions with regard to further languages.

(2) The exam is taken in the same language as the course.

Art. 9. Examinations.

(1) The examination of the required course is written; the examination of optional courses is either oral or written, according to the curriculum of the Faculty of Law, subject to derogations granted by the Participative Council.

(2) The exams of the mandatory and the optional courses are part of one series of examinations and can be distributed among several exam sessions. The candidate has to present the entire series at the latest by the end of two semesters after having been admitted to the programme.

(3) The candidate must successfully complete the series of examinations after two attempts at the most. The second attempt arises after a student fails the first attempt, or when he retakes the exam of the required or an optional course, or when he replaces one optional course with another.

(4) If the candidate takes an exam for the second time, the new grade replaces the previous grade; no exceptions can be made.

(5) If the series of examinations is unsuccessful or if the attempt is cancelled, the student can keep any grade that is equal or superior to 4.

(6) The candidate must have successfully completed the whole series at the latest four semesters after having been admitted to the programme; otherwise, the candidate is eliminated from the programme.

Art. 10. Conditions for Obtaining the Certificate.

(1) The candidate has to obtain a minimum grade of 4 at the examination of the mandatory course.

(2) The series is successful if the candidate obtains an average grade of 4 in the complementary courses, with the additional requirement that he does not have more than one grade between 3 and 4.

(3) The candidate who successfully completes the CDT/CTL obtains 30 ECTS credits as a whole.

Art. 11. Obtaining the CDT or CTL.

(1) The CDT is issued to students who take a minimum of 18 ECTS credits of courses and examinations offered in French.

(2) The CTL is issued to students who take a minimum of 18 ECTS credits of courses and examinations offered in English.

(3) Art. 9 is reserved.

Art. 12. Elimination from the programme.

(1) Is eliminated from the programme:

(a) the candidate who has failed to satisfy the conditions of Art. 9 of the Regulations for the Certificate in Transnational Law after two attempts.

(b) the candidate who has not presented a complete series within two semesters.

(c) the candidate who has not obtained the certificate within four semesters.

(2) Derogations can be made by the Dean for a just cause (such as sickness, maternity, military service, important professional activities and serious family issues).

Art. 13. Collaboration with other Faculties and Institutes.

The list of optional courses can include courses offered at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and at the Global Studies Institute.

Art. 14. Administration.

The administrative aspects of the programme are managed by a specific office that collaborates with the student services and the student advisors of the faculty. The candidates must be enrolled at the University of Geneva and register for the CDT/CTL programme.

Art. 15. Règlement d’études.

In addition, the rules of the Règlement d’études as of October 15th, 2004 are applicable.

Art. 16. Entry into Force.

This version of the Regulations for the Certificate in Transnational Law comes into force at the beginning of the academic year 2014-15 and applies to all students enrolled in the programme as of that date.

 

* This is an English translation of the official version of the Règlement du Certificat de Droit Transnational. If in doubt, it is the original version in French that should be considered binding.