The International Law Option requirements are as follows:

1. Students must complete a minimum of 18 units in international law, including:
   • a compulsory course (3 units) in public international law: English Common Law students must take either CML3131 Public International Law or CML1109 First Year Thematic: Public International Law, French Common Law students must take CML3531 Droit international public; and
   • an additional 15 units drawn from a list of approved Option courses. 
2. Students must complete a major paper in the area of concentration either in an approved Option course or in a Directed Research course approved in advance by the Option Coordinator.  If completed as part of an approved International Law Option course, the paper must be worth at least 50% of the final grade for the course.  A major paper completed through a Directed Research course must be on a topic approved by the Option Coordinator, and be assigned the code CML 3251 or (4 units) or CML3351 Legal Research and Writing (3 units). 
3. Students must receive a minimum overall grade point average of 6.0 in the Option. 
4. Option courses may be completed in either English or French. However, students registered in the French Common Law Program must complete the compulsory course and the major paper in French in conformity with the Common Law Section’s regulations.  The Common Law Section regulation requiring students registered in the French Common Law Program to successfully complete 75% of their units in second and third year in French is not modified in any way by a student’s choice to register in an Option. 
5. Students may fulfill the oral advocacy requirement of the JD by participating in one of the Faculty of Law’s international law moot court competitions.  The following is a list of international law moot competitions:
   • CML3120WP ICC Mediation Competition – International Mediation Advocacy Competition
   • CML3120FA FDI – Foreign Direct Investment Moot
   • CML3128 Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot
   • CML3139W WTO/ELSA WTO Law Moot
   • CML3142 Oxford Intellectual Property Law Moot
   • CML3514 Concours Charles-Rousseau (Droit international public)
   • CML3518 Concours Jean-Pictet
   • CML3922 Tribunal-école international Philip C. Jessup/Philip C. Jessup International Moot (Public International law) 

Compulsory courses (3 credits)

*Students must complete one of the three listed compulsory courses.

• CML 3131 Public International Law OR
• CML1109 First Year Thematic Course: Public International Law OR
• CML 3531 Droit international public

Fifteen (15) units from the courses listed below. Additional courses in international law may be approved by the Option Coordinator.

Courses offered in the English Common Law Program

• CML2301        Aboriginal Peoples and the Law
• CML3101        Private International Law
• CML3119        Centre for Trade Policy & Law CTPL – Strategic Trade Policy in Context: Canada-CARICOM
• CML3120        ICC Mediation Competition – International Mediation Advocacy Competition
• CML3120        FDI – Foreign Direct Investment Moot
• CML3128        Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration
• CML3130        International Criminal Law
• CML3139        WTO/ELSA WTO Law Moot
• CML3142        Oxford Intellectual Property Law Moot
• CML3143        International Investment Law
• CML3161        International Environmental Law
• CML3163        International Law of the Sea
• CML3173        Law Related Internship: War Crimes Research Office
• CML3173        Law Related Internship: Organization for Refugees, Asylum & Migration
• CML3176        FA, Trade & Development Canada
• CML3176        FA, Trade & Development Canada
• CML3176        FA, Trade & Development Canada
• CML3355        Armed Conflict in International Law
• CML3356        National Security Law
• CML3385        International Trade & Investment Law Practicum
• CML3399        Human Rights: International Protection
• CML3922        Jessup Inter. Moot/TRI.EC.INTE.JESSUP
• CML4105        International Trade Law
• CML4108        Studies in International Law: Advanced International Economic Law 
• CML4108        Studies in International Law: International Human Rights and Indigenous People
• CML4108        Studies in International Law: Mass Atrocity Law
• CML4108        Studies in International Law: Investigating and Prosecuting Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Armed Conflict
• CML4108        Studies in International Law: Seminar on Documenting UN Practice
• CML4108        Studies in International Law: International Criminal Court
• CML4128        International Contracts
• CML4132        International Humanitarian Law: Contemporary Challenges
• CML4150        Globalization and Law
• CML4162        Advanced Aboriginal Law
• CML4303        International Commercial Arbitration

Courses offered in the French Common Law Program

• CML2701        Les autochtones et le droit
• CML3501        Droit international privé
• CML3514        Concours Charles-Rousseau (Droit international public)
• CML3518        Concours Jean-Pictet
• CML3573        Stage en Droit : Stage avec <l’Organization for Réfugiés, Asylum & Migration>
• CML3576        Stage Droit Aff. Etrang. Comm.
• CML3576        Stage Droit Aff. Etrang. Comm.
• CML3576        Stage Droit Aff. Etrang. Comm.
• CML3797        Droit de l’immigration et des réfugiés
• CML4508        Etudes en droit international : droit international africain
• CML4508        Etudes en droit international : droit des organisations internationales
• CML4508        Etudes en droit international : droit international appliqué
• CML4508        Atelier sur la documentation de la pratique des Nations Unies
• CML4520        Droit pénal international
• CML4521        Droit international de l’environnement
• CML4914        Droit international de la P.I. International Intellectual Property

Once you have completed your first year of studies, you may take the courses required to satisfy the Option Requirements, including the major paper in an approved International Law Option course.  It is wise to consult early with the Option Coordinator, if you have any questions about the requirements for the Option.  

What should you do if you wish to enrol for a course, a Directed Research course, a self-directed internship or a course on an exchange program that is not listed?  You must provide the Option Co-ordinator with relevant information about the course before you enroll for it.  The Coordinator will review that information and decide if the course meets the criteria for the Option.

There are no reserved spaces or priority in approved Option courses or internships for students wishing to obtain recognition for the Option. A student may complete more than one Option.  The credits for a course which is an approved course for more than one Option will be counted only once and cannot be cumulated from one Option to the other.  A student registered in more than one Option must complete the major paper for each Option chosen.

If you successfully complete the Option requirements, a notation will be placed on your transcript.

Registering for the Option in International Law once you have completed the requirements

1. JD students who wish to receive formal recognition of an Option in International Law must complete 18 units in the field of international law. (See requirements)
2. Once the required units have been achieved, students should obtain the registration form.
3. Students must complete the form to identify which qualifying courses they have completed and to identify their Major Paper.
4. The form must then be signed by the Option in International law Coordinator and returned to the Common Law Student Centre for processing.