LLM in Sustainability Law and Natural Resources

The first class of program is planned to launch in August 2024. The present website and application procedures for the program are under construction.

Full details for application will be announced here by the end of 2023, and in the Finnish Opintopolku (Studyinfo) system in due time. If you are interested in applying, please come back later for details.

The LLM in Sustainability Law and Natural Resources is a specialized, 60 ECTS one year double law degree program that explores the legal challenges emerging from the sustainable use of natural resources.

The program is jointly organized by the University of Lapland and the Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.

Thematically, the program includes a broad range of sustainability related aspects:

• Corporate responsibility
• Human rights and indigenous rights
• Economic development
• Business law and natural resource
• Environmental law and litigation
• The Arctic
• Cross-cultural negotiation

The program enables legal professionals to develop skills that aid in solving the crucial legal challenges of present and future generations.

For French students, the program is a Master 2 (M2) study program.

Graduates of the program will be desired experts to, for example, following types of positions:

• Legal counsel, especially of environmental law
• Corporate social responsibility manager or specialist
• Social sustainability manager or specialist
• Legal advisers, officers, and consultants in international and non-governmental organizations
• Transactional lawyer

Joining the program allows you to spend your year in not one but two thriving academic communities.

The autumn period (August-November) takes place in the University of Lapland campus, Rovaniemi.

After successfully completing the program, students will be able to:

1. Appraise the overall legal framework of corporate responsibility both from public and private governance approach, and its current challenges.

2. Analyse the rights of indigenous groups in the context of the sustainable use of natural resources. 

3. Deploy a critical vocabulary to assess the connection between law, sustainability and economic development in contemporary global policymaking.

4. Understand how international human rights apply in a business context, especially when economic activities related to the use of natural resources.

5. Examine the main aspects of international and domestic business law governing the use of natural resources in their interactions with the protection of the environment and of indigenous peoples’ rights.

6. Assess the legal venues available to prevent, redress and sanction the behaviours of businesses harming the environment at the domestic or global scale.

7. Analyse the legal challenges of the sustainable use of natural resources from a distinctively Arctic perspective, and its impacts on corporate responsibility and indigenous rights.

The vast majority of the study units of the program are tailored solely for the students of the program. The program does not involve mass lectures or exam-only study units, unless the student chooses such as their elective study unit. Note: the exact titles and content of the study units may be subject to adjustments before each academic year.

The autumn period at University of Lapland consists of the following studies:

• Corporate responsibility 5 ECTS
• Human rights and indigenous rights  5 ECTS
• Law and economic development: The challenge of sustainability 5 ECTS
• Legal negotiation skills 5 ECTS
• Elective master level study unit or internship 5 ECTS

The spring at Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines consists of the following studies:

• International human rights and business 5 ECTS
• Business law and natural resources 5 ECTS
• Global Environmental Law and Litigation 5 ECTS
• Arctic studies 5 ECTS
• Master thesis 15 ECTS

• 60 ECTS
• 1 academic year
• Degree from both Universities (double degree)
• Up to 20 students admitted each year
• Tuition fee €8000/year, waivers applicable
• Two application periods
• Aimed at those with an existing legal or other suitable degree
• Enhances expertise in a specific topic
• Does not by itself grant Finnish master level competence
• Does not by itself allow graduates to practice law in Finland 

Prospective applicants are advised to note that the selection criteria and process as well as intake and other related matters are set forth in the Opintopolku (Studyinfo) system. The following is not an exhaustive nor binding list of the criteria or selection process.

The yearly intake of the program is 20 students. Both institutions are set to admit 10 students.

An eligible applicant must have

• a degree that allows them to practice law in their home country or otherwise demonstrates their capability to enrol
• basic knowledge in commercial law, corporate law, public international law, EU law, human rights, environmental law
• a good command of English language, which must be demonstrated in their documentation

The applications are rated on the basis of academic merit, work experience and proficiency in English language.

Due to the double degree system, there are two ways and periods to apply to the program: the Finnish system (ca. January-February) and the French system (ca. May-June). Students who are admitted into one institution (initial phase) must also apply for a study right in the other institution (auxiliary phase). All eligible and complete applications admitted in the initial phase, which meet the admission criteria, are also admitted in the auxiliary phase.