The Master of Laws (LL.M.) Program of the University of the Philippines aims to prepare local and international legal practitioners, law professors, and government lawyers and judges for an increasingly cross-border, internationalized legal practice. The Program will familiarize its students with the intricacies of the evolving body of ASEAN regional law and international law, bridging it with Southeast Asian national legal traditions undergoing ASEAN Charter-based integration.

The Program offers core courses that provide students with a solid foundation in ASEAN law and international law. Through the master’s thesis, students have the opportunity to undertake innovative legal research and develop law reform proposals. (Download description of core courses and thesis) Students may choose between the two specialization tracks below.

1. Cross Border and Regional Practice

This specialization track is designed to enhance legal practitioners’ practical skills and strategies for cross-border and regional practice, particularly in Southeast Asia, as well as to introduce non-Southeast Asia foreign lawyers to cross-border and regional practice laws in ASEAN.

LL.M. candidates approved for this specialization track should expect problem-based and law firm-oriented practice simulations of cross-border and regional legal problems. The track will focus on problems arising from increased cross-border business transactions under the single market and production base fostered by the integration model of the ASEAN Economic Community. (Download Course List)

Students who complete the requirements of the LL.M. Program and this area of specialization will be conferred the degree “Master of Laws (Cross Border and Regional Practice).”

2. Government, Public Advocacy and Judging

This specialization track is designed for Southeast Asian government lawyers, public law advocates, legislators, and judges, seeking to deepen and broaden knowledge in crucial areas of the law and methodologies necessary for effective governmental and public policy advising, administrative regulation, law reform, national adjudication, and international arbitration. It will likewise introduce non-Southeast Asian governmental advocates, counsels, and judges to the national and regional laws and public policies driving the increasing integration and external cooperation of the ASEAN pillar communities, especially under the ASEAN Political-Security Community.

LL.M. candidates approved for this specialization track should expect problem-based government-oriented simulations of cross-sectoral, multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional, and cross-border legal situations; the incorporation of public policy, law and economics, welfare and public choice theories in legal analysis; and the adaptation of modern empirical and scientific tools for managing dispute settlement through court adjudication and international arbitration, as well as for tools for effective intergovernmental negotiations. (Download Course List)

Students who complete the requirements of the LL.M. program and this area of specialization will be conferred the degree “Master of Laws (Government, Public Advocacy, and Judging).”