Riga Graduate School of Law (RGSL) · Rīgas Juridiskā augstskola

The Law School

Situated in the beautiful Art Nouveau district of Riga, the Riga Graduate School of Law is a premier law school in the Baltic region and an autonomous unit within the University of Latvia. Founded in 1998 through an international agreement between Sweden, Latvia, and the Soros Foundation, RGSL offers high quality Master’s Degree Programmes: in European and International Law, in Law and Finance, and in Legal Linguistics, all taught exclusively in English. Students from throughout the world are welcome to apply.

Drawing on a pan-European teaching community, the programme is taught on site by a Faculty of resident and visiting professors. The School’s main characteristics include its low student-to-tutor ratio, high teaching standards, and a modern, attractive environment. Boasting excellent IT facilities and the best legal library in the Baltics, its students have access to a prime selection of academic journals, legal monographs in European and international law alongside state of the art legal data bases.

RGSL frequently holds international conferences on current issues of European integration and law. Its Continuing Legal Education division is active in delivering lectures and seminars serving the public and private sectors through the medium of standard and tailor-made courses. With its two new programmes, Law and Finance and Legal Linguistics, RGSL is addressing the increasing need for law to be taught in an interdisciplinary context. This year, it will be expanding its programme to include environmental and telecommunication law.

The Program

LL.M in International & European Law
The LL.M programme in International and European Law integrates course tracks in Public International Law, International Commercial Law, and European Union Law, preparing students for careers in practice or administration at national or European level. The teaching methodology is interactive and based on a mix of lectures and seminars. In keeping with the Bologna model, we offer a 1 year programme for students who have completed equivalent of a four year undergraduate degree. Other students are offered a 2 year programme. Each course track comprises a period of theoretical study and class work, followed by a Master’s thesis. The interaction of law with other disciplines is emphasised within each course track.

Please visit the RGSL website for up to date information.

M.A. in Legal Linguistics
The MA degree programme in Legal Linguistics covers a select range of legal and linguistic skills, designed to maximise benefits for its graduates: it is directed at those wishing to work as professional legal linguists. Course content is devised to equip participants with the skills and techniques required for a career as legal translators, drafters, editors and as administrators operating with rules that require a clear knowledge of legal rules in various languages.

The mandatory and elective units are designed with a view to maximising each student’s potential to achieve the standard necessary for professional work. The first semester focuses on core subjects, all taught in English. Course work includes preparing, drafting, and managing legislative projects; legal drafting, translating, editing and revising, proof-reading, and other related skills. In broader terms, the programme reflects a commitment to the application of learning, in placements and applied and professional knowledge.

Programme duration is 1 year. Although its primary focus is on the Latvian market, it is equally directed at those currently involved or interested in working in an EU-related market where law and language inter-relate.

Please visit the RGSL website for up to date information.

LL.M in Law & Finance
The RGSL introduces a new one year LL.M programme, again taught in English, leading to a post-graduate degree in Law and Finance. There is an option to specialise in Global and Emerging Financial Markets or Financial Institutions.

The rapid growth in legal development and the financial sector has seen an explosion in financial and legal transactions across all private and public sectors. As these transactions increase, we see the merging of legal and financial professionals to undertake their facilitation. With ever-increasing sophistication in both legal and financial content, a situation arises where frequently lawyers and financial specialists face a challenge in understanding each other.

The LLM in Law & Finance aims to address this challenge by arming legal specialists and finance specialists with specific knowledge relevant in both areas to encourage facilitation of common denominators that in turn accompany the transactions themselves. The aim of the LL.M in Law and Finance is to train professionals to undertake careers in the private and public sectors. In the global context, knowledge of finance and law are needed to fulfil the demanding requirements of the marketplace and to maximise career opportunities. A traditional gap has existed between lawyers, economists, accountants, and financial officers. The LL.M in Law and Finance closes that gap. Graduates may undertake careers in global markets, financial institutions, and government positions in the financial regulatory area.

Please visit the RGSL website for up to date information.

The Faculty

The RGSL Faculty is composed of a small international group of established academics, supported by lecturers and assistants. It includes leading practitioners from both the private and public sectors. Visiting professors from universities throughout the world attend and are involved in teaching within the standard curriculum. Each programme offers a regular series of guest lectures that are open to all students, and of interest, to externals. The school hosts United States Fulbright scholars and visiting professors under the International Higher Education Support Programme.

Entry Requirements

The RGSL accepts international students interested in its programmes who are eligible and qualified to undertake studies at master’s level. Entry requirements vary slightly between different programmes.
Students with English as a native language or who have completed their schooling or first degrees at an English speaking university are generally exempt from the English-language requirements.

LL.M in International & European Law
Students should generally have completed undergraduate studies in law at an accredited university; non-law graduates may, however, be admitted, provided their qualifications are considered equivalent. Students must have a good command of written and spoken English, as shown by one of the internationally recognised English language proficiency tests: the minimum score for TOEFL is 500 and for IELTS is 6.

M.A. in Legal Linguistics
Students should generally have completed undergraduate study in law or philology at an accredited university or college and must have good command of both Latvian and English languages (English for those who wish to study in Riga for core subjects only). Students must submit their results in an internationally recognised language test: the minimum score required for TOEFL is 550 and for IELTS is 6.5.

LL.M in Law & Finance
Students should have completed an undergraduate legal study programme at an accredited university or college within the areas of Law, Finance, Business or Economics. Students must demonstrate a good command of the English language through the submission of the results of an internationally recognised test: the minimum score for TOEFL is 500 and for IELTS is 6.

Application Procedure

The RGSL has a combined admissions policy of annual intake, alongside a rolling admission system that applies in particular to students from certain regions. Applications that do not fall under the rolling admissions scheme may be submitted as from January of each academic year and preferably by 1st May of the year for which admission is sought in the autumn. Students are notified of the Admission Committee’s decision within a matter of weeks from submission of a completed application. Full details and application form are available on the web site given below.

Tuition and Fees

LL.M in International and European Law for the academic year 2008/2009:
EU citizens: EUR 5000 per academic year.
Non-EU citizens: EUR 8000 per academic year.

MA in Legal Linguistics for the academic year 2008/2009:
EU citizens: EUR 5000 per academic year.
Non-EU citizens: EUR 8000 per academic year.

LL.M in Law & Finance for the academic year 2008/2009:
EUR 7100 per academic year.

Student Life

As the main capital city in the Baltic region, Riga offers an excellent opportunity to explore law, languages and culture in one of the new EU Member States ideally located for travel within Eastern Europe. Students at RGSL come from a variety of countries and cultures. RGSL student association representatives attend faculty meetings and participate actively in the life of the school. Students contribute to the development of the school’s excellence. They do so partly by evaluating the quality of each course taught. Classes at RGSL are generally small; students work closely in groups and form lasting personal and professional relationships. Life beyond the school is equally exciting. Riga is a beautiful city with a fortified Old Town. Its location makes travel to other parts of Europe highly convenient and inexpensive through the large number of low cost carriers serving the city.