Master of Legislative Law in Human Rights Top Colleges, Scope and Salary

Master of Legislative Law in Human Rights or L.L.M in Human Rights is a 2-year postgraduate program which can be pursued in full-time, part-time and distance learning modes. The whole program is divided into four semesters of six months each, and students having a Bachelor’s degree in L.L.B/ B.L. or any other equivalent qualification from a recognized university can apply for the course.

Candidates are selected for admission based on their performance in the last qualifying exam and a relevant entrance exams like:

• CLAT PG
• ILI CAT
• DU LLM Entrance Exam
• BHU LLM Entrance exam
• GNLU

In India, some of the leading law universities and colleges offering the course, which charges an average tuition fee ranging between INR 50K and 2 Lac, varying across institutes are:

• NLU (National law University)
• BHU (Banaras Hindu University)
• DU (University of Delhi)
• GNLU (Gujarat National Law University)
• Jamia Millia Islamia University

The course is designed for aspirants interested in learning about the basic rights that every human being inherits and issues related to women and gender, labour, refugees, children and criminal justice.

Successful postgraduates of the course can find a job in various government and private organizations and in areas like Colleges & University, NGOs, Human Rights Agencies, Social Welfare Departments, etc. where they can earn a monthly salary ranging between INR 20K and 70K, at an initial level, depending upon candidate’s expertise and experience in the field.

L.L.M. in Human Rights: Course Highlights

Some of the major highlights of the course are listed below:

L.L.M. in Human Rights: What is it about?

Human Rights is a specialized branch of law that includes the study of various laws and rights that every individual possess. It provides a specialization in the wide range of legislations that are useful in handling the violations and deprivation of human rights in a legal way and contribute to the society by ensuring a fair and unbiased environment.  

The course equips candidates with an in-depth knowledge about various legislations and legal and conceptual framework of the international, regional, sub-regional and domestic human rights protection systems and deal with violations and victimization related to the issues concerning right to food, right to health, right to education, rights of women against violence and exploitation, rights of children against abuse and exploitation and their violation based on caste, religion and region.

The course focuses on preventing and ending human rights abuses in all regions of the world, and during the program candidates learn about monitoring human rights development, writing case studies and reports on human rights conditions, engaging in advocacy to publicize and reduce human rights violations, litigation, lobbying, and promoting human rights practices in social and political structures.

One of the major objectives of the program is to produce professional lawyers who are highly efficient and have the capability to successfully operate in and deal with new challenges in the society related to human rights violation and also pursue higher degree studies in the discipline. 

L.L.M. in Human Rights: Top Institutes

In India, there are a large number of law colleges and institutes that provide Master’s degree in Human Rights, but only a few of them are considered to be good for the pursuance of the course. Mentioned below are the names of some such colleges along with their corresponding location and fee charged by each, annually.

Eligibility for L.L.M. in Human Rights

All the candidates aspiring to pursue a Master’s degree in Human Rights are first required to fulfill all the below mentioned criteria, in order to be eligible to apply for the course.

• Bachelor’s degree in L.L.B. / B.L. or any other equivalent qualification.

• A minimum aggregate score of 50% is required at the level of graduation which should be completed from a recognized university.
• All SC/ST candidates are given a relaxation of 5% under the minimum aggregate section.

It is also advisable for students to have a work experience of minimum 24 months, as many reputed institutes prefer candidates with professional experience.

L.L.M. in Human Rights: Admission Process

Generally, most of the law colleges and institutes providing the course admit candidates based on their performance in the last qualifying examination (L.L.B.) and an entrance exam, conducted at either State/National level or at institutional level.

However, there are a few reputed institutes that conduct two more additional rounds of group discussion and personal interview, wherein their general aptitude and knowledge for the course is examined by highly qualified & experienced faculty members.

Based on the student’s performance in all these rounds, a merit list is then released by each institute announcing the names of all the selected candidates.

Also, students who have appeared or are appearing for a degree examination or those waiting for their final year examination’s result are also eligible to apply. But admission to such candidates will be given provisionally, until they satisfy all the mentioned criteria.

Some of the entrance examinations conducted in the country have been listed as follows:

• CLAT PG (Common Law Post Graduate Entrance Test)
• AILET PG (All India Law Entrance Test) 
• ILI CAT (Indian Law Institute Common Admission Test)
• IPU CET (Indraprastha University Common Entrance Test)
• SLS (Symbiosis Law School) Entrance Test
• Bangalore University LLM Entrance Exam
• Indian Law University Common Admission Test
• JMI LLM Entrance Exam
• BHU LLM Entrance Test
• DU LLM Entrance Exam
• Christ College of Law Entrance Exam

L.L.M. in Human Rights: Syllabus & Course Description

Classified below is the semester-wise breakup of the course’s curriculum:

L.L.M. in Human Rights: Who should opt?

Candidates interested in pursuing a career in Human Rights would ideally possess a genuine interest in learning about the legal and conceptual framework of human rights along with negotiation and conflict resolution skills. They should be quick in solving complex problems and should also have the ability to unravel legal complexities.

One must have good communication and interpersonal skills, as the line of work requires them to deal with a number of clients. Also, they should have an analytical and critical mind and a good knowledge to analyze every situation and take the best decision. Network building and management skills are also necessary in order to be a good match for the course.

Also, those who are interested in pursuing higher degree courses or a teaching career in the discipline can opt for the course, as it sets a good base.

L.L.M. in Human Rights: Career Prospects

Professionals in Human Rights are in great demand all over the world, due to the increasing human rights abuses and conflicts in the society. Today, such professionals are required at every level, domestic, sub-regional, regional and international to handle legal decisions and provide guidelines to ensure that activities are conducted within the human rights limits and no individual is deprived of his/her birth rights. Therefore, it is a strong and versatile career option which has all the traits to make it an excellent career option.

Candidates after completing the course successfully can either work for an organization or can provide service individually. They can find a job in various areas like MNCs, Government Organizations, The Judiciary, NGOs, Colleges & Universities, etc. where they can earn a monthly salary ranging between INR 15,000 and 50,000 depending upon the type of organization, which will gradually increase with increase in time, experience and expertise in the field.

Candidates interested in learning more about the discipline and going for further research can opt for higher degree courses like Ph. D. (Doctorate of Philosophy), M. Phil. (Master of Philosophy), etc. 

Some of the popular professional avenues open to such postgraduates are listed below along with the basic job responsibilities and salary associated to each one of them.  

Aspirants seeking admission to 2 year Full-time LLM Program who have obtained LL.B./ B.A LL.B (Professional) Degree as well as Law graduates of other Universities in India whose Law Degree is recognized as equivalent to the LL.B./BA.LL.B. Degree of Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla on the reciprocal basis. Provided he/she has consistent good academic record with first or high second class in LL.B. (Professional) Degree with at least 55% Marks in aggregate (50% in case of SC/ST candidates) or B Plus in the grade system marks or an equivalent degree of a foreign University.