Autumn 2026 Online Short Courses in International Law by the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) [7 Courses, Live on Zoom, Fee GBP 400-825]

The British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) is an independent research institute based at Charles Clore House, Russell Square, London, and a registered charity. Its training arm runs a rolling series of short courses in public international law and adjacent fields. Seven of these short courses open in the Autumn 2026 cycle, all delivered online. Each is a stand-alone course with its own dates, session count, fee and booking form, so a participant may register for one course or for several.

Teaching is delivered by BIICL research fellows together with academics, private practitioners, in-house counsel, officials from government departments and international organisations, and, in the case of the Law of the Sea course, the sitting President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

• Short Course: Business and Human Rights - 8 sessions on 28 September, 5, 12, 19, 26 October and 2, 9, 16 November 2026, 13.00-15.00 UK time. Fee GBP 825. Covers the UN Guiding Principles, the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, national human rights and environmental due diligence laws, modern slavery and forced labour, case law, climate change litigation, and human rights due diligence in conflict-affected and high-risk areas. Equivalent to 16 CPD hours.
• Short Course: Law of the Sea - 10 sessions on 28 September, 5, 12, 19, 26 October and 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 November 2026, 10.00-12.00 UK time. Fee GBP 825. Covers ocean governance and security, protection of the marine environment under UNCLOS, deep seabed mining and marine genetic resources, fisheries law, maritime delimitation, energy at sea, IMO regulation of ship emissions, human rights at sea, and dispute settlement before ITLOS. Equivalent to 20 CPD hours.
• Short Course: International Cultural Heritage Law - 5 sessions on 30 September, 7, 14, 21, 28 October 2026, 13.00-15.00 UK time. Fee GBP 400. Introduces cultural heritage as an international legal concept and examines trafficking, armed conflict, development pressures, the protective treaty framework, and restitution.
• Short Course: Climate Change Litigation - 10 sessions on 30 September, 7, 14, 21, 28 October, 4, 11, 18, 25 November and 2 December 2026, 16.00-18.00 UK time. Fee GBP 825. Examines climate litigation against governments and against private actors, combining the scientific and legal frameworks through which climate cases are argued.

• Short Course: Artificial Intelligence Regulation - 8 sessions on 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 October and 5, 12, 19 November 2026, 13.00-15.00 UK time. Fee GBP 825. Covers conceptual foundations, comparative regulatory approaches including the EU AI Act, soft law and technical standards, the interaction with data protection, product safety and competition law, AI in public decision-making and the rule of law, AI through a business and human rights lens, innovation and economic regulation, and AI in security, conflict and environmental governance. Equivalent to 20 CPD hours.
• Short Course: Public International Law in Practice - 10 sessions on 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 October, 5, 12, 19, 26 November and 3 December 2026, 10.00-12.00 UK time. Fee GBP 825. An applied introduction focused on current developments in public international law and their use in national and international dispute resolution, policy-making, and legal and diplomatic practice.
• Short Course: Space Law - 5 sessions on 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 October 2026, 13.00-15.00 UK time. Fee GBP 400. Examines the legal framework governing activities in outer space, including the Outer Space Treaty and the other core instruments and institutions developed through the United Nations system, particularly the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

Every course in the Autumn 2026 cycle is delivered online. The virtual format consists of a series of live, synchronous sessions taught over Zoom, in which participants can interact with the tutors and with each other on screen. Sessions run weekly and last two hours, and all listed times are UK time, which participants outside the United Kingdom should convert to their own zone before booking.

BIICL notes that its events may be photographed or recorded for internal and external promotional purposes, and asks participants who object to appearing in recordings to contact the events team in advance. Registration is subject to the Institute's published cancellation policy, which a participant confirms having read at the point of booking.

The five-session courses (International Cultural Heritage Law and Space Law) are priced at GBP 400 per person. The eight and ten-session courses (Business and Human Rights, Law of the Sea, Climate Change Litigation, Artificial Intelligence Regulation, and Public International Law in Practice) are priced at GBP 825 per person.

A 20 per cent discount is available to individual and organisational members of BIICL, to groups of three or more attendees from NGOs or staff of government, and to groups of five or more attendees from commercial organisations. Group bookings are arranged by contacting BIICL directly rather than through the online form.

The courses are aimed at a wide range of professionals rather than at a single category of participant. BIICL lists in-house counsel, legal practitioners, NGO representatives, government representatives at national and sub-national level, academics, PhD students and other professionals across its Autumn 2026 course descriptions. The Law of the Sea course states that it benefits anyone with an interest in ocean governance, including students, and the Artificial Intelligence Regulation course names students and law academics alongside practitioners and representatives of government, civil society and business.

No prior qualification, jurisdiction or bar membership is stipulated. Because delivery is entirely online over Zoom and booking is open through BIICL's own registration forms, participants based outside the United Kingdom, including in India, can enrol on the same terms as UK-based participants.

A certificate of attendance is issued to participants who attend a minimum of 70 per cent of the live course session time. Certificates are sent to participants within one month of the last session of the course.

BIICL states the CPD equivalence for several courses: 16 CPD hours for Business and Human Rights, and 20 CPD hours each for Law of the Sea and Artificial Intelligence Regulation.

BIICL offers training scholarships intended to open its courses to individuals from communities currently under-represented in the legal field. Three categories are named: individuals from communities and backgrounds under-represented in the legal field in the UK and abroad; individuals who have recently received a needs-based bursary from their university or further-education college; and representatives from small charities, NGOs and community-based organisations.

Applications must reach BIICL at least six weeks before the course start date, which fixes the scholarship deadline at 17 August 2026 for the two courses starting 28 September, 19 August 2026 for the two starting 30 September, 20 August 2026 for the two starting 1 October, and 21 August 2026 for Space Law. Applications must be made through the online scholarship form; BIICL states that applications received by any other means will not be considered.

Each course carries its own booking form, reachable from the Secure Your Place button on that course's page and from BIICL's Upcoming Courses listing. A prospective participant who is not ready to book can instead use the Register Your Interest form on the same page, and BIICL will notify them when registration opens for a course that is not currently listed.

Booking for each course closes when that course begins, so the practical last date to book runs from 28 September 2026 for Business and Human Rights and Law of the Sea through to 2 October 2026 for Space Law. Queries on bookings go to the BIICL events registration team.