Master in Litigation and Arbitration
Master degree
DURATION
3 semesters
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
TUITION FEES
EUR 5,900 *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* 10.000€: total tuition fee for non-EU candidates
Fast-track counseling
By contacting the school, you'll get access to free priority counselling for any study and application questions.
Key Summary
The Master in Litigation and Arbitration is the appropriate choice for lawyers who intend to pursue a career as dispute resolution counsel or as judges.
The course prepares future judges and lawyers for the national exams for the ‘Centro de Estudos Judiciários’, and the Portuguese Bar. Furthermore, master's students will broaden their legal knowledge in essential fields of both national and international law.
The Degree includes a strong component of Alternative Dispute Resolution methods, such as arbitration and mediation; essential skills for a modern dispute resolution practitioner. Relevance given to the training of Oral Advocacy and the English language (five courses are taught in English) is also a strong feature of this Master's. Finally, the limited number of places fosters proximity between professors and students, with a specific focus on the individual path of each student.
Students with a bachelor’s in law who intend to pursue a career as dispute resolution lawyers or judges or who intend to work as mediators or in arbitration, as in-house counsels of companies.
The Master in Litigation and Arbitration prepares students to be at the forefront of modern dispute resolution. Not only will Master’s students be able to deepen their knowledge in core areas of the traditional legal professions but also and equally relevant, they will be trained to deal with new knowledge, and new realities and to create new solutions for emerging legal issues. The students qualified for this Master's will have the skills to tackle the challenges the modern world presents to dispute resolution practitioners in secure but innovative ways.
Taught Component (+2024/2025 & 2025/2026)
The taught component consists of 60 ECTS, of which 30 ECTS are mandatory (1st semester/common core).
From 2024/25, students will need to approve the curricular component with, at least 13,50 points out of 20 (13,5/20) to be able to enrol in the research phase (2nd year of the course).
Completion of the curricular component (60 ECTS), with any positive grade, grants the award of a Diploma in Postgraduate Studies in Litigation and Arbitration.
1st Semester
Mandatory
- Introdução à Mediação*
- Prática Processual Civil
- Insolvência
- Introdução à Arbitragem
- Providências Cautelares
- Recursos Civis
In the 2nd semester (depending on the choice of specialization):
Advocacy/Law: 14 ECTS of mandatory courses; 8 ECTS of restrictive optional courses listed above; 8 ECTS of free option courses listed here or, alternatively, choose from any Master’s course taught at NOVA School of Law (subject to availability).
Magistracy: 22 ECTS of mandatory subjects in the Magistracy specialization; 4 ECTS of restrictive optional courses listed above; 4 ECTS of free option courses listed here or, as an alternative, choose from any master’s programme taught at NOVA School of Law (subject to availability).
2nd Semester
Advocacy/Law
- Moot Courts
- Oralidade na Advocacia
- Processo Civil Europeu
- Short-term Advocacy Internship
Optional
- Mediação – Técnicas e Processo*
- Direito Processual do Trabalho
- Direito Penal Económico
- Processo Penal Especial
- Direito das Contraordenações
- Direito Civil Avançado
- Direito da Família e da Criança
- Argumentação Jurídica
Free Option
- Metodologia de Investigação Jurídica
2nd Semester
Magistracy
Mandatory
- Processo Penal Especial
- Direito Civil Avançado
- Direito da Família e da Criança
- Direito Penal Avançado
- Simulação de Exames de Acesso ao CEJ
Optional
- Mediação – Técnicas e Processo*
- Direito Processual do Trabalho
- Direito Penal Económico
- Direito das Contraordenações
- Processo Civil Europeu
- Argumentação Jurídica
Free Option
- Metodologia de Investigação Jurídica
*The successful completion of both curricular units, fulfilling the minimum requirement of class attendance, represents certified training, giving access to the list of certified mediators of the Ministry of Justice.
3rd Semester – Research
Mandatory
- Dissertation, internship at national or international institution or project work.
Merit Awards
Merit Awards are awarded to:
- Candidates whose final average admission to a 2nd study cycle at NOVA School of Law, according to assessment and ranking by the appropriate jury, is equal to or higher than 17 points (on a scale of 0/20) and who enroll and attend the same course, benefit from an award in cash corresponding to 50% of the tuition fee for the taught component of the Master’s degree.
- Candidates whose final average admission to a 2nd study cycle at NOVA School of Law, according to assessment and ranking by the appropriate jury, is equal to or higher than 16 points (on a scale of 0/20) and who enroll and attend the same course, benefit from an award in cash corresponding to 30% of the tuition fee for the taught component of the Master’s degree.
In the non-taught phase, three prizes for academic merit are awarded (by master’s degree or area of specialization, in the case of the Master’s Degree in Law). These awards assume the completion of the taught component within the stipulated time.
- The best student of the taught component of each study cycle or specialization area of a study cycle who continues and attends the non-taught phase benefits from an award in cash corresponding to 100% of the tuition fee for the non-taught phase of the Master’s degree;
- The second-best student of the taught component of each study cycle or specialization area of a study cycle who continues and attends the non-taught phase, benefits from an award in cash corresponding to 60% of the tuition fee, corresponding to the non-taught phase of the Master’s degree;
- The third-best student of the taught component of each study cycle or specialization area of a study cycle who continues and attends the non-taught phase of the Master’s degree.