Doctoral programme "Private International Law"

Brief Description

The doctoral programme in Private International Law aims to train academic researchers and legal professionals under the guidance of highly qualified academic staff.

The programme enables law graduates to continue their education towards the educational and scientific degree of Doctor in this field. The degree is awarded following the successful defence of a doctoral dissertation on the selected research topic.

The expected learning outcomes include the acquisition of new theoretical knowledge of the general and special parts of private international law, the development of skills for independent research in the field, and the ability to formulate and substantiate a central research thesis.

The programme also develops the ability to construct legal arguments through critical analysis of the applicable domestic, international and European Union legal frameworks. It aims to produce scientifically grounded proposals for addressing shortcomings in legislation and problems arising in its application.

Doctoral candidates learn to use historical, analytical and comparative-law methods, as well as scholarly literature and national and international case law, including the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, to substantiate their arguments and conclusions.

Professional Competences Acquired upon Completion

Graduates of the programme develop the following competences:

• Mastery of the methodology of legal research.
• Ability to apply a scientific approach to a specific research problem in private international law. This includes formulating the research problem, examining existing domestic and foreign sources of legal scholarship, working with the collected research material, developing theoretical arguments through critical analysis, defending research conclusions, formulating new hypotheses and proposing solutions with practical and societal relevance.
• Ability to implement research projects and participate in academic life, including through conferences, seminars, summer schools, placements and specialisation programmes conducted in partnership with international universities, as well as mobility opportunities under various programmes.
• Acquisition of in-depth professional knowledge in international law, enabling the development of new ideas within the field. Candidates have access to comprehensive library and information services and to the collections and resources of the Institute for the State and the Law and the Central Library of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
• Academic writing skills and the ability to publish scholarly articles and other academic work. Opportunities for publication include the journal Pravna Misal (Legal Thought), the collection Scientific Works of the Institute for the State and the Law, proceedings of doctoral conferences and other academic publications.
• Development of teaching skills and knowledge of contemporary teaching methods and tools.
• Ability to prepare legal opinions for public authorities and private-law entities.
• Advanced computer and foreign-language proficiency.

Potential Career Opportunities

Graduates may pursue careers as:

• Researchers capable of conducting independent academic research.
• University lecturers.
• Judges, prosecutors and lawyers.
• In-house legal counsel in central and regional state authorities, local self-government and local administration bodies, commercial companies, cooperatives, non-governmental organisations, non-profit legal entities and other organisations.
• Arbitrators.
• Experts in public administration and international organisations.
• Analysts in the non-governmental sector.
• Lawyers working for European Union institutions and bodies or various international organisations.
• Professionals in other fields requiring knowledge of private international law.