The web portal Study in Greece is campaigning for the promotion and international visibility of Greek Universities and the comparative educational advantages of our country. In particular, the campaign focuses on the foreign language study programs that Greek Universities offer to Greek and international students. The initiative is supported by the General Secretariat of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs and the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. In this context, a number of educational programs and actions are presented in detail on a regular basis, such as undergraduate and postgraduate programs, summer schools etc, to inform international students about the many foreign language options offered by Greek Universities.

Panayotis Glavinis is Dean of the Faculty of Law and Professor of International Economic Law at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He teaches International Trade Law, International Investment Law, International Business Transactions, Development Cooperation, and Energy Law at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Professor Glavinis has extensive experience in domestic and international arbitration, including proceedings under ICC, UNCITRAL, and ICSID rules. Since 2004, he has served as a member of the Commission on Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce, and he was the first General Secretary of the Mediation Center of the Thessaloniki Bar Association. He also serves as Director of the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) program.

Study in Greece interviewed Professor Panayotis Glavinis on the International LL.B. of the Faculty of Law of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, its features and what it has to offer to international students.

Please provide us with an overview of the new Bachelor of Laws’ structure and main research areas.

The International LL.B. of the Faculty of Law of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki is a full four-year, 240-ECTS Bachelor of Laws taught entirely in English. It has been designed as a rigorous European law degree with a genuinely global outlook: academically demanding, professionally relevant, and deeply attentive to the kind of legal world our students are preparing to enter.

What makes the programme distinctive is that it does not ask students to choose between legal tradition and legal innovation. It gives them both. The curriculum is firmly anchored in the civil law tradition and in the intellectual discipline of legal science, while opening the classroom to comparative law, common law reasoning, European Union law, international law, digital regulation and the realities of cross-border legal practice.

The structure is carefully sequenced across eight semesters. Students begin with the foundations that every serious lawyer needs: private law, public law, constitutional law, criminal law, legal methodology, contract, property, tort, administrative law, corporate law, tax law, civil procedure and criminal procedure. From there, they move into the wider architecture of modern legal practice: EU law, public and private international law, human rights, migration, refugee and asylum law, banking and finance, international economic law, international business transactions, international litigation and alternative dispute resolution.

A key strength of the programme is its future-facing dimension. Courses in Computer Law and GDPR, Digital Law, Intellectual Property, Energy Law, Environmental Law, Competition and Consumer Protection, and AI-related regulation ensure that students are not only trained in what law has been, but in what law is becoming. This is further supported by AI-enhanced learning tools, comparative legal analysis, negotiation training, moot court participation and ADR simulations, all of which help students develop the judgement, confidence and practical fluency expected of the next generation of lawyers.

In the final year, students personalise their academic pathway through elective courses drawn from three specialised clusters: Greek law and legal terminology, including Cypriot Law; Common Law, including Contract, Tort, Property, Equity and Trusts; and Maritime Studies, including International Law of the Sea, International Maritime Law, Shipping Law and Marine Insurance. This allows each student to shape a profile that reflects their ambitions, whether they are looking towards European or international legal practice, common law jurisdictions, the shipping and maritime sector, or professional qualification routes connected to Greece and Cyprus.

The programme is also embedded in a living research environment. The Faculty’s research activity gives students exposure to some of the most important questions facing law and society today: digital transformation and artificial intelligence, transparency and financial crime, medical law and bioethics, European legal culture, human rights, migration, international dispute resolution, private law, commercial law, maritime law and law and technology.

Research units such as the DTAIL Lab for Law, Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence, the Research Institute for Transparency, Corruption and Financial Crime, the Laboratory for the Research of Medical Law and Bioethics, and the Centre for European Legal Culture create an academic ecosystem in which students encounter law not as a static body of rules, but as a living discipline that responds to society, business, technology and human need.

At its heart, this LL.B. is about forming lawyers who can think across systems, speak the language of Europe and the world, use technology responsibly, argue with precision, and understand the human stakes behind every legal question. It is a programme for students who want more than a degree: they want a legal education with depth, direction and purpose.

How does the program align with the general extroversion strategy of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki?

The International LL.B. is a direct expression of Aristotle University’s strategic commitment to internationalisation. The programme is designed to attract a diverse international student body from across the world and to establish the Faculty of Law as a leading destination for English-taught legal education in Southeast Europe.

This vision is embedded within a broader institutional framework. The Faculty maintains academic partnerships with universities in more than 20 countries, including University of California, Berkeley, LMU Munich, University of Cologne, University of Belgrade, and Koç University. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki is also a member of the EPICUR European Universities Alliance and participates in one of the largest Erasmus+ networks in Greece, with approximately 600 partner institutions worldwide. The programme also complements the Faculty’s established LL.M. in European Business and Economic Law, creating a seamless pathway from undergraduate to postgraduate studies and further strengthening the University’s international academic profile. Together with the growing number of English-taught programmes across the University, the International LL.B. positions Aristotle University as a dynamic centre of globally oriented higher education in the wider region.

Artificial Intelligence and modern technologies have brought a considerable shift in many aspects of legal methodology and practice. How does the program tackle these emerging challenges?

The programme approaches the intersection of law and technology on two complementary levels: as a field of legal study and as an innovative mode of teaching.

At the curricular level, students engage directly with the legal challenges of the digital age through mandatory courses such as Computer Law and GDPR, Digital Law, Intellectual Property Law, and Energy Law. Topics include AI regulation, cybersecurity, platform governance, data protection, and the evolving European framework shaped by the Digital Services and Digital Markets Acts. These subjects are integrated into the core curriculum, ensuring that every graduate develops a strong understanding of how technology is reshaping legal systems, markets, and society.

At the pedagogical level, the programme is among the first in Europe to integrate an AI-driven teaching assistant designed for real-time comparative legal analysis. Working alongside traditional lectures, the platform enhances interactivity, supports cross-jurisdictional learning, and enables students to engage more dynamically with legal sources and comparative reasoning.

This commitment is further reinforced by the Faculty’s Dtail Lab which explores the relationship between law, technology, and society, with particular emphasis on artificial intelligence, data protection, cybersecurity, and algorithmic transparency. Through seminars, research activities, and coursework connected to the Lab’s work, students are exposed to some of the most important legal and regulatory developments shaping the future of the profession.

Does the program include legal training in both continental and common law?

Yes, and this is a deliberate feature of the programme’s design. The International LL.B. is firmly grounded in the continental civil law tradition, offering students a comprehensive education across the core fields of private and public law. At the same time, it recognises the growing importance of legal fluency across systems in an increasingly international profession.

For this reason, the programme includes a dedicated Common Law elective module in the final year, comprising four specialised courses: Contract Law, Restitution and Tort, Property Law, and Equity and the Law of Trusts. This allows students to develop a meaningful understanding of common law reasoning alongside their civil law training.

This dual orientation is particularly valuable for students from mixed jurisdictions such as Cyprus, where civil law and common law traditions coexist, as well as for those aspiring to careers in international law firms, cross-border transactions, arbitration, and global legal practice, where comparative legal understanding is a significant professional asset.

Beyond the elective module, the comparative perspective is embedded throughout the curriculum. Mandatory courses such as Comparative Law: Introduction to Major Legal Systems and European and Comparative Constitutional Law encourage students to think across jurisdictions from the very beginning of their studies and to approach legal problems with a genuinely international and comparative mindset.et.

In terms of international degree recognition, what are the options for graduates regarding legal practice and employability?

The LL.B. is a national degree awarded by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, a public university of the Hellenic Republic. As such, it requires no separate recognition procedure by DOATAP or any other body in Greece and carries the same institutional standing as any degree awarded by a Greek public university.

For Cyprus, the competent authority for academic recognition is KYSATS. Greece and Cyprus maintain a bilateral agreement for the mutual recognition of academic qualifications, and KYSATS gives explicit priority to degrees from EU institutions, particularly from Greece. The Greek-taught law degree of the Faculty is already recognised in Cyprus, and the International LL.B. carries the same institutional standing. The programme’s Common Law and Cypriot Law modules are specifically designed to support graduates aiming for professional qualification in Cyprus.

More broadly, graduates who have completed the relevant coursework and meet the requirements of their chosen jurisdiction may access the further procedures leading to professional qualification in civil law and common law jurisdictions alike. Access to professional practice in any jurisdiction is subject to the specific requirements of the relevant Bar Association.

In terms of employability, the programme opens pathways to EU institutions, international organisations (EU, Council of Europe, OSCE, UN and specialised agencies, ICC, World Bank), international law firms, multinational corporations, the maritime industry, and NGOs working in human rights. Meeting the Bologna benchmark for integrated legal studies, graduates can also progress directly into the Faculty’s LL.M. in European Business and Economic Law, creating a combined five-year pathway of 315 ECTS.

If you could send a message to prospective students interested in studying law, what would you say to make them consider your program?

This is a law degree for students who refuse to compromise between academic excellence and a meaningful student experience. You study at one of Europe’s oldest and most distinguished law faculties, guided by more than 70 tenured professors who bring together Greek, European, and international legal perspectives. The programme offers the full intellectual depth of legal education, from constitutional and criminal law to maritime law, digital law, and international arbitration, while also becoming one of the first in Europe to integrate AI-driven learning into legal education.

But what truly shapes the experience is the environment in which you live and study. Thessaloniki is a city that combines energy with quality of life: vibrant, affordable, international, and deeply human. Within minutes, students move from lecture halls to the waterfront, from libraries to cafés, and from academic life to a city rich in culture, history, and creativity. It is a place where students can focus, belong, and grow.

And when you graduate, you leave with more than a degree. You hold a nationally recognised EU law qualification from a Faculty whose alumni have gone on to become Presidents of the Republic, Prime Ministers, senior judges, and leading practitioners. You join a Faculty with a strong international presence and a distinguished record in global moot court competitions, with award-winning performances in The Hague, Strasbourg, Luxembourg, and Washington.

This is more than an LL.B. It is the foundation for a legal career that is international in outlook, ambitious in scope, and without borders.

Applications are now open! For more, follow the link:

https://apply.studyingreece.edu.gr/en/programmes/bsc/1731/details/bachelor-of-laws-llb

TAGS: EDUCATION | STUDY IN GREECE | UNIVERSITIES