College of Law

The College of Law is the only one of its kind in the UK, dedicated to legal systems and legal challenges of the developing world, with complementary strengths in human rights, international law and institutions, environmental law, and international trade and commerce.

We have unrivalled expertise and produce world-leading research in comparative law (China, Africa, South and Southeast Asia, the Middle East), complemented by specialists in international and transnational law, human rights, transnational commercial law, environmental law and socio-legal method.

Based in central London, the College is ranked in the top 20 in the UK for Law (QS World University Rankings 2026), and its research publications were rated 1st in the UK in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021.

What is Law at SOAS?

Law is the study of legal systems and institutions, exploring how societies create, interpret and apply laws to regulate behaviour, protect rights and shape society.

At SOAS College of Law, students study law from a global perspective, focused on Africa, Asia and the Middle East. You’ll explore how legal systems and traditions are shaped by history, colonialism, religion and social change, and how law operates across different political and economic contexts, engaging with perspectives and questions often overlooked in conventional legal education.

Study law beyond the Western legal tradition

All programmes draw on SOAS's distinctive expertise in the legal systems of Africa, Asia, the Middle East and other developing and emerging economies.

Learn in central London

Study close to the Inns of Court, international law firms, chambers and human rights organisations, with opportunities for mooting, pro bono clinics, internships and career events.

One of the UK's most international universities

SOAS was ranked joint 1st in the UK for International Faculty (QS World University Rankings 2027), with students and academics from across the world.

Strong research impact

SOAS Law research publications were rated 1st in the UK in the Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), with the College of Law ranked 6th overall nationally. The College also publishes leading research journals like the Journal of African Law and the Yearbook of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law.

Exceptional academic resources

Students have access to more than 3.3 million books, journals, archives and specialist resources through the SOAS Library, as well as a free membership to Senate House Library, and access to the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies.

Teaching at the College of Law is informed by research in comparative, international and transnational law. Key areas of expertise include:

• Comparative law: legal systems across China, Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.
• Human rights law: international and domestic human rights frameworks, advocacy and litigation, with links to the Centre for Human Rights Law.
• Environmental law: climate, natural resources and sustainable development, drawing on the expertise of the Law, Environment and Development Centre.
• Transnational commercial law and arbitration: international trade, finance and dispute resolution, with opportunities to engage with the SOAS Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Centre.
• Islamic and Middle Eastern law: Islamic legal traditions and contemporary legal systems, with expertise from the Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law.

Students can also gain practical experience through SOAS's pro bono law clinics, working alongside practicing lawyers on real human rights and civil rights cases, as well as through mooting and the student-edited SOAS Law Journal.

Graduates from the SOAS College of Law establish careers in the legal profession, government, international organisations, human rights advocacy and academia. Recent graduates have been hired by the Treasury, EY, The Economist, World Cancer Research Fund, and Simpson Millar Solicitors. Alumni include David Lammy, who served as UK Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister, the late John Atta Mills, former President of Ghana, and senior judges who have served on the Supreme Courts of Nigeria and Sri Lanka.

Our graduates emerge as civic-minded and critically engaged individuals who can effectively contribute to their communities and societies.