R.O. Fantini Cardenas
International Trade and Investment Law (LLM track)
'I haven't seen this combination of international and European legal systems mixed with trade and investment law at any other university.'
'The first time I visited Europe was in the year that the euro was introduced. I was really amazed that all these different countries suddenly switched to a single currency. Then I became very interested in how the European Union developed, not just culturally and economically but also how such harmonization could be achieved from a legal perspective. Therefore, I was looking for a master's programme that was related to international law, but that also included European law in its scope.'
'I compared the programmes of various European universities and I really liked the specializations offered at the University of Amsterdam, particularly in International Trade and Investment Law. This combination of international and European legal systems mixed with trade and investment law I haven't seen at any of the other universities that I looked at. So that's why I decided to come over from Mexico to Amsterdam, and I have really enjoyed taking classes here. The teaching staff really know their subjects and explain it well, so the classes are interesting and I certainly learned a lot. Particularly in the smaller classes, the teachers are very focused on their students, which is very helpful if you come from a different legal system and a different culture. Also, it was nice to meet with other foreign students as well as Dutch students.'
'My favourite courses were any of those that had to do with trading and with European law, such as Law of the Internal Market, WTO Law, and International Investment Arbitration.'
'After graduation, I would like to work for an international law firm or a government institution to develop myself further in the field of trading and investment law. Now that I've learned the theoretical side of it, I want to put it into practice! And who knows, after I have gained some working experience I might start on a PhD in this field.'