1. Comparative Legal Systems

Analyze each original BRICS country’s constitutional, administrative, and economic laws.

2. Legal Pluralism & Governance

Examine interactions among civil law, common law, socialist law, and indigenous legal traditions.

3. BRICS as a Geopolitical and Legal Bloc

Discuss BRICS collaboration in AI and law, climate change, and UN reform.

4. International Legal Relations

Investigate the New Development Bank (NDB) and legal frameworks for integration.

5. Future of BRICS in a Multipolar World

Consider how BRICS legal systems adapt to emerging global governance challenges.

The program integrates lectures, panel discussions, case studies, and interactive workshops, led by diplomats, policymakers, and professors from UFMG and the co-sponsoring institutions. Participants will also engage in simulations of international legal negotiations and judicial decision-making in transnational disputes, gaining hands-on experience in global legal processes.

A fee of US$1,000 covers tuition, accommodations, a daily breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon coffee break, as well as the field trip.

To be announced

Click here to access the participant area.

English will be the language of instruction throughout the program to ensure a common linguistic framework for all participants.

• Aziz Tuffi Saliba (UFMG, Brazil)
Dr. Aziz Tuffi Saliba holds a PhD in Law from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and an LLM in International Law from the University of Arizona under a Fulbright scholarship. He was a visiting researcher at the University of Notre Dame, the University of Cambridge, and the Max Planck Institute in Heidelberg, and completed a postdoctoral period at Université Laval. Prof. Saliba served as Visiting Professor at the University of Ljubljana through the Erasmus program in 2016. He was Vice-Dean of the UFMG Law School (2014–2018). Prof. Saliba is a Professor in the Department of Public Law at UFMG and Vice-Provost for International Relations at the same institution. He is President of the Brazilian Branch of the International Law Association and is a member of the Instituto Hispano Luso Americano de Derecho Internacional.

• Lucas Carlos Lima (UFMG, Brazil)
Lucas Lima is a Professor of International Law at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). He holds a PhD from the University of Macerata, with research experience at the University of Cambridge and the Max Planck Institute for International Procedural Law. He completed postdoctoral research at Université Paris I – Panthéon Sorbonne and, in 2024, served as Visiting Professor there and at the China University of Political Science and Law. He has also been a Visiting Researcher at iCourts (University of Copenhagen). He earned a master’s degree from the Federal University of Santa Catarina, holds a law degree from the same institution, and studied at the Università degli Studi di Firenze. He coordinates the Stylus Curiarum Research Group on International Courts, is the current Director of Studies of the Brazilian Branch of the International Law Association, and is a Società Italiana di Diritto Internazionale member. He is Associate Director of the UFMG Law Review, Editor of the International Law Agendas blog (ILA/Brazil), and Director of the East Asia Studies Center at UFMG.

• Mikhail Zhuravlev (HSE University, Russia)
Dr. Mikhail Zhuravlev is an Associate Professor and Senior Researcher at the Higher School of Economics (HSE University) in Moscow. Holding a PhD and a Master’s degree in IT/IP Law, he brings over a decade of specialized experience to the fields of Internet law and intellectual property. His scholarly work focuses on the legal challenges of emerging technologies, having participated in numerous research and legislative projects on digital platforms, artificial intelligence, personal data, copyright, and e-health. At HSE, he is the academic advisor of the innovative bachelor's program 'Jurisprudence: Digital Lawyer,' designed to train a new generation of legal professionals bringing together legal knowledge, digital competences and professional soft skills. He is also the author of multiple publications and teaches specialized courses including “Law in the Digital Environment”, “Law and Ethics of Artificial Intelligence”, “Cyberlaw: Data, Ethics, and Digital Property”.

• Liu Renshan (Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, China)
Member of the Standing Committee and Vice President of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law; Distinguished Professor of "Wenlan Scholars"; Dean of the Institute of Foreign-Related Rule of Law; Academic Leader of International Law; Head of the Supervisory Group for Doctoral Candidates in International Law. His research focuses on the basic theories of private international law, legislation on Chinese private international law and China’s foreign relations law, legal issues in China’s foreign trade, and private international law in common law jurisdictions (the UK and the US). He has participated in major national legislative work, including the Law on Foreign Relations, the Law on the Application of Laws to Foreign-Related Civil Relations, and the foreign-related part of the Civil Procedure Law, as well as the formulation of relevant judicial interpretations by the Supreme People’s Court.

• Huang Zhihui (Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, China)
Doctor of Law, Deputy Dean, Professor, and Doctoral Supervisor of the School of International Law, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law; Wenlan Young Scholar. He has been selected as a Young Talent of the China Law Society Research Associations and a Young Legal Talent of Hubei Province. He concurrently serves as a Director of the Chinese Society of Private International Law and a Director of the European Law Research Branch of the Chinese Association for European Studies. He is the sole author of three academic monographs, including The Impact of Human Rights Protection on EU Private International Law.

2025: BRICS Legal Studies School 2025: Strengthening Legal Cooperation for a Multipolar World | August 4 – August 9, 2025 | Belo Horizonte, Brazil