Having a hundred-year history and tradition of legal education dating back to the founding of its predecessor the Kyoto Hosei School, Ritsumeikan University has always been an innovative university engaging in cutting-edge challenges of our society with a variety of educational and research resources. 

Building on the tradition, achievements, comprehensiveness,diversity,and the innovative spirit of the university, we have established the Ritsumeikan University School of Law with the aim of training  "21st Century Global Citizen Lawyers."

"Global Citizen Lawyers of the 21st Century" refers to legal professionals with an international mindset and a keen sense of human rights who work in a wide variety of areas and specialized fields. As globalization proceeds, lawyers active in the international arena are in demand and legal professionals who work for local communities are also required to understand and address immediate legal issues in a global context. Globally-minded lawyers who work empathically for ordinary citizens are most needed in our time. In addition, with society's increasing and diversified legal needs in the 21st century, legal experts are required to have specializations such as in international transactions, intellectual property rights, taxes, environmental conservation, the protection of human rights, and so forth. Furthermore, in the future, we will see more lawyers who play active roles in private companies and government offices.

The Ritsumeikan University School of Law envisions such legal experts required in the 21st century as "Global Citizen Lawyers. " Our school's education equips students who have diverse backgrounds with a rich sense of humanity, a keen sense of human rights, and a broad range of knowledge as well as an international mindset and high expertise. Our aim is to train world leaders in the legal profession who have insights into the demands of the time and who take full advantage of their strengths in a free and competitive environment.