ICJ Judicial Fellowship Program

This is to inform the general public that the International Court of Justice ICJ, in the host institution, the Hague, is now inviting Applicants to go ahead and apply.

The Programme was established in 1999 to help recent law graduates to gain professional experience working at the ICJ. 

To get a better understanding of how the ICJ Judicial Fellowship Program works, Continue reading;

About the Judicial Fellowship Program

The ICJ Judicial Fellowship Program aims to improve its participants’ understanding of public international law and the Court’s procedures by actively engaging them in all court activities while allowing them to build their experience under a judge’s supervision.

Each candidate is assigned to one judge for around ten months, from early September to June or July of the following year. 

During this period, Candidates can expect to attend public hearings of the Court, research and write memorandums on legal questions of pending cases, and have some association with other aspects of the Court’s work,

the particulars of which will depend on the Court’s docket and the working methods of the judge to whom they are assigned. The Work plan may also involve assisting the judge with conferences, speeches, and other duties.

Candidates will work alongside an associate legal officer, the primary legal subordinate of each judge, and is later employed for two to four years by the United Nations.

Value of ICJ Judicial Fellowship Program

Each nominating university must agree to fund its candidate’s stipend, health insurance, and travel costs if selected.

Although the Court does not stipulate the amount of the stipend to be paid, it should be sufficient to provide for a minimum standard of accommodation and subsistence in The Hague.

It should ensure that the selected candidate can benefit fully from their experience at the Court without the burden of financial hardship.

The fellowship is not a self-funded internship, and candidates must have adequate financial support from their nominating university to be eligible.

The Court will facilitate visas and provide working facilities if necessary, but it cannot offer financial support.

Eligibility and selection of candidates

For the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Judicial Fellowship Program [aaca_year], The Court looks at particular criteria as follows;

• Participants who have excellent results in their law studies and have studied, published, or worked in international law.
•  Participants should be 31 years of age or younger at the time the Programme begins. 
•  The Court seeks candidates of diverse nationalities through its selection process.

How to Apply for ICJ Judicial Fellowship Program

Universities that accept the above conditions and wish to nominate candidates to participate in the Programme are invited to fill out the form below.

Kindly note that only universities which respond in the affirmative to all of these questions will be eligible to participate in the Programme and receive further application instructions.

Candidates will be asked to submit the following application materials through their universities:

• Letter from the university agreeing to sponsor the candidate;
•  Application form and summary table, filled in by the candidate;
•  Two or three letters of reference;
•  Official academic records of the candidate;
•  One writing sample of no more than 15 pages.

Conclusion

The CJ Judicial Fellowship Program, as it was established in 1999, has provided its participants with a wide experience of what court work is all about.

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