International Court of Justice (ICJ) 2023 Judicial Fellowship Programme for Law Graduates Worldwide

Eligibility Criteria

•  Candidates should be 31 years of age or younger at the time the programme begins
•  Candidates must have excellent reading, writing and oral skills in at least one of them
• Candidates must have shown excellent results in their legal studies and have demonstrated an interest in public international law through their studies, publications and/or work experience
• A working knowledge of the second official language is an asset

Offered Benefits

•  To improve participants’ understanding of public international law and of the Court’s procedures by actively involving them in the work of the Court and allowing them to gain experience under the supervision of a judge.
• Each participant is assigned to one judge for a period of around ten months, from early September to June or July of the following year. During this period, participants can expect to attend public hearings of the Court, research and write memorandums on legal questions or factual aspects of pending cases, and have some involvement in 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. Work may also involve assisting the judge with conferences, speeches and other duties.
• Participants will work alongside an associate legal officer, who is the primary legal assistant of each judge and is employed by the Court for a period of two to four years

Application Process

Required Documents:

• 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.