Deadline: February 5, 2023.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) invites applications from eligible universities around the world for the 2023-2024 Judicial Fellowship Programme (formerly known as the University Traineeship Programme).

The Programme was established in 1999 to enable recent law graduates to gain professional experience working at the ICJ. The Fellowship Programme aims 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 build on their experience under the supervision of a judge.

The Judicial Fellows work on a full-time basis under the supervision of a Member of the Court and alongside the primary legal assistant of the judge. The Judicial Fellows can expect to attend the Court’s public hearings, research and write memorandums on legal questions or factual aspects of the cases pending before the Court, and perform other duties assigned by their judge. The duration of the Fellowship is approximately ten months, from early September to June of the following year.

The Court normally accepts up to 15 participants per year from various universities across the world.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

1. Universities are strongly encouraged to limit nominations to candidates who have shown excellent results in their legal studies and who have demonstrated an interest in public international law through their studies, publications and/or work experience.
2. The official languages of the Court are English and French, and participants must have excellent reading, writing and oral skills in at least one of them. A working knowledge of the second official language is an asset.
3. To be eligible, candidates should be 31 years of age or younger at the time the Fellowship begins. This requirement may be waived in special circumstances. In making its selection, the Court seeks candidates of diverse nationalities.
4. While it is possible to nominate a single candidate, the Court encourages universities to propose more than one nominee

FUNDING

Trust Fund of the Judicial Fellowship Programme

In accordance with resolution 75/129, a trust fund for the Judicial Fellowship Programme was established by the UN Secretary-General in April 2021.

The purpose of the trust fund is to grant fellowship awards to selected candidates who are nationals of developing countries from universities based in developing countries, thereby improving and guaranteeing the geographic and linguistic diversity of the participants in the Programme.

Trust fund awards are intended to benefit candidates nominated by universities based in developing countries, which do not have the means to provide financial sponsorship.

APPLICATION

To start the application process, click on “Apply” below. Universities will be asked to select the nomination procedure inside the application tool.

OFFICIAL LINK