2023-2024 ICJ Judicial Fellows Programme

Each year the International Court of Justice (ICJ) invites applications for participation in its Judicial Fellowship programme from candidates nominated by their university. The Fellowship programme is similar to a judicial clerkship or judicial assistantship and provides an opportunity for a current Oxford student or recent graduate to work for nearly a year at the leading international tribunal in the world. Judicial Fellows work closely with the members of the Court on tasks such as the research and writing of memoranda on the variety of legal questions arising in the cases pending before the Court and attend the Court’s public hearings. For more information about the role please see the ICJ website.

As the result of generous donations from Judge Theodor Meron and The Sata Foundation, and further funds raised by members of the Oxford Public International Law Research Group, the Oxford Law Faculty is able to offer funding to the person selected for the Fellowship programme.  The Faculty may put forward one or more names to the Court, which will make the final decision on the selection for the programme. It is expected to reach its final decision in April 2023 and nominating universities will be notified accordingly.

Eligibility

The Fellowship programme is open to current graduate law students pursuing research or taught courses in the Law Faculty (BCL/MJur/MSc/MSt/MPhil/DPhil), as well as to those who have graduated from Oxford Law Faculty (including the BA programme) in the past two years. There are no restrictions as to nationality. Applicants may be about to complete their graduate degrees in Oxford or, in appropriate cases and after consulting their supervisor, may be seeking to intermit their studies in order to undertake the internship. To be eligible candidates should be 31 years of age or younger at the time of the programme begins, though it is indicated that the Court may waive this requirement in special circumstances.

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. Candidates must have distinguished themselves by their exceptional interest and excellence in the field of international law.

Application Process

If you wish to apply for the ICJ Judicial Fellowship programme, please submit the following documents in electronic form to Professor Lavanya Rajamani by 12 noon on 30 January 2023:

1. A CV and Short Cover letter;
2. The names and emails of two referees, preferably from individuals able to speak to the candidate's abilities in the field of international law. In the case of current research students, at least one of the referees should be the applicant’s supervisor. Candidates should let their referees know that they will be asked to provide a reference.
3. Official academic transcripts in a single pdf file.
4. A writing sample, which should not exceed 15 pages, in a single pdf file. The sample should be work that has been submitted for publication or other work of publishable quality (e.g. part of a thesis, dissertation or a paper).

Nominees will be asked to complete the ICJ’s own applications forms before final submission.