International Court of Justice - Internships

Given the size of the organization, only a limited number of internships can be offered throughout the year. Placements are, however, possible in all departments and divisions of the Registry. The working languages of the Court are English and French.

Candidates should note that internships are unrenumerated and that they themselves are responsible for meeting immigration requirements, arranging travel and accommodation and obtaining valid medical/accident insurance cover. In addition, they are required to sign a statement, undertaking to keep strictly confidential any information obtained during the course of their internship. Upon completion of the internship, a certificate is issued to them, summarizing the tasks performed and providing an evaluation of the work done.

Please note that the completion of an internship in the Registry does not increase the likelihood of future employment at the Court or the United Nations.

To apply for an internship, candidates are requested to submit their curriculum vitae along with a covering letter for the attention of the Registrar to recrutement-recruitment@icj-cij.org. Candidates are also welcome to submit any of the following documents in Word or PDF format in support of their application:

• a copy of their official academic record;
• letters of reference;
• a writing sample.

Please note that email attachments may not exceed 20 MB in size. If the files exceed 20 MB, please ensure that you compress them and/or send multiple emails.

The Court

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946.

The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands). Of the six principal organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York (United States of America).

The Court’s role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.

The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. It is assisted by a Registry, its administrative organ. Its official languages are English and French.

History

The creation of the Court represented the culmination of a long process of developing methods for the pacific settlement of international disputes, the origins of which can be traced back to classical times.

Article 33 of the United Nations Charter lists the following methods for the pacific settlement of disputes between States: negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, and resort to regional agencies or arrangements, to which should also be added good offices. Some of these methods involve the services of third parties. For example, mediation places the parties to a dispute in a position in which they can themselves resolve their dispute thanks to the intervention of a third party. Arbitration goes further, in the sense that the dispute is submitted to the decision or award of an impartial third party, so that a binding settlement can be achieved. The same is true of judicial settlement (the method applied by the International Court of Justice), except that a court is subject to stricter rules than an arbitral tribunal, particularly in procedural matters.

Historically, mediation and arbitration preceded judicial settlement. The former was known in ancient India and the Islamic world, whilst numerous examples of the latter can be found in ancient Greece, in China, among the Arabian tribes, in maritime customary law in medieval Europe, and in Papal practice.