23303 | Chambers

Due to the volume of applications received, only successful applicants will be contacted by the Court.

Required Documents for This Application

Please note that you will need to have the following information ready in order to complete your application:

• A completed “Duties and Responsibilities Form” (refer to step 1 on your eRecruitment Profile page).
• Motivation letter (maximum of 400 words).
• Two reference letters (one academic).
• Scanned copies of university degrees and/or diplomas.
• Scanned copies of official academic transcripts that state your courses, results and completion date.
• One short essay or a writing sample on a subject relevant to the work of the Court (maximum of 750 words, single spaced, type written).

Contract Duration

Interns are required to work full time for a period between (minimum) three and six months (to be agreed to prior to commencement). Internship placements shall not be extended beyond six months.

The Opportunity

The International Criminal Court (ICC) investigates and, where warranted, tries individual charges with the gravest crimes of concerns to the international community: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression. The Court is participating in the global fight to end impunity, and through international criminal justice, the Court aims to hold those responsible accountable for their crimes and to help prevent the crimes from happening again. You can contribute to this cause by joining the ICC.

Organisational Context

Chambers, comprising of the three judicial divisions (Appeals Division, Trial Division and Pre-Trial Division), is in charge of judicial proceedings for crimes under the jurisdiction of the Court. The judicial functions of Chambers involve issuing decisions or orders, whether written or oral, responding to motions filed by the parties and participants, the holding of status conferences and hearings, the analysis of evidence. In addition, Judges in the Appeals, Trial and Pre-Trial Divisions are in charge of proposing amendments to the Rules of Procedure and Evidence and to the Elements of Crimes, as well as of adopting the Regulations of the Court and any amendments thereto.

Duties and Responsibilities

Typical duties and responsibilities of interns are:

• Conduct in-depth legal research and analysis of questions of international criminal law, public international law, international humanitarian law, human rights law as well as relevant international and national legal materials for reference and background
• Provision of legal advice on the interpretation and application of the Court’s documents
• Summary of evidence material; preparation of summaries of submissions and decisions
• Preparation of legal memoranda, observations of Court proceedings

Required Qualifications

Education:

All Candidates must have a degree in law or a relevant legal qualification or be in the final stages of their studies at a recognised university, demonstrating very good knowledge in international /national criminal law, comparative law and criminology, public international law, international humanitarian law or human rights. Candidates are expected to have a very good record of academic performance.

Experience:

Internship placements focus on candidates in the early stages of their professional careers. Practical experience is not an essential prerequisite for selection. Should there be a practical experience that is relevant to the work of the Court, it may be considered an asset. However, such working experience should not exceed 3 (three) years.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Able to adapt to multicultural and multilingual working environments.
• Possesses strong teamwork skills (listens, consults and communicates proactively).
• Very good oral communication and drafting skills.
• Has acquired a good standard of computer skills (including Microsoft Office applications) and research skills (including the use of electronic databases).

Knowledge of Languages:

Proficiency in one of the working languages of the Court, French or English, is required. Working knowledge of the other is desirable. Knowledge of another official language of the Court (Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish) is an asset.

Other criteria:

It is the Court’s objective to have diversity and gender balance. In line with the ICC’s efforts to improve geographical representation among staff, nationals of non-represented and under-represented countries at the ICC are encouraged to apply. The list can be found here.   

Remuneration

Please note that internship and visiting professional placements at the ICC are unfunded. The ICC is not able to provide participants in the Internship and Visiting Professional Programme with any remuneration, nor is it possible to provide reimbursement for expenses incurred prior, during or after the internship or visiting professional placement.

Applicants must therefore be able to support themselves for the entire duration of their internship or visiting professional placement.

Limited funding may, however, be available through the ICC’s Trust Fund for the Development of Interns and Visiting Professionals, which receives donations from States Parties and other donors.

If funding is available, the Human Resources Section will advertise a funded vacancy announcement in accordance with the terms of reference of the Trust Fund as agreed by the donors.

In order to be eligible for a funded placement, if advertised, the applicant must, among other criteria, be a national from a country that is a State Party to the Rome Statue and appears on the United Nations Statistics Division’s list of developing regions.