The Judicial Fellowship Programme was established to enable recent law graduates to gain experience working at the International Court of Justice, located in The Hague, the Netherlands. Candidates are nominated and sponsored by their universities. Universities located in developing countries who are interested in seeking financial support for their nominees have the option of applying via the trust fund. Trust fund awards are intended for candidates nominated by universities which are based in developing countries and which do not have the means to provide financial sponsorship. 

The aim of the Programme is 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.

The Judicial Fellowship Programme is highly selective. The Court accepts up to 15 participants a year, generally with no more than one from each nominating university. In making its selection, the Court seeks candidates of diverse nationalities.

The Court looks for candidates who have excellent results in their legal studies and who have studied, published and/or worked in public international law. To be eligible, candidates should be 31 years of age or younger at the time the programme begins. This requirement may be waived 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 these. A working knowledge of the second official language is an asset.