International Clerkships Program

Call for candidates - International Clerkships 2024-2025

Deadline: January 15, 2024, 5:00 PM ET

McGill’s Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism (CHRLP) is currently accepting applications for:

  • a 12-month clerkship at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA);
  • a 10-month clerkship at the International Court of Justice (ICJ);
  • a 4-month clerkship at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR).

The clerkships are due to start in September 2024.

Clerks at each court are assigned to assist one or more judges or staff of the Courts with tasks such as drafting legal and administrative documents, preparing case files, and researching legal issues.

Eligibility

General requirements:

Current McGill BCL/LLB, LLM or DCL students graduating in June 2024, and recent McGill graduates from Fall 2021 onwards may apply for these positions.

Criteria

The Centre, on behalf of the Faculty of Law, will select a shortlist of candidates to submit to each court for final selection.

Candidates will be selected based on:

  • demonstrated writing and research skills;
  • training in and familiarity with international law and relevant courses pertaining to the court they are applying to;
  • an excellent academic record; and
    • proficiency in the Court’s official languages: French and English for the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ)

Application Process

Candidates should apply to a specific clerkship. Should they wish to apply for more than one clerkship, they should submit separate cover letter for each candidacy.

Candidates should submit the following documentation:

  • A CV;
  • Copies of transcripts for all post-secondary study;
  • Two letters of recommendation*; and
  • A sample of written work no longer than fifteen (15) double-spaced pages.

All application materials (including recommendation letters) must be submitted in a single attachment in an email sent to clerkships.law [at] mcgill.ca by 17:00 PM ET on January 15, 2024. Short-listed candidates will be asked to provide original, hard copies of their application materials to be forwarded to the Courts for the final selection in February.

All cover letters and recommendations should be addressed (but not sent) to:

  • For the ICJ:

H.E. Philippe Gautier, Registrar
International Court of Justice

Peace Palace, The Hague, The Netherlands

Note: the title of the ICJ clerkships program is now the Judicial Fellows Programme.

  • For the PCA:

H.E. Hugo Hans Siblesz, Secretary General

Permanent Court of Arbitration

Peace Palace, The Hague, The Netherlands

  • For the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

H.E. Julissa Mantilla Falcón, President

Inter-American Court of Human Rights

Apartado Postal 6906-1000, San José, Costa Rica

* If referees prefer to submit their references in confidence, they can directly email nandini.ramanujam [at] mcgill.ca.

Stipend: The Faculty provides a 15,000 dollars stipend for ICJ and PCA clerkships. For the clerkship with the Inter-American Court, the stipend amount is 8,000 dollars. All amounts are subject to change depending on the available funding for 2024-25 clerkship year.

For further information, please contact clerkships.law [at] mcgill.ca

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