23874 | Chambers

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

This position is funded by the Trust Fund for the Development of Interns and Visiting Professionals, thanks to the generous contributions of donors such as the French Republic, as well as elected officials and staff of the ICC.

In order to be eligible for this funded position, all applicants must be nationals from countries that appear on the United Nations Statistics Division’s list of developing regions that are a State Party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, namely:

Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Honduras, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Namibia, Nauru, Niger, Nigeria, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, State of Palestine, Suriname, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Zambia.

Some ICC States Parties are currently (as of 31 January 2025) not represented, or under-represented, and we therefore strongly encourage nationals from the following States Parties to apply:

Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Botswana, Brazil, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Gabon, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Honduras, Jordan, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Namibia, Nauru, Niger, Panama, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Suriname, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Zambia.

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).
• One reference letter.
• Scanned copies of university degrees and/or diplomas (to be added at the essay upload box).

Funding

This position is funded through the Trust Fund for the development of interns and visiting professionals, whereby the Court will provide the selected candidate a monthly remuneration of €1,500 (with a mandatory deduction for emergency health insurance) as well as some financial help for travel purposes for candidates who are not based in the Netherlands at the time of the recruitment. Please note that (i) costs associated with Visas are the responsibility of the selected candidate, (ii) due to the nature of the assignment, participants cannot bring their families with them.

Contract Duration

Visiting professionals are required to work full time for a period of 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

Subject to restrictions applicable to visiting professionals’ access to classified information, typical duties and responsibilities of visiting professionals 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
• Assist in drafting of decisions

Required Qualifications

Education:

All Candidates must have a degree in law or a relevant legal qualification of 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:

Visiting Professional placements focus on candidates who have extensive experience in their professional careers in relevant fields of work. Practical experience that is relevant to the work of the Court may be considered an asset. Candidates for a Visiting Professional placement must have at least 3 (three) years of relevant professional experience.

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