LLB Study Trip: The Hague

Posted on: 13 July 2023 by Tori Hawley in Blog

At the beginning of June 2023, I attended a study trip to The Hague alongside other third-year Law students. We had just finished our final assessments, so this was such a perfect way to commemorate the end of our degrees and get excited about our futures!

Day 1 – Peace Palace Visitor’s Centre

Once we got to the Hague, our first stop was the Peace Palace Visitors Centre. We had a private tour where we learned about the Peace Palace's history and its institutions, including the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Court of Justice, and the Hague Academy of International Law. This was an excellent way to get an introduction to international law and to get excited for the week ahead!

Day 2 – International Criminal Court (ICC) and Eurojust

Our next stop was the International Criminal Court. This was a massive highlight for me, as international criminal law was the field that sparked my passion for international law. We started off with a brief lesson from Michael Hertz, an ICC Legal Officer, who explained some of the basics of international criminal law and the specifics of the ICC, including its jurisdiction and the principle of complementarity. We then attended a hearing, where we saw a witness provide testimony to the Victims’ Counsel in the case of The Prosecutor v Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (‘Ali Kushayb’). Hearing a witness’ testimony about the impact of crimes in their community was compelling. We were fortunate to have attended during the Victims’ Counsel’s submissions, as it is a unique feature of the ICC to have three sides in its proceedings (the Defence, Prosecution, and Victims). Michael Hertz was also kind enough to spend some extra time with us after the hearing to talk more about his career journey and some advice for pursuing a career in international criminal law.
 
We then made our way to Eurojust, where we heard from Chris Williams, the liaison prosecutor for the UK. Eurojust was a really exciting surprise for me – I was unfamiliar with the organisation before the trip but found their work so fascinating! Eurojust is a collaborative effort between justice systems, primarily in Europe, who work together to pursue justice for transnational crimes. It was really motivating to hear from Chris Williams, as he grew up near Liverpool and studied nearby, so it was inspiring to see his career accomplishments and imagine ourselves in a similar position one day.

Day 3 – International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT)

Our third day started at the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT or ‘The Mechanism’). The Mechanism is responsible for continuing the functions of the now-closed International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). We were able to see the original courtrooms of the ICTY and to hear from IRMCT employees about their careers and the current legal issues at the Mechanism. We attended at a particularly opportune time, as the Mechanism had only one week earlier rendered its final judgment related to the ICTY, in the case of Stanišić & Simatović. It was also only one day after the Mechanism decided that Félicien Kabuga (whose case relates to the ICTR) was unfit to stand trial but that an ‘alternative procedure’ would be conducted to continue hearing evidence without finding the defendant guilty or not guilty. As this was such a novel decision, it was valuable to have it explained to us from a lawyer's perspective at the Mechanism. Additionally, since it is uncertain how much longer the Mechanism will remain in operation (although it does appear they have lots of work still ahead), we were very fortunate to visit an institution of such significance in the field of international criminal law.
 
We then visited the Hague Campus of Leiden University College. We first heard about their LLM programmes, which I was particularly enthusiastic about as I had been researching their programmes online, so I appreciated the opportunity to ask questions to their staff directly. We then attended a mini-lecture about dispute resolution under the new UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement – this was quite a technical subject I was unfamiliar with. Still, I found the lecture really engaging because the lecturer was enthusiastic about the subject and could explain the information in a really clear way. It was great to see the quality of teaching offered at Leiden, and I am interested in further considering their LLM programmes. We concluded our Leiden visit with a Hague Campus City tour which was so kind of them to do! We got to ask questions about life in the Hague and see some of the buildings around campus, which helped me picture myself living there one day.

Day 4 – International Court of Justice (ICJ) and ProDemos

This was our final day in the Hague, and it did not disappoint! We returned to the Peace Palace, but this time we got to go inside and meet with Nikiforos Panagis, an Associate Legal Officer at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). We heard about his career journey, and then he arranged for us to watch Russia’s submissions in the application of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Ukraine v Russian Federation) from inside the Peace Palace. This was also one of my top highlights. I previously represented the university in the Jessup Moot, which simulated proceedings before the ICJ, so it was incredible to see the real thing! The submissions we saw included a mix of technical treaty interpretation arguments and some more political, creative, and controversial points that made for a fascinating watch.

We then concluded our Hague trip by visiting ProDemos, an organisation that promotes democracy in the Netherlands. They explained how the Netherlands' political system works, and we even got to see where the Dutch Senate meets! Learning about another political system and some of the key issues they focus on was really useful.

Conclusions

As I am committed to pursuing a career in international law, so this was such a great chance to learn about the different opportunities in this field. I am sure each attendee has their own story to tell about the value they have taken from this opportunity and how it will help them in their future career – for me, this trip allowed me to envision my career dreams as an achievable reality, learn about new career paths I hadn’t even thought of, and to nurture my interest in international law further. This trip was such an incredible opportunity, and I appreciate the generous donors who made it possible and the internationalisation team at the University of Liverpool. Special thanks to Hannah Lewis, Dr Katie Johnston, Siobhan Regan, and Dr Ben Murphy for your work organising and facilitating this trip. Your efforts have been so, so appreciated!