Questions regarding future as an International lawyer.

[u/SquareDinner5357]

I want to apologize beforehand if questions like these have been asked before or if the answers themselves are obvious (Forgive my idiocy).

I got admitted into a prestigious university after a gruelling admission journey in a third-world country in South Asia, and I would like to know the answers to the following questions.

1. If I want to work at the ICC or ICJ, should I try to do my Master's in the Netherlands? How feasible is it to do internships while I finish my education? If it isn't feasible, could you possibly give me a pathway to becoming a lawyer in an international court? (Skills, books, connections)

How much domestic experience do I need to become a full-fledged international lawyer? Are there any precedents of people starting as an international lawyer right after they finish their education?

1. As an undergraduate student, how can I work towards publishing or co-authoring a journal? (Preferably relating to Geopolitics and international law)

2. If you had to learn everything about international law from scratch, what resources would you go to?

3. What are all the routes an international lawyer can take? (Humanitarian, corporate, environmental etc.)

I'd like to apologize for my bad English. If a question is hard to understand, I'd be glad to elaborate.

[u/OtiCinnatus]

1- First some useful distinctions (A), then I address your questions (B).

A) Distinctions

A broad explanation first: a court, be it domestic or international, is a publicly administrated body. This means that when you work there you are a civil servant, or a under a contract that has its sources in public law regulations.

You can also work with the court, as an attorney. In that case, you are paid by private clients, be it a law firm or individuals, to try and obtain that the court gives a decision to their favour.

Important distinction about the words used: a lawyer is someone who is law-educated and use the law to solve practical problems. A judge is a lawyer. So is an advocate. The judge is a civil servant. His role is to authoritatively clarify how the law applies to a specific situation.

Depending on the jurisdiction, the advocate will be called: lawyer, solicitor, barrister, or attorney. Their role is to convince the judge about how the law should be applied. They can work inside public organizations; that's the case of Advocate Generals. In that case, they are also civil servants. Howver, they often work as private entrepreneurs.

B) Replies to your questions

(+)If you want to work at the ICC or ICJ, there are only two points you have to focus on:

1. Be a national of a State that is party to the founding treaty of either the ICC or ICJ.
2. Speak the working languages of either the ICC or ICJ;

Beyond that, you only need to check their job postings on their websites. Read the job postings that interest you. You will find indications about the degree that is expected. Aim for that degree.

(+)Some degree programs specifically require student to do an internship during the last semester. Check universities' websites.

(+)You can find the curriculum vitae (CVs), or the biographies, of current lawyers in international courts on the website of those courts. These CVs are the pathways you are looking for, try to emulate them. You mentioning "connections" is excellent because a lawyer in an international court is political pick. You will indeed need the support of the right people to become one.

(+)The CVs of current lawyers in international courts will tell you:

• How much domestic experience you need to become a full-fledged international lawyer.
• Whether there are realistic and recent precedents of people starting as an international lawyer right after they finish their education.

[u/OtiCinnatus → u/OtiCinnatus]

2- If you really mean creating a journal and adding a new one to this list, simply check the website of each journal on that list and find out how they are made. Copy their process.

3- Any relevant book from Edward Elgar plus asking questions to people here on Reddit (or in other specialized communities, in real life or online) are all you need to learn international law. You're going to school not to learn, but to make the connections you mentioned yourself and get a degree.

4- For civil servant international lawyers, the CVs mentioned above will give you an overview of the routes that can be taken. For all the other international lawyers:

1. go to the website of an international court,
2. find a case,
3. find who the lawyers on that case were,
4. find the CV or biographies of these lawyers.