International Humanitarian Law Clinic of the Kalshoven-Gieskes Forum
“Call for Applications Spring Term 2023”
The Leiden IHL Clinic
In the framework of Leiden’s International Humanitarian Law Clinic, students of the Leiden University LL.M. programmes in Public International Law conduct research for various cooperation partners of the Kalshoven-Gieskes Forum on International Humanitarian Law. The students are supervised by the Research and Teaching Associates and PhD researchers of the Forum. The overall coordination of IHL Clinic research is undertaken by the Director of the KGF, Associate Professor Dr. Robert Heinsch, LL.M.
The Clinic’s cooperation partners usually work in the humanitarian field, and they include the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Netherlands Red Cross, the German Red Cross, the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), the Coalition of the International Criminal Court (CICC), Amnesty International The Hague, Médecins Sans Frontières, and other human rights NGOs. As of January 2023, more than 47 research projects were successfully concluded.
These projects have included topics involving the use of certain means of warfare, questions of humanitarian assistance, possible war crimes in specific armed conflicts, as well as a variety of recent problematic issues surrounding the application and interpretation of international humanitarian law, the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, international criminal law and human rights law.
Spring Term 2023
During the Spring term 2023, the Forum is conducting two research projects, offered to students of the reg. and adv. LL.M. programmes in Public International Law at Leiden University. The project period extends from late February until mid-June 2023. The research period for the projects will include a European student exchange conference hosted in Leiden, common seminar sessions, skills sessions, and close supervision by members of the Forum.
Both IHL Clinic research projects are confidential. They are conducted in cooperation with two partner organisations, and periodical communication with and feedback from the partner organisations constitutes part of the research process. Substantively, the projects relates to ongoing armed conflict situations, and predominantly examine questions of international human rights law. Students will be expected to conduct extensive legal research as well as factual research.
Requirements for joining the IHL Clinic
The Forum is looking for interested and motivated students of the reg. and adv. LL.M. programmes in Public International Law at Leiden Law School, who are willing to work in a team of five or six students. Students should be able to manage their time, to communicate openly, and to work effectively within a team. In the reg. LLM programme, the IHL Clinic grade substitutes the course ‘Privatissimum’; in the adv. LLM, it replaces the grade for the term paper for the lecture ‘International Humanitarian Law’.
Application procedure
The application period for students of the adv. LLM programme in Public International Law has passed on Friday, 27 January 2023.
Interested students from the reg. LLM programme in Public International Law should submit their application by Sunday, 12 February 2023, 23:59 (CET). Your application documents consist of (1) filling the application form at https://forms.gle/6xMWfM9HoybLaw3o9; and (2) sending an email to KGFLeiden@gmail.com with the following documents: (i) a motivation letter; (ii) your CV; (iii) overview of your grades obtained so far during the LLM in Public International Law; and (iv) an overview of your grades from previous studies.
Please note that no official grade slip from the OIC for your the grades of the ongoing LLM studies is required; a screenshot of the grades overview in Brightspace is sufficient.
Please submit all documents in one PDF document, with the document name ‘Last name-IHLClinic2023’.