General Information - Internship programme - Information Sheet

PURPOSE

1. The purposes of the Internship Programme are to give the participants the opportunity to gain an understanding of the work and functions of the Tribunal and to enable the Tribunal and its members to benefit from the assistance of persons with relevant knowledge and skills in areas within the scope of activities of the Tribunal.

2. Participants in the programme will be expected to be able to contribute to the work of the Tribunal in the fields such as the law of the sea, public international law, international organizations and international relations, political science, public information, publications and library science, and translation.

STRUCTURE OF THE PROGRAMME

3. The Tribunal's Internship Programme is normally a full-time programme, although other arrangements are possible. Under supervision the intern carries out assignments for members of the Tribunal and the Registry.

4. The internship usually covers a period of two to six months. In exceptional cases, individual internships may be extended.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

5. The following criteria are used to determine eligibility for the Internship Programme:

Applicants should:

(a) have completed at least three years of university studies;
(b) normally be engaged in a degree-granting or postgraduate programme at the time of application and also during the internship;
(c) normally not be more than 35 years of age;
(d) have a good command of English and/or French; and
(e) have an interest in international law, in particular international law of the sea, international affairs or international institutions and organizations.

In the selection of candidates due consideration will be given to geographical diversity and gender balance.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

6. Persons who are interested in participating in the internship programme at the Tribunal in Hamburg should submit a duly completed application form, ITLOS/INT.2. In the case of persons nominated by a government, university, other institution, law firm or organization, Part II of the form should be filled out by the relevant official of the nominating body. A résumé, with grade transcript or list of courses taken and, if available, a brief sample of research work in English or French, should accompany the application form. Applications should be sent to the Tribunal no earlier than eight months and no later than three months before the start of the internship. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

7. Application forms may be obtained from the Registry of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Am Internationalen Seegerichtshof 1, 22609 Hamburg, Germany. Tel.: (49) (40) 35607-227, Fax: (49) (40) 35607-245, E-mail: press@itlos.org.

FUNDING

8. The Korea International Cooperation Agency Grant has been established in order to assist candidates from developing countries in participating in the Internship Programme and a limited amount of funding is available. Details of the grant and of how to apply for funding are available on form ITLOS/INT.6.

CONDITIONS OF INTERNSHIP

9. Interns are not paid. The cost of travel and accommodation, as well as living expenses, are the responsibility of interns or their sponsoring institutions.

10. Interns are responsible for obtaining the necessary visas and arranging their travel to and accommodation in Hamburg.

11. The Tribunal accepts no responsibility for costs arising from accidents and/or illness during an internship. Candidates for internships must therefore show proof of valid regular as well as major medical insurance.

12. Interns must keep confidential any and all unpublished information obtained during the course of the internship and may not publish any reports or papers based on such information even after the completion of the internship, except with the explicit authorization of the Tribunal.

13. An information sheet on temporary accommodation may be obtained from the Internship Coordinator.

CERTIFICATE

14. Upon successful completion of the internship, interns receive a certificate. The certificate will, inter alia, state the period of internship, give examples of the allocated tasks and evaluate the intern's performance.