THE HAGUE
May 24 – June 20, 2020
credits earned: 6
wcl.american.edu/hague
hagueprogram@wcl.american.edu
The Summer Program in The Hague offers students a unique opportunity to live and learn at the heart of the international justice community. In 1899, the world’s first Peace Conference took place here. Currently, The Hague is home to more than 150 international legal organizations. Participants examine critical issues in international law and spend a month in the “International City of Peace and Justice” among the practitioners, courts, and tribunals that are making history today. Students are housed in spacious apartments in the center of The Hague, close to a variety of prominent Dutch landmarks such as the Peace Palace.
The Program is the product of collaboration between the War Crimes Research Office of American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL) —established to promote the development and enforcement of international criminal and humanitarian law — and the T.M.C. Asser Institute, one of the most prominent research institutes of international law in Europe.
COURSES
International Criminal Law: In Search of Accountability provides an introduction to international criminal law and explores the various ways in which national, international, and so-called “hybrid” criminal courts and tribunals have attempted to enforce criminal responsibility for serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law.
International Legal Approaches to Terrorism in the 21st Century examines counter-terrorism measures from an international and comparative law perspective and considers the interrelationship between these measures and the obligations of states under international human rights and humanitarian law.
In addition to AUWCL faculty members, instructors include judges, prosecutors, and other staff from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the T.M.C. Asser Institute, and other organizations.
ACTIVITIES
Integral to the program are visits to international tribunals and legal institutions, including the ICJ, ICC, and ICTY, where students have an opportunity to observe proceedings and speak to practitioners in the field. The program also includes a networking panel with practitioners in international criminal law. Participants will also have the opportunity to visit Amsterdam, and can use their other free weekends for trips to other parts of Europe.
INTERNSHIPS
Many students secure an internship after the program. For instance, students have interned with ICTY defense teams, the ICC, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, and the International Bar Association’s ICC Monitoring Programme.