Alumna off to The Hague for coveted Judicial Fellowship Programme
Judicial Programme provides opportunity for Christie Wilson to gain experience at the International Court of Justice
Christie Wilson, LLB (2019)
Open to eligible universities across the world, the Judicial Fellowship Programme provides successful candidates with the opportunity to gain professional experience working at the International Court of Justice under the supervision of a Member of the Court.
It is a competitive process which requires universities to nominate candidates who have outstanding academic results and demonstrated an interest in public international law. Each year only 15 candidates are selected.
Christie will head to The Hague in early September, and she will be supervised by Judge Iwasawa Yuji. “I will have the opportunity to deepen my understanding of public international law by completing duties such as research, writing memoranda on issues before the Court and attending hearings”, she said.
As a Sydney Law School alum, Christie was eligible for, and received, The University of Sydney’s Charles Herbert Currey Memorial Scholarship which will help support her time at The Hague.
I am incredibly excited and very grateful to Sydney Law School for this opportunity. I look forward to being able to learn from leading experts in the field of public international law as well as getting to meet the other Fellows from all over the world.
Christie Wilson’s strong interest in public international law has helped shape the direction of her studies and future career path.
Christie graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in 2019 from Sydney Law School. Following graduation she joined the graduate program at global law firm, Baker McKenzie, before pursuing further study at Cambridge University where she completed her LLM specialising in international law. Since that time, she has interned at the International Criminal Court and the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, both in The Hague.
After completing the Fellowship Programme, she is deciding whether to pursue a PhD.
We spoke to Christie about her time as a student at Sydney Law School.
Why Sydney Law School?
I completed the ‘Mind and Morality’ program at the University of Sydney while in Year 11 and greatly enjoyed the teaching experience. On the strength of this, I decided to pursue a Bachelor of Arts/Laws degree at the University of Sydney.
What have been some highlights of your studies here?
Being able to explore and develop my interest in public international law under the guidance of supportive lecturers. I also greatly appreciated the opportunity to complete an exchange programme at Utrecht University School of Law – this programme helped open my eyes to the career opportunities in public international law outside of Australia.
I was also very lucky to have had many inspiring lecturers while at Sydney Law School who, without a doubt, have played a significant role in my decision to pursue a career in public international law: in particular, I would like to thank Ms Irene Baghoomians and Professor Chester Brown for their support.
What advice would you give to those looking to pursue a career internationally with their law degree?
I would highly recommend seeking advice from the teaching staff at Sydney Law School - this can be very helpful in deciding how to shape your desired career path.
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