Association of Defence Counsel practising before the International Courts and Tribunals
Outline of the organisation
The Association of Defence Counsel practising before the International Courts and Tribunals (ADC-ICT) is an independent professional association established under the laws of The Netherlands and based in The Hague. Until 2016, the Association was called the Association of Defence Counsel practicing before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ADC-ICTY).
The ADC-ICT is not an organ of the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals. Rather, the ADC-ICT is recognised as the only Defence Council organisation serving the Tribunal pursuant to the MICT Rules of Procedure and Evidence.
Defence Counsel practising before the MICT are supported by a range of staff such as investigators, legal assistants and case managers. This is referred to as the Defence Team. In addition to these staff, Teams also have internships for applicants who are interested in international criminal defence.
Positions available
The accredited internship is an internship that provides the intern with academic tutoring as well as practical experience working for a Defence Team. The unaccredited internship allows interns to experience working in international criminal defence but without receiving credit, unless otherwise agreed with their own academic institution.
Interns have the option of attending lectures by Defence Counsel practising before the Tribunal about elementary subjects such as genocide, command responsibility, joint criminal enterprise and jurisprudential developments during the monthly Defence Symposia.
Internships may commence at any time, in consultation with the Defence Team. Internships last between 3 and 6 months. The application deadline is approximately two months before the intended start of the internship and applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
The tasks that an intern is required to perform may include legal research, witness summaries, witness preparation, factual research, writing legal memoranda, case management tasks and supporting Defence Counsel in their daily work.
Further details and current vacancies are available here.