Wednesday 26 February 2014

Strasbourg City Limits

It’s a sunny day in Utrecht today with the feeling of Spring hanging in the air. I soaked up the sunshine on my hurried five-minute bike ride to school and rushed to class only to realize I had arrived a full two hours early. Ah, the joys of having a new timetable. With two floors of open study rooms that boast long wooden tables, at least the building is set up for hanging around. What better excuse to study, or in my case, to stop by and tell you a bit about my trip to Strasbourg with the SIM Clinic Program at the university.

There are few things better than seeing something you have worked on come to fruition. In the case of our Clinic Group, we helped research a case before the European Court of Human Rights and were able to attend the Grand Chamber hearing of the case in Strasbourg. The culmination of our three months of research ended in the best possible way: a road trip.

After a few minor navigation problems and some short pit stops, my three colleagues and I arrived in beautiful Strasbourg the night before the hearing, hung our business clothes in anticipation and got some sleep to prepare for the early morning ahead. The next day we were shuffled into the busy Press Room at the Court (which held mostly students) to watch the action play out on a large screen. A short summary of the case lay out on the tables for incoming observers filled with facts we have read so many times we could probably recite them by heart. For us, the most interesting part was to see how a case gets presented. It is one thing to read all the relevant files and quite another to see how each side argues their case.

Following the hearing, we had the privilege of meeting the Dutch counsel, for whom we did the research, in the cafeteria for a quick chat and a coffee. I had the pleasure of talking about the facts of the case, the arguments and even some tangent topics such as the role of journalists in covering legal issues, before we excused ourselves to go to a meeting relating to our next Clinic Group project.
Later that evening, we explored the charming streets of Strasbourg and celebrated by watching the Milan vs Atlético Madrid in a small pub full of football fans yelling at the TV screens in a mix of French, Spanish and Italian.

One day, four pain au chocolat and one quick stop at the Council of Europe later, we headed on our route back to Utrecht, arriving just in time to give back the car and get our readings done for class the following day.

While we don’t get the satisfaction of knowing the Court’s decision right away (that could take up to a year), we were certainly left completely satisfied with the experience. Now, it’s on to the next project and to new deadlines. The end of Block 3 (the official end of our classes) is fast approaching and time seems to fly by. Luckily, we have that sunshine and the promise of chilling out on one of the many terraces that pop up all over the city in good weather, to keep us on track.

Until the next time/Tot de volgende keer!


Erin


The SIM Clinic Group at the European Court of Human Rights

The SIM Clinic Group at the Council of Europe

Thursday 13 February 2014

Midweek Moot Madness and Career Crash Courses

Hi Everyone,

Another busy week at the university this week with Moot Court deadlines looming and Career Week in full effect. Today means the ICC Moot Court team is exactly one week away from our final written submission. That means we are working around the clock to fix up any errors in the drafts, compiling the individual sections and praying we didn’t miss any elements in our research of the problem provided by the Court.

On the side of the first week of classes of Block 3, members of our LLM are also invited to participate in a series of career workshops throughout the week. Career week officially started last Friday when we were invited to submit our CV and cover letter (for the job of our choice) to be judged by three anonymous readers. Based on the quality of the CV and letter, the judges will give us a yes/no or maybe to our dream job and the reason for the decision. Given the number of applications I have received back with the standard “we received a high number of applicants…” response, this is a good opportunity to get some real feedback.

The workshops from Career Week include the following:

1) CV and Cover Letter writing workshop
2) LLM Human Rights and Criminal Justice Panel Discussion and Q&A
3) Professionals Panel discussion and Q&A (with professionals from Amnesty        
     International and the Asser Institute)
4) Interviewing workshop

So far the workshops have been insightful and at times slightly worrying. From the alumni discussion, it is clear that you have to get a head start on making contacts and getting work experience, preferably even before your LLM is finished. Fear aside, the chance to learn proper interview skills and brush up on our CV’s comes at a great time in the program.

Next week, I will travel with three colleagues to the European Court of Human Rights as part of the Clinic Program to attend a hearing in the Grand Chamber. After figuring out the Dutch car rental website (more difficult than it seems) and booking two nights in a Strasbourg hostel, we are ready to go and looking forward to seeing the outcome of a case we had the pleasure to research.

Until the next time/Tot de volgende keer!


Erin

Tuesday 4 February 2014

Expectations Vs Reality

Last year when I was deciding which program to apply for at Utrecht University, I was full of expectations and indecision. The LL.M Human Rights and Criminal Justice caught my eye right away and I was impressed by the overall description on the university website. Of course, choosing a Masters is no easy task. I valued the chance to study an intensive international law program, but other factors played on my mind. Not having a Law bachelor, financial costs and which track to choose, to name a few. After I read and re-read the website, I sought advice from program alumni and after receiving a place in the program, I contacted the administration to learn how best to prepare.

As usual, it doesn’t matter how well you prepare for something, there will always be a few surprises. Now that I am halfway through the program (and have a week off to relax/think), I look back and see all of the expectations I brought with me, whether about living in Utrecht, choosing Utrecht University or deciding on my current Master’s program.

Since hindsight is often the clearest sight of all, here is my take on what has been most enjoyable and what has been more difficult than expected. Of course, this is only my experience. Everyone comes to the program with their own expectations and leaves with their own impressions. Different internships, courses and tracks mean we all experience studying at UU a little differently.

Expectation #1: Utrecht is an amazing city for international students.
Reality: This expectation and reality are without doubt the same. For my Master’s degree, I was determined to live in a great city (Utrecht preferably) and then find the right program. I fell in love with Utrecht the first time I came to live here on Erasmus and the second time has not disappointed. Utrecht is an excellent city for international students. It’s beautiful, attracts students from all over the world, and offers plenty of cultural events and activities.

Expectation #2: Doing a Law Master's is a crazy thing to do if you have a non-law background.
Reality: This was my biggest fear when deciding to do this Master’s program.  I was concerned that I would fall behind or be unable to do the work required. Fortunately, I’ve found that the skills I learned in my undergraduate degree are very useful in the program. I am able to keep up with the work, handle the long readings and successfully do legal research. If you’re interested in the subject but don’t have a legal background, I would say don’t be afraid to apply. Just be prepared for a steep learning curve and some hard work.

Expectation #3: You are in complete control of your own grades.
Reality: I have always been used to being completely independent in my work and the mentality that if you work hard you will succeed. This is still true at UU, but there is a very big element of group work in the program, which means you are not always able to fully control the outcome. The upside is that you develop your teamwork skills and get used to the dynamics of working in a group.

Expectation #4: It is very difficult to achieve high grades.
Reality: The introduction to the program left us with the impression that very high grades are near-impossible with the repeated phrase ‘9 is for the teacher and 10 is for God’. While it is certainly difficult to get a 9 in your work, and an 8 is a very high grade, it is not impossible to excel. Somehow, knowing it is at least possible makes working for the top grade a little bit easier.

Expectation #5: The people in your program will become your closest friends.
Reality: This is certainly true in a lot of cases because you spend a lot of time together in a small program, but is not the only way to make friends. Even if you don’t find your closest friend in your program, the huge number of students living in Utrecht means you can meet friends in unlikely places and there is always an event to attend. Every student experiences homesickness or loneliness at one point or another, but here there are a lot of ways to meet people, get out of the house and get over international blues.

Expectation #6: Studying as an international student you will meet people from all over the world.
Reality: This was one of the reasons I wanted to study abroad and I am happy to say it is true. My program consists of people from all different backgrounds, and at Utrecht University there are international students from all over the world. Studying international law, it is hard to miss the hub of international students and professionals working in the Netherlands.

Expectation #7: The program will require dedication and hard work.
Reality: With big deadlines and lots of reading, this is true. The university doesn’t hand out Master’s degrees for free. Be prepared to work and learn a lot in a short amount of time. The good news is that if you’re willing to put in the effort, the classes are very interesting and it is very rewarding work.

Expectation #8: There will be barely any holidays.
Reality: At first, the year looks a little daunting. The four blocks amount to a much longer academic year than I am used to, but in fact there are a few (well-deserved) breaks between the blocks and on public holidays. Although the first two blocks have no break, it gets much easier in the second half.

Expectation #9: The Master’s brings a lot of opportunity.
Reality: I intended to get some work experience from the program and have been given every opportunity to do so. The majority of people in my program are currently doing an internship or externship. While I am working for the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights as part of the clinic program, my colleagues are doing internships at the ICTY, the ICC and Amnesty International. There is no shortage of opportunities and the internships range from six months to one year.

Expectation #10: No matter which direction you choose to go in, you will not regret choosing this program or studying at Utrecht University.
Reality: This one is simple. Even though I’m not sure which direction I will take after I am finished the program, I am glad I chose to study at UU and followed this LL.M.

So there you have it. A few bumps along the way and a few lessons learned, but overall it’s impossible to have any regrets about the choice I made last February when looking at the long list of Master’s offered by the university.

My best advice for choosing the right program is to follow what you find interesting, make realistic choices based on your expectations of the program, and don’t be afraid to study abroad. There is certainly no lack of options at UU. I was accepted into three very different Master’s programs at the university (hence the early indecision), but looking back now it’s hard to imagine that I could have ended up anywhere else.


Until the next time/Tot de volgende keer!


Erin