GHIS 2

In the previous blog I promised to continue sharing my experience with the interdisciplinary honors programme. Last time, I talked about what I studied at Graduate Honours Interdisciplinary Seminars GHIS, which I called the first component of GHIS. Now, I'll continue with the second component of GHIS which consists mainly of  the research proposal and a trip to Heidelberg. 

The second component of GHIS was the fourth and last block. The block started off by a three day journey to the beautiful city of Heidelberg. The city trip revolved around a conference at the university of Heidelberg and some other social activities. The conference was about interdisciplinarity and the role of the university; how are universities ought to be? Also, we were challenged to come up with interdisciplinary approaches towards specific societal issues. The conference was lead by professor Burke, the dean of the honors program along with other prominent scholars who touch upon interdisciplinarity in their respective work. Also, there was a number of PhD candidates who joined us from the University of Heidelberg, and whose respective dissertations are based on interdisciplinarity. On our part we interacted well with everybody and left a good impression about GHIS and Utrecht University. We, moreover, presented our ideas.There I realized the strength of Utrecht University, really.  

The trip was not as dry as it may sound now, we had so much fun -I actually now realize that I should've dedicated a whole blog to this trip- we went out for an interesting walk onto the Heidelberg mountains -philosopher's walk. Additionally, we had an amazing hike to Heidelberg castle, and much more during the evenings. 

This was all to prepare us mentally and professionally to  the 'research project' that we had to do. Upon our return we had a couple of meetings more at which we discussed our projects and presented them. By then the cohort was already split into 9 groups and each group was tasked to come up with an interdisciplinary research proposal. In the fourth and last session every group presented their work in the form of a scientific poster. Overall it was awesome.

The last component of GHIS, which is purely my experience, is the embedded learning aspects of the programme. Those can be explained by two words that are peculiar to GHIS; Internationalism and Integration. For me, these were the most fruitful aspects of the programme. Mixing and chatting with people from other countries, cultures and disciplines in an academic discourse is truly indispensable. Everybody was open to share their background; they shared a lot of stories and experiences with me, and I of course was also happy to share my experiences, especially the ones that took place in Egypt. 

In the end, I think GHIS, interdisciplinarity in particular, is an umbrella under which students, scholars or practitioners from various disciplines can meet, discuss and learn from each other. This multifaceted approach towards problems has proven to me to be a powerful tool by which complex issues can be tackled. Now, I feel I am equipped with an extra and creative lens through which I can tackle problems that I deal with in my field. I feel I become more creative in my discipline; Law.

The Graduate Interdisciplinary Honors Seminars GHIS

I am a GHIS graduate! Just three days ago the graduation ceremony for GHIS has taken place in the marvelous 'Aula' hall at the Academiegebouw of the Utrecht University. The event was attended by a number of formidable professors who taught us throughout the academic year, among them was the rector magnificus of Utrecht University, prof. Kummeling.  

Indeed each of us was allowed to bring their families and friends, overall it was a great experience. I myself invited and was pleasured with the presence of my fiance and my best friend. When surrounded with those people success is feasible and enjoyable. 

For this occasion, I decided to dedicate this blog and the next for sharing my experiences and thoughts about GHIS, but before doing so I'd like to present some informatiom about GHIS.

First of all, GHIS is an honours programme for Master students who wish to do extra effort next to their Master's. In other words, or in the words of the Honours dean, GHIS is for those 'more-able' students who constantly strive for more. 

Second, GHIS, which stands for Graduate Honours Interdisciplinary Seminars is about Interdisciplinarity; in a nutshell Interdisciplinarity involves combining two or more academic disciplines into one. In other words, it is the annexes between two bodies of knowledge or it is using multiple ideas to get one result, i.e. a researcher who combines two disciplines, or a team that consists of a group of researchers from different disciplines/backgrounds. In this case GHIS is the second type.

Third, the programme practically consists of two main components, but yet it has various embedded learning aspects as I will be discussing here and in the next blog. 
The first component of GHIS is the 'seminars'. The idea of such seminars is to expose us to a variety of  studies and disciplines. In principle nobody is allowed to attend courses related to their discipline or study. As to myself, in block one I selected and was admitted to the philosophy seminars which  was taught by the famous Prof. dr. Rosi Braidotti. In the second block I attended a very unique and reviving subject called 'Complex Systems' which was presented to us by three professors from Biology, Physics and Sociology whom introduced us to this notion of complex systems, and inspired us with how they apply it in their respective disciplines. Also they guided us on how we could do the same when we get back to our disciplines. I suggest you Google it, and if you apply for this programme in the next years you must apply for this seminar.  

In, the third block I attended the Dynamics of Youth, which was not less fascinating, but yet we did some sort of field work. In all three seminars, I had to do an assignment in the form of a written paper or a presentation. These were my choices and yet there were many other appealing ones. As I am limited to certain amount of words, I will continue this in the next week's blog. I will talk about the three remaining points; the second component of GHIS which consists of  the research proposal and the trip to Heidelberg. Then I'll expand on the embedded learning aspects of GHIS, and in the end, I will present some personal reflections about GHIS and interdisciplinarity.

TBC 
Here

Legal Research Master's Conference Committee; Empathy On Trial

Similar to Hogwarts, the Legal Research Master's is divided into four committees/houses, each bearing the name of its main task: Lecture Committee, Study Trip Committee, the Advisory Committee, and of course the Conference Committee. By the beginning of each LRM year, every student, upon their choice and motivation, gets to be allocated in one of these four committees. Fortunately, I was allocated in the LRM Conference committee =>, and I am glad to share my experiences as well as the topic of this year. 

Generally speaking, in each committee students collaborate and organize activities. We do tasks where we have to work closely together, and arrange regular meetings. That works well as we already know each other quite well and if, for example, any of us has a nice idea, they can always put it forward for discussion. For me, this kind of activity gives an extra dimension to our study as each day offers a new challenge, demanding us to think of new ideas, solve different types of issues and work together. Also, it makes me feel that education itself is more enjoyable and more interesting. 

Essentially, my committee the Conference Committee organizes a legal conference every year. As organizers we get to enjoy the perks that come with it, such as choosing the overall theme of the conference, inviting renowned speakers (and have dinner with them!) and, of course, boosting our CVs. Other responsibilities range from organizing lunches and dinners, arranging transportation and accommodation for the international speakers, to promoting the event across Europe. 

This year our conference is titled “Empathy on Trial" and it will take place next month on the 13th of April. The discussion will revolve around how the field of Law and Literature regards the role and relevance of empathy in legal education and practice. For the speakers, we invited a variety of renowned scholars, such as Prof. Dr. Jeanne Gaakeer (Erasmus University), Marco Wan (Hong Kong University) and Emma Jones (Open University). 

You as well are welcome to attend, check the Utrecht University event page; you can find more information about the speakers and the program:
https://www.uu.nl/en/events/legal-research-masters-conference-empathy-on-trial.

Top rated Maters in Law, say no more!

I am very proud, as the recent news has shown that the Legal Research Masters is rated as top rated masters in the Netherlands 2018. For that reason we were gathered by the LRM dean to celebrate and enjoy eating cakes. Thanks to the dean's efforts, the professors and of course the hard working students to make that success happen; congratulations to all. The results are based on the Keuzgids’ survey published on the 8^th of March about master's rating. The survey has shown that the LRM has achieved a score of 94 out of a 100! This score also places the LRM as the best legal research master's in the Netherlands and provides a corresponding quality seal -shown below- for information communication. 

As the university's news describes it, the Keuzegids is an annual publication by the Center for Higher Education Information. It is compiled on the basis of accreditation decisions of the Dutch-Flemish Accreditation Organization and on the basis of student assessments from the National Student Survey. This means that this guide is not only based on scientific criteria, but also on quite extensive empirical data. Underpinning these data are students’ opinions; this year more than 740,000 students were invited to give their opinion about their study and educational institution. This means also that this publication is not only important for the faculty deans and policy advisers to improve their work, but also as a guide for students to select their master’s program. So, if you are applying for masters next year this seal should be one of you references.

The main and simple point to take away from this blog is when selecting a master's program, there are seemingly a few references that can help you create your opinion and narrow down your choice, such as the program’s website, the information provided therein and students' suggestions, but there is a yet another example of some other criteria that you can look at to assess whether this is a good master for you and your future. If your are doubting or comparing very similar programs and standards then you may ask the policy advisers to provide you with the outcome of this source, or simply look for this seal. 

How to research, even when it’s dynamic

In a previous blog on the 15^th of January I wrote about how the Legal Research Master's is a medium to see law from three perspectives; philosophical, methodological and practical. In this blog I discuss the Dynamics of law courses –the practical aspect of the LRM. But what does this word “Dynamics” entail in a legal context? 

Dynamics simply implies the interaction, challenges and connectivity of and among legal orders. Thus, the central issue of each dynamics course is the legal intertwining of the national, European and international legal orders in a specific field of law. In other words, how do legal orders interact in a given situation? Do they interact in a hierarchical or in a horizontal way in a given situation? Which order dominates? Does the international legal order or law constitute a highest norm, since it regulates the relationship between states and international organizations around the world? Or are the states, represented by their national legal orders and state sovereignty, constituting the highest norm or the source of all orders? What is the role of European law and institutions as a middle order between the national and international orders, especially when it contradicts International Law?  

Overall, there are three Dynamics courses. Each Dynamics course focuses on certain aspects; in the first block we started with the dynamics of constitutional and administrative law, the second was the dynamics of criminal law and human rights and currently we are diving into the dynamics of private law. In these courses, words like globalization, trans-national, Europeanization, harmonization, unification, convergence, divergence, etcetera are closely tackled. To my mind this is a thrilling legal discourse and an essential skill to any person who looks forward to being a legal researcher. In my experience, applying and writing about the coexistence of these legal orders is a vital activity in a dynamic fast world full of technology, legal development and globalization.

Now I pay attention to the presence of these dynamics. First of all, International law influences states in many occasions such as treaty law, jus cognes customary norms, UN binding resolutions and the case law of the International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. Similarly, the European order is yet another legal order that influences a big number of European states. The role of the EU legal order in these dynamics is manifested in norms and principles such as direct effect, effectiveness, primacy, etc. These have implications on the national legal orders of the EU member states –and in some occasions other states. Though, national legal orders are able to push back as they still possess a respective protected legal identity and culture, sovereignty and autonomy in applying law in its territory.

Ultimately, even when conducting a seemingly domestic legal research other layers may come into play and vice versa. In a more connected world than ever, a thorough legal research cannot be conducted in isolation from a background of the interaction and dynamics of legal orders. This suffices to say that it is vital for any legal researcher to be mindful of the Dynamics of law.   

In the loving memory of Matthias Jorissen

Over 10 days ago I thought about blogging about people of the Utrecht University law faculty. I thought about picking a monthly character from my fellow students, university employees and my teachers. The Idea was to pick someone to take a picture with and to write about. The very first person who popped up in mind was Matthias Jorissen. Perhaps he was even the one who made me think about it. More or less a week ago, I had a conversation with one of my fellow students in front of Janskerkhof –the law faculty building, when Matthias ran into us as he was photographing and covering some event, as usual. I remember we had had a short conversation with him. As soon as he left I told my friend about this idea and that I will start with writing about Matthias and that I will contact him later about it. It could have also been an opportunity to tell Matthias what I had in mind, but too much trust I give to longevity! I thought I had all the time in the world to contact him.

Even greater was the shock when I heard that less than a day after this coincidental meeting, Matthias passed away as the result of a heart attack. But who is Matthias? Matthias worked as the LRM policy advisor, but he was so much more than that. Both current and former LRM students called him the father of the LRM. He was a counsellor, a friend, problem solver. He was the perfect bridge between staff and LRM students. For our LRM dean prof. mr. Janneke Gerards he was immensely valuable in assisting her with the organization around the LRM. She told me the work he did cannot be replaced by five others.

That Matthias was a special man who was loved by many became even clearer during his memorial service yesterday. The Janskerk next to the faculty was packed with people who came to so say goodbye. Many of them brought flowers and the memorial was filled with speeches and music. Matthias was praised for his humor, his devotion to everything he did, and above all his attentiveness to each and every one of us. Matthias will leave an enormous gap in all of our lives. He will not be forgotten. Goodbye Matthias, rest in peace.

 

I am a legal researcher. What is your superpower?

Surrounded by articles and books and constrained by deadlines and meetings, I could finally manage to reach out to my blog. Glad to be here again. My motive this time is to warn you not to apply for the Legal Research Master’s! Yes, don’t you dare.

Unless you are genuinely striving for learning what law is and ought to be, how to solve complex legal issues, and which methods would enable you to do so; do not apply for it. Many people here in the Netherlands and in Egypt have been asking me “what do you study?” When I reply with: “legal research”, they say: “Yes, but which domain of law; public or private? Which branch of law; criminal, administrative, civil, etc.? And, which legal order do you study? Is it national, international or European?        

I reply with: “perhaps all; I study legal research, I am being trained to research law, but let me further explain...” To my mind, Legal Research Master’s (LRM) inspires me to see how Law can be used as a tool of change. At the LRM arena, this inspiration arose from looking at law from three windows; one is philosophical, the second is methodological and the third is practical.

The first is philosophical, because when I read the assigned literature and attend lectures, I approach law as a science, and therefore, many questions emerge about Law and its characteristics.  Secondly, the methodological discourse exposes me to various debates on several types of legal research. This makes me understand more how law actually functions and how it can be used in the most reliable sense. Lastly, I see law from a practical window because at LRM we are acquainted, more often than not, with tackling and solving complex issues that emerge from the intertwinement of legal orders, in each domain and in each branch of law. The rational is, those who understand law best and know how to use it through a thorough training are able to lead in any branch of law -able to change for better.

These insights are provided to me via Methodology and Dynamics meetings, assignments and literature; the foundational elements of the LRM.  Although I make the substance of the LRM seem too broad, in later blogs I will dig deeper and discuss with examples; how such elements can be utilized in a given specialization. Also, I will discuss the possibility & flexibility to narrow down your focus to the topics of your interest.
If you are up for this challenge and want to know more about the LRM from an international perspective, stay tuned for the upcoming blogs in which I will give some insights on the LRM activities, research projects and courses, etc. Stay tuned!

A new page...

  Two years ago, I visited this beautiful city, Utrecht, for the first time, and as a usual traveler I was fascinated by every little detail of this city; the architecture, streets, canals, restaurants, libraries, the university buildings, the harmony of everything and a lot more that I will be elaborating throughout my blog. 

     Now, and for over four months, I am so lucky to be living here and studying at the University of Utrecht as a Legal Research Master student. It is not at all easy, yet utterly adventurous to live and learn in a different place than what you’re used to. This is not a view of a person who has seen a few, I would confidently say my life has been adventurous to some extent; I am always on the move; never afraid to take risky decisions; and I am always ‘curious’. However, moving to another city, let alone another country, was one of the most challenging decisions I ever made. Totally worth it.

   It is not easy to relocate, I am aware that our directions and destinations have to be always justified and clarified by reasons, such as: sentimental ones; old roots to this destination, family reunion or friends, but also financial reasons such as pursuing a scholarship. Even myself, I would not have moved or applied for the Master’s that I am currently enrolled in unless I had that “big reason”. My reason was to be with my fiancee.  However, paradoxically, the main aim I am writing this blog is to tell you that you do not need that big reason to study in Utrecht, because if you are an ambitious, hard worker person, this University would help you by all means. 

My vision is to write on my experience in Utrecht and it’s university. I will do so spontaneously by picking topics that I, and you, may wonder about.

As this meant to be an introduction, I am writing some background information about myself, my vision, mission and the value of this blog. My name is Waleed, 26 years old, I was born in Libya, but my parents are Egyptians and before I moved to the Netherlands I had my entire life in Egypt. I have many hobbies but can be limited to three categories; travelling and photographing; reading and writing; and Gym and boxing. 

Throughout each blog, my mission is to deliver to you some practical experience, of an international student’s life who studies law in Utrecht University. I will also reflect my social life here as well as the problems I encounter. This should help you creating your perspective about the city, the university and the Master's I am enrolled in.

Being a part of the LLM's Honours Programme

The LLM's Honours Programme (the Honours Programme) is one of the Utrecht University projects, aimed at quality students, which gathered participants from different study fields of law into one classroom, throughout all the academic year. I have had the pleasure to be a part of it and will be sharing with our blog readers the most interesting and valuable features, which helped me to further develop my skills not only as a student, but also aiming further, as a law practitioner.  

   

In such regard, various skills training meetings were aimed towards building the professional conduct as a lawyer, regardless of possible intentions of pursuing (or not) this path in the future. They were very practical and informative, with guest lectures that brought an additional insight into the topics discussed. For example, the workshop ‘Writing for your Client’ introduced the students to a whole other type of writing than the usual academic one, by emphasizing the need of being concise and to the point with the piece that they might be working on. Additionally, the ‘Client Interviewing and Counselling’ workshop enriched our skills with many practical examples that our tutors had lived themselves in real life, in order to create a full picture of what is to be expected from a lawyer’s daily practice. Particularly interesting was the discussion on the ethical conduct and behaviour of not only lawyers, but of every professional who might also be working in the academia. Moreover, the training that aimed the development of additional skills in legal and non-legal research, to me personally it showed how a student can conduct an effective hunt for relevant books or articles by using the library tools, a vital information to possess, especially for a law student. Overall, the skills’ training was an effective contribution to the personal development of the participants in the Honours Programme.

One feature of the program which greatly contributed towards our critical thinking and teamwork was definitely the individual organisation of the content meetings. In small groups not more than six students, we had  to conceptualise and create a few of the excellence masters track meetings, with interesting topics which could be easily correlated with almost all of the study fields of the participants. It happened that the group I was working in was the very first responsible for organizing such a meeting and our feelings were somehow perplexed between trying to find a relevant and interesting topic and imagining what could an ideal content meeting look like. The topics on the table varied between the newly adopted EU data protection regulation and the strategic litigation, also known as public litigation. Ultimately the latter triumphed and the first content meeting organised by students of the Honours Programme focused on strategic litigation, which in other words is the use of legal procedure in a strategic way to bring about certain social, political or legal changes. This can give a voice to individuals, protect vulnerable minorities, and provide access to justice for those whose rights are at stake.

Another highlight of the program was the project ‘Law and Literature’ which envisaged creating parallels between the two fields. The very interesting topic was introduced by Judge Jeanne Gakeer and then carried out by other mixed groups of students. What we had to do seemed simple at the beginning: choose a fictional book/novel and write a legal analysis over it. The first problems though emerged at choosing what book should we all read and write upon. However, this is also one of the skills that I got from the Honours Programme, namely conducting the negotiating process between the team and trying to persuade the fellow students about a specific choice. In the end, our group decided to read The Sellout by Paul Beatty, a novel which depicted the modern segregation practiced in the United Stated and the implicit racial bias when it comes to judicial processes against people with colour. One could not say that the writing process and the presentation at the end went smoothly, but we learned from our mistakes and made sure to improve on a later stage.

This experience was also further enriched by a specific sub-programme that was carried out by the European Law master coordinator, prof. Linda Senden and the students. In the beginning of the year we had a series of collective meetings, where we discussed interesting topics starting from possible amendments of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to organising a small moot court with the aim of introducing the human rights perspective to our studies, to discussing on a round table the conceptual and practical problems of the European Monetary Union and trying to enhance its legitimacy by strengthening the national parliaments representation and finally, to define and debate the meaning of the well-known term ‘rule of law’.  The specific EU law programme was very insightful and taught us, the students participants, how to better use our critical thinking and our public speaking skills. In addition to this, each student then was assigned an individual project to work on, mainly as a research assistant to a professor that was preparing an academic article for publication. I had the pleasure to assist dr. van den Brink for his research on the impact of the European Monetary Union economic performance policies, which was also focused on discussing the role of national parliaments on EMU policy-making. This experience worked as a real boost to my academic research skills, so important for an LLM student nowadays. It has been a long road of writing and researching, but before the end of the program, the article is already sent for publication and I feel that this was an enriching experience in terms of gaining new skills and reinforcing the existing ones.

As a participant of the Honours Programme 2016-2017, I strongly believe that this experience, also in part created by the students and for the students, is a valuable extra-curricular addition, in which everyone should be encouraged to take part. The amount of skills enhanced, the interaction and creativity that we took especially from each-other are the features that show the importance of such initiatives. I greatly enjoyed being part of the Honours Programme and would absolutely recommend it to any fellow/future UU student!

The Utrecht University Library

Hello everyone! After a little pause I’m glad to be back and share Utrecht experiences with you. Let’s say that my absence is justified because of the start of the fourth period of study here in UU, which for LLM students equals to writing their thesis. Therefore, not only me, but every other LLM student in any other discipline is now dedicating almost all of their time to such an important writing, with which one is expected to contribute to the academia and make a significant step forward in the debate that is discussed within the thesis itself. At first it might sound a huge entrepreneurship and maybe a little scary, but when you start your LLM studies you will definitely be surprised on how much you can learn and advance your skills in a small amount of time.

This brings me to the core message of this blog post. “Every top university has its own top library” and this is definitely what the Utrecht University Library is. I could not imagine writing, not only my thesis, but any paper that was required during my studies without the library’s resources and help. With two big and beautiful buildings, one located in the city centre and the other at the Uithof, the Utrecht University Library is always close to the students for any material that they might need.

I remember that one of the main pieces of advice that our professors used to give before the start of the thesis period was: use the collection of the library; it is indeed quite big, rich and it is going to be indispensable for finding the right materials to complete your research. And I cannot stress that enough. As of my own experience, I needed quite some amount of different books to buid up my research and almost all of them were available on the shelves. But don’t worry, if you cannot find a book in the shelf, check twice on the online catalogue and see if somebody else is using it. In this case, you can simply put an online request within the system, and the library staff will inform you when the book will be available for pick-up (you can also choose a favourable date!).

For sure that books are an important part of the University’s library, but its collection, especially for law students, becomes even more accessible when it includes a list of the most prominent journals (online or not), where you can find sometimes “life-saving” articles for your research. In that regard, also the “UBU-link” helps quite a lot. For the ones that aren’t familiar with the term, this is simply a tool that helps the students to find the full text of their online material, provided that the library is a subscriber to that website/journal that you are looking into (and trust me, most of the time it is).

However, the collection of such a vast number of materials is not the sole feature of the Utrecht University Library. Say, if you have troubles at concentrating at home, or if your roommates are being louder than usual, the library has plenty of study spots reserved for students. Circled by books, in a quiet environment and with a great lightning system, the library is definitely my favourite place to study. It is true that the building in the city centre can be quite busy sometimes, especially when its exam week, but you can always try going to the Uithof: the building is much bigger and it’s practically guaranteed that you will find a similar quiet and nice place to study.

To conclude, as a UU student, academically you will always have the support you need. The library offers a ton of choices and you simply need to be aware of them. Check as well with the service desks, the staff is super nice!  

More and more study trips

One good thing about studying in Utrecht is that you will never be alone in the long and arduous process of learning. When I first came here and faced the student life, I was amazed by the number of study associations and about their endless opportunities to get involved. There is loads of extra-curricular work and activities to do for every type of committed student. Hence, since the beginning of the year I became part of Urios Study Association, which is specifically aimed at international and European law students. Apart from the hard work that members of the study association put into publishing Curious, the member’s magazine (which is of course open to anyone interested) and into the prestigious Utrecht Journal of International andEuropean Law, the committees also organize study trips.

One of these was carried out few days earlier in The Hague, where Urios and Ad Informandum, together with representatives from the University’s Career Services visited the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Tribunal for ex Yugoslavia.

The journey began at the Peace Palace, a stunning building whose construction was quite an ambitious project. Through the very informative tour in the visitor’s centre, the participants had the opportunity to delve into the history behind its design and the aspirations of that generation to foster peace between the countries. The first stone of the Palace was cast in the spring of 1907 during the second Peace Conference and every country contributed with precious materials in its construction. Vases were sent from China and Hungary, Turkey and Persia donated carpets, wood and stone came from Scandinavia and Brazil, whereas marble from Italy. It is undoubtedly a breathtaking architecture and definitely one of the places to visit while in The Hague. The Peace Palace is the host building of the ICJ and its sessions take place in the Great Hall of Justice, on the right side of the building. During the visit, we had the opportunity to speak to one representative from the Court’s information department, who alongside explaining the main reasons of the existence of the Court and practical matters related to specific cases, also gave some tips and tricks for those interested for an internship. Naturally, if you browse their website online, you’ll also find the relevant information in a blink.

The visit to ICTY was equally fascinating and informative. From the horrors of the First World War embedded in the history of the Peace Palace, we jumped into the fight for freedom of the ex Yugoslavian republics and the crimes that were committed not so long ago. The welcoming staff of ICTY had prepared a very interesting documentary for us, of the notorious Prijedor massacre, known as the ethnic cleansing campaign committed by the Serb political and military leadership mostly againstBosniak civilians. ICTY was established in 1993 by the United Nations in response to reports of such mass atrocities taking place in the former Yugoslavia and it has been quite successful in its mission, with 161 individuals indicted by the court. Although rumours that ICTY is going to close down soon are up and running, we got trusted information from the internal staff that internships are still possible.

And what would be the best end for a day filled with useful information and history? Surely some “gezellige” networking drinks afterwards in Millers bar, enjoying bitterballen and of course, beers. Therefore, my other advice if you ever happen to study in Utrecht is: join a study association! You get to enrich your experiences, expand the network and make cool study trips! 

Benefits of blogging

Students in the final lecture 

When you take a law course at Utrecht University, you are also required to take the so-called “capita selecta” during the third period of studies. In a nutshell, the capitas are short but intensive courses which last normally up to three weeks and are focused on a very specific area of the study field.  My classmates and I had the chance and pleasure to follow a very interesting and well-built capita, called enforcing EU law by EU agencies. For three weeks we were taught and mentored by Dr. Miroslava Scholten in order to enrich our understanding on one of the most important developments of EU law and governance, namely agencification. I’m not going to explain in details what this very complex term means, but for all of you interested in the subject, you can follow Mira’s blog here.

This, by the way, is also going to be a blog about blogs and you’re going to find out more in a blink. So, during our time in the capita we were divided into groups and asked to choose one of the EU’s agencies in order to complete a research about its structure, powers, accountability and problems that might (or not) arise in such spectrum. Besides building great teamwork skills, the course also taught us not to be afraid of presentations, which is an important ability to have in today’s times. Thus, after having lectures and guest lectures (by Michele Simonato, Marloes van Rijsbergen and Laura Wissink), the floor was for us, the students, to present each week a little bit of our findings.

The course was finalised with a research paper of each group and the creation of a blog on the main topic, including results of our team investigations. The idea of creating a blog might even sound out of the place in a law course, but believe me, it is one of the best ways to quickly and massively spread the message of your research. In the modern times it is hard to find someone that reads lengthy and complicated papers, unless it is indeed required for work or study. Most of the people instead prefer easy and absorbable news, thus the blogging becomes a practical solution. Moreover, the number of people you reach out is unimaginable. Therefore, I would strongly suggest to everyone: create a blog on the topic that you’re researching. It is a good idea to put into test your findings and the process of simplifying your research even helps you as a writer to really understand what’s going on there.

To conclude, our capita was quite successful and the student teams created five blogs. Nerea and Senta worked on EPPO, Juliette and Michael on EASA, Eline, Laura and Babette on ECN, Anka, Agustine, Hans and Hidde on Frontex+ and finally, the cherry on top of the pie, Janneke, Elissavet and myself on ESMA.

Hint: the ESMA team will definitely keep up with the blog, since our master thesis topic are as well on this agency, so see you there!  

Do’s and don’ts in Paris (while you’re on a moot court)

Utrecht University team in Paris

Being a European law student is not always easy, but it sure knows how to be rewarding. Among all the activities offered by the master programme, I would say that there is no other who comes close to the nerve-wrecking, race-against-the-time, enriching, fun, cool, travelling and network creating experience offered by the European Law Moot Court. I have felt honoured (and very challenged) to be a part of the team that represented Utrecht University in the Paris regional rounds. 

For all the freshers on moot courts, this one is the most prestigious in the field of European Law. The experience has started since last year in September, where we went through rigorous selection processes carried out by tutors and mentors, who of course did a wonderful job in hand picking what would be the greatest and funniest team in Paris. After that, we went through the written phase pleadings, which took us a greater number of preparation hours than any other imaginable course and various consultations with professors and experts on the field (including a trip to the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs). The case was extremely complicated and everyone that we asked simply stood up with a thinking countenance in their faces slowly saying... “but this makes no sense”... We can call it whatever we want, but luck wasn’t on our side this year. Nevertheless I should say that my teammates Nicole, Daphnie and Hans were the perfect mates who made easy the process of crying on each other shoulders. And there it was, after submitting our written pleadings, the announcement of the winning teams was coming closer. We couldn’t believe we got through and as you can imagine, the preparations intensified immensely so that we could be shining in Paris!

The journey was equally interesting, beginning from the moment when Hans missed his train, to our feelings when we entered the hotel lobby and saw the nerdy faces of our opponents. Tomorrow was our pleading session and we had to be there since 8 in the morning. As you imagine, life in Paris while you’re doing such an important thing gets pretty hectic, although we would have loved a slow breakfast with hot chocolate and macarons. The European Law Moot Court is very competitive and only one team from 12 would go to the big final in Luxembourg. Even though we did our best and content wise we were close to perfect, we didn’t go through the second round. The bad news is that it was really disappointing, but the good news is that we were now allowed to drink our sorrows away and to finally have some fun.

One of the best parts was our culinary experience with the French cuisine. Starting from the little finger food, in rich banquets, where nobody understood what in the world they were eating (but only that it was delicious), coming to Quiche Lorraine, the beef tartars, les terrines du lapin, the delicious omelettes and the incomparable hot melted chocolate, everything was perfect and bubbly like the champagne.

First pleading round over!

Looking back, I really miss the days when we used to meet and discuss about the case and I feel that the same happened as well to my teammates. Call it post-moot temporary depression stage. In moot court competitions, you either make friends for life or enemies for life and I am glad that we belong at the first category. That is also thanks to the support of our coaches, Tony and Diane, who always made time for our delayed draft submissions and always gave the best practical advice.

If somebody is also considering joining the moot court competition, I’d say go for it and best of luck!

Luxembourg and Brussels, a guide to enjoying study trips

Utrecht University students at the Court of Justice of the European Union

When it comes to study trips, everyone is keen on forgetting the long and studious days or nights before the exams. Along with my classmates of the European Law masters programme we had a very fruitful, professional and also fun study trip to Luxembourg and Brussels. A number of EU institutions welcomed us in their headquarters, providing numerous workshops, presentations, guided tours and even challenging quizzes. After leaving Utrecht at the first hours of the day (in a very comfortable bus) we headed towards Luxembourg, where upon arrival, the Court of Auditors (ECA) was waiting for us, the eager students, to show aspects of the daily functioning of the institution. I must say that this visit was quite interesting, since for a large number of students, it was probably the first contact with such an EU institution. Established to audit the EU’s finances, the results of the ECA’s work are used by the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council and the Member States to oversee the management of the EU budget and, where necessary, make improvements.

However, the day after was overly exciting due to the visit to the Court of Justice of the European Union. Our enthusiasm could be easily perceived. Finally we were stepping to that institution which is one of the main actors in the shaping of European law as we know until present days. It was extremely valuable to come in touch with the real place and people that develop EU’s case law, as much as it was inspiring. More than half of the Court’s human resources are made of translators and interpreters, and it was charming to see the swiftness with which they contributed to make the communication between all official languages of the Union possible. During our visit at the CJEU, we had the great chance to attend a court hearing concerning a Dutch tax law case, quite technical in nature as it entailed the explication of the “regulated market” concept, but nevertheless very interesting to attend. Equally nice and enriching, was the meeting with Judge Sacha Prechal, who welcomed us in a private informal lunch. The stay in Luxembourg was quite hectic, as immediately after we paid a visit to the European Investment Bank (EIB), again a “new” institution as regards our knowledge which actually is the world’s largest multilateral borrower and lender. It was interesting to understand that they provide finance and expertise for sustainable investment projects that contribute to EU policy objectives. With this, our Luxembourg visits came to an end and we were fully prepared to spend another fruitful day, this time in Brussels.

What else could be the main attraction for an EU law student in Brussels, either than the European Commission? And of course, this was our next step. The DG for Communication had prepared a list of interesting meetings and workshop for us, starting with the presentation given by Mr. Ludo Tegenbosch on the role of the European Commission as the political executive of the European Union, continuing with the informal meeting with Mrs Simona Constantin, member of the Jourova cabinet, responsible for justice, consumers and gender equality and finishing with Mr Harrie Temminik and his commitment to the digital single market. Our Brussels adventure came to an end with the visit to the Dutch permanent representation to the EU, where very committed Dutch members explained what was it like to work every day with the EU institutions trying to maintain your national country’s interests at the best level. Undoubtedly, it was a true lecture of negotiation.

The Luxembourg and Brussels trip was one of the best memories that students will cherish forever and I want to heartily thank our professor Diane Fromage for her commitment, organisation and of course, patience.

Exams, stress and redefining the meaning of life

Hello everyone! I am Klea, an Albanian girl studying at the vibrant University of Utrecht. In addition, I am going to be the blogger for my masters programme, European law, until the end of the academic year so thank you for joining and hope you enjoy my posts! As an introduction, let me guide you to the starter pack of dealing with exams and paperwork in UU. Off we go!
It’s almost the end of January and by this time the exam period is freshly over, at least for the European Law master programme. Making a quick throwback, I can say without hesitating that it was one of the most stressful parts of my student life, and let me tell you that no matter what you do, at least some little stress and excitement will accompany every each of us during this period and that it doesn’t have to be something inherently bad.

Let me describe what a normal student faces in Utrecht. In a period you are expected to take two courses, with intense studying, tutoring, lectures, seminars, papers, presentations and nice little extra work included. Sometimes you will also have very close deadlines. Such, I had a paper deadline on Friday 13^th (!!) 6pm and another the same day, but midnight. So you get the picture. I have the great ability to somehow stay organised and put my writing and my thoughts together always some time before the deadline, but my classmates were coming at the library and quietly saying that “Oh, I have 0 words”. Believe me, that is not a position you would want to be in, especially when your professors are strict! In addition to that, the exams were approaching. For my course on competition law, to somehow ease us from the time pressure of the written exam, the professors thought it was a good idea to propose a take home question. Quick explanation for the ones that maybe are not familiar with the concept: in such a thing, the professors publish a question on Blackboard and expect your answers back by the end of the day. Hence, you are free to do it at home, consult books, friends and everything that crosses your mind. Sounds easy, doesn’t it. Well, it was rather the opposite.

The case we had to deal with was obviously long and complicated, but I believe that the more time you are given to resolve something, the more you tend to be insecure and in the end your mind wanders around the most remote and unexplored places. “What if” questions arise one after the other and in the end of the day, you are rushing to meet the deadline. Mostly everyone in my class was experiencing the same thing and when finally it was over, we could only think about food and sleep. The worst thing was that the day after, we had another final exam. And again, after the weekend, the (finally) last one.

Therefore, studying in such a pace is not for the faint hearted, but in the end, everything falls into place. The feelings after exam period are mixed. I always smile when I encounter in daily life very simple products, such as bananas or salt, that were put in market by those companies, the story of which us EU competition law students know by heart. But also, that makes me hate bananas or salt for quite a period of time. Nevertheless, when you come home from the last exam, there is this strange unknown feeling that you’re suddenly free and don’t have to study anymore. So what to do now? Time to find a new meaning in life!

P.S: things are not as sombre as they might look. Soon you’ll get updates about the European young lawyers on their trip to Luxembourg and Brussels! (Trump voice) It’s gonna be a great trip. It’s gonna be absolutely fantastic. 

Live long and Prosper. *Drops Mic*

        Hello great, great people! I am very happy to write one last blog for you now that the madness is over… Most of the students are on their home countries, and the rest of us scattered around the Netherlands doing the same thing… pondering if student life was better than this inconsistent and scary adult world-in which job hunting becomes one of our main activities. I sometimes think that writing a thesis is easier than writing 3 motivational letters for different jobs. Example: ‘I am a social person, who works well in groups and enjoys being in a changing environment, that is always challenging…’ ‘ I am deeply committed to work for a better world, I believe that the key relies upon economic sustainability” ‘I just finished my Master, and I just want to work so I can show the world my knowledge…”. 

If only the world would function with true honesty, motivational letters would sound like: ‘ I just need a job” . “ I want to move out of my parents’ “ Game of Thrones will be aired next year, I need an occupation until then” “ Please hire me” .

      Clearly if this was the case, no one would be employed, but perhaps there are ways to keep yourself actually motivated (regardless the ‘no’s’).Instinctively, we are drawn to our dream job that most likely we are too inexperienced to get, and we wait for it for weeks, until we get an answer. I don’t have a formula for getting a good job, but I do have an advice if you land a job that ‘does not live up to the expectations’ : It is fine. Take it easy, we just finished our education, and the important thing is not the actual activity you are assigned to, it is opening up your head to the workplace environment, not as a student, but as a professional. 

      These ‘ in between jobs’ are not more than our training: It’s like we fit some very nice but uncomfortable shoes when we graduate, and what we do next is walk them off, to make it fit better. It is a way to feel more confident with ourselves and our knowledge, believe that you are a good employee after all, and that you are capable of doing it. By the time our shoes are worn off, guess what… it is time for a promotion (whether it is given or if it is a personal decision).

         On another note, I would like to provide a small but significant place to the anonymous heroes among us: Truth is, though fun, this Master was not easy, in a sense that all of us are going through different struggles while studying, and the fact that we finished is simply wonderful. For all the sleepless nights, and for being strong, for all your hard work while having a part-time job. Dear students, mothers, workers, humans, colleagues, I salute you.

         This has been a very good year, and I will never forget this experience, I sincerely wish you all the best, and for the new students out there… enjoy it, talk about it, even blog about it, you could be the next International Blogger, I would be eager to read how are you living all of this changes. Lastly, I would like to thank the University for giving me absolute freedom and supporting my blog. It was a pleasure.

Dank u wel! Tot Ziens! Wortel! Blauw!

(You can thank me later for the free Dutch lesson)

Remember: This stressful moment will become a chapter of your Memoirs. Not all is lost.

My dear, dear dearest fellow students: The day that was set upon the Gods for us to exteriorize our valuable and treasured knowledge in the form of a digital document has finally become part of the past that is set on stone. In other words, chances are, that most of you already submitted your thesis, and now life seems to have gained new colours and challenges… like holidays.

A great number of international students have travelled back to their countries, in order to gain some weight with the so called ‘homely calories’ that only your local food can accomplish. For the rest of us who ‘stayed’ behind, there are a few options to consider: Either booking a flight in order to meet up with our forgotten friend (the sun), or enjoy our Netherlands as it is, and relaxing our stressed nerves. I have been craving for a book to read that did not include the words ‘securitisation’ or ‘telecommunications’, but of course this did not happen, as I have enrolled in Summer School, in order to get more background on European Law. What was I thinking? The enrichment of my education? Or glory and power perhaps? I will remain silent on this subject, and leave the door open for any kind of speculation on your behalf.

A general conclusion I can make from this course is that it provided me with guidance, not only in the topics of the courses, but on my professional career. As I finished my bachelor back in Argentina, I was a bit worried-and what I really mean is scared-of what will become of me as a professional. I have had training in almost all the subjects of law-from civil to navigation and aeronautical-but I just could not find my way on regards of a proper specialization. As the classes of Corporate Governance passed by I developed an interest-derived by curiosity- on how undertakings interact within their internal and external organisation. However, the ground breaking subject for me was regulation: I found my field of interest though this Master, and for that I will be forever grateful.

I am aware that some will agree (?)…and other will consider it not to be their cup of tea, but in this differences is where true beauty lies. Bottom line is, whatever you do-study or work-always seek to find the added value of it: No matter how bad your experience or how difficult it became: You might not know better, but just a little bit more.

PS: As I walked in Schipol I realised that NO, I have not yet tried Haring, but in this holidays you are all welcome to do so.