Whirlwind Week

Wow! What a week it has been here in The Hague. I could probably have written a lengthy post each day this week with all of my experiences and impressions of the past week. But instead I'll try to post just some interesting highlights.

Last weekend I was in Germany, visiting my "German family" in Cologne. I returned to The Hague late on Saturday night and was greeted by a new roommate named Marion (who is from France). On Sunday, Marion and I ventured to Scheveningen (the beach in The Hague). We were incredibly lucky in that the weather was sunny and, while not exactly warm, it was warm for January. We walked around the beach a bit and then stopped off at one of the beach front restaurants for some fish and chips. The Dutch version of fish and chips is different than how we think of fish and chips in the states (not deep fried, and a bit bland). After relaxing at the restaurant for a bit we caught the tram back towards our apartment but made a quick stop at the ICTY so that we could make sure we knew where we had to go on Monday morning. I've included some pictures of the beach below.






Interning at the ICTY

Originally I was to begin at 9 am on Monday morning, however, I had received an email a few days prior to the start asking me to arrive at 8 am instead. There were 26 new interns that were scheduled to begin and apparently there were also numerous new interns for the Defense that also needed ID badges to be processed. We spent about the first hour handing in paperwork and getting a brief orientation and then we were taken to our individual placements. I was placed in Trial Chambers and have been assigned to work on a really interesting case. Before I attend the required security briefing I can't say much else about the case I'm working on or my assignments (other than to speak in general terms) because there is a high degree of confidentiality with everything I'm working on. I can, however, direct you to the ICTY website where you can read about the alleged war criminals that are currently on trial. Trials at the tribunal last quite awhile, but you have to remember that the amount of evidence that has to be combed through and presented is voluminous. There are also constantly new legal issues emerging and new challenges being made from everything to the jurisdiction of the tribunal to whether an accused should be limited in the time allowed for establishing the defense. You can read the indictment, the trial briefs, and many of the other legal documents (basically anything that is public record and not filed under seal) as well as watch the trial proceedings live here: http://www.icty.org/. The trial proceedings are available to be streamed except when there is a closed session because a witness has been afforded special protections or a matter that is being discussed is confidential.

There will be days when I will be in the courtroom because of certain tasks that I have to complete and it is possible that you would see me on the live feed (not speaking, but sitting at a desk). At some point in the next two weeks (and probably numerous times through the rest of my internship) you might be able to see me on the live video feed. Of course I will not be presenting, but I'll be observing and working on an assignment for the Chambers.

Anyway, I am enjoying the work and the atmosphere at the ICTY tremendously. I was immediately introduced to the legal team (of about 10 people, including myself) that I will be working with and they are all wonderful. They have all been incredibly welcoming and helpful in bringing me up to speed on what I need to know as well as any legal issues that are emerging may be of interest (even if it is not something we will be working on directly). They are also great about keeping me busy with a variety of challenging work but not overwhelming me with too many assignments and responsibilities. Once assignments have been completed they provide prompt positive feedback suggesting any necessary corrections.

The ICTY atmosphere is great in general. It's such an incredible experience to work with people around the world. I think that being in this environment is also unique in the sense that everybody is an expat so they are welcoming and interested in getting to know you and share their culture and learn about yours. I share office space with a bunch of other Chambers interns and it is fun to get to interact and work with people of similar age and with similar interests. Lunch is never boring because there are also people to go to the cafeteria and chat with. The ICTY interns are also a fun group to go out with and explore The Hague. The interns from the ICTY, the ICC (International Criminal Court), and the STL (Special Tribunal for Lebanon) get together for drinks and dancing or other events every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening. There are social coordinators at the various institution who are responsible for publishing a social newsletter each week that also announces various events of interest that will be occurring in The Hague.

Well, that's all I'll write for now. This weekend should be fun - tomorrow a few of the other interns and my roommates will be venturing to a market and to the city center for some shopping. I'm also going to look at an inexpensive bike that I might purchase and investigate joining a gym.

My Apartment in The Hague

Ik ben aangekomen (I have arrived.)

Note: I wrote this post this morning but am only now getting a chance to post it.
After spending approximately 17 hours in a plane (24 hours if you count the time 9 hour time difference from Portland) I made it to The Netherlands. The flights were fairly uneventful except for some US Airways customer service problems. In Portland I was in boarding zone 5 which meant that I was one of the last people to board the plane. Because other passengers had brought so many carry on bags there was no space and I was forced to gate check my bag. The plane was at maximum weight capacity, and the ground crew in Portland ended up over-fueling the plane by about 100 lbs. so we sat on the tarmac for 20 minutes with the engines running in order to burn off the excess jet fuel. Over-fueling seems like quite an expensive mistake to make in terms of cost, environmental impact, and time loss. The delay on the Portland tarmac caused the plane to land in Phoenix at the exact time my connecting flight was beginning to board so I got in some cardio by having to sprint from one terminal to the next. Luckily I made it to the plane and the flight to Philadephia arrived on time and did not require sprinting.
I arrived in Amsterdam Schipol, made my way through passport control and customs and headed for the trains. Schipol is only about 35 minutes from The Hague by train. That is, of course, if you get on the correct train. There are multiple trains routes that run through The Hague and multiple train stops in The Hague, but not all of the routes stop at the Central Station. When looking at the train schedule I had just looked for The Hague and assumed that the train would stop at the Central Station. This was a big mistake. Luckily I figured the mistake out while I was at the last stop in The Hague (and only 3 minutes away from the Central Station) instead of when I had arrived in Rotterdam or some other city.
At the train station, Gerbrand, a friend and neighbor of my landlords (who are currently vacationing in Spain), picked me up and drove me to my new apartment. Gerbrand is a very nice older man who works in the library at the Peace Palace (where the International Court of Justice and the International Court of Arbitration are located – I’m hoping to arrange a tour through him as the building is closed to visitors). He also hosts a few interns in his apartment, which is located in the same apartment building where I’m living and we will all (the three other interns I live with, the two interns that live with Gerbrand) be getting together for coffee sometime in the next week.
My new apartment is quite small but it is cozy and in an ideal location. The building is located in the international section of The Hague (which is where all the embassies and international courts are located) across from the Peace Palace and the main police station. I believe I am only about a 30 minute walk or 10 minute tram ride away from where I will be working.
The apartment has 4 bedrooms, each of which is occupied by a law student from a different country. It also has a shared kitchen, living room, and bathroom. Two of my roommates are also interning at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Anna Clara (from Brazil) is in the Office of the Prosecutor and I’m not sure which section Marion (from France) is in, as she has not yet arrived. Lynnette, my third roommate (from Kenya / the U.K.) has actually already graduated law school and currently works at the International Criminal Court.
There is a supermarket close by the apartment and I was thrilled to learn that it is open 7 days a week and on Monday – Saturday it is open until 10 p.m.! While we are used to grocery stores being open 7 days a week and long hours of operation in the US, I was preparing for operating hours that were similar to those I experienced in Germany. In Germany the supermarkets were only open Monday – Friday and on Saturday until about noon. If a holiday backed up to a weekend, the supermarket would be closed for days (I learned this the hard way when I lived in Germany and returned from my EU seminar late the Thursday before Good Friday and had no food in my cupboards or refrigerator). Since the supermarket would be open on Sunday, I was able to purchase just what I would need for Wednesday night dinner and Thursday breakfast and lunch.
After the quick trip to the grocery store I took a short nap and went to work unpacking. It didn’t take too long to unpack and it felt nice to be situated. Anna Clara’s mother is currently visiting and she cooked a delicious dinner of bruschetta, seasoned beef, and potatoes for Anna Clara, Lynette and I. It was so nice of her to cook dinner for us and I have a feeling that we will be spoiled during the next two weeks she is here because she has already informed us she will be cooking a Brazilian rice and beans meal. Lynette has also offered to cook a Kenyan/British fusion dish at some point in the next two weeks. I would love to cook something as well, but need to figure out what a good “American food” dish would be. Suggestions for something to cook are more than welcome in the comments below.
Dinner was a nice way to spend the evening getting to know my roommates. I look forward to spending the next two months with them (Anna Clara is only in The Hague until the beginning of March and Lynnette will have to change to another apartment at the end of February). After dinner and some more chatting, I retired to my room to sleep.
Thursday morning I packed some clothes into a carry on bag and headed for the train station to catch a train to Cologne, Germany. I will be in Cologne visiting my German family until Saturday evening. It was a bit surreal being on the train and passing through Duisburg (where I lived in 2007 – 2008). It almost feels as though I never left. There is snow / ice on the ground here (from the big snowstorm a few weeks ago and the current rain) which is an unusual sight to behold. Romy, my “German mother,” told me that Thursday (yesterday) was the first day she was able to drive in over 3 weeks!
It’s time to bring this first post to a close and enjoy some German breakfast (which I’ve been looking forward to for days!). In Germany, for breakfast there are always brötchen (rolls) which can be topped with cheese or meat or nutella (tons of options) and lots of coffee. Breakfast is a truly relaxed and enjoyable experience – which is probably why they have a verb in German which means “breakfasting” (Frühstucken). So I’m off to breakfast.