Internship at International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), Hamburg (July to September 2027, unpaid)

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), the judicial body set up under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and seated in Hamburg, Germany, offers a limited number of internships each year to students and recent graduates of law, international relations, public relations, political science, library science and translation. Interns work under the supervision of Registry officials on matters relevant to the Tribunal's work, and the three-month programme lets them understand how the Tribunal functions and take part in the work of the Registry.

The application period for the internship period July to September 2027 is currently open, with an application deadline of 31 December 2026. ITLOS says it offers approximately 20 internships each year. Since the programme began in 1997 it has welcomed 420 interns from 106 States.

• Legal Office: interns work under the close supervision of one of the legal officers, research a variety of legal issues and prepare notes for their supervisor, the other legal officers or the Registrar. Each intern also researches a topic of their own choice, prepares a written paper and gives an oral presentation to the Legal Office at the end of the internship. Interns jointly prepare the weekly press review on recent law of the sea developments.
• Library and Archives: acquisitions, cataloguing, database maintenance, collection management, document processing, bibliographies and electronic resources.
• Linguistic Services: translation and document preparation (English and French), terminology research, glossaries and databases.
• Press Office: responses to press and public inquiries, public relations material, press coverage reviews, visits and events.

Legal Office interns have usually completed their first law degree or are already working on a master's in international law or a PhD on a law of the sea related topic.

Applicants should:

• have completed at least three years of university studies;
• normally be engaged in a degree-granting or postgraduate course at the time of application and also during the internship, or be a recent graduate (graduated within 12 months before submitting the application);
• normally not be more than 32 years of age;
• have a good command of English and/or French; and
• have an interest in international law, in particular the international law of the sea, international affairs or international institutions and organizations.

ITLOS states that its interns are students or recent graduates from all over the world, so Indian students and recent graduates may apply. Those who have already started working are not eligible. Selection gives due consideration to geographical diversity and gender balance.

Internships are not remunerated. Travel and accommodation costs and living expenses are the responsibility of the intern or the sponsoring institution, and interns obtain and pay for any visa needed for Germany. The Trust Fund for the Law of the Sea gives a limited amount of funding to help interns with living and travel costs: applicants must be nationals of a developing country on the OECD list, normally resident in that country, and in need of financial assistance. Interest in funding must be indicated in the online application form; late applications for funding will not be considered. Funded interns receive a monthly allowance towards living expenses and may receive help with travel costs.

Interns must show proof of adequate health and accident insurance and a medical certificate stating that they are in good health and able to travel to Hamburg. The internship coordinator sends an information sheet on accommodation and may assist with the visa procedure where necessary.

• The completed online application form (obligatory);
• A covering letter of no more than one page on why an internship at the Tribunal is important to you, how it fits your academic and career goals and what you expect to gain (obligatory);
• A resume or curriculum vitae (obligatory);
• A brief research sample in English or French of no more than 10 pages, if possible on a topic relevant to the Tribunal's work (optional);
• Proof of enrolment, degrees or diplomas and a list of courses or grade transcript (optional);
• References (optional); and language certificates where relevant (optional; not needed if your course is taught in English or French).

All documents must be in English or French, with translations where needed. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Submit the online application form on the ITLOS website with the supporting documents by 31 December 2026 for the July to September 2027 period. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered. If your summer vacation does not match the July to September period, give your exact dates of availability under item 15 (Internship period) of the form. An automatic email confirms receipt; if you do not get it, contact the Press Office.

After the application period closes, the Internship Selection Committee reviews the applications and the Registrar takes the final decision with the approval of the President. The internship coordinator emails all applicants approximately one month after the application period closes.

Internships generally run from January to March, April to June, July to September and October to December. Deadlines: January to March by 30 June of the previous year; April to June by 30 September of the previous year; July to September by 31 December of the previous year; October to December by 31 March of the same year. The October to December 2027 period therefore closes on 31 March 2027.

On successful completion, interns receive a certificate stating the period of internship, giving examples of the allocated tasks and evaluating the intern's performance. Interns must keep unpublished information confidential, even after the internship.