Three students from the Institute, from different countries, explain why they chose to study international law and what has been their experience at the Institute.

Jacqueline Reid, Canada
Master Candidate in International Law

I learned of the Graduate Institute when I was studying for my MA in International Relations at the University of St Andrews in the United Kingdom. It was their enthusiasm and experience with the Institute that encouraged me to apply, knowing that it would be both a challenging and enriching experience.

I feel very privileged to study at the Institute. Being here has been an experience of profound personal intellectual growth. I am certainly acquiring new skills and a deeper understanding of international law. But, more importantly, I am forced to critically examine the legal tools at our disposal. By questioning my understanding of what law is and how we use it, I am encouraged to think creatively about the challenges within law and the social challenges that international law addresses.

This critical reflection has made my experience at the Institute a personal one. It has become a process of finding myself within the field of law. Through the ideas fostered in our classes, I am developing my own understanding of law, its purpose and how I can choose to move forward with these ideas. By not just seeing international law as a field external to myself but by grounding myself within it, I am starting to feel personal strength in how I use it.

This development is not an isolated process but occurs within a constellation of people at the Institute who challenge and encourage me. There are of course the professors, but my fellow students have been equally valuable. Knowing that I can approach a colleague, start a sentence with “I had a thought…”, and have a coffee and chat things through is both intellectually stimulating and supportive.

There are undeniable tangible benefits to being at the Institute (location, resources, classes, internship opportunities, etc.), but what I am most grateful for is this personal intellectual development that the approach of the Institute fosters.

Klara Polackova Van der Ploeg, Czech Republic
PhD Candidate in International Law

While international law was initially a system regulating inter-state interactions and operating largely behind closed doors in foreign affairs ministries, it has now made its way into people’s everyday lives, into international and domestic courtrooms, and into news stories and headlines. International law now directly incorporates a multiplicity of entities other than states into its framework and regulates or affects a dynamically expanding range of human activities. At the same time, international law has been not only a technical tool for the execution of changes in global governance and relations, but also a vehicle for bringing about normative legal changes themselves. The study of international law, both its developing norms and larger societal operation, has thus arguably become more challenging than ever.

When deciding where to carry out my doctoral project, I searched for a place where I would receive the required guidance, inspiration and flexibility to complete research that is truly original, personal and at the forefront of international law. The Graduate Institute stood out among other schools in several respects that have proven invaluable.
The Graduate Institute’s international law faculty is exceptionally numerous and diverse, both in terms of subject-matter expertise and methodology. Additionally, at any point in time, several dozen doctoral students in international law are in residence, many of whom possess several years of professional experience with international organisations, in private practice or in governmental positions, including ambassadorial appointments. This setting generates a rich, varied and experienced intellectual milieu that allows for the testing of ideas and discussion and feedback on research from a range of viewpoints. In addition to individual supervision, the doctoral work in the first year includes an obligatory doctoral seminar that encourages creativity and critical reflection as well as facilitates the clarification and development of each student’s doctoral project and an early start to the research. Finally, the library resources are amazing — in fact, I have yet to find an international law volume that is not on the Institute’s library shelves.

León Castellanos Jankiewicz, Mexique
Doctorant en droit international

Comme tout établissement suisse, l’Institut cultive l’excellence. Il partage des origines avec les Nations Unies et constitue le premier centre de recherche entièrement dédié à l’ordre public international. Ses enseignants et élèves ont toujours composé une variété équilibrée d’érudits et de praticiens – avec une bonne dose d’aventuriers. Au fil du temps, on a compté parmi leurs rangs des officiels de la Société des Nations, le sommet de l’intelligentsia européenne pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale et, aujourd’hui, des chercheurs et diplomates globalement reconnus.

J’ignorais tout cela il y a sept ans, quand j’ai présenté ma candidature au master en droit international. J’avais étudié au Mexique auparavant, et arrivais en novice sur le marché international de l’éducation. Mais le jeune professeur qui m’avait initié au droit international m’a recommandé l’Institut pour sa renommée et son enseignement rigoureux. Une affinité spontanée pour l’Institut m’a attiré à Genève, et je n’ai pas hésité à venir en dépit d’autres offres généreuses.

Avec le recul, l’accent sur le cosmopolitisme à l’Institut a frappé mon imagination. Une fois ici, j’ai découvert que toute la communauté partage son précepte fondamental : on pense et agit en fonction de l’ensemble (comme le kosmopolites grec, un citoyen du cosmos). Cela m’a donné la confiance et l’assurance nécessaires pour faire de Genève mon foyer académique. Le voyage continue à travers mes études doctorales, et j’ai trouvé passionnant et stimulant de demeurer à la hauteur de l’excellence de l’Institut. Enfin et surtout, je constate que partager le savoir tout en apprenant des autres apporte un véritable bonheur.

This article was published in Globe, the Institute review