Joelle Hageboutros, L’21, has accepted an offer to join the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Judicial Fellows Programme for 2021-2022. The competitive, highly selective program was established to provide recent law graduates the opportunity to gain experience working as a clerk at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

“Each year, fifteen individuals are selected in a global competition to become ICJ Judicial Fellows,” said Beth Simmons, the Andrea Mitchell University Professor in Law, Political Science and Business Ethics. “Our own Joelle Hageboutros, who is exceptionally talented and experienced in public international law, rose to the top in this competition. This is a supreme honor and testament to Joelle’s preparation and dedication, as well as to the Law School’s support.”

Established in 1999, the ICJ program is open to students from all law schools internationally, and typically does not select more than one student from each nominating university. Students within three years of their law school graduation are eligible to apply. Penn Law began nominating students to the court in 2019 and established a dedicated Penn ICJ Fellowship in 2020, which includes a clerkship selection committee comprised of Penn Law faculty who decide on final nominations to the ICJ. Ms. Hageboutros is the first Penn Law student accepted into the program.