ASIL Programs > Career Development > Arthur C. Helton Fellowship > Helton Fellowship Profiles and Reflections > 2009 ASIL Helton Fellows > ASIL Helton Fellowship Reflections
The International Criminal Court
The Hague, The Netherlands
By Brittan Heller, 2009 Arthur C. Helton Fellow
My Arthur C. Helton Fellowship supported my internship at the International Criminal Court, where I was placed with the Prosecution Division, Prosecution Section, on the Ngudjolo and Katanga case. This trial charged two Congolese warlords with war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the use of child soldiers and sexual violence. Our trial team consisted of fifteen exceptional lawyers from jurisdictions all around the world.
At the beginning of my internship, I wanted to understand how international criminal law in theory differed from international criminal law in practice. This difference would be extraordinarily relevant in the first matters to go before the Court. I sat in the visitors’ gallery and watched the opening of the first trial. Everyone seemed excited, but simultaneously solemn, like they were aware of the momentous task ahead. By the conclusion of my internship, I felt like I had gained an understanding of the challenges that the Court was facing through helping to craft the motions and legal arguments of our trial team.
The newness of the Court made me eager to begin my work every morning. My research centered on novel issues. Often, no one had written on the controversies we were facing, and there was no applicable case law from international criminal tribunals or even national jurisdictions. I found the practitioners to be incredibly well-versed in legal theory, and there were fascinating debates about case strategy and proper procedure.
My primary assignment was working on the case matrix for our upcoming trial. Our team was ordered to map out its legal claims, the facts that supported those claims, and what evidence we planned to use to support those facts. We were then to list how many times that evidence was used throughout the matrix. When completed, we disclosed the matrix to the judges and to the Defense team.
The case matrix exemplified the difficulties in presenting an international criminal case. Creating the matrix was useful because it exposed the strengths and weaknesses of our case. However, at the same time, it raised just as many questions as answers. For example, how do you most efficiently distill such a large amount of information into useable evidence? Furthermore, the size of the project was daunting. As part of a ten-attorney team, we worked nonstop for over a month. Even with that manpower and commitment, it was difficult to complete the project by the deadline. The final product was thousands of pages long.
Beyond the historic moments and exciting work, my time at the ICC helped me see the type of lawyer I hope to become. Everyone I worked with seemed motivated by a sense of purpose and a belief in justice. Going to work felt like a privilege, and it was inspiring to see the other lawyers treating their jobs that way as well. This privilege is what I wish to share the most with those at home, and what I hope to bring to my future career: a sense of service, a longing for justice, and a deep hunger for seeking the truth.