Raghavi Viswanath - IRMCT internship report 2019

I was the recipient of the 2019 Oxford-Meron internship grant. Thanks to the grant, I was able to intern at the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals ('IRMCT') from July to October 2019. I was assigned to the Core Unit of the Office of the Prosecutor. The Core Unit typically monitors early releases, transfers/referrals to national jurisdictions, and contempt trials. In so doing, it also liaises with national prosecutors in attempts to facilitate capacity-building. When I joined the IRMCT, the Core Unit was involved with three early release applications and two contempt cases. I was fortunate to be able to contribute to  some of them. My work primarily consisted of preparing internal research memos comparing modes of liability in international criminal law with select domestic jurisdictions, analyzing procedures governing the transfer of contempt cases, drafting responses to early release motions, preparing witness lists (for current trials) and analyzing evidence.

I was able to work with almost all the attorneys in the Core Unit, and some investigators in the Trial team. I was also able to interact with Prosecutor Brammertz and interns/lawyers from the Appeals and Trial Units. Working for the Office of the Prosecutor ingrained in me a sense of deep responsibility towards international criminal law research. It helped me attach a human value to my legal research, and reinforced my interest in the field. I am now pursuing an advanced course in international criminal law, and hope to develop the research into a doctorate later. It would be remiss if I did not thank the Law Faculty at the University of Oxford and Judge Meron for their generosity and continued support, without which this would not have been possible.