One or two students will be nominated for selection each semester to extern at the European Court of Justice or the Court of First Instance located in Luxembourg. The European Court of Justice hears cases from the European national courts, interpreting and ruling on the application of European Union law. The Court of First Instance hears and rules on cases in the European Union concerning competition law or antitrust cases. Final selection of student externs is made by specific Judges or Advocates-General of the Court. This program affords the student the opportunity to prepare for international practice by serving as a law clerk under the direct supervision of a Judge or Advocate-General of the Court.
Students participate in an orientation program at the beginning of the semester.
During the semester, the student can expect to work a total of 600 hours for 12-14 weeks researching relevant community law, drafting reports for hearing and attending hearings to gather information for pending cases and legal memoranda for use in judicial deliberations. In addition to the direct supervision by Members of the Court, students are supervised by the program directors, Professors Tracy Kaye and Livingston Baker. Students are required to produce a minimum of 50 pages of written work during the internship for review by the program directors.