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8 December 2020
Katja Schöberl graduated from our LLM in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights in 2008.
After a one-year traineeship within the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)’s Legal Division, she returned to the Geneva Academy in 2009 to work as a teaching assistant. In 2012, she took on a position as IHL Legal Adviser for the German Red Cross in Berlin, where she has been living and working since.
The LLM offered the most rigorous education in international humanitarian law (IHL) and human rights in armed conflict, backed by the Geneva Academy’s founding institutions’ renewed commitment to a specialized programme in these areas of law. The depth and range of IHL training were deciding factors for my choice and had often been identified as outstanding qualities of this programme by IHL professionals I approached to seek advice.
The programme offers students the opportunity to strive for academic excellence, to be taught by leading experts, to gain valuable practical experience and to learn among a highly diverse group of students. I have followed with great interest and admiration how the LLM programme has flourished since we were enrolled as the Geneva Academy’s first cohort in 2007. The programme is today firmly anchored in what the Geneva Academy’s staff has been able to impressively build over the years: a place of outstanding teaching and research. The continuous development of the catalogue of optional courses is merely one indication of the Geneva Academy’s dedication to include the most relevant and topical issues in its teaching. The inclusion of internship opportunities, clinical legal work and pleadings into the LLM programme has enabled students to develop their practical skills even more strongly.
I was, and continue to be, deeply impressed with the teaching staff’s profound dedication to training young international lawyers. Professors, lecturers and teaching assistants generously shared their expertise in and experience with international law, including their remarkable achievements, professional setbacks, open questions as well as hopes and aspirations for international law. The didactical approach adopted within the LLM programme (inductive analyses, case-based methods, group work) fostered a dialogue in which diverse opinions, critical views and new proposals were always welcome.
The numerous discussions inside and outside the classroom, including at various apéros.
The programme has allowed me to start a career in IHL. It has provided me with the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to work in a professional context dealing with IHL, such as the ICRC and the German Red Cross. It has also contributed significantly to my academic development and has allowed me to pursue a doctorate in IHL. Since graduation, the programme has continued to enrich my professional life. It has generated a community of IHL professionals whose work in and reflections about international law have a significant impact on my work. The Geneva Academy and its staff have created an extraordinary space for alumni and students of the programme to meet and I am always grateful for the possibility to reconnect with them at one of the Geneva Academy’s conferences and events.
I would, and regularly do, highly recommend the programme to any student looking for an intellectually challenging and truly rewarding post-graduate education in IHL.
News
Geneva Academy / Sandra Pointet
At the graduation ceremony, four academic papers are honoured with distinguished prizes that acknowledge outstanding academic achievements.
News
Geneva Academy
We organize online information sessions for prospective students interested in our LLM in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights and Master in Transitional Justice, Human Rights and the Rule of Law.
Event
Adobe
This Human Rights Conversation will highlight the significance of academic freedom, explore its legal foundations, and examine the concrete threats it faces.
Event
Join us for a one-night-only screening of Rule Breakers, directed by two-time Oscar-winner Bill Guttentag, telling the true story of Afghanistan’s first all-girls robotics team.
Training
This training course will delve into the means and mechanisms through which national actors can best coordinate their human rights monitoring and implementation efforts, enabling them to strategically navigate the UN human rights system and use the various mechanisms available in their day-to-day work.
Training
ICRC
Participants in this training course will gain practical insights into UN human rights mechanisms and their role in environmental protection and learn about how to address the interplay between international human rights and environmental law, and explore environmental litigation paths.
Project
UN Photo/Violaine Martin
The IHL-EP works to strengthen the capacity of human rights mechanisms to incorporate IHL into their work in an efficacious and comprehensive manner. By so doing, it aims to address the normative and practical challenges that human rights bodies encounter when dealing with cases in which IHL applies.
Project
ICRC
As a yearly publication, it keeps decision-makers, practitioners and scholars up-to-date with the latest trends and challenges in IHL implementation in over 100 armed conflicts worldwide – both international and non-international.
Publication
Geneva Academy
Publication
Geneva Academy
