GW Law students Sophia Arrighi, Barbara Horne-Petersdorf, and Tara Ippoliti, all of whom are 3Ls, spent the summer of 2018 doing research and writing at the U.N. International Law Commission (ICL) in New York and Geneva. Ms. Arrighi and Ms. Ippoliti assisted Sean D. Murphy, Manatt/Ahn Professor of International Law, a member of the Commission, while Ms. Horne-Petersdorf assisted the Commission's Egyptian member.
For the 70th session, the Commission met in both New York and Geneva, where multiple commemoration events were held to mark the Commission's legacy and consider where it is headed in the future, including a keynote address by Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, the President of the International Court of Justice, Ms. Ippoliti explained. Her work included researching the topics on the Commission's agenda, as well as assisting Professor Murphy in drafting his statements. "I was fortunate to be able to learn about specialized areas of international law, dealing with such areas as treaty interpretation, peremptory norms, and state succession, and understand the diverging views of many renowned internationals lawyers with backgrounds much different than my own," she said. "My favorite part of the summer was being able to learn from the female members of the Commission, who talked about how to be successful in a male dominated field." According to Ms. Ippoliti, the Commission has had seven female members in 70 years.
Ms. Horne-Petersdorf shared that working in the same room as the legal experts who compose the ICL offered a "unique" opportunity to study how international law is developed and codified. "As a research assistant to the Commissioner from Egypt, I analyzed and prepared in-depth statements on a number of pressing international law topics," she said. "It was an incredible experience to see how my work contributed to discussions on a given topic, and to be surrounded by individuals who care deeply about how the Commission's work on a topic will impact peoples' lives."