A Conversation with Judge Joan E Donoghue

Judge Joan E Donoghue visited The Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London on 15 November 2013 to talk to students, staff and guests about her role as sitting Judge at the International Court of Justice and her career in international law.

In conversation with Dean Professor David Caron, and Lecturer in International Law, Dr Philippa Webb, Judge Donoghue shared insights from her career and experiences from both a US and UK perspective.

The conversation was followed by a lively question and answer session. Questions from the floor covered the role of the World Court in developing international law and what law students can do to best equip themselves for careers in international law. Judge Donoghue described the very competitive process for appointments to international law positions and the importance of students showing how they can stand out when they find themselves in a competitive crowd.

Judge Donoghue was elected to the Court in 2010 after a distinguished career at the US State Department, where she was the senior career attorney. In her previous role, she provided advice to President Obama and Secretary Clinton on all aspects of international law, including the international humanitarian law, human rights law, the law of the sea, and the negotiation and implementation of Security Council resolutions. She has supervised US advocacy in the Iran-US Claims Tribunal and NAFTA arbitrations.

Dean Caron drew attention to the importance of insights from practice for law students today: “Conversations such as this, with Judge Donoghue of the World Court, are central to our mission at The Dickson Poon School of Law. We maintain an on-going dialogue with those who live the law on a daily basis, especially in international institutions or fields of transnational law, so our students are equipped for the challenges of the global legal environment. Judge Donoghue’s advice was enlightening for our faculty and invaluable for our students.”

The event was part of the Transnational Law Lecture series from The Dickson Poon School of Law.

Judge Joan E Donoghue  on the International Court of Justice website.

See forthcoming events from The Dickson Poon School of Law.