"Months before I came to the Netherlands to join a summer course at VU, I was excited about what my student life would be like after being away from campus for 16 years. The excitement came with a sense of joy, concern and curiosity, as those two weeks would be my longest stay in Europe."
"My joy came from the dream of staying longer in Amsterdam, a city I had already fallen in love with after just an overnight stop during a duty trip a year earlier. My excitement, however, was accompanied by some concern about navigating a cashless society. I had found it difficult to use my credit card in Europe as it was often not accepted because of some financial restrictions imposed on my country.
Luckily, on the first day of the course, our course coordinator gave us an OV card, which made getting around by public transport much easier.
I had expected there to be fewer young students, as the subject itself was quite heavy and intense. Quite the contrary, the majority of my classmates were in their early 20s. The lecturers were not only academics but also practitioners who excelled in international laws and had extensive practical experience in the field.
A visit to The Hague, including the International Criminal Court and the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, was another highlight of the course. Although I knew that The Hague was home to many international and hybrid courts, I had never looked beyond the ICJ and the ICC. That changed when I had the opportunity to visit the Kosovo Specialist Chambers as part of the VU Summer Course.
While the visit itself was only an introduction, it sparked my curiosity. Since then, I have been reading about the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and the history of the former Yugoslavia.
But let’s not think that our two weeks were entirely immersed in laws and courts. I also had a lovely boat ride through Amsterdam’s canals, with an entertaining storyteller on board, and a visit to Utrecht, which also captured a special place in my heart.
I would encourage my fellow citizens, and anyone curious about how international courts work, to take part in the Summer Course on International Criminal Justice. It was an experience that broadened my understanding and gave me a much deeper appreciation of how international justice works in practice."
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