In March 2019, Shu Wen, a third-year postgraduate student in UIBE Law School who majors in international law, finished her two-month internship at United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). Established in Vienna, Austria, UNCITRAL is the core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of international trade law. UNCITRAL’s mission concerns the modernization and harmonization of rules on international trade, and it specializes in worldwide reforms on commercial law for over 50 years.

Recommended by UIBE Law School, Shu applied for the UNCITRAL internship in June and received an offer in July 2018. This is the first time that UIBE Law School sent an intern to UNCITRAL. During the internship, Shu worked with Working Group II (Dispute Settlement) and Working Group V (Insolvency Law) on drafting UNCITRAL Legislative Guide on Insolvency Law and revising UNCITRAL Conciliation Rules. Shu’s major task was to conduct research on leading commercial law issues and draft relevant working documents under the guidance of UNCITRAL legal officials. In addition, Shu also attended the expert group meetings about the formulation of UNCITRAL Notes on Organizing Mediation Proceedings and revision of UNCITRAL Conciliation Rules. Shu’s devotion to the job and her professional competence were highly recognized by UNCITRAL staff, and her outstanding performance embodies the spirits and characteristics of UIBE Law School students as future international legal talents.

Photo: Shu Wen (second from left) and some UNCITRAL legal officers

In line with the national strategy to send candidates to international organizations, recommending students to international organizations is an important means for UIBE Law School to foster international legal personnel. In recent years, UIBE Law School has established a close cooperative relationship with UNCITRAL, so it is more likely for students to get an UNCITRAL internship offer through the school’s recommendation. UIBE Law School hopes that students will pay close attention to relevant notices and encourages everyone to apply for internships at international organizations.

UNCITRAL recruits interns from around the world regularly and the internship usually lasts for two months. UNCITRAL will assign a legal officer as the supervisor for each intern to guide their work. The interns should meet and report to their supervisors on a weekly basis. The supervisor will appraise the intern’s performance at the end of the internship. During the internship, interns can attend open meetings and take internal training courses such as career planning and language learning. Besides, the UN library and UNCITRAL library are freely available to the interns.