Kari Panaccione ‘11
International Law Scholar selected to intern with the International Criminal Court in The Hague
Kari Panaccione came to Seton Hall Law to advocate for justice and human rights while seeing the world and, this summer, she will be doing just that.
Earlier this year, Kari applied to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague and secured an internship with its Office of Public Defense.
Kari had the travel bug even before attending Seton Hall Law. The fact that the Law School offered a summer program in Cairo played a major role in her decision to attend Seton Hall. Last summer, she joined Professor Bernard Freamon, the program’s director, and took a course in International Criminal Law in the Egyptian city. “It was a wonderful experience. Professor Freamon runs the program fantastically,” she said.
Kari believes attending the Cairo program made her a better candidate for the internship. “On a professional level, it demonstrated my interest in international law and my familiarity with a different part of the world—a part of the world that deals with the kinds of crimes that the ICC prosecutes. On a personal level, it made me more well-rounded and more knowledgeable about international issues, both legal and non-legal,” she said.
The International Criminal Law course she took in Cairo spurred her interest in applying for the internship, thanks in part to Adjunct Professors Simone Monasebian, Chief of the New York Office of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and Jeffrey Locke, a senior manager for Daylight Forensic & Advisory, LLC, an international regulatory consulting and investigative firm. “Their interest in the subject and the way they taught it made me more interested in it. For example, Professor Monasebian talked often about her own experiences trying individuals for the Rwandan genocide, and the issues they faced. That made it more real, and more striking,” she said.
This also opened her eyes to other global injustices. “As an American, you don’t really have any sense that these horrible things really happen. It’s something we would never be in involved as Americans. I would like to do something about it,” she said.
She noted that there are stark differences between the International Criminal Court and courts in the U.S. “It’s completely unique. Victims are involved in the court proceedings, and there is a public office that aids the victims. It’s much different than any criminal system I’ve ever been exposed to,” she said.
She also noted how the International Criminal Court can only prosecute alleged criminals under very specific circumstances, for the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. The court has investigated situations in Northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic and Darfur. Current the court is seeking to prosecute the President of Sudan, but does not have jurisdiction. And the United States is not a party to the court.
In The Hague, Kari will represent the U.S., as the program takes students from around the world. “My colleagues will be from Japan, Singapore and Nigeria. It’s completely international,” she said.
Kari studied political science, economics and French as an undergraduate and spent a semester in France. After graduating from Bucknell University in 2006, she taught English in Japan.
She has already decided she would like to begin a career in International Law. “Ultimately, I would like to work in international criminal law or Human Rights, either as a prosecutor of international crimes or for an NGO that deals with international human rights,” she said.
Learn more about Seton Hall Law’s Study Abroad programs by visiting http://law.shu.edu/StudyAbroad.