SJD Student Erick Guapizaca Jiménez, LLM ’23, Named Judicial Fellow at International Court of Justice

As the world’s highest international court and the United Nations’ main judicial body, the ICJ settles legal disputes between states and issues advisory opinions on legal questions referred to the court by United Nations organs and specialized agencies. Through the Judicial Fellowship Programme, Guapizaca will be poised to help the ICJ address some of the most significant disputes in international law. 

The Hon. Yuji Iwasawa, president of the ICJ, selected Guapizaca to work in his chambers. Guapizaca will support Judge Iwasawa in his capacity as a judge and his functions as president of the court, including by researching legal issues relevant to cases before the court and assisting with drafting opinions and other judicial materials.

When a case reaches the ICJ, “both parties have very strong submissions. So it is my role to assist the judge to decide what is the best answer for a specific legal problem,” Guapizaca said. “It will be especially important for me to understand the dispute in full—to understand all the edges of the dispute and what the parties are actually asking.”

Guapizaca’s 10-month fellowship starts in September. “I’m looking forward to learning more about how the International Court of Justice reasons and how they draft their judgments,” as well as about Iwasawa’s legal philosophy, he said. ICJ judges come from various legal traditions, “so I’m looking forward to seeing this pluralism of views.”

Guapizaca has long been interested in this type of international pluralism. At the ICJ, he hopes to learn “how the court preserves the rule of law in a period marked by polarization, recurring threats to peace, and increasing global conflict.” 

Along with the work itself, Guapizaca said he’s excited about connecting with the 14 other fellows and learning more about their interests and trajectories, as well as becoming part of the program’s global alumni network, whose members have pursued diverse paths in academia, diplomacy, high-stakes dispute resolution, government service, and advocacy. 

Indigenous rights and international law

Guapizaca’s SJD research focuses on Indigenous rights, including “testing the conventional wisdom on what Indigenous rights really are, what their role is in different countries, and how they temper state power,” he said.

His work assesses how states in Latin America implement a rule called free, prior, and informed consent, which applies whenever mining projects and new legislation, for example, could affect Indigenous rights. His research looks at the different sources that inform this rule and the different actors that shape or reshape it. He compares how various jurisdictions approach this rule and then proposes improvements. 

“I’ve encountered different issues, like states not being eager to implement Indigenous rights, and also a lack of clarity on the standards,” he said. “My work really goes into the detail of how to enhance the system and how to make the system consistent across different jurisdictions, so that prior consultation can finally deliver long-awaited justice for Indigenous peoples.”

And this ties into the ICJ, he said, “because one of the main issues of international law as I see it is the implementation. It’s how these broad rules that are mostly agreed on in New York, in Geneva, or in different forums can be later translated into domestic policies, into real commitments that can change people’s lives.”

An evolving interest in international law

Guapizaca’s interest in international law goes back to when he was 15 and participated in Model United Nations. That piqued his interest in pluralism and advocating for human rights. 

Guapizaca’s interest in human rights is also rooted in his local context. In his hometown of Cuenca, Ecuador, mining projects have affected local communities, the environment, and the region’s main water sources, shaping his commitment to studying how law can respond to the social and environmental consequences of extractive development.

His experience includes serving as a clerk at the Constitutional Court of Ecuador, which is equivalent to the US Supreme Court; serving as legal coordinator at the International Mediation and Arbitration Center of the Chamber of Industries of Ecuador; completing a graduate research fellowship with the UN International Law Commission; and serving as a student legal adviser to the Permanent Mission of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to the United Nations.

Guapizaca also brings teaching experience from Universidad Internacional del Ecuador, where he has taught courses in arbitration and mediation, political theory, and legal theory.

Guapizaca earned his JD in Ecuador before coming to Michigan Law for his LLM. “Michigan has been so important to me as an institution, and it is a real international law school. It has a wide variety of courses and world-class faculty, but also I think that it’s the students with different backgrounds, and this amazing cohort of LLMs that come every year with different perspectives,” he said.

He said he is grateful that Professor Julian Arato encouraged him to apply for this fellowship and has served as both his dissertation adviser and mentor throughout the development of his research project. 

“We are thrilled Erick is headed to the ICJ. We’re confident that he will offer rich insights, a unique perspective, and the impressive intellect that he’s exhibited during his time in the Law Quad,” said Eric Christiansen, assistant dean for international affairs. “We’re particularly pleased because Erick has been a standout member of our first cohort in our newly enhanced SJD program.” 

In the ICJ fellowship’s 27-year history, Guapizaca is the 19th Michigan Law student and the first Ecuadorian ever selected.

After the fellowship, Guapizaca hopes to transition into an academic position where he can teach international law courses, continue developing his research agenda, and help train new generations of lawyers to engage with complex global legal problems.