Student helps fight international child abduction

Jordana Loporcaro, Law '09, at Japanese Room of the Peace Palace in The Hague during her internship in the fall of 2009

Every year, a few Queen's Law students go to Groningen, The Netherlands, to study on exchange. But, this past autumn Jordana Loporcaro, Law '09, went to the Netherlands for a very different learning experience -- interning at the The Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH).

Throughout her legal education, Jordana wanted to complete an internship overseas, preferably with an international organization.  While she was working as a research assistant for Professor Martha Bailey her opportunity arose to intern at the HCCH.
The HCCH is an inter-governmental organization that counts almost 70 countries as members, including Canada. According to their website, the conference's overall goal is to improve legal security for both individuals and organizations and "promote the orderly and efficient settlement of disputes, good governance and the rule of law, while respecting the diversity of legal traditions."
Working under First Secretary Philippe Lortie, Jordana's work for the HCCH focused on the issue of international child abduction. Her day-to-day tasks included updating existing child abduction cases, researching data privacy issues and contributing to the international child abduction website INCADAT.
In addition to this work, Jordana helped out with the "Special Commission on the implementation of the 2007 Child Support Convention," an event featuring delegates from more than 60 countries and organizations.

The commitment of Queen's Law to enabling international education for students, including support from the Dean's Excellence Fund, played a key role in making Jordana's trip a reality.
"The support from Queen's faculty and staff gave me confidence to believe in myself while interning and being away in a foreign country," says Jordana.  "Nowhere does the word ‘impossible' exist at Queen's".  I found it incredible how supportive professors were to help students find internships."

During her internship, Jordana had access to places such as the famed Peace Palace, home to the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration and The Hague Academy of International Law. While these institutions went about their business, Jordana conducted research in the Peace Palace Library.

"This experience helped clarify which areas of law interested me and oriented the direction of my future career as a lawyer," says Jordana. "I expanded my critical thinking by learning about the application of law in various subjects and jurisdictions across the globe, which is crucial considering the realities of globalization. I would highly recommend this internship to other students!"