From Mtuba to the International Court of Justice
Exchange student spends five months in the Netherlands.
FOR Mtubatuba’s Liezl Steenkamp, 2013 was a year of new experiences and cherished memories which included a visit to the International Court of Justice.
After matriculating in 2007 from Port Natal High School in Durban, Liezl went on to Potchefstroom University where she gained a BCom degree before pursuing law and a LLB Degree.
During 2013, the final year of her LLB, Liezl was given the opportunity to apply for an exchange student scholarship which involved spending five months at world-renowned Leiden University in the Netherlands. One of a vast number of applicants from around the globe, Liezl was accepted onto the programme as one of only four students from Potchefstroom University.
Once at Leiden, Liezl’s study roster included five subjects: International Competition Law, Discrimination Law in Society, International Children’s Rights, Comparitive Tort Law and European Union Law.
All exchange students were given the opportunity to sit in on a judgement at the International Court of Justice, locally known as the Peace Palace, and it was here that Liezl sat in on a judgement to decide the outcome of a Peruvian land dispute. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a budding lawyer.
To Liezl, her time spent in the Netherlands, ‘definitely broadened my horizons and I will forever cherish the wonderful memories I made there’.
Apart from putting in some serious study to meet the noticeably high standard of education in the Netherlands, Liezl travelled to parts of Europe, which included spending a day in Paris.
As well as life experiences and the obvious education opportunities gained, Liezl made many friends from across the globe, with whom she plans to get together every four years somewhere in the world, starting in South Africa in 2016.
According to Liezl, her passion for reading is what ultimately aided her studies, but she will always be grateful for the solid grounding she received at Mtubatuba Primary. On passing all five subjects at Leiden and completing her LLB degree, Liezl has set her sights on further studies and has begun a Masters in Commercial Law, specialising in import and export, at the University of Johannesburg.
