Principal Investigator, 4 September 2022

State Silence Project,

Faculty of Laws,
University College, London.

Dear Dr. Azaria, and the Faculty of Laws at UCL,

I am Akshatha Niranjana, freshly-graduated alumnus of the University of Amsterdam, where I

earned my LLM, and I am writing to apply for one of the PhD studentships under the State Silence
Project.

I have been a legal scholar and student since 2016, when I began undergraduate law school at the
School of Law, Christ University in my hometown of Bangalore, in India. I had chosen to do an
LLB as the focus of my study not out of a love of the law or a passion for debate, but because it
offered the opportunity to think more deeply about the societies humans create. However, it was
not long before I developed a love of the law in the course of my undergraduate coursework.

I also developed an interest in international law during my Bachelor’s course, which would later
become my specialisation. I realised that not only was I fascinated by fields such as international
environmental, criminal, humanitarian, and space law, I had a fair level of natural skill at it. It was
around this time that intra-collegiate moot courts inculcated in me the eye for detail that research
demands, as well as a love of debate and oral argument. My internship experiences in government
bodies and policy groups had taught me to engage creatively with the law, and opened my eyes to
the realities of the profession. By the time I had completed the rigorous five-year double degree
(BA LLB) honours programme, it was the logical next step for me to explore international law
further. I applied to and was accepted as a Master’s scholar at the University of Amsterdam’s
Graduate School of Law in 2021, where I had the opportunity to grow as a legal scholar in a diverse
environment. My time as an LLM scholar made me a better lawyer in every sense of the word – it
taught me to manage a (seemingly) ever-growing course load and to engage with scholars of every
background. I also had the privilege of being among five scholars chosen to represent the
University at the International Criminal Court (ICC) Moot Court Competition 2021-22. The
experience honed my research skills further, and raised my calibre as an oralist. The thesis course
moulded me into an excellent writer, and gave me the opportunity to discover my enjoyment of
innovative argumentation. I greatly enjoyed writing my thesis titled ‘The Nature Of The Treaty
On The Prohibition Of Nuclear Weapons As Customary International Law – Or Lack Thereof’
whose grade was among the top 5% of my class. In the course of my Master’s, I engaged more
deeply with the secondary rules of international law, jus ad bellum, critiques of international law’s
systemic flaws, and international criminal law. By the time I graduated from the LLM programme,
not only had I made up my mind to pursue a PhD, I had all the necessary capabilities.

I now hope to apply my various skills in pursuit of a PhD as the next step in the academic ladder.
I have had a passion for teaching for some years now, and it is my aspiration to be a legal academic
for most, if not all, of my career. To this end, I would be honoured to have the opportunity to earn
my doctorate at an institution as esteemed as the University College, London. I found that the PhD
studentship at the State Silence Project fit my profile to a nearly uncanny extent – I wanted to
deepen my association with the secondary rules of international law, while ensuring that I venture,
to some extent, out of my comfort zones. The premise of the Project has already intrigued and
challenged me in the process of writing the research proposal, and I would appreciate the
opportunity to further explore it.

Additionally, the rich history of London universities in general, and UCL in particular, make this
the perfect environment for me to earn my doctorate. UCL’s reputation for research excellence
and the high calibre of scholarship would equip me fully for a career as an academic. I hope to be
able to place my skills at the disposal of the Project, learn from it, and contribute meaningfully to
the new ground that the Project is breaking.

Please find annexed my full application for the PhD studentship in accordance with the
requirements stated in the vacancy notification:

1. My curriculum vitae,
2. A digitised copy of my BA LLB transcript and degree,
3. A digitised copy of my LLM transcript (not including the degree as I will receive it in
October 2022),
4. A declaration by the University of Amsterdam that the LLM course was delivered and
assessed entirely in English, in satisfaction of the English language proficiency
requirement (per my communication with the UCL Faculty of Laws)
 5. A sample of my writing, entitled ‘The UK-Rwanda Refugee Arrangement – the Principle
of the Thing’, written in May 2022, and,
6. Research Proposal for the PhD Thesis.

My references have been supplied by Dr. T. D. Gill and Ms. Doireann McCarthy, both of whom
are part of the faculty at the Amsterdam Graduate School of Law where I completed my LLM.

I hope to be considered for the PhD studentship, and would be honoured to have the opportunity
to contribute to the research being done at the UCL Faculty of Laws.

Thank you,

Akshatha Niranjana