Before being awarded the 2023 Hague Academy Scholarship, Ayodele Ojedokun was a third-year doctoral candidate at the UP Faculty of Law, Department of Public Law, researching ‘the contemporary complexities affecting the assessment of the legal criterion of a non-international armed conflict under international humanitarian law’ under the supervision of Prof. Martha Bradley.

Ayodele applied for the doctoral scholarship at the Hague Academy of International Law on 26 January 2023 and was accepted on 11 April 2023. ‘Being awarded the prestigious doctoral scholarship by the Academy is an important milestone in my academic journey. This is because it signifies the merit of my doctoral thesis.’ Ayodele went on to say that the recognition and prestige that comes with the scholarship by the Academy counts towards his credibility as a budding researcher in the field of public international law and indeed, an opportunity  to complete his doctoral thesis in the city of peace and justice  is a game changer in the pursuit of his academic journey. 

‘This program offers me an amazing opportunity to network with international law Justices, practitioners and scholars. Furthermore, my attendance will expose me to more collaborative research opportunities beyond Africa. Ultimately,  I am delighted to be following in the footstep of my incredible supervisor, Prof Martha Bradley, who was also awarded this doctoral scholarship in 2017,’ he added. 

Ayodele received his LLB and LLM international law degree from the Obafemi Awolowo University and the University of Pretoria in 2015 and 2021, respectively. He is a qualified Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He also participated in and completed the All-Africa Course on International Humanitarian Law organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross, Pretoria Regional Delegation, in 2020. In addition, he has lectured internationally ( virtually) and locally as a guest lecturer on the ‘Classification of armed conflicts’ at Palacky University Olomouc, Czech Republic, the University of Pretoria, and  University of Johannesburg. 

His recently co-authored article, ‘The Law of Armed Conflict and the classification of the situation in Cabo Delgado as a non-international armed Conflict’, submitted for peer-review, has recently been approved for publication in an edited book and will be published by Routledge Publishers in its Studies in Peace, Conflict, and Security in Africa series.

‘Being accepted to the 2023 Summer Course and doctoral scholarship programme at the Hague Academy of International Law in the Netherlands scheduled for 3 July to 3 September 2023 is a dream come true. This is because the programme is designed to enable doctoral candidates on the verge of completing their theses to finalise their research at the Peace Palace Library and to partially attend the famous summer courses on international law facilitated by the Academy.’

The Hague Academy programme only admits four doctoral candidates globally, with particular focus on nationals from non – member states of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD). This shows the highly competitive nature and rigorous selection process of the programme. 

The Faculty of Law extends its congratulations and best wishes to Ayodele Ojedokun.