International Human Rights: Litigation and Advocacy Clinic I

Catalog description

In this clinical course, students will work on projects that will expose them to diverse forms of human rights advocacy. The clinic is litigation-oriented, although clinic students may also be exposed to legislative advocacy and may have the opportunity to engage in fact-finding and research regarding human rights violations abroad. A current sampling of projects includes: (1) appellate advocacy on behalf of prisoners in Malawi who have been denied the right to counsel, and collaboration with lawyers in Malawi to reduce prison overcrowding and protect the rights of pre-trial detainees (in the past, a number of clinic students have traveled to Malawi to work directly with prisoners there); (2) representation of a prisoner at Guantanamo who was tortured by U.S. interrogators; and (3) working with lawyers around the world to promote the implementation of international norms regarding the application of the death penalty.