Human Rights Law in the Americas Summer Program: Costa Rica

  Costa Rica

• North Western Region: 
Heredia

Term: Summer 
Dates: please inquire for a specific date

Description: The Human Rights Law in the Americas Summer Program combines an intensive study of international human rights law with an immersion in Costa Rican culture. The program provides an overview of the basic principles of international law, in-depth discussion of the Inter-American Human Rights System, and consideration of how human rights ideas, advocacy and activist strategies have transformed Latin American law, society, politics and economics. The program is composed of three comprehensive courses, guest lectures by prominent academics and human rights leaders, and site visits to key institutions within the Inter-American Human Rights System.

Educational Program:

The program offers three, ABA-approved courses on the theory and practice of international human rights law in Latin America.

-Protecting Rights in the Americas: Critical Reflections on the Inter-American Human Rights System presents an overview of the development, structure and operation of the Inter-American Human Rights System, Latin America's regional mechanism for defining and protecting fundamental rights. It reviews regional conventions, major cases and jurisprudence, as well as the impact of the Inter-American Commission and Court on improving state and regional responses to key issues such as torture, disappearances and indigenous rights (3 credit hours; Professor Victor Rodriguez).
-New Directions in Latin American Human Rights: Law, Democracy, and Economic Justice focuses on the way human rights ideas influence the relationship between law, democracy and economic justice in the Americas, currently the most economically inequitable region in the world. Human rights issues to be reviewed include national and regional policies regarding social inequality, elections, access to courts, education, environmental degradation, and foreign investment. The course includes several case studies and considers both the limitations and possibilities of human rights law for facilitating broad economic and social change (2 credit hours; Professor Alberto R. Coll and Daniel Rothenberg).
-Rule of Law in Latin America: Comparative Criminal Procedure examines Latin American governments' expansion of the civil law system to include elements of the common law system used in the U.S. These changes impact every phase of criminal procedure including search and seizure, arrest, pre-trial detention, interrogation, exclusionary rules, victims' rights, the role of counsel, juries, allocation of the burden of proof and appeal. The course reviews both the theory and practice of rule of law reform, focusing on specific case studies of Mexico and Guatemala (1 credit; Professor Leonard Cavise).

Highlights: Proposed site visits include the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights, and the Center for Justice and International Law.

Proposed guest lecturers for 2009 include: Roberto Cuellar, Executive Director of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights; Soraya Long, Director of the Center for Justice and International Law; Sonia Picado, former judge in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Pablo Saavedra, Secretary of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Degree Level: Doctorate Degree

Cost in US$: 3,650

Experience Required: yes

The program is limited to 40 students: 35 students from ABA-approved law schools and five Latin American students. Admission to the program is open to students who have completed at least one year of full- or part-time law study at an accredited law school. A letter of good standing from each student's dean is required following acceptance to the program.

This Program is open to American Participants.

Participants Travel to Costa Rica Independently

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Written Application

International Human Rights Law Institute, DePaul University College of Law's Mission Statement: The International Human Rights Law Institute (IHRLI) is at the forefront of contemporary human rights research, training, and advocacy. Since its founding in 1990, the Institute has engaged in human rights training, post-conflict justice programs, and large-scale human rights documentation projects throughout the world. IHRLI conducts scholarly research on human rights, international criminal law, and international humanitarian law. The Institute also prepares DePaul law students, activists, and scholars for careers in human rights through fellowship programs, special courses, internships, and research opportunities in Chicago and abroad.

Year Founded: 1990