News and Developments in International Law and Legal Education Published as an information resource for the ASIL membership, the ASIL Academic Bulletin reports on program developments at ASIL 2008 Academic Partner institutions. January 2008
Northwestern University School of Law ASIL Links Home Academic Partnership Program Academic Bulletin Archive Career Development Resouces With a substantive focus on two areas, international human rights and the globalization of business, Northwestern University School of Law prepares both domestic and international students for practice in the changing world. Our distinguished faculty informs leading public policy decisions and debates regarding international law and teaches outstanding courses in public international law, international human rights law, international criminal law, international trade law, comparative law, conflict of laws, and other specialized areas of the discipline. Center for International Human Rights The Center for International Human Rights at Northwestern University School of Law conducts academic and practical work in support of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. With a full-time faculty of five led by Professor David Scheffer (a former U.S. ambassador at large for war crimes issues), the center offers students clinical opportunities to engage in the work of the international criminal tribunals, human rights organizations, and death penalty, arbitrary detention, and Alien Tort Statute litigation, as well as the study of corporate human rights responsibility, the responsibility to protect (R2P), and other emerging fields of international human rights and criminal law. The center supervises a web site (www.cambodiatribunal.org) dedicated to covering the trials of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. During 2007-2008, the center has hosted conferences on corporate human rights responsibility (co-sponsored with the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium), R2P and the International Criminal Court, R2P and Non-Governmental Organizations, the annual Atrocity Crimes Litigation Year-in-Review, and the Alien Tort Statute. The center's web site is http://www.law.northwestern.edu/humanrights/. International LLM Programs With expanded degree program offerings at Northwestern Law, international students now make up more than 20 percent of our student body in Chicago. In 2007-2008, we enrolled 117 LLM students representing 24 different countries. More information about our LLM programs is available at http://www.law.northwestern.edu/graduate/llm. LLM in International Human Rights Law The LLM program provides practicing lawyers with a solid foundation of practical knowledge to apply in the field upon graduation. The curriculum includes survey courses in international human rights law and international criminal law and specialized courses focusing on human rights in transitional societies, comparative case law in the regional human rights courts, trial advocacy skills, and clinical projects. The LLM (International Human Rights) is open to American JD graduates and to foreign lawyers. Full course offerings can be found at http://www.law.northwestern.edu/graduate/llm_ihr.html. Joint JD-/LLM (International Human Rights) Degree Program Students admitted to the JD program at Northwestern Law may apply for a uniquely-offered joint JD-LLM (International Human Rights) degree earned over a four-year period. The student takes the LLM curriculum in addition to the JD courses, and must spend one semester abroad at one of the designated institutions for international externships. International Externships JD students may earn academic credit for summer, fall or spring clerkships with designated international and hybrid criminal tribunals, foreign supreme courts, and international organizations, all supervised by the Center for International Human Rights. Details are at http://www.law.northwestern.edu/humanrights/externships.html. MSL in International Human Rights Law Non-lawyers (American or foreign) with significant academic and/or work experience in the fields of international human rights or criminal law or humanitarian operations or with international or regional organizations (including the United Nations, European Union, African Union, and Organization of American States) may apply for a Masters of Legal Studies in International Human Rights Law, the curriculum for which mirrors that of the LLM in International Human Rights Law. International Team Project International Team Project (ITP) courses offer second and third year JD students a unique opportunity to travel to and study the legal and business environments of foreign countries. ITP students develop their own course curriculum and research projects and then work in teams to conduct extensive research about their chosen countries. Over spring break, students travel abroad to do field research and meet with judges, lawyers, government officials, NGO representatives, and business leaders. The course concludes with a team research project. Details are at http://www.law.northwestern.edu/itp/. Journals Recognizing the importance of international legal problems, Northwestern Law has two journals that reflect the school's continuing commitment to excellence in the study of international law: the Journal of International Human Rights (http://www.law.northwestern.edu/jihr/) and the Journal of International Law and Business (http://www.law.northwestern.edu/journals/jilb/).