Led by Professor David Scheffer, former U.S. Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues (1997-2001), the Center for International Human Rights focuses on researching and addressing emerging human right norms and related issues as well as providing valuable clinical experiences for students interested in the protection of human rights on a global scale.

Center faculty members supervise students in several areas of clinical work, including advocacy before and preparation of legal memoranda for international criminal tribunals and human rights bodies. They teach core and elective courses for JD students, the LLM in International Human Rights, and the JD-LLM in International Human Rights. They also help place students in internships and staff positions with international courts and organizations. Under the supervision of the center, JD students can earn academic credit for international externships with designated courts and international organizations overseas.

The center sponsors events throughout the year on issues and litigation concerning international human rights and criminal law. It focuses much of its work on emerging norms such as the responsibility to protect civilian populations at risk from atrocity crimes. The center also examines corporate human rights responsibility and the jurisprudence of the international criminal tribunals (including an annual review conference). It engages in Alien Tort Claims Act litigation and studies issues related to the forthcoming 2009 review conference of the International Criminal Court. The center acts as legal adviser to the Sudan Divestment Task Force, a project of the Genocide Intervention Project, and faculty and students are engaged in assisting the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia and are collaborating with non-governmental organizations on improving prison conditions in Malawi. In collaboration with the Documentation Center of Cambodia, the center operates a web site (www.cambodiatribunal.org) which is covering the trial proceedings of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia before which senior Khmer Rouge leaders and others most responsible for the atrocity crimes of the Pol Pot era are being brought to justice.

Who We Are

Sandra Babcock, Clinical Director
Clinical Associate Professor

Stephen Sawyer, Senior Counsel
Clinical Assistant Professor

David Scheffer, Director
Mayer Brown/Robert A. Helman Professor of Law

Bridget Arimond, LLM Director
Clinical Assistant Professor

Adam Stapleton
Visiting Professor

Upcoming Events

Center for International Human Rights

Who We Are

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