Document Actions
UC Hastings Courses
by
erimando
—
last modified
2009-10-03 18:36
Law 221: International Criminal Law
This course provides a general introduction to individual criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity. We will study the creation, operation, and jurisprudence of the post-World War II tribunals (Tokyo and Nuremberg), the two ad hoc international criminal tribunals (Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda), and the International Criminal Court. We will consider issues related to the definition of crimes, jurisdiction, theories of liability, defenses, and rules of procedure and evidence. We will also look at attempts by national courts to invoke universal jurisdiction to prosecute international crimes, and at the evolution of hybrid tribunals that combine features of national and international courts.
Law 417: International Human Rights
This course is an introduction to the law and institutional mechanisms for the international protection of human rights. It examines briefly the theory and the history of the field, together with key United Nations documents. International treaty and non-treaty mechanisms for protecting and promoting human rights, including regional systems and the role of non-governmental organizations, are covered. We will also address the use of international human rights standards in United States courts. Discussions will then focus on specific contemporary human rights problems, which may include the prevention of torture and disappearances, the use of criminal and civil sanctions, and minority and indigenous peoples rights. We will pay special attention to the role of corporate actors in human rights issues, to international criminal tribunals and accountability for human rights violations, and to environmental and development rights.
Law 428: Refugee Law & Policy
This course focuses on law and policy issues in the determination of refugee status. Refugee law has its origins in international treaties dating to the post-World War II period. This course begins with an examination of the international origins of refugee law, and the significance of international norms in its development. It will examine the relevance of these international norms in the context of such controversial policies as the interdiction and return of asylum seekers, and other measures which prevent or limit access of asylum seekers to the territory of the country of asylum. The course closely explores the meaning of the terms persecution, the various grounds on which persecution may be feared; namely political opinion, religion, race, nationality of membership in a particular social group. Particular attention will be paid to the developing jurisprudence of gender-based claims for asylum, and claims based upon sexual orientation. The course also addresses practical aspects of refugee representation, including the impact of psychological trauma and cross-cultural communication on the adjudication of asylum claims.
Law 535: Public International Law
This course is a broad introductory survey of international law as understood and practiced in the United States. Our goal is to understand how international law affects U.S. policy-makers, and how it is applied by U.S. courts. Topics include the sources of international law, the U.N. Charter, the process of settling international disputes, the role of foreign states and foreign law in U.S. Courts, the exercise of extraterritorial and universal jurisdiction by U.S. courts, human rights, the use of force, war powers of the president and congress, and the development of international environmental norms.
Law 733: International War Crimes Prosecution Seminar
This is a seminar on the prosecution of war crimes. Over the last decade, there has been an explosion of war crimes prosecution, with multiple tribunals prosecuting war crimes that happened in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Iraq. American prosecutors are and will continue to be involved in many of these tribunals. This course will focus on the legal and practical issues that arise when prosecuting these complex and challenging cases.
Law 770: Capital Punishment Seminar
This seminar’s primary objective is to provide the student with a basic understanding of the procedures and limits governing the imposition of the death penalty. The course will begin with the development of general constitutional issues and principles and then concentrate on specific topics that frequently arise in capital punishment cases: the selection of death qualified jurors, admission of evidence at the sentencing phase, proper sentencing procedures, and the pursuit of appellate and habeas corpus relief. Course materials will emphasize federal constitutional law and focus primarily on United States Supreme Court decisions.
Law 773: Reparation for Injustices: Domestic & International Seminar
In the wake of injustice, armed conflict or human rights violations, survivors often demand reparations for harm. In an increasing number of cases, states respond. This seminar considers a number of instances where reparations for past injustice have been made or proposed to groups and individuals (we will touch on but not focus on inter-state reparations), and a number of instances where reparations were proposed but never implemented. Such reparations will include not only monetary payments to individuals, but other measures designed to address historical injustice. From these experiences we will seek to draw general lessons as to both what the law is and what it should be. We will look at examples including reparations for the Holocaust, post-dictatorship reparations in Latin America and South Africa, the case of indigenous peoples in the U.S. and elsewhere, Japanese Americans interned during World War II, and African-Americans for slavery and Jim Crow. We will combine consideration of U.S., international and comparative law and policy.
Law 931/932: Refugee & Human Rights Clinic
Students will work 16-20 hours per week on projects involving refugee and human rights issues, and will have a unique opportunity to develop a range of skills relevant to legal advocacy in these areas. In the refugee area, there will be the opportunity to engage in the direct representation of asylum seekers, and to do policy and community education work on these issues. Human rights work may involve fact-finding and report writing, collaborative projects with other non-governmental organizations, and advocacy at regional human rights bodies, such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. A number of the projects may be in partnership with the law school’s Center for Gender and Refugee Studies (CGRS). CGRS is one of the nation's leading refugee advocacy organizations, engaging in research, national policy work, impact litigation, and other strategies in defense of asylum seekers.
This course provides a general introduction to individual criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity. We will study the creation, operation, and jurisprudence of the post-World War II tribunals (Tokyo and Nuremberg), the two ad hoc international criminal tribunals (Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda), and the International Criminal Court. We will consider issues related to the definition of crimes, jurisdiction, theories of liability, defenses, and rules of procedure and evidence. We will also look at attempts by national courts to invoke universal jurisdiction to prosecute international crimes, and at the evolution of hybrid tribunals that combine features of national and international courts.
Law 417: International Human Rights
This course is an introduction to the law and institutional mechanisms for the international protection of human rights. It examines briefly the theory and the history of the field, together with key United Nations documents. International treaty and non-treaty mechanisms for protecting and promoting human rights, including regional systems and the role of non-governmental organizations, are covered. We will also address the use of international human rights standards in United States courts. Discussions will then focus on specific contemporary human rights problems, which may include the prevention of torture and disappearances, the use of criminal and civil sanctions, and minority and indigenous peoples rights. We will pay special attention to the role of corporate actors in human rights issues, to international criminal tribunals and accountability for human rights violations, and to environmental and development rights.
Law 428: Refugee Law & Policy
This course focuses on law and policy issues in the determination of refugee status. Refugee law has its origins in international treaties dating to the post-World War II period. This course begins with an examination of the international origins of refugee law, and the significance of international norms in its development. It will examine the relevance of these international norms in the context of such controversial policies as the interdiction and return of asylum seekers, and other measures which prevent or limit access of asylum seekers to the territory of the country of asylum. The course closely explores the meaning of the terms persecution, the various grounds on which persecution may be feared; namely political opinion, religion, race, nationality of membership in a particular social group. Particular attention will be paid to the developing jurisprudence of gender-based claims for asylum, and claims based upon sexual orientation. The course also addresses practical aspects of refugee representation, including the impact of psychological trauma and cross-cultural communication on the adjudication of asylum claims.
Law 535: Public International Law
This course is a broad introductory survey of international law as understood and practiced in the United States. Our goal is to understand how international law affects U.S. policy-makers, and how it is applied by U.S. courts. Topics include the sources of international law, the U.N. Charter, the process of settling international disputes, the role of foreign states and foreign law in U.S. Courts, the exercise of extraterritorial and universal jurisdiction by U.S. courts, human rights, the use of force, war powers of the president and congress, and the development of international environmental norms.
Law 733: International War Crimes Prosecution Seminar
This is a seminar on the prosecution of war crimes. Over the last decade, there has been an explosion of war crimes prosecution, with multiple tribunals prosecuting war crimes that happened in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Iraq. American prosecutors are and will continue to be involved in many of these tribunals. This course will focus on the legal and practical issues that arise when prosecuting these complex and challenging cases.
Law 770: Capital Punishment Seminar
This seminar’s primary objective is to provide the student with a basic understanding of the procedures and limits governing the imposition of the death penalty. The course will begin with the development of general constitutional issues and principles and then concentrate on specific topics that frequently arise in capital punishment cases: the selection of death qualified jurors, admission of evidence at the sentencing phase, proper sentencing procedures, and the pursuit of appellate and habeas corpus relief. Course materials will emphasize federal constitutional law and focus primarily on United States Supreme Court decisions.
Law 773: Reparation for Injustices: Domestic & International Seminar
In the wake of injustice, armed conflict or human rights violations, survivors often demand reparations for harm. In an increasing number of cases, states respond. This seminar considers a number of instances where reparations for past injustice have been made or proposed to groups and individuals (we will touch on but not focus on inter-state reparations), and a number of instances where reparations were proposed but never implemented. Such reparations will include not only monetary payments to individuals, but other measures designed to address historical injustice. From these experiences we will seek to draw general lessons as to both what the law is and what it should be. We will look at examples including reparations for the Holocaust, post-dictatorship reparations in Latin America and South Africa, the case of indigenous peoples in the U.S. and elsewhere, Japanese Americans interned during World War II, and African-Americans for slavery and Jim Crow. We will combine consideration of U.S., international and comparative law and policy.
Law 931/932: Refugee & Human Rights Clinic
Students will work 16-20 hours per week on projects involving refugee and human rights issues, and will have a unique opportunity to develop a range of skills relevant to legal advocacy in these areas. In the refugee area, there will be the opportunity to engage in the direct representation of asylum seekers, and to do policy and community education work on these issues. Human rights work may involve fact-finding and report writing, collaborative projects with other non-governmental organizations, and advocacy at regional human rights bodies, such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. A number of the projects may be in partnership with the law school’s Center for Gender and Refugee Studies (CGRS). CGRS is one of the nation's leading refugee advocacy organizations, engaging in research, national policy work, impact litigation, and other strategies in defense of asylum seekers.