Miami Law has been a leader in addressing critical issues of law and policy from a transnational perspective in the areas of international law and human rights law. Miami Law has drawn upon this rich history to launch its Human Rights Program, an integral part of the newly established Global and International Law Program.
The Global and International Law Program was created to prepare lawyers to work in a transnational global environment, to address significant issues of international law and practice, and to engage with global policy issues relating to climate change, migration, trade and finance, health, education, and human rights.
The Human Rights Program consolidates and builds on pioneering human rights scholarship, teaching, and advocacy at Miami Law to create a globally preeminent training ground for the study and practice of human rights law. HRP houses the Miami Law’s innovative Human Rights Clinic, but further seeks to expose students to rich and diverse course offerings in human rights law, host regular events on pressing human rights issues, and foster student leadership and professional development, while continuing to contribute through cutting-edge scholarship and advocacy. HRP serves as the hub for a vibrant human rights community across the university, connecting faculty, students, alumni, advocates, and community members, and providing a multidisciplinary space for collaboration.
Leadership
The Global and International Law program is led by Professor Caroline Bradley, Dean’s Distinguished Scholar, and Carmen Perez-Llorca, Assistant Dean for International and Graduate Programs.
HRP is led by Faculty Chair, Professor Caroline Bettinger-López; Faculty Director, Professor Tamar Ezer; and Faculty Advisor, Professor Denisse Córdova Montes.
"For some time, the Human Rights Clinic has been an important element of teaching and scholarship at the Law School on issues of human rights, and a number of initiatives have grown out of the Clinic’s work,” said Bradley. “The launch of the Human Rights Program recognizes our broader ambitions and commitment to focus on human rights within our Global and International Law Program."
“With the Human Rights Program, we finally have a center of gravity at the law school and the broader university for our growing work on human rights, connecting interested students, faculty, and practitioners,” said Ezer, also associate director of the Human Rights Clinic. “HRP further provides the exciting opportunity to convene global discussions on human rights concerns, strategically develop our teaching, scholarship, and advocacy, and provide robust support for building the next generation of human rights leaders.”
Initiatives in Human Rights
HRP initiatives focus on holistic responses to gender violence and on advancing Food Rights, Health Rights, and Housing Rights. Currently, there is an exciting opening to advocate for the right to food and the right to adequate housing in the U.S. at the state level. HRP is also growing work on challenging the criminalization of poverty and marginalization and plans to expand to the Caribbean. Additional HRP thematic priorities include gender justice in marginalized communities, Indigenous rights, “bringing human rights home” in the U.S., and hemispheric work in the Americas.
The COURAGE Initiative (Community Oriented and United Responses to Address Gender Violence and Equality) exemplifies HRP’s multidisciplinary approach “Addressing the complexities of gender-based violence requires interdisciplinary teams grounded in the experiences of survivors, especially those from marginalized and exploited communities,” said Professor Carrie Bettinger-López, the faculty chair of the HRP. “HRP has provided a space for collaboration, connecting community, national, and global advocates and faculty with law, criminology, sociology, communications, design, health and nursing, and education expertise.”
Human Rights Events
HRP’s line-up of events this year, organized in collaboration with the student-led Human Rights Society, includes a discussion on human rights and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), a lecture on human rights and maritime law addressing refugees arriving by sea, the annual Henkin Lecture on Human Rights with Prof. Harold Koh, a film screening and panel discussion on Nothing Without Us: The Women Who Will End AIDS, a discussion on the right to food in the U.S., and a Symposium on Holistic Approaches to Gender Violence.
International Law Offerings
Miami Law has a long history of engagement with international and comparative law and has one of the largest numbers of faculty members who teach or do scholarly research in the area of international law of any American law school. With an extensive course catalog of over 100 classes, several specialized graduate programs in the area of international law, and partnerships with other schools and institutions around the world, the Global and International Law Program was created to elevate and expand the law school’s international and comparative legal education.
More of its program offerings and initiatives include an LL.M. in International Law, LL.M. in International Arbitration, LL.M. in Taxation of Cross-Border Investment, the International Moot Court Program, LawWithoutWalls, the International Arbitration Institute, Inter-American Law Review, International & Comparative Law Review, and 27 international study options in 14 different countries. Of course, one of its key offerings is the Human Rights Program.
Read more about studying International Law at Miami Law
Read more about studying Human Rights at Miami Law
