Miami Law professors organized and participated in the annual academic conference conducted by SELA. The conference, titled "Fixing the Ship at Sea: Threats to Democracy and Efforts to Rebuild" was held this summer in Santiago, Chile. Initially founded by students and faculty of Yale Law School, the University of Miami School of Law became a member and co-director of SELA in 2021.
As part of its commitment to international law, Miami Law joined as an equal partner to direct, organize, and participate in SELA, which was founded over two decades ago and dedicated to promoting and fostering legal scholarship in the Americas.
"The conference brings together the top legal scholars in the Americas to discuss important issues to the hemisphere," said Professor Sergio Campos, who was introduced as a co-director of SELA at the conference. "This year’s conference was inspired by the constitutional process in Chile, and Miami law faculty were able to provide their unique perspectives to tough issues of constitutional design and democracy."
Campos, director of Miami Law's new S.J.D. Program, attended with Andres Sawicki, director of the Business of Innovation, Law, and Technology Concentration. Professor Lisa Iglesias and Visiting Professor Madeleine Plasencia drafted papers for the conference, which were presented and discussed. Professors Irwin Stotzky, Ileana Porras, and Pablo Rueda Saiz are also participants in SELA.
"Our participation in SELA will enrich our existing international graduate programs, and will allow our faculty and students to participate and collaborate in the production of the highest levels of legal scholarship in the Americas," says Caroline Bradley, associate dean of international and graduate law programs.
Through SELA, scholars from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Perú, Puerto Rico, Spain, and the United States present papers on themes determined by the faculty directors and representatives from partnering universities and analyzed in a series of panel discussions. The papers are written in English, Spanish, or Portuguese and published in a standalone book following the talks.
The seminar provides leading researchers from across the Americas opportunities to learn from and collaborate with other experts who share their commitment to democratic principles and values.
The School of Law and the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law joined as equal partners with Yale Law School in the direction and management of SELA, becoming only the second and third law U.S. law school to join the consortium.
Miami Law's role includes helping to organize the substance of the annual conference and the consortium's other events and initiatives.
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