Educational Opportunities

Costa Rica Study Abroad Program

The Human Rights Law in the Americas Summer Program combines an intensive study of international human rights law with an immersion in Costa Rican culture. The program provides an overview of the basic principles of international law, in-depth discussion of the Inter-American Human Rights System, and consideration of how human rights ideas, advocacy and activist strategies have transformed Latin American law, society, politics and economics. The program is composed of three comprehensive courses, guest lectures by prominent academics and human rights leaders, and site visits to key institutions within the Inter-American Human Rights System.

Program Dates:
July 25 - August 17, 2010

Program Deadlines: The deadline for applications is May 1, 2009. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis prior to the deadline. Due to limited space and the popularity of the program, early submission of applications is recommended. The application must be accompanied by a $250 deposit that is nonrefundable unless the applicant is not accepted or the program is cancelled.

Educational Program:
The program offers three, ABA-approved courses on the theory and practice of international human rights law in Latin America.

• Protecting Rights in the Americas: Critical Reflections on the Inter-American Human Rights System presents an overview of the development, structure and operation of the Inter-American Human Rights System, Latin America’s regional mechanism for defining and protecting fundamental rights. It reviews regional conventions, major cases and jurisprudence, as well as the impact of the Inter-American Commission and Court on improving state and regional responses to key issues such as torture, disappearances and indigenous rights (3 credit hours; Professor Victor Rodriguez).
• New Directions in Latin American Human Rights: Law, Democracy, and Economic Justice focuses on the way human rights ideas influence the relationship between law, democracy and economic justice in the Americas, currently the most economically inequitable region in the world. Human rights issues to be reviewed include national and regional policies regarding social inequality, elections, access to courts, education, environmental degradation, and foreign investment. The course includes several case studies and considers both the limitations and possibilities of human rights law for facilitating broad economic and social change (2 credit hours; Professor Alberto R. Coll and Daniel Rothenberg).
• Rule of Law in Latin America: Comparative Criminal Procedure examines Latin American governments’ expansion of the civil law system to include elements of the common law system used in the U.S. These changes impact every phase of criminal procedure including search and seizure, arrest, pre-trial detention, interrogation, exclusionary rules, victims’ rights, the role of counsel, juries, allocation of the burden of proof and appeal. The course reviews both the theory and practice of rule of law reform, focusing on specific case studies of Mexico and Guatemala (1 credit; Professor Leonard Cavise).

Proposed site visits include the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights, and the Center for Justice and International Law.

Proposed guest lecturers for 2009 include: Roberto Cuellar, Executive Director of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights; Soraya Long, Director of the Center for Justice and International Law; Sonia Picado, former judge in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Pablo Saavedra, Secretary of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Program Costs:

Financial Aid: Students may be eligible for financial aid through their home schools.

Accommodations
Most students choose to stay with a Costa Rican host family, linking the academic component of the program with cultural immersion. Host families provide a private room, meals and laundry, and meet students at the airport upon arrival.

Students may choose to live in self-arranged housing. The International Human Rights Law Institute (IHRLI) can offer suggestions regarding hotels and apartments, but it is the responsibility of the student to ensure the quality, location and price of alternative accommodations.

To Apply:

• Download the Application
• Download the Brochure
• Mail to:
  Kari Kammel, Deputy Executive Director
  Human Rights Law in the Americas Summer Program
  International Human Rights Law Institute
  DePaul University College of Law
  25 E. Jackson Boulevard
  Chicago, IL 60604

For more information:
Contact Kari Kammel at kkammel@depaul.edu

The deadline for applications is May 1, 2009. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis prior to the deadline. Due to limited space and the popularity of the program, early submission of applications is recommended.

The application must be accompanied by a $250 deposit that is nonrefundable unless the applicant is not accepted or the program is cancelled. The full tuition balance is due by June 5, 2009.

* Cancellation
DePaul University reserves the right to cancel the program if enrollment is insufficient or because of extraordinary circumstances such as a natural disaster, war or political unrest, or similar emergency. If the program is cancelled, participants will receive a full refund within 20 days of the cancellation date.