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Fall 2011 | October 8-13, 2011
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All Seton Hall law students are invited to apply for the new Rule of Law Program in Guatemala. The trip will take place over fall break, from October 8-13th. The deadline to submit application materials is Friday, September 2, 2011. Please review details below.
Program Description
This year Seton Hall Law School is launching a Rule of Law Program in Guatemala, for which law students will travel to Guatemala from October 8th to 13th during the fall break. The program’s goals are to expose students to issues involving access to justice in a country that faces great challenges and to identify ways that the Center for Social Justice can support the development of the rule of law in Guatemala. New Jersey is home to a very large Guatemalan immigrant community so we will be exploring ways in which we can link the rule of law program with ongoing human rights work upon return. Below is a tentative itinerary for the trip.
| Saturday, October 8, 2011 |
| Fly from New York to Guatemala City and take private transport to Antigua. |
| Sunday, October 9, 2011 |
| Free time to explore Antigua in the morning and travel to Quetzaltenango (“Xela”) in the afternoon. |
| Monday, October 10, 2011 |
Visit to Rafael Landívar University and local Guatemalan judicial institutions.
RAFAEL LANDIVAR UNIVERSITY
Landívar University is a Jesuit University that has a satellite campus in Quetzaltenango. The law school offers a certificate in human rights law and provides scholarships to women and indigenous students because of its desire for diversity both within the school and legal profession.
VISITS TO LOCAL GUATEMALAN LEGAL AND JUDICIAL INSTITUTIONS
In order to give Seton Hall Law School students exposure to the rule of law in Guatemala, Landívar University has offered to arrange visits to local courts at the municipal, state, and federal levels. In addition, they may be able to arrange for a meeting with the local prosecutor’s office.
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| Tuesday, October 11, 2011 |
Visit to Rafael Landívar University’s rural legal clinics and transport back to Guatemala City in late afternoon.
VISIT TO RURAL LEGAL CLINICS
Rafael Landívar University has established several legal clinics focused primarily on family law, employment law, and civil cases that serve the rural population of Guatemala. The University has offered to arrange visits to their rural legal clinics in the surrounding areas of Xela.
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| Wednesday, October 12, 2011 |
Meet with human rights organizations in Guatemala City and visit to San Carlos University.
HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF GUATEMALA (ODHAG)
ODHAG is a prominent human rights organization in Guatemala andwas founded in 1990 by Próspero Penados del Barrio, the Archbishop of Guatemala from 1983 to 2001 who was a key figure in the peace negotiations after the nearly 40 year civil war. In 1998, Auxiliary Bishop Juan Gerardi, the acting head of ODHAG, was murdered just two days after he released a comprehensive report which accused the Guatemalan army and police of having killed more than 100,000 unarmed civilians. ODHAG is currently involved in the ongoing investigation into his murder. Their work is organized into three principal areas: socio-economic development, litigation, and reconciliation. Notable examples of their current work are researching the post-conflict roots of violence in Guatemala, lobbying for reparations for victims of crimes against humanity, and ending impunity for extrajudicial executions, genocide, and political assassinations.
THE INSTITUTE FOR COMPARATIVE STUDIES IN CRIMINAL SCIENCES (ICCPG)
ICCPG is an academic institution in the field of criminal policy and human rights, whose aim is to improve the administration of justice in Guatemala through the strengthening of civic participation in governance, lobbying efforts, training of civil servants, research into contemporary issues of the criminal justice, and dissemination of information on these issues. They are considered to be one of the most well respected Guatemalan NGOs working in human rights. On December 9, 2010, Claudia Paz y Paz Bailey, the former Executive Director of ICCPG, was appointed by President Alvaro Colom to be the new Attorney General of Guatemala.
SAN CARLOS UNIVERSITY
San Carlos University was one of the first universities to be founded in the Americas (founded in 1676) and is the only public university in Guatemala. During the Repression years (1962-1996) and the Guatemalan Civil War (early 1960s to 1995), the University was at the forefront of the popular resistance against the military dictatorship. The University has recently established legal clinics that offers pro bono services and is interested in expanding them further.
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| Thursday, October 13, 2011 |
| Flight to Newark |
Application Requirements
Please send the following application materials via email both to Professor Lori Nessel at lori.nessel@shu.edu and CSJ Teaching Fellow, Rachel Lopez at rachel.lopez@shu.edu.
- Resume
- Transcript (not necessary for 1L's)
- Two-page statement of interest addressing
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- What human rights means to you
- Why you would like to take part and what background you have that makes you specially suited for or interested in the program, and what you would hope to gain from the experience. In particular, please describe experiences you have in rule law development or international human rights
- Your thoughts about a particular contribution you would make during the trip, including any academic, professional or personal interest or experience you might share with the law students at Landívar
- Your level of proficiency in Spanish, if any. Note: Preference will be given to Spanish speakers
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- Participants will be expected to commit time prior to the trip to attend an orientation session and complete background reading about Guatemala’s history, contemporary rule of law challenges, and developing cultural competency. Participants will also be expected to commit 15-20 hours after the trip to memorialize our experiences and consider a plan for how Seton Hall Law can support rule of law efforts in Guatemala. Please indicate your willingness to make this time commitment
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Costs
Participants are expected to cover the majority of costs associated with the trip to Guatemala including lodging, food, and airfare. See list of estimated costs below.
| Estimated Costs: |
| Airfare: approximately $450 per person |
| Food: approximately $25-40 per person per day |
| Lodging: approximately $20-30 per person per night |