About the Transnational Justice Project
The Transnational Justice Project (TJP) recognizes that significant legal developments often transcend political boundaries. As the use of transnational bodies to adjudicate disputes grow in number and importance, national governments and international authorities are seeking to develop a coherent body of law around these proceedings.
The scope, form and process of these transnational bodies are the subject of continued discussion and debate. International tribunals and other courts, for example, confront an array of questions as they seek to create a framework for justice following periods of widespread or systematic human rights violations, adjudicate war crimes, and address the effects of counter-terrorism policies. What are the sources of transnational legal authority? How can international tribunals resolve disputes between individuals or nations? What are the competing interests in transnational proceedings? What are the different forms these proceedings can take? Is it possible, or even desirable, to attempt to develop a uniform international procedure surrounding issues of transnational justice?
As part of the Center for Policy & Research, and under the leadership of Professors Jenny Carroll and Jonathan Hafetz, the TJP will observe, study, and document the work of these tribunals with students commissioned to observe proceedings firsthand and produce reports and other written work based on their observation and research. In doing so, students will develop working relationships with attorneys, jurists, and other specialists in the field while gaining valuable experience in the transnational arena.
In early 2011, the TJP was granted Observer Status from the U.S. Government to attend the military commission proceedings at Guantanamo Bay, and has already started sending students there. The commissions provide an opportunity to observe first-hand how military courts are being used to prosecute global terrorism, raising questions with far-reaching implications for the development of international law, human rights, and counter-terrorism policy. Students, for example, will have the opportunity to observe proceedings in the prosecution of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and the other alleged 9/11 plotters, trials of historic and legal importance.
In 2012, the TJP will lead a delegation of students to The Hague to observe the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and other courts there. The focus will be on learning about transnational adjudication at The Hague and the practice of law in an international setting. The TJP plans to expand to other tribunals and countries in the future.