Students
Rutgers Law School works with a number of partners around the world. A number of our courses include international travel components where students have the opportunity to learn and work in different legal cultures. We also offer semester-long Study Abroad opportunities.
Courses with International Travel
Geneva
Students enrolled in the “International Law Practicum on the Law against Torture” provide strategic advice to the United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT), the supervisory body of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Students review submitted materials by States, civil society organizations, national human rights institutions and other stakeholders; conduct outside research; collate excerpts of key documents, and draft questions to be used in the Committee’s review of specific states to the Convention. The course includes a one-week trip to Geneva to attend the CAT’s session. Pre-requisite: Introduction to International Law, International Court Advocacy, or Human Rights Law.
The course is taught by Professor Jorge Contesse, a current member of the Committee against Torture.
South Africa
Rutgers Law partners with the University of the Western Cape’s (UWC) Dullah Omar Institute for Constitutional Law, Governance and Human Rights. An active institution in the anti-apartheid struggle, the UWC Faculty of Law offers a wide variety of courses in comparative law, customary law, women and children’s rights. Students spend Spring Break in South Africa, meeting fellow UWC students and constitutional judges and presenting their comparative law papers at UWC.
The South Africa Constitutional Law course is coordinated by Professor Christina Ho (Newark) and Professor Kim Mutcherson (Camden).
Cuba
The course offering “Cuban Legal Field Study” provides students with an opportunity to travel to Havana, Cuba during Spring break where they are hosted by the National Union of Cuban Jurists (UNJC). The UNJC, a professional organization for lawyers headquartered in Havana, co-ordinates a program on the Cuban Legal System with the assistance of members of the University of Havana Faculty of Law and practicing attorneys.
The program is directed by Professor Charles Auffant.
Guatemala
The course “Child Migration and U.S. Immigration Law & Policy” studies the root causes of child migration, especially from Central America, as well as U.S. immigration law and policy as it relates to children. The course also affords students the opportunity, for an additional credit, to travel to Guatemala, where students meet with individuals and social service organizations that work with child migrants and repatriated children. The in-country experience provides a unique and valuable setting for students to enrich their understanding of U.S. immigration policy and the effects of that policy on individuals and communities. The travel component also introduces students to the indigenous cultures of Guatemala as they learn how indigenous populations have been affected by migration.
The course “Child Migration and U.S. Immigration Law & Policy” is co-taught by Professors Joanne Gottesman (Camden) and Randi Mandelbaum (Newark).
Study Abroad
Rutgers Law students can spend a semester at Leiden University in the Netherlands. Questions and application materials should be submitted to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs in Newark, Sarah Regina.
Students can also apply to Study Abroad opportunities at Bucerius Law School in Germany and the University of Graz in Austria.
Summer Internships
Students have the opportunity to work within leading non-governmental organizations, such as Asociación por la Igualdad y la Justicia, in Buenos Aires; Colombia Diversa, in Bogotá; Centro Prodh, Mexico City; Fundacion Iguales, in Santiago; and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, in Washington, D.C. Students apply their skills conducting legal and policy research. Summer internships provide a unique opportunity to integrate students’ legal education with actual work on global issues affecting populations in other places around the world.
The Summer Internships Program is directed by CTL Director Jorge Contesse.
Jessup International Court Competition
The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court is the world’s largest moot court competition, with participants from roughly 700 law schools in 100 countries and jurisdictions. The Competition is a simulation of a fictional dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice, the judicial organ of the United Nations. The Competition explores resolving contemporary world order problems through the rule of law.
Each year, five students are selected to represent the Rutgers Jessup team and compete against approximately two dozen other schools. The Competition is judged by practitioners, diplomates, professors and members of various judiciaries, including notable International Law luminaries from around the world.
Read about a Jessup team member experience on the Blog.
Questions should be directed to Jessup coaches, Professors Jorge Contesse or William E. Schroeder (Newark) and Alexander Kemeny (Camden).
To learn more about any of these opportunities, contact the Center.