Faculty and Staff Apply Now
Douglass Cassel
Director
Douglass Cassel is a scholar, attorney and journalist specializing in international human rights, international criminal and international humanitarian law. Current or former president of two international organizations assisting justice reform in the Americas, he has been consultant on human rights to numerous non-governmental organizations as well as the United Nations, Organization of American States, United States Department of State and the Ford Foundation. He lectures worldwide and his articles are published internationally in English and Spanish. His commentaries on human rights are published in the Chicago Tribune and broadcast weekly on Chicago Public Radio.
Sean O’Brien
Assistant Director and Concurrent Assistant Professor of Law
Sean O’Brien joined the Center in 2005, bringing with him his experience in international and domestic human rights work. He holds three degrees from the University of Notre Dame, most recently graduating summa cum laude from the Center’s LL.M. program in 2002. His experience includes work with the Belfast law firm of Madden & Finucane before the Bloody Sunday Inquiry in Derry, Northern Ireland and litigation with the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) in the Inter-American System for the Protection of Human Rights. Immediately prior to his return to Notre Dame, he served as Chief Counsel for Immigration and Human Rights at the Center for Multicultural Human Services (CMHS) in Falls Church, VA, directing a legal services program for survivors of torture and war trauma.
Paolo Carozza
Associate Professor of Law
Paolo Carozza, joined the Law School faculty in 1996. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and a former Ford Fellow in Public International Law. He was a law clerk to the Supreme Court of the Federated States of Micronesia. At the Arnold & Porter law firm in Washington, D.C., he engaged in international law practice and human rights work. He has taught at several other universities, in the United States, Europe and Latin America. At Notre Dame, he is a Fellow of the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, the Kelloge Institute for International Studies, and the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. In 2005, he was elected by the Organization of American States to be a member of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Muthee Kiunga
Post-doctoral Research Associate
Muthee Kiunga earned his bachelors degree in law from the University of Nairobi in 1998 and a masters degree in international human rights law from Notre Dame Law School in 2005. Muthee brings to the program his skills and experience from working for the United Nations in Sudan and Kenya. Muthee has previously worked as a lawyer on diverse human rights issues in the East Africa region including immigration and refugee rights, governance and rule of law, and human rights advocacy and litigation. He has also consulted for the UN and civil society organizations on human rights. His academic interests include international immigration law, transitional justice, the role of international human rights law in safeguarding individual human rights guarantees and the African Human Rights system.
Ximena Medellín
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Ximena Medellín earned a Licentiate in Law from the Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City in 2004, and a Masters of Law from Notre Dame Law School in 2007. Before pursuing her studies in international human rights law at Notre Dame, she was Associate Professor of Human Rights Law at the Universidad Iberoamericana. In addition, she was a full-time researcher at the Human Rights Program of the Universidad Iberoamericana, leading their International Criminal Justice and International Humanitarian Law programs. She has consulted for the Mexican Government, as well as for international institutions such as the International Committee of the Red Cross. Her areas of interest include International Criminal Justice, Humanitarian Law, the Inter-American System for the Protection of Human Rights, national implementation of human rights, and national cooperation with international bodies.
Jody Klontz
Administrative Assistant
Ms. Klontz is at the core of administration of all aspects of the work of the CCHR, including budgeting, financial transactions and records, communications with applicants for degree programs and with admitted students, compliance with University requirements for privacy of personal data, and arranging conferences and events, among other responsibilities. Prior to joining the CCHR in February 2009, she worked for the Notre Dame Law School administration for more than seven years. She also has several years of experience working as a legal assistant in a small, local firm. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University.
Students in the LL.M. and J.S.D. programs have access to all the regular faculty and courses at the Law School, as described in detail in the Law School Bulletin of Information, as well as to the faculty and courses of other academic institutes and departments of the University. In addition to the Law School faculty highlighted on the Law School web site, the faculty of the University includes some outstanding professors who are well known for a particular specialty relevant to human rights.
