J.S.D. Students Apply Now

Sonia Boulos (Israel)
Ms. Sonia Boulos is a Palestinian lawyer and citizen of Israel. She earned her LL.B. from Haifa University (2000) and her LLM. in International Human Rights Law, magna cum laude, from the Notre Dame Law School (2002). Prior to obtaining her LL.M., she completed her internship at Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel. After graduating from Notre Dame, Sonia joined the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI). As a staff attorney she worked on filing Supreme Court petitions, interfaced with governmental authorities, participated in parliamentary committee hearings, and prepared expert position papers on a range of issues. Thematically, Sonia’s work concentrated on the areas of equal rights for women, as well as advancing the right to free speech and political rights of the Palestinian minority in Israel, and promoting respect for international humanitarian law. In addition to her work at ACRI, Sonia served as a board member for KAYAN-Feminist Organizatiom, ILAM-Media Center for Palestinians in Israel and The Working Group for Equality in Personal Status Law.

Rose Nakayi (Uganda)
Ms. Rose Nakayi earned an LL.M. from the University of Cambridge (U.K) and an LL.B. (JD equivalent) from Makerere University, Uganda (MUK). Since 2001 she has been a staff member at MUK’s Faculty of Law, Human Rights and Peace Center (HURIPEC). At MUK, she was involved in a range of activities including: teaching, research, outreach and monitoring various aspects of human rights and governance in Uganda. Ms. Nakayi was coordinator of the programme on Human Rights and Democratization in Africa at Makerere, and more recently, the Uganda Coalition for the International Criminal Court, at the Human Rights Network – Uganda (HURINET). She took part in the International Center for Transitional Justice fellowship program in Cape Town, where she developed a keen interest in Transitional Justice. She has consulted on indigenous peoples’ land rights and the human rights issues surrounding citizenship and identity struggles in Uganda, for the Forest Peoples’ Land rights in England and the East African Center for Constitutional Development, respectively. Her JSD research area is Transitional Justice and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, with a regional focus on Africa.

Mirakmal Niyazmatov (Uzbekistan)
Mr. Niyazmatov earned his Bachelor of Laws from the University of World Economy and Diplomacy in 2004 (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) and his LL.M. from Notre Dame Law School’s Center for Civil and Human Rights in 2007. During his university studies, he extensively participated and coached several teams for various regional and international competitions on international law, including the Jessup Moot Court Competition and the Jean Pictet Competition on International Humanitarian Law. He interned at the International Committee of the Red Cross working on the ratification/implementation of the Rome Statute of the ICC and worked as a Human Rights Assistant at the United Nations Development Program in Uzbekistan. After obtaining his LL.M., he interned for six month at the Amnesty International UN Office in New York. Mirakmal’s main fields of interest/research lie in the areas of freedom of expression, treaty interpretation, implementation of international law norms, definition of torture, and the admissibility of evidence obtained by coercion.

Mykola Sorochinsky (Ukraine)
Mr. Mykola Sorochinsky is a second-year candidate for a JSD degree at Notre Dame Law School’s Center for Civil and Human Rights. His dissertation will compare the impact regional human rights systems in Europe and Latin America have on the development of domestic criminal justice systems in member states, particularly with respect to victims’ rights. His research interests also include comparative constitutional law and the social and human rights responsibilities of international business. In 2000 he received his specialist in law (J.D. equivalent) degree with honors and in 2004 a candidate of science (Ph.D. equivalent) in criminology from Odessa National Academy of Law in Ukraine. In 2006 he graduated. summa cum laude from Notre Dame Law School’s LL.M. program where he was an Edmund S. Muskie Fellow. During 2001-2002 he taught a number of criminal justice-related courses at the Odessa National Academy of Law in Ukraine and in 2003 he was a visiting scholar at the European United Nations Institute for Crime Prevention and Control in Helsinki, Finland. He combined his academic career with his work at a prominent business law firm where he focused on international business transactions, admiralty and transportation law. From 2003-2004 he worked as a senior advisor at Ukraine’s High Council of Justice. In 2004-2005 Mr. Sorochinsky headed a section of the legal department at the Central Election Commission of Ukraine, where he participated as counsel in election-related disputes heard by the country’s Supreme and Constitutional Courts. He also worked as an advisor for several members of Ukraine’s Parliament and participated in working groups drafting Ukraine’s Ports Law, Code of Administrative Procedure, Law on Advocates, amendments to the Presidential Elections Law and other legislative proposals. In 2006 he interned with the Open Society Justice Initiative’s criminal justice reform program in New York.

Simon M. Weldehaimanot (Eritrea)
Mr. Weldehaimanot earned his LL.B. in 2003 from the University of Asmara. He then worked as a lawyer for a governmental department. In 2006, Simon obtained his LL.M. in human rights and democratization in Africa from the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. After earning his LL.M., Simon worked for 18 months as a TMF Human Rights Fellow at the Center for Human Rights Studies at Columbia University. As a fellow, Simon worked for two human rights organizations, the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (in Banjul, the Gambia) and the International Center for Transitional Justice (New York office). Before beginning work on his J.S.D., Simon also interned at the International Criminal Court. Simon’s areas of focus are the African human rights system and the legal framework of the African Union, international human rights law and international criminal law. Simon’s doctoral study focuses on devolution of power as related to the right to self-determination, accommodation of minorities, good governance and democracy with specific focus on his country, Eritrea.