Center for Civil and Human Rights 35+ Years of Teaching, Research, Advocacy

For more than 35 years, the Center for Civil and Human Rights (CCHR) of Notre Dame Law School has been one of the world’s leading centers of teaching, research, and advocacy in the field of international human rights. Founded by Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, CSC, in 1973, the CCHR was the first human rights center at an American law school; under the direction of Prof. Douglass Cassel, an internationally recognized scholar and advocate, the CCHR remains the beacon of Notre Dame’s commitment to the promotion and defense of human dignity through law.

The CCHR sponsors two degree programs that respond to the worldwide need for advanced human rights education: a one-year Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree and a multi-year Doctorate of Juridical Sciences (J.S.D.) degree. These programs offer lawyers from around the world with a proven commitment to human rights the opportunity to engage in specialized study and supervised research in the fields of international human rights and humanitarian law.

In addition to their focus on teaching, CCHR faculty engage in research and advocacy projects aimed at protecting human rights victims and strengthening international and domestic mechanisms of accountability. These projects serve the dual role of providing access to justice for victims as well as creating the opportunity for both J.D. and LL.M. students to gain and refine the practical skills they will need to serve as effective advocates. This model, in turn, strengthens the teaching of CCHR faculty, ensuring that the human rights theory taught in the classroom is informed by actual practice.

This year, CCHR lawyers and students are conducting a human rights impact assessment of a goldmine in the highlands of Guatemala. Conducted at the request of the Cardinal of Guatemala, the CCHR hopes this project will contribute to mining policies and procedures which reflect the basic protections demanded by international human rights law.

Another current project involves a study of Latin American jurisprudence on international crimes. The study will compile and analyze the various ways in which domestic legal systems in Latin America have incorporated, developed and modified international criminal law concepts. Ximena Medellín-Urquiaga, a CCHR Post-Doctoral Research Associate, will serve as the principal investigator for the project. “International law is, perhaps, most effective when it becomes a part of the domestic legal framework,” says Medellín-Urquiaga. “This important project will study the process by which this incorporation has taken place in a region often characterized by its weak judicial systems.”

With more than 300 graduates from more than 80 countries, Notre Dame’s human rights graduates are strategically positioned in senior levels of nearly every international organization and intergovernmental body working in the field of human rights. Through these graduates, the CCHR contributes to a culture of human dignity as part of the University’s commitment to living the gospel in a diverse world.

For more information about the Center for Civil and Human Rights, visit their web site.