Projects

UN Human Rights Committee Work (“HRC Team”)

Clinicians are working to support the Human Rights Committee (HRC). Throughout the year, clinicians research and brief the HRC on countries coming up for review before their month long sessions in October, March and July. In October 2022 the countries up for review included Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, Haiti, Nicaragua, Ethiopia and Japan. This research includes review of relevant shadow reports and constitutional provisions, as well as issues of implementation in the relevant States. Clinicians also conduct research and analysis on individual communications submitted to the HRC, which may come from any country party to the ICCPR on any of the rights protected by the treaty. The HRC team may travel to Geneva during the Committee’s March session to work side by side with HRC members.

Magnitsky Act Legal Advocacy (“Magnitsky Team”)

The Magnitsky Team is part of an international consortium of lawyers working to develop submissions to countries with Magnitsky Acts, which include Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Norway, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. The team is working with pro-bono counsel in USA, UK, and Canada, as well as Human Rights First, to develop specific case files on human rights abusers and corrupt officials who could be added to the Magnitsky Act visa ban and asset freeze lists. The team has thus far made submissions on 24 individuals and entities in different jurisdictions.

Office of the International Co-Prosecutor, Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (“ECCC Team”)

The ECCC was created to prosecute the senior leaders of Democratic Kampuchea, and those most responsible for the crimes and serious violations of Cambodia laws related to crimes, international humanitarian law and custom, and international conventions recognized by Cambodia, that were committed between 17 April 1975 and 6 January 1979. The ECCC Team is assisting the Office of the International Co-Prosecutor in its work on cases before the Court, through fact and legal analysis, information processing and management, and legal research. The OCP conducts preliminary investigations, prosecutes cases throughout the investigative, pre-trial, trial and appellate stages, processes victim complaints, and participates in judicial investigations. The nature of the work varies based on the OCP’s docket as well as the stages and development of proceedings, but the ECCC Team is gaining practical exposure to the core aspects of building criminal cases in an international context.

Corporate Liability and Deterrence (“Corporate Deterrence Team”)

How does criminal prosecution of business actors, as opposed to civil litigation or regulatory enforcement, impact actual business practices? Is criminal liability for human rights abuses considered in business risk assessment and to what degree? The Corporate Deterrence Team is drafting a report exploring the utility in expanding current international criminal definitions to capture the actions of corporate actors, and asking whether international criminal law would be more effective in deterring the actions of such actors than in the deterrence of religious extremists, rebel fighters, or warlords.