An immersive program where students will gain a deeper understanding of international law and legal frameworks in partnership with The American University of Rome
New York Law School (NYLS) has launched a Law and Global Society Program in Rome, Italy. Open to students from NYLS or any ABA-accredited law schools, the Rome Program immerses them in the socio-legal environment of Italy, as well as the broader European Union. All classes will be taught on the campus of The American University of Rome (AUR). This program comes after an initial program in Summer 2023 that was limited to NYLS students.
The Rome Program is led by two preeminent international legal scholars and leaders, NYLS John Marshall Harlan II Professor and Director of the Racial Justice Project Penelope “Penny” Andrews (and former Dean of the University of Cape Town Faculty of Law and Albany Law School), and Professor and former Dean of Golden Gate University School of Law Rachel Van Cleave. They will be joined by NYLS Professor and Director of the 21st Century Policing Project Kirk Burkhalter, NYLS Professor and Dean for Advocacy and Co-Curricular Programs Lynn Su, and AUR Professor Antonio Marchesi to teach courses that include:
- No Peace Without Justice: This course will expand understanding of the relationship between peace, justice, and human rights in an international context by addressing the legal obstacles and ethical dilemmas faced by the international community in pursuing these different but reciprocally connected goals. Specific issues explored during the course include the extraterritorial jurisdiction of states, international criminal tribunals, immunities from jurisdiction, different approaches to the fight against terrorism, and different models of post-conflict transitional justice.
- Racial Justice and the Law: In the context of the socio-legal environment of Italy, the European Union (EU), and the global south, this course will study the use of the law both to perpetuate and eradicate racial and economic injustice. This course will explore the role of law in its political and social context, especially with regard to the use of legal institutions in the creation and maintenance of systems of racial injustice; and to examine the potential and limits of the use of law (especially litigation) as a tool for social change.
“Lawyers are at the center of an interconnected world increasingly governed through complex international institutions and agreements,” said New York Law School Dean and President Anthony Crowell, “The NYLS Rome Program provides an immersive on-the-ground education for future lawyers who will be essential to the future of global human rights, social justice, peace, and economic security.”
The Rome Program provides exclusive insider field visits to a variety of government offices, non-governmental organizations, and other world institutions, including the US Mission to Italy, the Italian Parliament, Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassazione, the Vatican, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Program, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. Through these meetings and the courses, students will gain an in-depth and realistic understanding of the complexity of international law and institutions, and how they directly impact the lives of people around the globe.
For more information, visit https://www.nyls.edu/summer.