Human Rights and Justice

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

We use the terms human rights and justice every day, but what exactly do they mean? What are our human rights? What happens when they are violated? What do we mean when we ask for justice? Furthermore, what happens when our notions of justice clash with core concepts of fundamental human rights? This course will consist of a combination of theoretical and hands-on clinical explorations of domestic and international justice systems and international human rights standards, with the goal of better understanding the interplay between these two intertwined, but often divergent, concepts. Included in the course will be meetings with victims of crime, as well as conversations with justice system professionals, human rights lawyers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and law enforcement. The course will include a visit to D.C. Superior Court to view a criminal trial and culminates in a mock trial where students will search for the proper balance between human rights and justice.