International Justice Clinic

The International Justice Clinic, launched in August 2008, draws upon UCLA's interdisciplinary strengths.  Deploying cutting-edge advocacy techniques, the Clinic involves UCLA students and faculty in developing and implementing advocacy strategies to draw attention to mass crimes, assist in the prosecution of their perpetrators, and provide expert analysis and policy recommendations for the improvement of international justice mechanisms.

The work of the Clinic focuses on three activities central to the advancement of human rights:

• Legal Advocacy:  Students and faculty work with and through national and international courts to enhance the process of bringing perpetrators of mass crimes to justice.  During the 2008 - 2009 academic year, for example, students worked on topics related to the War Crimes Section of the State Court of Bosnia and Hercegovina and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.  Students also worked with documentary filmmaker Edward Nachtrieb on a project exploring the impact of justice in the wake of the siege of Sarajevo (see this clip).  Currently, the Clinic is working on issues related to the International Criminal Court's first Review Conference, unlawful mineral extraction in Africa and victim participation in the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.

• Political Advocacy:  Advocacy before governments and international organizations will often be necessary to move legal processes forward.  Clinic participants will provide research and recommendations to improve the ongoing transition of justice worldwide.

• Documentation:  Without documentation, neither legal nor political processes can be advanced.  Documentation will usually involve field work, collecting documentary and forensic evidence, and recording eyewitness accounts.  In addition to written documentation, the Clinic will experiment with audio-visual media and seek to make documentation available on the internet.