GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS CLINIC
NOTRE DAME LAW SCHOOL
Investment: $950,000
In the last five years, 3000 human rights lawyers have lost their lives fighting to protect people who have been unfairly targeted by authoritarian regimes. Accordingly, in the Fall of 2023, the Notre Dame Law School launched the Global Human Rights Clinic to provide experiential learning opportunities to aspiring lawyers who will return to their home theaters of conflict or political oppression.
Run by Notre Dame Law professor Diane Desierto and a staff lawyer, the Global Human Rights Clinic will be housed under the Notre Dame Clinical Law Center with the other law clinics, including the Exoneration Justice Clinic, Applied Mediation Clinic, Community Development Clinic, and Eviction Clinic.
“The Notre Dame human rights lawyer is everywhere in the world, defending human dignity and working for the common good. For half a century, the LL.M. in International Human Rights Law program has cultivated and supported its global network of human rights lawyers, deepening expertise in: international, regional, and national courts; advocacy and policy-making in governments and the private sector; and leadership in human rights education.”
Diane Desierto
Professor of Law and Global Affairs
Recently, Diane Desierto has been representing Nobel Prize winning journalist Maria Ressa in the Philippine Supreme Court, fighting charges of cyber-libel, which if found guilty, could land her in prison for six years.
The Global Human Rights Clinic and its focus on scholarship in action enables Notre Dame Law School to continue the tradition of faith and love in service to a world in need, to the greater glory of God.