To enable experiential learning of international human rights law through unique litigation, advocacy, and policy opportunities within our own regional human rights system and other domestic and international venues,
To inspire students to be ethical and professional human rights advocates, and
To advance Santa Clara Law’s social justice objectives.
The Clinic aims to:
Stimulate students to think creatively about the law from a professional, ethical, and social-justice perspective;
Provide students with a supportive environment in which they can develop lawyering skills essential for effective practice in any legal field;
Encourage students to share opinions and to work in teams as they learn and reflect upon the complexities of substantive and procedural issues in human rights law;
Provide students with access to some of the world’s leading international human rights experts;
Teach students how to become effective human rights advocates;
Offer guidance and mentorship as students struggle with the legal and human aspects involved in representing victims of human rights violations;
Challenge students to incorporate international human rights law into their professional domestic or international legal practice, and
Motivate students to consider a career in international human rights law, and help them identify and obtain internship and job opportunities at NGOs and international, regional, and domestic human rights institutions.
The Clinic’s Mission is: