Program on Judicial Reform Examines Developments in Latin America, July 14-25

Law School Partners with the Centro de Estudios de Justicia de las Américas

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

   
   
On July 24, a certificate ceremony was held for participants for the completion of the program. Participants, faculty, and distinguished guests attended, including alumna Violaine Autheman, LLM 2001, representing the program's cooperating institution, the National Center for State Courts.

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 15, 2014 – With the wide-ranging move in the region towards oral, adversarial trials, Latin America continues to undergo significant legal and judicial reforms throughout the region.  Participants from Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, and the United States have gathered in Washington, D.C. for a two-week intensive seminar that aims to position them to gain a greater understanding of lessons learned in Latin American systems as well as how the example of the U.S. judicial system can apply to their own work in their respective countries.

In its third year, American University Washington College of Law's Program on Judicial Reform in Latin America and the United States, continues to bring together judges and legal practitioners from throughout the Americas to participate in this unique summer program which provides an overview of the reform processes taking place within Latin America’s judicial systems with a special emphasis on criminal justice reforms.  The program, held July 14-25, in Washington, D.C., is organized jointly by American University Washington College of Law, Centro de Estudios de Justicia de las Américas (CEJA) and this year welcomes the National Center for State Courts and the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative as cooperating institutions.

“AUWCL is proud to partner with CEJA as we examine and build on continuing rule of law developments in Latin America with an experienced group of international experts,” says Dean Claudio Grossman. 

Expert faculty include:

  • Jaime Arellano, executive director, Centro de Estudios de Justicia de las Américas (CEJA), Chile
  • Rafael Blanco, director of international programs and professor of criminal litigation, Universidad Alberto Hurtado Law School, Chile
  • Claudio Grossman, dean, American University Washington College of Law, U.S.
  • Peter J. Messitte, senior U.S. District Judge, District of Maryland, U.S.
  • Santiago Pereira, professor of civil procedure, Universidad de Montevideo Law School and Centro de Estudios Judiciales, Uruguay
  • Shana Tabak, practitioner-in-residence, American University Washington College of Law, U.S.
  • Richard Wilson, professor of law and director, International Human Rights Law Clinic, American University Washington College of Law, U.S.

Visit the website for more information on the Program on Judicial Reform in Latin America and the United States.

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CEJA is an independent international organization founded in 1999 by the Organization of American States (OAS), with the aim of supporting Latin American states in their efforts at justice sector reform. Its mission is to support justice reform, capacity building research and other work across the Americas.

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