Courses - Buenos Aires, Argentina

Week 1
(July 15-18, 2013)

Comparative Juvenile Criminal Law (1 credit)
Instructor: Judith A.M. Scully, Stetson University College of Law

This course will examine the Juvenile Criminal laws of the United States and Latin America.  The course will explore recent Supreme Court cases in the United States as well as police and case law from other countries.  At least three hours of the course will focus on how international human rights laws like the U.N. Convention on the rights of the child governing the treatment of children have impacted or can be utilized to impact juvenile criminal policies in various nations.  Key topics will include sentencing children as adults, restorative justice versus punishment, sexting, minimum age of responsibility and main characteristics of juvenile criminal proceedings. 

Week 2
(July 22-25, 2013)

Gender, Sexuality, and the Law (1 credit)
Instructor:  Charlene Smith, Shepard Broad Law Center, Nova Southeastern University

The goal of the course will be that the students will gain understanding how the law is involved in shaping the social meaning of sexuality and how the legal rights, protections and deprivations have evolved based on sexual identities. This is a comparative course, and as such American Law will be compared to Argentinian law.  This course will cover materials that introduce students to the scholarly debates about sexual identities and gender identities. How the social media views gender and sexual identity will also be covered.  Built on these concepts, the course will offer students a comparative law perspective on legal issues surrounding gender and sexual identity.  Case law as well as civil law will be used to analyze how certain types of sexual behavior and gender identity are regulated.  The judicial response to what the courts deem 'sexual deviant' behavior will also be examined.  

Week 3
(July 29-August 1, 2013)

International Family Law/The Rights of Children and Families Crossing Borders (1 credit)
Instructor: Louise Ellen Teitz, Roger Williams University School of Law

International family law is an increasingly important field of human rights, blending both public and private law. For example, in the last five years, several important cases involving family law, such as parental child abduction, have been heard by the European Court of Human Rights, considering the right to family, etc. as basic human rights. The basic rights of children and family are in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

This course will look at cross-border family law issues and current work underway, internationally, regionally, and nationally, as listed below. Consideration will also be given to the increasing regional interest in international family law in Latin America and current approaches at international organizations and also the use of regional model laws. One can also compare these approaches with those in the US (State uniform law and federal issues) and with the EU and its regionalization of family law (e.g. Brussels II bis).

Topics may include (from private and public international law):
•    international child abduction,
•    cross-border family law issues (custody, visitation, maintenance or child support, etc.)
•    cross-border protection from domestic violence
•    international family relocation,
•    cross-border and cross-cultural family mediation (and also interaction with Islamic/Sharia law countries),
•    international surrogacy
•    international adoption
•    human trafficking

Week 4
(August 5-8, 2013)

Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples (1 credit)
Instructor: Randall Abate, Florida A&M University College of Law

This course examines how indigenous peoples are particularly vulnerable to and disproportionately burdened by global climate change, both physically and legally, and addresses the challenges that these communities face in responding to climate change impacts.  Although indigenous communities throughout the world differ, three key commonalities exist in their efforts to adapt to climate change impacts:  (1) increased vulnerability to climate change related to the location of indigenous communities; (2) a unique connection to the land for legal, spiritual, and cultural reasons; and (3) recognition under public international law that there are basic rights owed to indigenous communities.  Recognizing these commonalities is crucial to understanding the legal mechanisms available to assist indigenous communities in adapting to the threats posed by climate change.  This course addresses various legal responses to the plight of indigenous peoples in the face of climate change impacts, with an emphasis on climate justice lawsuits under domestic and international law.  Legal experts from Buenos Aires on climate change and indigenous people's issues will be invited to deliver guest lectures in this course.