May 15, 2012
Last year, the Law School’s
Office of Transnational Programs launched the
Global Law Fellows program. Part of the expanding
Law Global Programs offerings and initiatives, the program
gives foreign undergraduate, masters and doctoral students a unique
and valuable opportunity to spend a semester at St. John’s as
visiting researchers. Global Law Fellows enroll in a one-credit
hour colloquium, providing them an academic peer group, a vehicle
for U.S. and English language legal research skills development and
regular faculty oversight.
Candidates for Global Law Fellowships must express a need to do
research in the United States, in New York City or with English
language source materials. In addition, Global Law Fellows must
have sufficient English language skills to benefit from a semester
of research at St. John’s and must be nominated for a Fellowship by
the chair or a senior member of their academic department or by a
St. John’s faculty member.
Laura Clarke, who received her Master’s in International
Relations from St. Andrew’s University in 2011, was awarded the
inaugural Global Law Fellowship to study the International Criminal
Court (ICC) and post-conflict justice in Uganda. Her GLF research
focused on the interplay between ICC jurisdiction and traditional
justice mechanisms. Laura presented the paper that resulted from
her research ― “Complementarity Jurisdiction as Politics” ― at a
faculty workshop earlier this month. She recently spoke to Law
School Communications Director Lori Herz about her experience as
Global Law Fellow:
LH: How did you learn about the Law School’s Global Law
Fellows (GLF) program?
LC: I learned about the program through Professor
Margaret McGuinness, having been a student in her International
Human Rights class while studying abroad at the University of
Missouri. We had stayed in contact and, in the process of searching
for a research opportunity for the spring semester, she suggested
that I might enjoy participating in the new GLF program.
LH: What drew you to the program and what opportunities
has it offered you?
LC: Given that it’s my intention to pursue a PhD in my native
United Kingdom and ultimately end up in academia, the GLF program
has given me a chance to develop my research skills and learn a
little more about life in the academy. It has also allowed me to
spend four months focused on building my knowledge with regards to
my chosen topic.
LH: You came to the program with an academic background
in International Relations and with a demonstrated interest in
international human rights. How has your time as a Global Law
Fellow allowed you to expand on this background and explore this
interest?
LC: In allowing me to spend the semester researching, the GLF
program has given me an opportunity to devote myself exclusively to
research in the human rights field. Working alongside Professor
McGuinness and receiving advice from other members of the faculty
has also opened up a number of new research avenues and has helped
me gain a substantial amount of knowledge.
LH: You’re from the UK and have traveled extensively
there, in the US and in Africa. How have your travels informed your
interest in international human rights work and
research?
LC: Through my travels, I’ve met people from a variety of
backgrounds and with diverse opinions. There is nothing like
real-life experience to help inform views and I think that my
understanding of human rights is what it is because of my travels.
Ultimately, there is only so much that you can learn from
textbooks.
LH: Why did you decide to focus your GLF research on
international criminal prosecutions, in particular, the
International Criminal Court in the context of prosecutions in
Uganda?
LC: I’ve had an interest in Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance
Army (LRA) for a number of years, through my work with a variety of
NGOs and charities. I’ve subsequently spent a great deal of time
conducting research on the situation, initially with a focus on the
protection afforded to child soldiers by international human rights
legislation. The International Criminal Court’s intervention with
regards to the LRA has complicated the situation in Central East
Africa, leaving a lot of unanswered questions. I’m hoping that my
research might help to answer some of them.
LH: When your Fellowship concludes in June, you’re
returning to the UK to complete an MSc Human Rights at the London
School of Economics. How has the GLF helped you on your
professional path to working in academia as a scholar of
International Human Rights?
LC: The opportunity to work alongside the St. John’s faculty has
been enormously valuable, particularly in terms of experiencing the
demands of a career in academia. My research and the feedback that
I’ve received as the project has evolved have honed my skills and
also my enthusiasm for the career path. I consider myself
enormously fortunate in having the opportunity to work within a
faculty that has been receptive and helpful from beginning to
end.
LH: At St. John’s, we’re strongly committed to living
the Vincentian value of serving the disenfranchised and
underrepresented in our global community. What have you learned
about the role of the law and of lawyers in facilitating human
rights advocacy and scholarship?
LC: I think that the law undoubtedly has an important part to
play in human rights advocacy and legal scholars certainly
contribute valuable insights to the policy and practice of human
rights. Taken alongside the work of those operating in the field or
approaching human rights from an alternative background (such as
politics or anthropology), the legal approach adds to a complex and
multidimensional picture of human rights. In terms of working for
victims of rights violations, my time at St. John’s has confirmed
for me that it is important that advocates and scholars from all
walks of life bring their experience to the table; law is a vital
part of the growing global human rights movement.
LH: Thank you, Laura, and best of luck in your future
endeavors.
To learn more about the Global Law Fellows program at St. John’s
School of Law, please
contact us.