This course is aimed at understanding of the relationship between peace, justice, and human rights in an international context. It will address the legal obstacles and ethical dilemmas faced by the international community in pursuing these different but reciprocally connected goals. It addresses the maintenance of peace and security both between and within states, the fight against impunity for international crimes such as genocide and war crimes, the protection of human rights such as the right to life, the right not to be tortured, and the right to personal freedom in the context of different types of conflicts (including the “war on terror”). Specific issues explored during the course include the extraterritorial jurisdiction of states, international criminal tribunals, immunities from jurisdiction, different approaches to the fight against terrorism, and different models of post-conflict transitional justice.

In the context of the socio-legal environment of Italy, the European Union (EU), and the global south, including South Africa, the course will study the use of the law both to perpetuate and eradicate racial and economic injustice. While a significant focus of the course examines the United States from the inception and rise of slavery during the colonial period through the 1954 racial desegregation decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education to the present, a comparative analysis of such circumstances as the treatment of migrants in Italy and other countries within the EU, or apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa will inform that review. The course analyzes the history of racism and the role of the courts, implicit bias as an offshoot of white supremacy, the criminal justice system and its impact on racial minorities, including African Americans in the United States. Regarding the issue of implicit bias, especially in the criminal justice system, the course examines how current legal systems continue to maintain racial hierarchy while using less explicit language of discrimination. A significant focus of the course is on policing and the criminal justice system. Further, this course must be seen in the framework of the program as a whole, including its orientation to legal institutions and non-governmental organizations in Rome, in Italy, and in the EU more broadly, with field trips to a carefully curated selection of institutions designed to enhance the students’ understanding of the relevant socio-legal issues.

The goals of the course are to achieve an understanding of the role of law in its political and social context, especially with regard to the use of legal institutions and law in the creation and maintenance of systems of racial injustice; and, as a corollary, to examine the potential and limits of the use of law (especially litigation) as a tool for social change. The course will examine current controversies involving race, including the Black Lives Matter movement, affirmative action, the administration of justice, and politics. We will conclude the course with a critical look at how racial hierarchy in the law could be dismantled and the impediments to that effort. The course will conclude with a summary on current race relations and with student presentations on race.