Courses

Note: This course and Law 270 are often listed as prerequisites for other courses.

Instructor: Anna Spain Bradley

Semester: FALL ’25

This course serves as an introduction to the law, theory, and practice of international human rights, together with the instruments, organizations, and arrangements that affect their implementation and enforcement. Beginning with a consideration of the philosophical origins of the concept of human rights, the course will examine the process by which sovereign nation-states have come to recognize an increasing number of human rights instruments and doctrine as part of positive international law, sometimes with binding effect on their domestic legal systems. The course will cover the development and implementation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the two International Covenants on Human Rights, and the various regional or subject-specific human rights instruments in the contemporary international system. 

Note: This course and Law 273 are often listed as prerequisites for other courses.

Semester: SPRING ’26

Instructor: Kal Raustiala

This course will introduce students to the basic concepts and problems of public international law and the international legal system. The course will deal with a broad range of topics including the origins and sources of international law; U.S. foreign relations law; statehood and recognition in international law; principles of State sovereignty, territory, and jurisdiction; the law of treaties; State responsibility; State immunity and immunity of diplomats; and consular responsibility for injury to aliens; international criminal and humanitarian law; the United Nations and collective enforcement; the use of force and self-defense; terrorism; international human rights; international trade; and the law of the sea, air, and space.

Note: This is a 4-credit course

Semester: SPRING ‘26

Instructor: Máximo Langer

This course studies topics such as international and transnational crimes (such as crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes, crime of aggression, torture, and corruption); the principles of jurisdiction that may be used to prescribe, adjudicate, and enforce these crimes; enforcement mechanisms of these crimes (including the International Criminal Court and transnational prosecutions); principles of international criminal responsibility regarding international crimes; and the logistical and procedural challenges involved in the prosecution of these crimes (such as extradition and abduction).

Semester: FALL ’25

Instructor: Visiting Professore Katherine Gallagher

The course will cover transnational litigation with a focus on United States courts, with the first half of the class focused on the jurisdictional basics for asserting a violation of international law in U.S. courts, and the second half focusing on particular issues that arise when suing a corporation or government official and affirmative defenses raised in such cases.

The first two weeks will focus on enforcing or implementing international law in federal courts generally and the main jurisdictional features of the key statutes for bringing such claims: the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA) and the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). The third week will focus on particular issues arising in cases against corporations, and place U.S. litigation against corporations in a larger global context of corporate accountability and corporate social responsibility.

The fourth and fifth weeks will examine issues of defenses raised, and other types of actions such as state court and trade actions. The sixth week will look holistically at case studies applying the various tests and defenses to concrete cases, and explore how strategic human rights litigation fits into, or can be complemented by, larger advocacy strategies or movement goals. By the end of the course, students should have a thorough sense of what avenues in the United States are open to survivors of human rights violations and how to assess whether a case is viable. 

Semester: SPRING ’26

Instructor: Joseph Berra

This course provides an in-depth introduction and overview of the doctrine and practice of the Inter-American Human Rights System (IAHRS). We will examine the instruments that protect human rights in the IAHRS, the jurisprudence of the system, and the practice of the Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights. The course will also examine the engagement, challenges, and opportunities the system creates for civil society groups, victims, and advocates. It will also encourage critical thinking on the human rights frame itself.

Class sessions will consider not only the norms of the system, but also its internal dynamics. In addition, we will assess the impact of the system, evaluating implementation of decisions, as well as the general relevance of the IAHRS to human rights debates, legislation, and practice at the local and national level in countries throughout the hemisphere.

In this regard, we will consider the differing impact of the system across Latin America, and in the primarily Anglophone countries of the Caribbean and North America, including the United States. We will also evaluate the Inter-American system in comparative perspective, occasionally comparing rulings, implementation, and impact to those of regional and universal counterparts.

Semester: SPRING ’26

Instructor: Kate Mackintosh

Curious about how the international human rights system is dealing with climate change and environmental destruction? This class will examine the potential and limitations of international human rights law and international criminal law to protect the environment, with attention to the interrelationship between human health and well-being, and that of the wider ecosystem. 

Semester: FALL ’25

Instructor: Anna Spain Bradley

This course introduces students to international law as system of norms, rules and practices by centering critical perspectives as the foundational epistemic approach. Drawing from Black traditions in international law, Third World Approaches in International Law, Global Critical Race Feminism and other critical perspectives, this course promotes inclusive and accurate readings of international legal history, theory and practice.

Divided into four substantive parts following a historical arc from 1600 through the present day, students will learn about the foundations of international law, the formation of the modern international legal system and current cases and controversies. Course materials include primary and secondary sources of law, legal scholarship and news articles covering contemporary issues in international law.

The general format for each class will start with a lecture, followed by interactive small-group discussions and class roundtable discussions about the material and students’ papers.

Note: This course is 4 credits. The J-Term Field Experience is required and represents the equivalent of 2 credits of work, while the semester component represents an additional 2 credits of work. Students must have Spanish-language competency. Max four students

Semester: SPRING ’26

Instructor: Joseph Berra

The Human Rights in Action Clinic (HRAC) with International Human Rights Field Experience will be offered in Spring 2026 for 4 credits. A required component of the course is the J-Term trip to Honduras, which will take place January 4 – 19, 2026.

The HRAC-International Field Experience offers students a unique opportunity to engage in human rights work in an international context and learn from leading human rights lawyers and activists on the ground. Building on the clinical work of Human Rights in the Americas Director, Joseph Berra, with clients and partners in Honduras, the course will give students an intensive immersion experience in the human rights struggle in Honduras.

Students will participate in various learning modules and workshops in dialog with our partners, clients, and activists, as well as conduct fieldwork in a collaborative model of human rights advocacy on behalf of our clients and in support of the litigation efforts of our partners. The students will then continue the Clinic work on projects arising out of the fieldwork during the Spring semester, meeting once a week for Clinic seminars, workshops and project rounds. Past projects have focused on work with Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, defense of territory, and resistance to extractivist industries, as well as litigation in the Inter-American System for Human Rights.

An experiential application process is required.

Citizens of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and much of Latin America do not need a visa to travel to Honduras. International students seeking to participate should check with the Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars regarding travel abroad and return on their student visa.

Note: Pre- or Co-Req: Public International law, International Human Rights, or International Criminal Law.

When enrolled in the Fall semester, students can choose between 5 or 6 credits. When taken in the Spring, this is a 4-credit class. See course description, right, for Advanced Clinic details. 

Semester: FALL ’25 and SPRING ’26

Instructor: Cathy Sweetser

The Human Rights Litigation Clinic will focus on mechanisms for human rights accountability in domestic courts, including local civil rights litigation of §1983 claims for unhoused people and rights of immigrant detainees, trafficking lawsuits under the Trafficking Victim Protection Act (TVPRA), consumer fraud cases based on false claims of “sustainability” that target corporations selling goods produced with slave labor, and Alien Tort Statute cases. Students will be given the opportunity to engage in actual litigation together with law firm partners and nonprofit organizations. We will also discuss professional ethics, empowering clients, working with clients with past trauma, and sustainable ways to practice the profession.

The Human Rights Litigation Clinic will focus on environmental and human rights litigation in the spring, including a possible partnership with the Environmental Law Clinic. Students who enroll in the fall semester have the option to take the course again in the spring, participating as advanced students. Advanced students have the option to add another credit or two of course work by continuing to work in the clinic in the Spring. This option is an unlisted course called Advanced Clinic, only available in the spring. Please note that as a result, the spring semester class will limit new* student enrollment (students who have not already taken the clinic in the fall) to four students. 

Note: *Do not wait for traditional spring semester enrollment to open in the fall, as that will be too late for the application process and meaningful preparation.*

Semester: FALL ’25 and SPRING ’26

Instructor: Kate Mackintosh

Through partnership between The Promise Institute for Human Rights and Experiential Education, students are placed at international courts and legal organizations for full-time, semester-long (15 weeks) externships, while simultaneously completing a class taught by Prof. Mackintosh. Your stay in Europe includes a fully-funded field trip to Geneva, Switzerland, to observe the United Nations in action and meet with a range of legal practitioners for behind-the-scenes stories of working in international law. 

This exciting opportunity to travel and work with some of the world’s premier courts and international institutions does require specific conditions. Students accepted to the program must be fully prepared to travel to and live in The Hague for a semester: once you have been accepted, you cannot drop the course unless a true emergency exists.

There is a separate application process for this course. Applications for this class open in September. Look out for an information session at the start of the fall semester. If you are interested in applying, contact Kate Mackintosh now at mackintosh@law.ucla.edu.