1. 12 UNILU AKTUELL· AUSGABE NR. 52 · SEPTEMBER 2015FORSCHUNG UND LEHRE
Students from all over the World in Lucerne
Within the scope of the Lucerne Academy for Human Rights Implementation a jurisprudential
international summer school on human rights took place at the University of Lucerne.
The classes were taught by renowned professors.
■■ LAURA AUSSERLADSCHEIDER JONAS
The Lucerne Academy for Human Rights Implementation is a pro­
gram of coursework and hands-on learning for law students and
legal practitioners focused on the challenges and practical
aspects of litigation and advocacy of human rights. During the
2015 session of the Academy the University of Lucerne wel­
comed 42 students from Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, China,
Colombia, Denmark, England, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa and
Switzerland. The students spent three weeks taking classes (on
subjects such as: the protection of migrants at sea, foreign in­
vestment and human rights, aspects of the rights to life, sexual
orientation and gender identity law, and human rights incarcera­
tion, and evidence-based alternative), discovering the day to day
work of human rights defenders in Geneva and participating in
an intensive moot court competition.
Final at the Federal Court
The classes were taught by prominent professors from Europe,
Africa and America, to name a few: Christof Heyns, Professor at
the University of Pretoria and Special Rapporteur on Extrajudi­
cial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, Martina Caroni, Professor
at the University of Lucerne, and Melissa Aubin, Attorney Advisor
with the United States District Court for the District of Oregon.
During the Academy, students from around the world discussed
key human rights issues and exchanged their point of view not
only with their colleagues but also with the professors. The final
of the Moot Court competition was presided by Marco Kalbusch,
Senior Political Affairs Officer and Secretary of the Conference on
Disarmament at the United Nations. It was held in the court room
of the Federal Court in Lucerne. Pleading in such an impressive
building and in front of high ranking officials and professors was
an amazing experience for the students.
Participation thanks to donations
The Academy received generous funding this year: from the Uni­
ted States Department of Justice and the American Center in
Dhaka, Bangladesh, who offered a young female Bangladeshi
student a scholarship to attend the Academy, Turkish Airlines
who offered air-tickets for one student from South Africa, one
student from Kenya and one student from Namibia to attend the
Academy and finally the Stiftung Mercator Schweiz who also fun­
ded two Colombian students to attend the Academy. Thanks to
their donations these students learned about human rights
implementation and brought their newly acquired knowledge
back to their home countries.
To conclude, the support from the University of Lucerne plus the
academics, practitioners and donors from around the world
helped to make this year’s session of the Academy a success
once again! The Academy team already looks forward to a new
session of the Academy.
Laura Ausserladscheider Jonas, MLaw, was Associate Director of the
Lucerne Academy for Human Rights Implementation.
More information: www.lucerne-academy.ch
The participants of the Lucerne Academy 2015.