News

Professor Fionnuala D. Ní Aoláin was recently elected to the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) for a 5 year term. Established in 1952, the Commission plays a unique and prominent role in defending human rights and the rule of law worldwide. Served by a full-time staff with offices in every region of the world, ICJ is founded on the appointment by ballot of a fixed number of 60 eminent global jurists.

In her role as U.N. Special Rapporteur on the protection of rights while countering terrorism, Prof. Fionnuala Ní Aoláin held a press conference on Friday in Geneva, Switzerland, to report on her end-of-mandate visit to Syria where she called attention to the lingering “mass arbitrary detention” in Syria's infamous al-Hol camp and others like it that she saw during her trip to the region last week—a visit that was billed as the first visit of its kind by an independent human rights expert.

As part of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Week hosted last week at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin—Faculty Director of Minnesota Law’s Human Rights Center and United Nations Special Rapporteur—presented her Global Study on the Impact of Counter-Terrorism on Civil Societ

Amanda Lyons '09, executive director of the Human Rights Center, and Elina Castillo-Jiménez, Human Rights Center Weissbrodt Fellow, recently spoke to us about how they collaborated with University and community partners to invite the United Nations to Minneapolis. 

Minnesota Law students spent their summer working in a wide variety of summer jobs throughout the United States and in several other countries. Nine students recently shared their experiences in Minnesota Law magazine's digital summer edition. Follow the links below to learn how these students spent their summer.

***

Steve Meili has been elevated to rank of full professor and faculty research librarian Scott Dewey has received promotion and continuous appointment as associate librarian. 

The two academic promotions, newly approved by the Board of Regents, are effective in August.

 A new legal clinic at Minnesota Law aims to target deeply embedded, systemic racial inequalities and discrimination while training future lawyers to make an impact on this critical work.  

The Racial Justice Law Clinic will launch in fall 2022, serving as an avenue for Minnesota Law students and faculty to tackle discriminatory practices and fight for individuals and communities facing race-based oppression.

The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the world’s largest moot court competition. Due to their strong performance, the Law School’s team moved on to the advanced rounds for the first time since 2018. The team had a stellar 4th place ranking for their briefs. As a result of the opposing team’s chosen side, 3Ls Sarani Millican and Laura Burns argued at the advanced rounds. 

When Samia Osman, 2L, became aware of the impact of a severe drought on her native land of Somalia, she felt motivated to take action. With two friends, she formed a relief effort, raising more than $6,000.

Over her winter break, Osman returned to Somalia, a country she left as a refugee when she was 8-years-old, to coordinate a humanitarian effort to bring supplies to the drought-ravaged people. She also met with several high-level government officials, grilling them on human rights concerns.