• Undergraduate
• Graduate

Seattle University School of Law’s Transitional Justice Legal Exchange brings together Moroccan and American law students for a class on transitional justice and human rights co-taught by professors from one Moroccan and one American institution.

Transitional Justice offers a mutual learning experience between a country that has gone through a transitional justice process (Morocco) and another that is facing domestic justice challenges for which a transitional process might be of benefit (United States). As part of the class, a clinical project allows students to apply both the theory and practice of transitional justice. It also provides both American and Moroccan students a unique view of how each group can learn from the other, and from both countries’ histories, in order to solve modern legal problems.

Activities

In classes led by both American and Moroccan faculty, students learn about American and Moroccan legal education, and examine Moroccan transitional justice and how a restorative justice process might be designed to address the United States’ current challenges with addressing racism and its impacts on vulnerable communities. Students work with clinical faculty and each other to participate in a community-led project using the tools of transformative justice to address longstanding issues of racial injustice. Students develop and apply skills in cross-cultural communication and multi-layered problem solving. Throughout the course, participants read materials related to transitional justice, prepare and deliver presentations, and lead discussions, while learning how to work effectively with interpreters and translators. A Seattle-based transitional justice community service project for marginalized youth will include research, community lawyering skills, and collaboration with law students, law professors, attorneys, judges, and community members.

Program Details

• Number of Participants: 100
• Participant Age Group: Graduate (U.S.); Undergraduate and Graduate (Morocco)
• Partners in the Middle East and North Africa: Morocco – Moulay Ismail University
• Project Duration: April 2021– June 2023

Transitional Justice Legal Exchange is implemented by Seattle University School of Law and is supported by the J. Christopher Stevens Virtual Exchange Initiative (JCSVEI). JCSVEI is a U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs program administered by the Aspen Institute.