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August 8 - 14, 2004 |
John Marshall Delegation to Meet With Peruvians on Anti-Terror Laws
Five students from The John Marshall Law School and their professor critiqued for Peruvian officials the country's anti-terrorism laws and Peru's need to continue to make changes to meet its international human rights obligations.
Students Linda Burns, Phillip Oliver, Joel Stopka and Mario Sullivan and June 2004 graduate Mary Ann Leuthner with Professor Ralph Ruebner, met the week of Aug. 2 in Lima, Peru, with Peru's attorney general, the chief justice of the Peruvian Supreme Court, defense attorneys and representatives of non-governmental organizations to present their findings. They will also observe a terrorism trial and inspect a prison.
The students worked for two semesters in their International Human Rights Seminar led by Professor Ruebner, assessing Peru's conduct in light of its national constitution and various international treaties. Peru has been fighting its own internal terrorists organized as Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement and the Shining Path. Peru's former President Alberto Fujimori, elected in 1990, put in place hard-line military measures in an attempt to isolate the guerrillas. He suspended the constitution and dismissed the majority of the Supreme Court justices and other judges. These measures violated Peru's constitution and treaties and in many cases denied Peruvians full rights at trial.
"Peru has made substantial changes in the law since the end of the Fujimori regime," Ruebner said. "The judiciary, the administration of President Alejandro Toledo who has served since 2001, and the Peruvian Congress have taken bold steps to cure human rights violations during difficult times.
"Peru has demonstrated that the law is not silent in times of internal war. The task for Peru is to complete the transformation process and to embrace human rights guarantees fully," he added.
Among the findings the John Marshall group will present are:
· Peru should avoid re-trying terrorists, especially those who were convicted on confessions obtained through torture.
· No civilian criminal trial should ever be held in closed proceedings.
· Peru's legislature needs to give a clear definition to the term "terrorism" and improve the language of its criminal statutes.
· The accused should be allowed to sit at his or her trial at all times to confront the accusers and assist legal counsel.
· A serious review of the evidence rules is required.
This work in Peru follows human rights efforts by Ruebner and Professor Mark Wojcik and their John Marshall students in the late 1990s to improve the conditions in Peruvian prisons. They represented two American women held at the Santa Monica de Chorrillos prison. The work helped win hearings and a trial for the two women, as well as improvements at prisons throughout Peru.
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Faculty Activity and Publications
Professor Mark E. Wojcik
Publications
His article, "The Wedding Bells Heard Around the World: Years From Now, Will We Wonder Why We Worried About Same-Sex Marriage?" has been published in the Northern Illinois University Law Review (2004).
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Schedule of Events
August 8 - August 12
- PLI Seminar, Room 1200, 8:00 a.m.
August 9
- PLI Seminar, Room 1200, 8:00 a.m.
August 10
- PLI Seminar, Room 1200, 8:00 a.m.
August 11
- PLI Seminar, Room 1200, 8:00 a.m.
- NC Assn Higher Education Self Study Meeting, Room 1102, 2:00 p.m.
August 12
- PLI Seminar, Room 1200, 8:00 a.m.
- Accelerated Trial Advocacy - IP Section, Room 1102, 9:00 a.m.
- Accelerated Trial Advocacy - Regular Sections, Room 503, 10:00 a.m.
- Institutional Advancement Meeting, Room 413, 12:00 p.m.
- Center for Tax Law and Employee Benefits Open House, Room 403, 5:00 p.m.
August 13
- Accelerated Trial Advocacy, various rooms, 9:00 a.m.
August 14
- Accelerated Trial Advocacy, various rooms, 9:00 a.m.
August 15
- Accelerated Trial Advocacy, various rooms, 9:00 a.m.
August 16
- Accelerated Trial Advocacy, various rooms, 9:00 a.m.
- IP Adjunct Faculty and Advisory Board Meeting, Room 1200A, 10:00 a.m.
- Alumni Reunion Committee Meeting, Room 1101, 12:00 p.m.
August 17
- Accelerated Trial Advocacy, various rooms, 9:00 a.m.
- New Faculty Orientation, Room 1200A, 9:00 a.m.
- International Student Orientation, Room 1200, 2:00 p.m.
- Evening Student Orientation, Room 200, 201 and 300, 4:00 p.m.
August 18
- Accelerated Trial Advocacy, various rooms, 9:00 a.m.
- Day Student Orientation, Rooms 200, 201 and 300, 8:00 a.m.
- Evening Student Orientation, Room 200, 201 and 300, 4:00 p.m.
- Library Meeting, Room 1101, 2:00 p.m.
August 19
- Accelerated Trial Advocacy, various rooms, 9:00 a.m.
- Day Student Orientation, Rooms 200, 201 and 300, 8:00 a.m.
- Evening Student Orientation, Room 200, 201 and 300, 4:00 p.m.
- Library Staff Meeting, Room 1200A, 12:00 p.m.
- LL.M. Orientation, Room 1200, 5:00 p.m.
August 20
- Accelerated Trial Advocacy, Final Trials, Daley Center, 9:00 a.m.
- Library Meeting, Room 1200B, 9:00 a.m.
August 21
- Accelerated Trial Advocacy, Final Trials, Daley Center, 9:00 a.m.