Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

The Center works closely with its affiliated scholars and legal fellows to foster and promote international exchange and understanding, thereby enriching and expanding the academic life of the law school. Visiting scholars and legal fellows affiliated with the Center can:

• Receive assistance for research from the Center’s expert faculty and staff;
• Give seminars, lectures, or brown bag talks with students throughout the academic year;
• Work with Center staff to organize and implement events on various human rights topics;
• Publish in the renowned Human Rights Brief;
• Brainstorm ideas for grant-funded projects and initiatives;
• Co-teach courses and seminars sponsored by the Center.

Viviana Wasiman

The Center welcomed Vivana Waisman as a Visiting Scholar in fall 2021.  Ms. Waisman teaches the Center’s Seminar on Strategic Litigation in International Human Rights.  Ms. Waisman, who holds an LL.M. from Oxford University and a J.D. from UC Hastings, is an expert in women’s rights and international human rights and is the president and founder of Women’s Link Worldwide. 

maria julia dellasoppa

The Center welcomed Maria Julia Dellasoppa as a Visiting Scholar in winter 2020.  Ms. Dellasoppa coordinates the Center’s Initiative on Transparency and Election Monitoring.  Ms. Dellasoppa, an Argentine human rights lawyer who received her LL.M. from UCLA, was formerly a Romulo Gallegos Legal Fellow with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. 

Christian Finsterbusch

The Center welcomed Christian Finsterbusch as a Visiting Scholar in spring 2020.  Mr. Finsterbusch supports the Center’s Initiative on Transparency and Election Monitoring.  A Chilean/French human rights attorney with an LL.M. from Université Panthéon Sorbonne, Mr. Finsterbusch was recently a legal officer with the World Meteorological Organization. 

Georgiana Grozescu

In spring 2020, the Center welcomed Georgiana Grozescu, a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow and former assistant magistrate in the High Court of Cassation and Justice of Romania, as a Legal Fellow. Ms. Grozescu, who specializes in children’s rights, domestic violence, and civil rights violations, supported research on links between strategic litigation and access to justice for vulnerable communities.

Ira Papagjika

In fall 2019, the Center welcomed Ira Papagjika, a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow and former deputy commissioner within the office of the Albanian Ombudsman, as a Legal Fellow. Ms. Papagjika, a human rights attorney who specializes in children’s rights and government accountability, conducted research on various access to justice initiatives and created programming around the 30th anniversary of the CRC.

Flaka Pollozhani

In fall 2017, the Center welcomed Flaka Pollozhani, a Macedonian IREX Community Solutions Program Fellow and Ph.D. candidate in International Relations, as an International Visiting Scholar. Ms. Pollozhani, an expert on free speech and media transparency, conducted comparative research on freedom of expression issues in the U.S. and the European System for the Protection of Human Rights.