Friday, March 2, 2018

Our first skype videoconference -- February 21, 2018 -- SEEU-USFSP Collaboration

Students at SEEU stayed late after class, and students from USFSP arrived early before class, in order to make the 6 hour time difference and class schedules work together.

Our objective for this first meeting was to introduce our partner -- Prof. Dr. Blerim Reka and his students from SEEU with Prof. Dr. Judithanne McLauchlan's students from USFSP.  Prof. Reka also delivered an introductory lecture about the European Convention of Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights, and Prof. McLauchlan introduced the Supreme Court of the United States and the Bill of Rights.

For more about SEEU, see https://www.seeu.edu.mk/




Getting Started
 
I was so happy to see the smiling faces of my former SEEU students! And to be working again with Prof. Reka

Since I was asking my students to come in early, I brought a "Box of Joe" and other snacks
Our Intro Lectures. Prof Reka provided an overview of the ECHR and ECtHR, and Prof. McLauchlan provided an overview of SCOTUS and the Bill of Rights. Students were able to ask questions.





 




The SEEU Students Introduce themselves










The USFSP Students Introduce themselves








Group Picture!


USFSP -- Legal Research Exercise and Bibliographic Research Session wih Poynter Librarian Kaya Van Beynen

Students in Prof. McLauchlan's US Constitutional Law class need to complete a "Legal Research Exercise" to learn how to use Lexis/Nexis, Westlaw, JSTOR, the and other databases to access cases, statutes, law review and journal articles, and books via the USF libray.

We were fortunate that reference librarian extraordinaire from our Poynter Library, Kaya Van Beynen, came to our class to walk through the databases and how to access legal materials.  She even created a special resource for our class that is located within Canavs (our Learning Management System/LMS).

Thanks, Kaya!!!

(And I have since graded the Legal Research Exercises...and I know my students are ready to tackle this comparative legal research project with their colleagues at SEEU!)






Testing the Videoconference Equipment -- with PhD. Candidate (and USFSP alum) Marissa Wyant

We wanted to make sure that we were all set with our videoconferencing equipment -- so we called on one of Prof. McLauchlan's former students - Marissa -- now working on her Ph.D. at Ole Miss.  She joined us from her office hours in Oxford, MS.

Everything works great - and we can't wait to see our colleagues at SEEU next week!

Marissa in her office at Ole Miss -- thanks for joining us during your office hours!

Also -- it was Valentines Day -- and Ash Wednesday

Guest Speaker -- former Member of Parliament Tanja Tomic -- USFSP-SEEU Joint Research Project

We needed to test our videoconferencing equipment in advance of our first skype meeting with our colleagues from SEEU.

We invited former Member of Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia to join us from Skopje to discuss her work to expand women's rights in Macedonia.

Everything works great -- and we can't wait to see our colleagues at SEEU next week!


Our Constitutional Law class with former Member of Parliament Tanja Tomic




Our Research Partner -- Prof Blerim Reka -- USFSP-SEEU Collaboration

We are honored to have as our partner in this project Prof. Blerim Reka and his (and some of my former) law students at SEEU Skopje (Macedonia) campus.

Here is a brief summary of Prof. Reka's achievements:



Ambassador Professor Dr. Blerim Reka is Pro-Rector for International Relations, (South East European University, SEEU), and was Pro-Rector for Research SEEU, (second mandate: 2010-2014 and first mandate: 2005- 2006); and the Dean of the Faculty of Public Administration at SEEU (2003- 2005).

He was Ambassador of the Republic of Macedonia to the European Union in Brussels (2006-2010), and also held diplomatic and legal advisory positions such as Advisor to the President of the Republic of Kosovo for EU Integration, (February-March 2011); Member of the Expert Committee for Foreign Relations of the Parliament of Republic of Kosovo, (2011-2013); Member of the Legal Council of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, (2003-2006); and Member of the Expert Team of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia for National Strategy for Integration to the EU, (2004).
He was involved in constitutional and legal drafting in Macedonia and Kosovo, as a member of the Constitutional Committee of Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia, drafting constitutional amendments to the constitution in accordance with the Ohrid Framework Agreement 2001, and a member of the constitutional experts team of the UN SRSG which drafted the Constitutional Framework for Kosovo, (2001). He was also the founder and chairman of the Constitutional Forum of Kosovo (2000-2001); and co-chair of the Joint Advisory Council for Legislative Matters of UNMIK established by UN SRSG Dr. Bernard Kouchner (1999-2004). 

He is the editor of the political and law section of the Encyclopedia Dictionary of Kosovo, (Kosovo Academy of Science and Arts, Pristina); editor-in-chief of SEE University Review, (2010-2014 and 2005-2006); founder and editor-in-chief of Euro-Atlantic Review (2001-2005); founder and editor-in-chief of Kosovo Law Review, an Albanian-English legal quarterly (1996-2004); founder and president of the Kosovo Institute for Euro-Atlantic Integration KIEAI (1999-2005); co-founder of the Kosovo Law Centre (KLC), a legal NGO established by the OSCE mission in Kosovo in 2000; and author of the Project for Regional Integration: Balkans Area of Free Trade Agreements (BAFTA), as a model of regional sub-integration and the creation of free trade zone (1998).

Mr. Reka also has experience in the media as vice chairman of the board of directors of Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK), appointed by UN SRSGs Hans Hakerup, Hary Holkeri and Soren Jessen-Petersen (2001-2006); founder and director of Radio Rilindja (1999-2000); director of the daily newspaper Rilindja (1999-2000), the oldest Albanian language daily in former Yuogoslavia, first published in 1945; and a correspondent for the BBC World Service’s Albanian section from Pristina (1993).

He has been professor of International Law, International Relations and EU Law at SEEU since 2002; University of Tetovo (1998-2005); University of Pristina (2002-2006); and a member of the PhD commission at: University Catolique de Louven (2011-2012); European Unviersity of Tirana (2011-2012); Institute for European Studies, University of Tirana (2011-2012).

He holds a doctorate in International Public Law, (University of Pristina - University of GRAZ, 2002); MLL, Civil and Economic Law, (University of Pristina, 1994) and a BA LAW (1982).

He was Fulbright senior fellow in international law at Law School in the University of Southern California (USC) Los Angeles, International Governance with Post-Conflict Societies, Spring Semester 2003 and at the Harvard Executive Program, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Ash Institute, Innovations in Governance (2005).

Mr. Reka is the author of 18 books in these fields.

Prof. Judithanne McLauchlan with Prof. Blerim Reka at SEEU Skopje campus

USFSP - SEEU Comparative Legal Research Project - Spring 2018




Joint Comparative Legal Research Project:
Civil Liberties in the U.S. and in Europe:
A Comparison of Cases decided by the SCOTUS and the ECtHR
Spring 2018

Objective:

This group research project will give students from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg (USFSP) and South East European University (SEEU) the opportunity to work together on a comparative legal research project comparing decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and the Supreme Court of the United States involving similar legal questions.

This comparative legal research project is designed to introduce students to legal research and writing, and to better understanding of the ECtHR in comparison to the SCOTUS.

In addition to learning more about civil liberties and human rights in the U.S. and in Europe, this assignment will give students the opportunity to

  • foster intercultural understanding through learning and communication
  • develop oral and written communication skills through the communication with a counterpart from U.S. and Macedonia - across cultures and beyond borders
  • make students aware of the interconnectedness of local/regional/global social issues
  • expand students’ opportunities in using technology in communication, learning and research
  • make students curious and interested in acquiring more knowledge about U.S. and Macedonia and their peoples
  • make students work virtually, outside homes, outside the country, through an on-line cooperation
  • make students reconsider possible preconceived ideas about big and small countries and the problems they face
  • make students share and learn from the experience of the other in terms of study and research
  • overcome language barriers for those who were not able to communicate with a native speaker
The main focus of the research will be to compare and contrast decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States and the European Court of Human Rights on the following human rights issues:

  1. ECHR Article 3 Prohibition of Torture; US Constitution, 8th Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment

  1. ECHR Article 6, Right to Fair Trial; US Constitution, US Constitution, 4th, 5th, and 6th Amendments

  1. ECHR Article 10 Freedom of Expression; US Constitution 1st Amendment

  1. ECHR Article 9 Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion; US Constitution 1st Amendment Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause

  1. ECHR Article 11 Freedom of Assembly and Association; US Constitution 1st Amendment

  1. ECHR Article 12 Right to Marry; US Constitution 5th Amendment Due Process, 14th Amendment Equal Protection
Our students will meet together as a class, via skype videoconference. And students will also meet together in their research groups. In addition to their research papers, each student group will create a research poster that will be displayed at the USFSP Undergraduate Research Symposium -- and our colleagues from SEEU will be joining the presentation via skype videoconference from the US Embassy American Corner in Skopje on April 17th.