Friday, March 2, 2018

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.

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