Recommended Citation
Kate E. Bloch, Ariel Chéry, Marie Gerda Dorcy, Roxane Edmond Dimanche, Yvon Janvier, Maxo Mezilas, and Benjamin Trouille,
Advancing Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Haiti, 30
Clinical L. Rev.
289
(2024).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/faculty_scholarship/2005
Publication Date
2024
Abstract
The rule of law in Haiti is precarious. The ESCDROJ law school clinic in the town of Jérémie champions indigent individuals whose human rights are under siege during their prolonged and unconstitutional pre-trial connement in prison. To our knowledge, it is the only operating in-house law school clinic in Ha1iti. Despite myriad obstacles, during its initial pre-pandemic period of op- eration in 2018-2019, the inaugural clinic team represented clients in 43 cases brought to trial and succeeded in garnering the release of 25 of those individuals. That is a trial release success rate of over 58%. Subsequently, however, the ad- vent of the pandemic and social and political challenges have further eroded the functionality of the Haitian justice system. This Article is the rst to chronicle and analyze the launch and impact of this pioneering clinic. It evaluates the clinic’s successes and limitations to ascertain what role the clinic might play as a model for advancing human rights and the rule of law in Haiti and beyond.
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Clinical Law Review