Students will stay in the Sleepzone Hostel in the center of town in Galway, four people to a room, it is two minutes from the center of town and a fifteen minute walk from Irish Centre for Human Rights

In the Hague we will stay in a fine small hotel (The Sebel) which is close to public transport and not more than a twenty minute walk from all three of the international courts that we plan to visit.

In Galway students will be on their own for breakfast, but in the evening we plan to provide about five or six meals as part of the late afternoon/evening seminars that will be a regular part of the program. In the Hague breakfast will be provided at the hotel each day, and most dinners will be on your own. There will be dinner provided on our last night in Galway and on the last night of the program in The Hague. Additional meals may be provided from program funds if the dollar/euro rate does not continue to slide.

Students will arrange their own transport to Galway, the closest internatinal airport is Shannon, there are regular daily direct flights from the USA and Europe. At the end of the program in The Hague we will be about one hour away from Amsterdam, a convenient place to make airline or train transport arrangements, or to spend a few days on your own.

From the time of arrival in Galway to the end of the program in the Hague, all transport and housing will be provided. This includes train to Dublin and flight from Dublin to the Hague.

Additional questions can be submitted by e-mail to the program director. For students admitted to the program there will be more detailed information provided, and a series of special meetings will be offered, both in Tacoma and Seattle.

Basic Information

Dates of Program Aug 24 to Sept 13, 2008

Students should plan to arrive in Galway by Sunday September 24, Shannon Ireland is the closest major airport, with regular flights from the USA. The program will conclude in The Hague on Saturday Sept. 13, and the Amsterdam Airport is about one hour away.

This program will be co-sponsored by the Irish Centre for Human Rights in Galway, Ireland; two weeks will be spent at the Centre in Galway before making a six day trip to The Hague. The program will provide a firsthand study of the major international tribunals; the theme will be The Challenges of International Justice. In Galway we will have a series seminars with Centre's PhD candidates, and Professor William Schabas, one of the leading scholars of international criminal law and the International Criminal Court. There we will study the history of international justice, and how the international community works to promote justice and accountability for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. We will follow the history and recent developments at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR.) We will also learn about the so-called "hybrid courts" in Sierra Leone, East Timor and Cambodia, and the unique challenges facing those courts today.

Galway is an historic city and the gateway to the rolling hills of Connemara, there will be time for coastal hikes and a climb of Croagh Patrick, legend tells us it was here that Saint Patrick fasted for forty days and banished the snakes from Ireland. We will also make a three day trip to Dublin, with a focus on Irish legal history from the English period through Irish independence to membership in the European Union. There will be a visit to the historic Four Courts, the site of a bombardment by British artillery during the Easter Rising of 1916. In Dublin we will have a first hand account of Ireland's current role in international justice, including the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.

In The Hague during our last week, visits will be made to the International Criminal Court (ICC), the ICTY and the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The ICC began operation in 2002, but the United States has refused to participate for a number of reasons related to sovereignty and national security. The US has been a great supporter of the ICTY, and the Tribunal is winding down a successful series of prosecutions. The ICJ, sometimes known as the World Court, hears disputes between States and operates in the Peace Palace, an historic structure built largely with contributions from American financier Andrew Carnegie. The Hague is a truly international city with its own unique history, world class museums, and an efficient streetcar system with easy access to the sea.

Participants will receive five credits in of SIS 490 (Special Topics) or EURO 399 (Europe Study Abroad.) Participants should check in advance with their advisors to determine how these credits can count towards departmental requirements.

The Program Director was a Visiting Scholar at the Irish Centre for Human Rights for five months in the spring of 2007, during that time he travelled to The Hague with a group of students from the Irish Centre. This provided the idea for this exploration seminar, providing a unique opportunity for students to see international justice in action.