Law Dean, Professor Travel to Costa Rica as Part of Academic Agreement
As part of the School of Law’s academic agreement with the Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica, Dean Ken Gormley and Distinguished Law Professor Robert S. Barker traveled this month to the Central American nation, where they spoke to law students, professors and judges, and discussed the potential of exchange opportunities.
“Thanks to the scholarly work of Distinguished Professor Robert Barker, who is an internationally renowned expert on Latin American legal systems, the law school has been in a unique position to develop cooperative arrangements in Central and South America,” said Gormley. “The most significant of these was formally established in 2012 when Professor Barker and President Charles Dougherty travelled to Costa Rica to sign the agreement.”
The agreement is designed to enhance legal and judicial education, improve and modernize the administration of justice and advance the rule of law. In addition, the collaboration includes academic cooperation between the law school and the Judicial School of Costa Rica, which provides continuing education and training for judges there.
During the trip, Gormley presented Lessons From Watergate In the United States, met with law students from the University of Costa Rica and discussed exchange opportunities with administrators.
“Professor Barker and I also had the honor to meet with the chief justice of the first chamber of the Supreme Court, Magistrado Luis G. Rivas Loaiciga, to discuss ways in which that Supreme Court and Duquesne can develop new collaborative efforts,” said Gormley. “We are hopeful that members of that distinguished court will visit Pittsburgh in the near future to study the American legal system, to meet with state and federal judges, and to work with Duquesne faculty members and students to determine ways for both countries to learn from the others’ legal systems.”
The partnership is the only one of its kind that the Costa Rica Supreme Court has with a law school.