Student Activities

BERKELEY JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

As one of the leading international law journals in the United States, the Berkeley Journal of International Law infuses international legal scholarship and practice with new ideas to address today’s most complex legal challenges. BJIL is committed to publishing high¬-impact pieces from established and newer scholars likely to advance scholarly and policy debates in international and comparative law. With over 100 members from the JD, LLM, PhD, and Visiting Scholar programs, BJIL is at the center of UC Berkeley’s international law community. BJIL also hosts professional and social events with students, academics, and practitioners on pressing international legal issues.The Journal seeks to sustain and strengthen UC Berkeley’s international law program and to cultivate critical learning and legal expertise amongst its members.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIONS

The International Team represents Berkeley Law at the highest levels of international competition. They have ranked among the highest performing teams and individual team members in competitions spanning public international law and private international commercial dispute resolution, in events designed for students in both JD and LLM programs. During the 2019-20 academic year, the International Team will focus its efforts on the Phillip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, the world’s largest moot court competition with participants from over 500 law schools in more than 80 countries.

STUDENT-INITIATED LEGAL SERVICES PROJECTS (SLPS)

Berkeley Law’s Student-Initiated Legal Services Projects offer students hands-on pro bono legal experience in areas including asylum representation, Iraqi refugee resettlement, human trafficking, and international human rights.

  • California Asylum Representation Project (CARC). CARC partners with the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant (EBSC), a Board-of-Immigration-Appeals-recognized nonprofit organization based in Berkeley. EBSC is one of the highest volume providers of asylum representation in the country. Over the course of the semester, students interview the client, draft the client’s declaration, prepare the asylum application, collect additional evidence and potentially accompany the client to the Asylum Office interview. Students will develop interviewing skills and gain an understanding of substantive asylum law.
  • International Human Rights Workshop (IHRW). Partnering with Berkeley Law’s Human Rights Center, students conduct legal research to support projects related to sexual and gender-based sexual violence in conflict and migration. Students will have the opportunity to hone their legal research and writing skills and develop knowledge of domestic and international laws.
  • International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP). IRAP utilizes pro bono legal representation, strategic litigation, and policy advocacy on behalf of refugees seeking resettlement, as well as assists those who have already resettled. IRAP Berkeley coordinates with pro bono counsel, IRAP National in New York, NGOs in the Middle East and around the world, and fellow IRAP Chapters across the country and in Canada to help refugees. IRAP’s thirty law school chapters and hundreds of pro bono attorneys have helped resettle over 3,000 refugees in life or death situations.