Academic Programs
Research
The Center for Governmental Responsibility at the Levin College of Law is the state’s oldest
legal and public policy research institute. Founded in 1972,
it engages in numerous grant-supported research and teaching
programs, utilizing its own staff and law students. Significant
CGR international programs include:
- Conference:
Legal & Policy Issues in the Americas
Experts from throughout the world gather each year to examine and debate legal and policy issues in the Americas. Participants include attorneys, judges, members of the academic and business communities, policy makers, and law enforcement representatives. Topics include the rule of law and justice reform; citizen security and human rights; alternative dispute resolution; regional economic integration; legal education and professionalism; emerging market standards; appellate systems; and property rights.
- Conservation Law for Latin American
Caribbean
This multi-project effort helps develop innovative programs to promote conservation through technical assistance and networking with law schools and environmental law institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean. It also focuses on development of legal solutions to transnational environmental issues. MacArthur Foundation funding helps support and promote Latin American participation in UF Law's Summer Abroad Program in Costa Rica, where attorneys, scientists and law students from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Mexico join students from U.S. law schools.
- Haiti Conflict Resolution
This is a program of the U.S. Department of State, coordinated by CGR staff. More than 700 Haitian professionals have been trained in mediation techniques developed in conjunction with the Florida Supreme Court’s Florida Dispute Resolution Center, the UF Center for Latin American Studies and other organizations. Project personnel visit Haiti to conduct workshops in dispute resolution, and helped develop school programs to teach youth in Haiti about alternatives to violence in settling disputes.
- Institute for Human Rights, Peace
and Develpment
The Institute is an outgrowth of work done through the College of Law
project for the Advanced Study of Human Rights and Peace established in the early 1990s. It is directed by Professor Winston Nagan, former Board Chairman of Amnesty International USA. The initiative was launched in part to enhance understanding of governance and human rights in East Africa.