American University/Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca
Uniting Law and Society in Oaxaca, Mexico: A Research and Teaching Program
State:
District of Columbia
Country:
Mexico
Award Date:
2006
Award Amount:
$299,969.00
Cost Share:
$167,834.00
Other Partners:
Due Process of Law Foundation, Adult Literacy Program, National Human Rights Commission, Oaxaca State Criminal Court, Oaxaca State Senate
The AU and UABJO partnership adopted a comprehensive approach to the training of indigenous lawyers in: 1) the tenets of the newly proposed criminal procedure code of Oaxaca; 2) the relationship between usos y costumbres law and other state and federal laws; and 3) the ongoing debate on reconciling customary law in criminal procedures, elections and representation, and in other important areas, such as agrarian law. The partnership implemented a series of “hands on” training programs to facilitate graduate-level legal training to ensure indigenous lawyers have the resources to begin taking cases in their regions of origin. The partnership offered nin two-year scholarships to undergraduate students, designed surveys which were administered in 404 municipalities to examine local customary law practices and held an international conference at American University which focused on the new criminal proceedings laws. The partnership also worked on capacity to broadcast multilingual translations of conferences on indigenous radio stations and to publish edited volumes and reports from several local and international conferences.