Session 1 | June 21 - July 9
Evidence, Ethics, and AI
Prof. Ben Golden, Galway Program Director
This course will focus on how AI is impacting the fields of evidence and ethics, and how different legal systems are responding to those changes. Readings will come from current literature on these matters; for example, Garrett and Rudin, The Right to a Glass Box: Rethinking the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Criminal Justice, 109 Cornell L. Rev. 561 (2024). Students will be assessed on a final paper and class participation. Classes will include a mix of lecture and small-group work, with some in-class simulations to test how the students would attempt to argue for and against the admission of various items of evidence. The course likely will more heavily emphasize the implications of AI in the criminal justice field, but there also will be plenty of discussion of the civil side as well.
International Human Rights Law
Dr. Edel Hughes
The course aims to provide students with a general introduction to the sources, systems, and foundations of international human rights law. It also aims to include a critical lens that will give students the skills to apply the law utilizing a robust understanding of the origins, impacts, and power of international human rights law.
Session 2 | July 12 - July 30
International Children's Rights
Prof. Erin O'Sullivan
This survey-style class will focus on children’s rights using a comparative model between the United States and other nations that have ratified the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child. While there have been several international agreements involving children’s rights for more than a century, the 1989 United Nations Convention of the Child is the most recent. There are 195 countries that ratified the treaty, but the United States is not one of them. This class will give students a framework covering the extent of the rights of children and take a deeper dive into certain areas of law, including rights enforcement. This class will feature a hybrid lecture and discussion format. Students will be required to do readings that will further their doctrinal knowledge and will prompt meaningful class discussions. The class will also include real world experiences and simulations to further the students’ learning. The final assessment will be a paper.
International Humanitarian Law
Prof. Ray Murphy/Prof. Shane Darcy
The aim of the course is to familiarize students with the general principles and laws comprising international humanitarian law (IHL) and related issues. The course examines the role of IHL in situations of armed conflict and what constitutes a war crime. It critically examines the provisions of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols. It pays particular attention to the criteria for determining if a situation of armed conflict exists and the nature of the conflict. It examines the conduct of hostilities, and the rules governing the treatment of combatants and prisoners of war. It looks at current situations of armed conflict, especially Ukraine. It explains and evaluates the protection of civilians under IHL and the concept of “protected persons.” The course evaluates the implementation of IHL and how individuals are held accountable for war crimes. Finally, the course explains the nature of UN peacekeeping operations in post conflict situations.
Click here to view the courses that were offered in Summer 2025.
An Unbeatable Study Abroad Experience for Law Students
New England Law | Boston offers an exciting and unique summer study abroad opportunity for law students at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, University of Galway. Taught by experts from Ireland and the United States, the program focuses on international and comparative human rights law and accountability for human rights violations.
Featuring thought-provoking and rigorous courses, the Galway Program has attracted many distinguished visiting faculty members over the years, including U.S. Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Anthony M. Kennedy, and Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.
Outside of class, law students explore the beautiful city of Galway, go to Irish courts, attend social events, and visit breathtaking sites in the West of Ireland, including the Cliffs of Moher, Kylemore Abbey, and the Aran Islands. Students often choose to travel more extensively on the weekends as well.
The opportunity to study with the recognized experts from the University of Galway faculty was unparalleled.”
—Áine Prendergast ’25