www.regent.edu/globaljustice
law is more than a profession. it’s a calling.
{ C a s e S tat e m e n t }
Center for Global Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law
Executive Summary Regent University School of Law, fully accredited by the American Bar Association, is a 24-year-old private Christian institution in Virginia Beach, VA., with a global reach and impact. Today, it is shining a bright light to expose the plight of a hidden world: people whose desperation plays out daily in slums, on street corners and in secret brothels. The most basic human rights of hundreds of millions of people are threatened in many countries around the world. The numbers are staggering and growing at an alarming rate. Regent Law is uniquely positioned to serve this community by establishing a new Center for Global Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law. Specifically, the center will equip students to exercise the law in securing human rights, and will provide resources and support to those ministries, organizations and individuals who are fighting to rescue the poorest and neediest among us. By expanding human rights through legal measures, the center will create lasting protections for future men, women and children made in the image of God. A top Christian law school in the United States, Regent Law’s reputation for rigorous academic preparation and existing international relationships provides the foundation and proven track record to support our newest initiative. Through our center, our high-caliber students will be trained and equipped as lawyers, missionaries and advocates for the world’s poor and oppressed. The center is an extension of our mission and fulfills God’s mandate to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.
“God is raising up a generation of men and women who will combat human trafficking, child abuse and religious persecution in a large-scale, meaningful way. I am excited by the vital role Regent Law will play in equipping these men and women for their work.” Jeffrey Brauch, Dean of Regent University School of Law
The fervor to protect human rights has grown exponentially among young Christian leaders, and now is an ideal time to establish the center. Regent Law will assemble relevant experts and resources on its existing campus without building additional facilities. By establishing an initial endowment of $3 million to fund a $150,000 first-phase operating budget, the Center for Global Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law will be able to transform lives around the world in perpetuity.
Mission and History
An Opportunity to Impact the World
Since 1986, Regent University School of Law has fulfilled its mission to provide excellent legal education from a Christian perspective, to nurture and encourage students toward spiritual maturity, and to engage the world through Christian legal thought and practice. Based on the Biblical pillars of justice and grace, Regent Law is uniquely equipped among U.S. Christian law schools to pursue justice with an eye toward serving God’s purposes in the world.
Regent Law’s momentum in the international community is building as well. Through partnerships with other universities, nearly 70 percent of Regent faculty members are involved in training leaders around the world. More than 45 Regent Law students participate in international programs as students or interns each year. Regent’s international relationships have opened doors for students and faculty to work in 16 nations on four continents.
Over the last decade, Regent Law has developed a strong faculty, superior teaching methods and a culture that values hard work. It has emerged as a high-caliber law school with distinction in Christian education and a current enrollment of 420 students. Against the backdrop of the school’s growing reputation, Regent Law’s 2,500+ alumni are distinguishing themselves within top-tier law firms, government agencies and in public interest organizations, and even include a governor: the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Governor Bob McDonnell ’89.
England France Spain
Recent National Competitions Won by Regent Law Students
2010 & 2008
National Black Law Students Association International Negotiation Championship
“Social responsibility becomes an aspect not of Christian mission only, but also of Christian conversion. It is impossible to be truly converted to God without being thereby converted to our neighbour.” John R. W. Stott1
Romania Bulgaria
Mongolia China
Israel India
Dominican Republic Costa Rica
Vietnam Sudan
Cambodia
2009 & 2008
William B. Spong Jr. Invitational Moot Court Tournament
2009
National Pretrial Competition Championship
2007
ABA National Negotiation Championship
2006
ABA National MOOT COURT Championship
South Korea
Regent has stepped forward to equip Christian advocates to seek justice on behalf of the world’s downtrodden—the enslaved, the abused and the poor. In response to a clear commitment by the school’s students, faculty, administration and Board of Visitors, Regent Law is establishing a Center for Global Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law. The center will fulfill the fourth goal of Regent’s strategic plan: to produce outstanding, globally engaged servant leaders.
Philippines
Biblical Basis for Human Rights
An Urgent Need
The most compelling reason for Christian lawyers to dedicate themselves to caring about human rights is that God cares deeply for the oppressed. Scripture describes God’s view of justice both throughout the Old Testament in prophets’ voices and throughout the Gospels and the New Testament.
The human-rights challenges facing our world are both startling and sobering. Today 27 million individuals around the world are slaves, more than at any point in history. Most are South Asian debt slaves under bondage imposed by lenders, sometimes even generations ago. Human traffickers prey mostly upon women and children. Human trafficking in the 21st century is “the largest slave trade in history” and is the world’s fastest growing criminal activity, set to outgrow drug trafficking.2 In India, 110 million children are victims of bonded labor.3
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“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
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“A long time ago, I stopped asking where God was in the midst of torture, indefinite detention, isolation, ostracism, and the denial of social and economic opportunities. He was with those whose dignity had been taken away … The question was, where were we who were called to share their pain?” Ziya Meral Christian Solidarity Worldwide 7
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Proverbs 31:8-9 (New International Version) “Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.” Isaiah 1:17 (New International Version) “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”
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Matthew 25:35-36 (New International Version)
Regent Law can launch its effort to train and equip international justice advocates for the mission field with the full mandate of Scripture. Caring for the poor and oppressed is not just a good thing to do; it is what God commands us to do.
Elsewhere in the developing world, the situation is also dire. During the last decade in Uganda, due to corruption and the lack of the rule of law, over 25,000 children were abducted and forced to become soldiers.4 After two decades of war in Afghanistan, over 500,000 widowed women must somehow support their families without the help of social rights.5 Over 100 million children live independently on the streets.6
A New Generation Responding to the Need Today more than ever, young Christian leaders feel compelled by injustice to take their role in Kingdom work more seriously. They are stepping forward to protect those who cannot defend themselves. Many young Christians feel a distinct calling to advocate for the dignity and rights of the underserved. They seek to respond to pressing physical needs at the same time as caring for spiritual needs more effectively. At Regent Law, a growing number of students are pursuing a legal education in order to prepare themselves for human-rights work. Regent anticipates the center will attract young men and women from across the country and around the globe. Now is the ideal time for Regent Law to create a Center for Global Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law.
“In developing nations, millions suffer in inhuman conditions. They need someone to stand behind them. Missionaries are great advocates, but they need the expertise of someone trained in the law who can apply political pressure.” Randy Singer Author, lawyer and Regent Law professor
Envisioning the Center for Global Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law Regent Law targets 2011–12 as the year when the center will be fully operational. Designed as the hub of a wheel, the center will be a home base and community for advocates pursuing solutions for human-rights challenges and seeking law-related scholarship. The center will provide invaluable training for their mission fields around the world and will provide a place for them to share their experiences in an effort to equip others seeking expertise.
Proposed PHASE 1 Budget OF $150,000
Student internships Miscellaneous expenses Graduate assistants New courses Faculty travel and in-country training
The center will provide vital resources to law school students, Christian attorneys working in the international arena, and missionaries around the world who seek training to combat trafficking and corruption and to promote human rights and the rule of law. The center will equip students by providing a comprehensive curriculum, internships, a clinic and overseas programs. It will also engage individuals, organizations and governments already seeking to promote justice, human rights and the rule of law around the world by sharing resources and building a strong network of collaboration.
Instead of raising capital funds to build new facilities, the center will operate out of Regent Symposium Law’s current facilities. Funds contributed to the center will be directed to its operating needs and/or endowment. During the initial phase of its development, the center’s annual budget will be $150,000 with an increased budget as the center expands. Regent Law aspires to establish an initial $3 million endowment for the center to ensure it can continue through the first phase of its development and in perpetuity. The center provides a momentous opportunity for Regent Law to embody God’s care for the poor and oppressed. The center will allow Regent Law to come alongside an international community of life-saving, justice-seeking, child-protecting advocates and support their endeavors in the name of Jesus Christ. Through the Center for Global Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law, Regent University School of Law will develop Christian leaders who quite literally will carry out the university’s mission to “change the world.”
Center for Global Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law FIVE-YEAR PLAN • 150 students annually will be trained in courses offered through the center • 15 students annually will serve through international internships • 16 students per year will work on actual human-rights cases provided by international organizations through the center’s clinic • 100 Christian global-justice and human-rights organizations will participate in the center’s one-of-a-kind online network to facilitate communication and collaboration • 15 graduates will complete coursework at the center to begin working full-time in the globaljustice and human-rights arena Projected Curriculum • International Human Rights • International Trafficking in Persons • International Religious Freedom • NGO Funding and Organization • International Criminal Law • International Children’s Rights • International Family Law • International Development and the Rule of Law
“The greatest need we have at Freedom Firm right now is staffing. We simply need more experienced workers to carry out all the dreams we have to support bullet-proof anti-trafficking litigation, courageous enforcement of the law and holistic care to the girls we rescue.” Evan Henck 2008 Regent Law alumnus and member of the Freedom Firm in India
Regent University School of Law Board of Visitors 2010
Vision
James A. Adrian Jr., CLTC, CLU Northwestern Mutual
Salvatore Iaquinto Virginia House of Delegates
Robert Friend Boyd Boyd & Boyd, PC
Delegate Terry G. Kilgore Virginia House of Delegates
Justice Edward Thomas Brady Supreme Court of North Carolina
George Keith Martin McGuireWoods, LLP
Senator Sam Brownback United States Senate
Robert F. McDonnell Governor, Commonwealth of Virginia
The Honorable Eric G. Bruggink United States Court of Federal Claims
Hugh L. Patterson Willcox & Savage
Samuel B. Casey Advocates International
Jay A. Sekulow American Center for Law and Justice
Samuel G. Casolari Jr., Esq. Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin
Randy D. Singer Singer Legal Group, Pastor of Trinity Church, Author
The Honorable Mark S. Davis United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
George E. Tragos, Chairman The Law Offices of Tragos & Sartes PL
Robert E. Freer Jr. Free Enterprise Foundation Fritz Kling Kling Philanthropy Group, LLC The Honorable Leroy R. Hassell Sr. Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Virginia
Endnotes
Virginia Van Valkenburg U.S. Attorney’s Office The Honorable Patricia L. West Virginia Beach Circuit Court Judge Gregory Wilhelm Ellis County Court
The nation’s premier Christian law school Mission • Provide excellent legal education from a Christian perspective; • Nurture and encourage students toward spiritual maturity; and • Engage the world through Christian legal thought and practice. Values • Integration of law and faith • Education with excellence • Engagement of the world from a Christian legal perspective Strategic Goals • Strengthen students’ Christian worldview • Increase scholarship and academic and intellectual rigor • Be an exemplary model of an effective Christian higher education community • Produce outstanding, globally engaged servant leaders • Become a global resource for Christian leadership in faith, learning and action • Increase global competence of faculty, staff and students • Demonstrate effective stewardship of all resources • Expand enrollment • Facilitate significant financial resource growth
1 John R.W. Stott, John Stott Ministries, Christian Quotes on Kindness, Mercy and Human Compassion. [http://dailychristianquote.com/dcqmercy.html], March 2010. 2 Wikipedia, “Human Trafficking” [http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Human_trafficking], March 2010. 3 ”Small Hands of Labor-Bonded Child Labor in India,” Human Rights Watch [http://www.hrw.org/reports/1996/India3.htm], May 2010. 4 “Child Soldiers Global Report 2008,” Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers [http://www.childsoldiersglobalreport.org/ content/Uganda], May 2010. 5 Asma Yousef, The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, p. 97, May 2002. 6 Wikipedia, “Street Children” [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Street_children], April 2010. 7 Ziya Meral, “Standing with the Desolate,” Christianity Today, p. 48, March 2009. 8 Fritz Kling, The Meeting of the Waters (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2010), p. 42.
Center for Global Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law Robertson Hall - 239 1000 Regent University Drive Virginia Beach, VA 23464 globaljustice@regent.edu www.regent.edu/globaljustice