Every summer, the Chayes International Public Service Fellowships provide a group of HLS students with the opportunity to spend eight weeks working with governmental or non-governmental organizations concerned with issues of an international scope or relevant to countries in transition. In keeping with the Fellowship’s mandate, almost all of their placements take place abroad.

Inevitably, the coronavirus pandemic has led to many changes. In addition to adjusting to remote learning and settling into new living situations, the 2020 Chayes Fellows have all found it necessary to re-examine their summer plans, consider alternatives, and find ways to still engage in substantive legal work with an international focus.

In a Q&A on Harvard Law Today, two of the Fellows — Chetna Beriwala (left) and Krupa Patel (right — discuss the changes, and challenges, in their plans.

(Photos courtesy of Chetna Beriwala and Krupa Patel)

Rachel Westrate, Roberta Thomazoni Mayerle and R. Scott Sanderson are three of this year’s Chayes Fellows. Photo credit:  Lorin Granger.

This summer, 17 HLS students traveled to 13 countries as Chayes International Public Service Fellows, working with governmental or non-governmental organizations concerned with issues of an international scope or relevant to countries in transition. Read about the experiences of three of these students on Harvard Law Today.

by Delphine Rodrik ’20

I spent this past summer at the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), a German nonprofit organization focused on tackling impunity through human rights litigation. I worked within ECCHR’s migration unit, which works to address unlawful border practices, such as push-backs, aimed at deterring those fleeing conflict and hardship from reaching Europe. Working at ECCHR was a fantastic opportunity to gain substantive experience in transnational human rights litigation, and it was fascinating to compare the approach of litigation responses to migration policy in Europe with those in the U.S., which has similarly oriented policy crafted to keep asylum-seekers out and away from the county’s borders. Early on in my internship, I attended a conference in Berlin on refugee protection in Germany and Europe, which brought together academics, humanitarians, policy-makers and other practitioners in the field and provided me with insight into the key challenges facing the refugee response in Europe. This enabled me to better understand perspectives and points of contention on this topic, and experiences like this helped me to frame the work I was doing with reference to existing gaps in human rights protection and compliance. I also had the opportunity to take part in ECCHR’s “critical legal training” program, which included skills workshops, presentations by other staff and guest speakers, and discussions on challenges and critical issues in the human rights field, alongside other trainees from various countries. A highlight of my summer was getting to know and learn from the other trainees, as well as the staff at ECCHR, in these sessions.

Delphine Rodrik, now a third-year student at HLS, is interested in the intersection of international human rights, humanitarian law, and refugee law. She spent her 2L summer in Germany as a Chayes International Public Service Fellow.