Connie de la Vega

Connie de la Vega

Professor Emerita

Faculty Emeritus

Biography

Professor Connie de la Vega writes extensively on international human rights law and participates in United Nations human rights meetings. She has submitted amicus briefs detailing international law standards to U.S. courts for juvenile death penalty and affirmative action cases, including Roper v. Simmons and Graham and Sullivan v. Florida, and has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court. De la Vega is the co–author of The American Legal System for Foreign Lawyers (Wolters Kluwer, 2011) and International Human Rights Law: An Introduction (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007). Her latest publication The Guide to International Human Rights Procedures is forthcoming, July 2019. She established the Frank C. Newman International Human Rights Law Clinic at USF and is a founding member of Human Rights Advocates.

Expertise

  • Application of International Law in the U.S.
  • Death Penalty Law
  • Discrimination - Race
  • Human Rights
  • International Human Rights Law
  • International Law
  • Sentencing Practices

Education

  • JD, UC Berkeley
  • BA, Scripps College

Prior Experience

  • Managing Attorney, Legal Aid Society of Alameda County
  • Staff Attorney, East Palo Alto Community Law Project

Awards & Distinctions

  • 2016 Warren M. Christopher International Lawyer of the Year Award, The State Bar of California International Law Section
  • Sarlo Prize, University of San Francisco (2011)
  • Dean's Circle Scholar, USF School of Law (2010)

Books

  • A Practical Guide to Using International Human Rights and Criminal Law Procedures (Edward Elgar, 2019) (Co-authored with Alen Mirza.)
  • Dictionary of International Human Rights Law (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2013) Read More
  • The American Legal System for Foreign Lawyers (Wolters Kluwer, 2011) (Co-authored with Professor Emeritus Eldon Reiley.)
  • International Human Rights Law: An Introduction (Philadelphia, Pa.: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007; published in paperback in 2010) (Co-authored with David S. Weissbrodt.)

Law Review and Journal Articles

  • "Provisions for Withdrawing from Human Rights Treaties," 28 ILSA Journal of International And Comparative Law 315 (2022)
  • “International Standards on Business and Human Rights: Is Drafting a New Treaty Worth It?,” 51 University of San Francisco Law Review 431 (2017). (Part IV reprinted in: 40 Hastings International and Comparative Law Review 187 (2017)) SSRN
  • “Using International Human Rights Standards to Affect Criminal Justice Reform in the United States,” 41 ABA Human Rights Magazine 13 (2015).
  • “The Promotion of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of Vulnerable groups in Africa Pursuant to Treaty Obligations: CRC, CEDAW, CERD, & CRPD," Washington University Global Studies Law Review (2015). SSRN