In September 2024, Sarah Nouwen, EUI Law Professor and Co-Director of the Academy of European Law (AEL), visited Universidad Torcuato di Tella at the invitation of Dean Alejandro Chehtman to teach an intensive course titled 'Negotiating Peace and Justice in the Shadow of the Rome Statute'. Inspired by experiential learning pedagogies and developed and tested at the EUI, the course consisted of Moot negotiations and reflection sessions. The experience of stepping into the shoes of a previously unknown actor and trying to come to an agreement that achieves both peace and justice led students to ask fundamental questions, such as: Who gets a seat at the negotiation table? Who decides what? Should cultural differences matter? How does the International Criminal Court get involved and when will it stop being involved? What does justice mean, for whom?
The Torcuato di Tella students came well prepared, having read up on a conflict that seemed in a different world and different era: the case study was the negotiations between the Government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army that took place between 2006 and 2008. Over the week, the conflict came closer and closer, as parallels emerged with demands for justice in Argentina and the Acholi ceremony of mato oput, the drinking of the bitter root, appeared to share some aspects with the Argentine practice of drinking a mate – to an outsider, pretty bitter, too!
Upfront, some of the students cautiously stated that they did not have much experience with this type of seminar. Milagros Castro commented: "There are not many courses in which students can take ownership of their own learning." But the Di Tella students excelled in the exercise, fully immersing themselves in the role play. Constantino Seguetti noted: "During the discussions, I often found myself empathising with multiple parties, even when their interests were vastly different." Javier Múgica Nano also observed: "Here I learned that it was not that difficult to sense what was at stake if the negotiations were to fail. They simply needed to put themselves in the shoes of those at the table, which might seem impossible at first, but once you start, it broadens your mind." Seguetti concluded: "I found the new learning approach incredibly interesting. Instead of passively listening to an exposition, actively placing myself in the role of one of the parties […] made it much easier to understand and engage with the conflict. I was amazed by the stark contrast between discussing the different perspectives of justice abstractly and reliving the mediation. When I tried to position myself as a party, theoretical solutions seemed simplistic, and the practical reality demonstrated the nuances and complexities of the situation."
The class participants acted, raised pertinent questions, and answered them, often provisionally. They listened to each other’s arguments, and not infrequently adjusted positions. "I have questioned my knowledge like never before in my years studying law", shared Sofía Iajya.
Professor Nouwen, too, returned to the EUI with more questions, but those inspired her: there is no better starting point for learning than to question. At the EUI, we are encouraged "to stay with questions as much as needed, rather than to search for quick and easy answers".
The passionate and engaged Di Tella students energised Nouwen to develop the course further as she finalises her Academy project 'The Legal Niceties of Peace'. Both the seminar and the Academy project are groundwork for the 2025 AEL Summer Course 'Peacemaking: What’s Law Got to Do With It?', which Nouwen will convene with Barney Afako, again drawing on experiential learning methods. Registration to the course will open soon, find more information on the AEL website.