Honduran law dean joins UMass comparative law class

Speaking from UNITEC in Tegucigalpa, Dean Castro Valle explained how her 2018 English-language article on comparative tort law (featured) fit into her broader dissertation project on regional class actions for environmental justice in Central America.

#ComparativeLaw @UMassLaw (me & @PeltzSteele) today had privilege of a brilliant Zoom guest to educate us on Honduran/Central Am. civil law, as compared with EU and with US common law, and on harmonization in Central America. THANK YOU @cmcastrovalle! https://t.co/eHmGLwgMwy

— RJ Peltz-Steele (@RJPeltzSteele) October 9, 2019

UMass Law comparative law students asked about legal harmonization in Central America and asked Dean Castro Valle to assess the prospect of a supranational entity in the region, akin to the European Union, that might advance economic development. She said such a project has been in the works since the 1950s. Pointing to present discontent with President Ortega in Nicaragua, for example, she explained that not enough states have been stable and interested in pursuing the project at the same time. Meanwhile she and other legal scholars are working to harmonize civil codes and arbitration process to increase legal certainty sufficiently to attract investment from transnational business.