CORE at USFQ

The Law School of the University of San Francisco de Quito serves as the headquarters of the CORE Project. The USFQ is Ecuador’s best university with ten different schools and faculties and with more than 8000 students. The USFQ was founded in 1988 as Ecuadors first private liberal arts university, the mission of which has not changed ever since – to provide an outstanding opportunity for students to study and to educate them following the liberal arts philosophy. The USFQ Law School provides continuous support for the Principal Investigator and her undergraduate and alumni research team at the Law School through its facilities, resources and the assistance of its wider scholarly community.

Research Assistant: Adriana Rodas Merino

Adriana Rodas Merino is a lawyer with a minor in Political Science from Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) who works at the Ecuadorian Constitutional Court. She is Dr. Johanna Fröhlich’s research assistant for the CORE Project and a member of the editorial committee of the USFQ Law Working Papers. She has been a consultant for Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and a United Nations teacher at Fundación Colegio Americano de Quito. 

Diana Guevara

Lawyer with a minor in International Relations from Universidad San Francisco de Quito. Holds a MSc in International Public Policy from University College London. Has worked in different fields, with a focus on international law, foreign policy, human rights, mediation, family law, teaching, research and education policy. Interested in development issues, international law, public and foreign policy and cooperation. Curator and member of Global Shapers Quito Hub, an initiative from the World Economic Forum.

Sebastián Abad Jara

LLB and BA in International Relations, graduated with honours at San Francisco de Quito University. Specialized in public international law, constitutional law and human rights, practicing law in Ecuador since 2017. Relevant experience in international litigation, Inter-American Human Rights System and Universal System of Human Rights acquired by working at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Attorney General’s Office and in different civil society organizations.

Katherine Velástegui-Arias

obtained her Bachelor of Laws Degree (2016) and her Masters Degree on International Arbitration and Litigation (2019) from Universidad San Francisco de Quito. She has developed her practice in the private sector as a Legal Advisor for the Ecuadorian Red Cross, and has litigated cases on constitutional law, family and labor law as part of the Legal Aid Office of Universidad San Francisco de Quito. Currently she works on the fields of international arbitration and international public law at the Department of International Affairs of the Office of the Attorney General of Ecuador.

Sol González

Law student at Universidad San Francisco de Quito. She is part of the research group of the CORE project. Also member of the research group for the development of Arbitration Database. She has represented the University in National and International arbitration competition. She has interest in Constitutional law, Civil Law and Arbitration.

Amalia Fernández-Salvador

She is currently coursing her last semester as a law student at Universidad San Francisco. She has been assistant of Professor Pier Paolo Pigozzi as well as research assistant of Professor Johanna Fröhlich. She has had great interest in constitutional law studies, as well as international law, and is doing her thesis on this topic. She is a member of the Student Society of Jurisprudence at University, and is working in Ferrere law firm.

Emily Samanta Moya Guerra

Law student at USFQ. Is part of the Criminal Justice and Criminology Club. She is tutor in French at Learning Center USFQ. She belongs to the research group CORE. Het interests are Constitutional Law, Civil Law and Arbitration.

María Paula Marroquin

Student of Jurisprudence at USFQ. She belongs to the research group CORE (Culture of Constitutional Reasoning in Latin America). Justinianus Scholarship. Minors in Sociology and Education. Interest in: Constitutional, Human Rights and Criminal Law.

María Emilia Vintimilla

A second-year law student at the College of Jurisprudence at the USFQ. Assistant professor of the coordinating teacher of CORE Project. Participant in contests of debate, oratory, and rhetoric and in United Nations Models. Proficiency in English, German, French and Italian. Summer courses in Law at Yale University and in languages (French) at l ‘École Polytechnique and Sciences Po (Paris).

Sebastián Correa

Law student at USFQ. He belongs to the research group CORE (Culture of Constitutional Reasoning in Latin America). He currently works as Legal Assistant at Solines & Asociados law firm. His interests are Civil Law, New Technologies Law and international relations.

Johanna Guerra Uscocovich

Law student at USFQ. She has special interest  in Constitutional law, public international law and corporate law. She is passionate about reading and research, so being part of the CORE project is an important challenge for her which help her grow not only in the professional field but also on the professional.

Sebastián Arrieta

Sebastián is a student both of the faculty of law, and of the faculty of international relations at USFQ.  He has participated in different types of volunteering and internship programs, especially ones related to finance, business and humanitarian law. His fields of interest are law and international relations in the widest sense, but he also likes to work in all types of projects outside these disciplines. He is member of the Student Council at the USFQ and has done an internship at the international law firm Oppenheim in Budapest, Hungary, among others.

Valeria Elizabeth Rosales

Valeria Elizabeth Rosales Andrade is a 20-year-old law student at the University San Francisco de Quito (USFQ). She is currently in her 6th semester and has been a member of the Grupo de Investigación para la Libertad de Expresión (USFQ) and is now part of the Constitutional Reasoning Research Group. She has written an article for the university’s Law Review and is completing a minor in Criminal Law.

Luis Miguel Chiriboga

Law student at USFQ. Is part of the Criminal Justice and Criminology Club. He has collaborate in research works and also belongs to the research group CORE. His interests are Constitutional Law, Criminal Law and Environmental law.

Melissa Coba

Is a lawyer student going through her second year at USFQ. She has been involved in ONU activities and there she has acquired public speaking skills. Also, she has developed a strong interest on the businesses side of law and is involved in an urbanist internship. Because of the constitutional research she has acknowledged the importance of history and she firmly believes that this project will have strong repercussions on Latin American research. 

Martín Cordovez

is a law student at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito. His field of interest embraces Civil Law and Constitutional Law. Martin is part of the student organization SEJUR. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, writing, learning history, philosophy, and enjoys playing football and collecting books.

Bernarda Haro

Bernarda is a third-year Law student at USFQ, pursuing a minor in Business Law. Associate Editor of USFQ Law Review. Assistant professor of Luis Parraguéz Ruiz, Professor of Civil Law at USFQ, in classes regarding property and contractual law. Member of the CORE Project. Member of the Editorial Commission of the Ecuadorian Arbitration Review. Participated in national and international United Nations Models. Interested in civil, corporate, and constitutional law, as well as academic research.

Alejandra Ati

Fourth year law student at Universidad San Francisco de Quito. Assistant professor of Xavier Andrade, professor and coordinator of the criminal area of the USFQ. Interest in human rights and criminal law. Active member of the Argumentation, Speech and Litigation Club; Human Rights Club, Criminal Justice and Criminology Club.