Sara Cristina Fernandez Rivera

Sara is a lawyer who graduated from the University of Zulia and also has a degree in political science from the Rafael Urdaneta University. She holds a Master’s degree (LLM) in International Law from University College London (UCL), in which she obtained a Distinction. She was recognized for her academic excellence with the Chevening Fellowship from the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office for the year 2017-2018.

Sara joined Rivera Fernández & Asociados in 2014, where she is in charge of the areas of Public International Law and Human Rights. As part of her job, she has participated in data removal requests in INTERPOL’s red notice system and has conducted audits of criminal records. In addition to this, she has advised and represented clients in compliance processes with international sanctions and has litigated cases related to human rights violations and violence against women.

In addition to her work at Rivera Fernández & Asociados, Sara has worked as a visiting professional in the appeals chamber of the International Criminal Court and in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. She also worked as a researcher for the Public International Law ProBono Project at University College London and did an internship at the NGO Redress in London.

Sara holds diplomas in humanitarian law, international human rights law and international refugee law and is the co-founder and director of the Centre for Litigation and Research for the Defence of Women’s Rights. She was a professor at the Rafael Urdaneta University in International Criminal Law and has given numerous conferences on the subject.

During her studies, Sara participated in moot-court competitions of international tribunals and in 2013 she was recognized with the award for best speaker by the Ibero-American Institute of the Hague for peace, human rights and international justice. Sara has an advanced command of Spanish, English and French.