Brno Refugee Law Clinic
Added on Mon, 2005-12-12 15:29
Soze, Masaryk Faculty of Law, Czech Republic
Description
The Refugee Law Clinic in Brno started its activity in 2002. It was established by the Society of Citizens Assisting Migrants (SOZE), a non-governmental, non-profit organization, with strong support of the UNHCR and in cooperation with the Law Faculty of Masaryk University. Besides the UNHCR, the clinic has cooperated with the Public Interest Law Initiative, the Czech Bar Association, the Czech Office for Personal Data Protection, the Czech Ombudsman Office and the Organization for Aid to Refugees (OPU) RLC.
Objectives of SOZE Refugee Law Clinic:
- Improve students' legal knowledge through practical education;
- Encourage law students to work with marginalized groups of people;
- Enhance knowledge of human rights and involvement among students;
- Provide free legal counseling to asylum seekers and refugees, by the RLC students;
- Promote NGO activity and volunteering;
- Increase the quality of juridical culture in the field of asylum and refugee law.
Since 2002, SOZE Refugee Law Clinic has accepted 22 law students for training. They are mainly responsible for interviewing asylum-seekers, providing counseling, carrying out country of origin research as well as legal research, drafting submissions, maintaining files and accompanying clients to official interviews with representatives of national authorities.
Clinic Activities
Once a week students visit several of the six refugee camps spread across Moravia. They each work on their own asylum cases, but also provide general legal assistance.
The students are trained and supervised by a professor, two teaching assistants and three legal practitioners. In addition to pro bono counseling, the clinic has also educated recognized refugees and persons granted subsidiary protection status on issues such as personal status, welfare and family reunification, employment, naturalization and domestic violence. As for asylum-seekers not qualifying for international protection, SOZE Refugee Law Clinic has provided voluntary repatriation counseling. Since the academic year 2004/2005, RLC has been included into the Masaryk University Law Faculty curriculum as a regular subject.
Academic year 2002/2003:
- 218 asylum seekers (including minors) interviewed;
- 175 asylum seekers (including minors) counseled;
- 5 asylum seekers represented at first instance;
- 1 asylum seeker represented in appeal stages;
- 2 asylum seekers recognized as refugees.
Contact information
Mostecká 16, 614 00,
Brno, Czech Republic
Tel.: +420-545213643;
Fax: +420-545213746