The I edition of the Refugee and Migration Law Clinic organised by the Helsinski Foundation for Human Rights will begin on 1 March. Recruitment for the clinic will be held until the end of February. (14-JAN-06)

The aim of the programme is to provide students and graduates of law with reliable knowledge in the scope of refugee law and the law on aliens and to prepare them for independent work at non-government organizations, law offices for attorneys and legal advisors, international organizations as well as state administration offices. The process of adjusting the refugee law to the legal norms of the European Union is currently taking place in Poland and very few lawyers possess knowledge and expertise in this area.

The Clinic’s participants will gain expert theoretical knowledge, which will cover:  
· the rights of aliens within the international human rights protection system,
· knowledge about the doctrine and rulings associated with the Geneva Convention concerning refugee status: the definition of a refugee, the non-refoulement principle, the rights and obligations of refugees, as well as the European Convention on Human Rights,
· knowledge about the law on aliens, the Act on granting protection to aliens within the territory of the Republic of Poland, executive acts to the aforementioned acts, the Code of Administrative Proceedings, as well as other acts and ordinances significant for the work conducted in the domain of refugee law and the law on aliens,
· knowledge of the principles of evidentiary proceedings in refugee cases, including information on the situation in the refugees’ country of origin,
· knowledge about the activity of the UNHCR, as well as Polish and foreign non-government organizations handling assistance for refugees and migrants,
· knowledge of the ethics principles of granting cost-free legal assistance to non-institutional clients.

“The course will cover: intensive preliminary training and weekly seminars, during which the cases handled by the course’s participants and theoretical issues will be discussed. Expert lectures will also be held as part of the course. They will be performed by outstanding professionals invited by the Foundation, experts in the field of refugee law and the law on aliens, including academic lecturers, employees of the UNHCR, non-government organisation and public administration organs. During the projects performance the course’s participants will hold weekly duty hours, during which they will interview aliens benefiting from the Foundation’s legal assistance.” – stated Magda Kmak, the Clinic’s coordinator.

The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights Refugee and Migration Law Clinic is carried out as part of the project entitled Access to Justice – the Equality of Arms in the Judicial Proceedings , financed from the resources of the European Union and Open Society Institute in Budapest.