Idea
Commitment for human rights
The Human Rights Law Clinic focuses on human rights issues in the areas of migration law, criminal law and enforcement of measures, police law, and social law.
In the Law Clinic, students primarily draft legal documents in individual cases, but occasionally also legal opinions, consultations on draft legislation, and shadow reports within the framework of international treaty monitoring mechanisms. The objectives include:
- Contribution to the implementation of fundamental and human rights in Switzerland
- Legal advice and representation in areas where there is a great need for low-threshold access to justice (persons with limited financial resources, supplementing the legal profession)
Innovative teaching
The Human Rights Law Clinic is an innovative teaching method that offers aspiring lawyers the opportunity to work on real cases and issues while still studying. The project was financially supported and promoted by both the Faculty of Law and the Innovative Teaching (FIL) funding project at the University of Bern. Among other things, we hope to achieve the following with this event:
- Applying theoretical knowledge in practice
- Advising and supporting people seeking legal assistance
- Working independently and taking on responsibility
- Acquiring expertise in drafting high-quality legal documents
- Strengthening presentation and communication skills
In order to enable students to process and consolidate what they have learned as effectively as possible, a variety of learning methods are used:
- Learning portfolio: Collection of various materials and entries written by students, which document their achievements and at the same time serve to analyze, evaluate, and reflect on what they have learned
- Group and individual work
- Writing written submissions
- Oral presentations and case presentations
The development of the Human Rights Law Clinic will be supported in 2024/2025 by the Vice-Rectorate for Teaching at the University of Bern as part of FLE – Faculty Teaching Development (formerly “FILFLE”). You can find information about the funding program here.
Exchange between science and practice
The Human Rights Law Clinic relies on case-by-case collaboration with lawyers, legal advice centers, and civil society organizations in both the training of students and in specific case work, with the aim of promoting exchange between academia and practice.
During a short internship, students gain insight into the daily legal work of a legal advice center, a law firm, or a civil society organization.