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South Africa Human Rights Clinic 12UOC - LAWS8619

Faculty: Faculty of Law

School: Faculty of Law

Course Outline: See below

Campus: Sydney

Career: Postgraduate

Units of Credit: 12

EFTSL: 0.25000 (more info)

Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 6

Enrolment Requirements:

Prerequisite: Academic Program must be either 9200 or 9211 or 5211.

Equivalent: LAWS3619

CSS Contribution Charge: 3 (more info)

Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule

Further Information: See Class Timetable

View course information for previous years.

Description

The course offers students an opportunity to engage in practical legal experience through working with human rights organisations in South Africa. There will be a five week supervised experiential learning clinic based at partner organisations in Johannesburg, South Africa. The clinic will take place during January and February. Students will attend a seminar program about South Africa, its history and legal system, and about the roles and responsibilities of interns. Students will work on a range of issues identified by the organisations and will gain practical experience in various legal approaches. Through work on specific litigation, advocacy and law reform projects students will deepen their practical skills in research, writing, advocacy, problem-solving and strategic thinking. This course differs from the 6UOC course as it contains an additional assessment requirement in the form of a memorandum on a key project undertaken during the clinic.

LLM Specialisation

Human Rights and Social Justice

Recommended Prior Knowledge

Coursework or experience in the areas of human rights law and advocacy, public interest litigation, or similar subject highly desirable.

Course Aims

To be able to identify and critically assess various legal and non-legal strategies that may be employed by human rights lawyers and advocates in different settings, with a focus on South Africa, and critically evaluate the role of law and lawyers in protecting and advancing human rights;
To apply research, writing and problem-solving skills in formulating policy and legal responses to current human rights problems;
To develop practical lawyering skills, including oral and written communication and drafting skills, while gaining experience in producing timely and professional written work that may be relied upon by other professionals;
To enhance skills required to engage professionally with a variety of stakeholders in international contexts, demonstrating appropriate cultural sensitivity and an understanding of ethical, political and professional accountability issues related to human rights work.

Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of this course, students should be able to:

Apply an understanding of human rights law to the South African context
Identify and critically assess legal and non-legal strategies that may be employed by human rights lawyers and advocates in various domestic and international settings
Apply research, writing and problem-solving skills in formulating policy and legal responses to current human rights problems
Employ basic lawyering skills, including oral and written communication and drafting skills, and the ability to produce timely and professional written work-product that may be relied upon by other professionals
Engage professionally with different stakeholders in an international context, demonstrating appropriate cultural sensitivity and an understanding of ethical, political and professional accountability issues related to human rights work
Work actively and collaboratively as part of a team
Critically evaluate the role of law and lawyers in protecting and advancing human rights in different contexts

Assessment

Presentation 10%
Seminar Participation 10%
Memorandum 10%
Clinic Performance 60%
Essay 10% (3000 words)

Course Texts

No recommended texts/resources have been specified for this course.