EDUCATING LAWYERS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE: THE ROLE OF UNIVERSITY BASED LEGAL CLINIC: THE CASE OF PILAC

1. EDUCATING LAWYERS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE: THE ROLE OF UNIVERSITY BASED LEGAL CLINIC: THE CASE OF PILAC Presented by: Ms Patricia AtimP’Odong Prof Christopher Mbazira Ms Sandra Oryema Public Interest Law Clinic (PILAC), S.O.L, Makerere University Uganda

2. Joint report “ Clinics are important because they prepare law students to practice law by teaching them valuable skills such as fact-finding, investigation, interviewing and legal research and writing…law students learn these skills by undertaking projects or cases on behalf of individuals , always under faculty supervision and guidance. Students also develop a sense of social justice and empathy through their work with disenfranchised groups” As per Jindal Global Law School & Cornell University

3. THE 1ST UNIVERSITY BASED LAW CLINIC IN UGANDA

4. Where to and How..?! • Vision “ A Legal profession alive to the social justice needs of the vulnerable” • Mission “To promote social justice through legal education, research, legal aid, public interest litigation and building strategic partnerships.”

5. What is social change ? • Social justice is defined as "... promoting a just society by challenging injustice and valuing diversity." It exists when "all people share a common humanity and therefore have a right to equitable treatment, support for their human rights, and a fair allocation of community resources." In conditions of social justice, people are "not to be discriminated against, nor their welfare and well-being constrained or prejudiced on the basis of gender, sexuality, religion, political affiliations, age, race, belief, disability, location, social class, socioeconomic circumstances, or other characteristic of background or group membership"

6. Lawyers role in achieving social justice! • Professor Glendon states that • “lawyers have the power to favorably influence society’s ability to address the “great issues of the day because of the order affirming characteristics that traditional lawyers possess: an eye for the issue and the future, a feel for common ground, mastery of the legal apparatus, knowledge of legal architecture and procedure, problem solving skills, strong tolerance for others in adversarial situations, and an appreciation for incremental change”

7. Role lawyers can play • Leadership and governance • Social mobilisation • Legislative advocacy • Alternative dispute resolutions • Legislators • Progressive judicial officers • Litigants who promote social justice/ legal aid service providers

8. Contextualising Social Change in Uganda Highlights of legal frameworks • National – Articles 17 (b&c) 20,21,32,33 of the 1995 Constitution plus policies • International - ICCRR, ICESCR, CRC, CRPD, CEDAW • Regional - ACHPR, MAPUTO PROTOCOL, ACRWC

9. Specific objectives • To enhance public interest lawyering skills among law students and legal practitioners; • To build the resource and skills capacity of PILAC; • To build strategic partnerships domestically, regionally and internationally; • To undertake research on access to justice and legal education; and • To promote access to justice through public interest litigation and provision of legal aid services.

10. mETHODOLOGY • Guest and Public lectures • Role plays, simulations and video footages • Internship placements • Group assignments on legislative advocacy and writing legal memos • Community outreach and mobile legal clinic • Participating in moot courts • Conferences and seminars

11. Moot courts

12. Training students and legal practitioners in PIL skills

13. Enhancing community legal literacy through radio talk shows

14. Community outreach session

15. Pilac students creating awareness high school debate

16. Sandra & Patricia conducting mobile legal aid clinic

17. Lessons learnt • Referral systems are insufficient to address clients’ legal needs hence the need to establish the proposed legal aid unit • Overwhelming demand for legal aid services • Increased closure of space for civic engagement by Government curtailing freedoms of assembly and expression • University limited financial support of to the clinic

18. Future aspirations • To establish the walk-in Legal aid unit to complement CLAPMOC and legal representation to clients who may need more than just advice, counseling or mediation

19. IMPACT “ Through Legal clinics students become counselors, mediators, litigators, legislators, advocates, system change agents and educators as they learn to apply the legal knowledge they have gained in law school to their clients’ diverse concerns”

20. Student feed back • “CLE has had a positive impact on my life not only as a student but also as a person. As a student right from the classes in which guest lecturers where invited, to the conferences and finally CLAPMOC activities and the presentation of Memorandums, the CLE has really shaped me. I have learnt to think outside the box…be more analytical…through CLAPMOC my eyes have been opened to the needs of those next to me that why I hope to continue finding time to go for CLAPMOC visits to the community…the presentations have awakened my public speaking skills which were slowly disappearing” As pers CLE Student, 2013

21. Thank you!