OUR MISSION

The Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine is a non-governmental organization which aims at the development of legal clinical education and building the network of legal clinics.

The mission of the Association is to provide the functioning of legal clinics of high quality in the higher education system in Ukraine.

Legal clinical movement provides systematic training for law students, prepares them for professional practice, thus contributing to strengthening of the rule of law, access to justice and improvement of legal culture in Ukrainian society.

HISTORY

The idea of legal clinics, where law students provide free of charge legal assistance to ordinary people, was appeared in the middle of XIX century in Russian Kazan. Some other universities including, St. Volodymyr Kyiv University, have implemented such experience.

First legal clinics in independent Ukraine appeared during 1996-1999 with direct participation of youth, students and other public organizations (in the cities of Kyiv, Donetsk, Lviv, Odesa, Lutsk etc.).

Thanks to financial support from international granters there are 18 legal clinics in fourteen regions of our country in 2002.

In this connection and also for maintaining and further augmenting of achievements of legal clinics, national network of legal clinics was united into Ukrainian Association of legal clinics in 2003-2004.

For systematization of their activity and assistance in creation of new legal clinics, the first edition of Standards of legal clinics in Ukraine, Ethic Code of legal clinics of Ukraine were adopted, the typical thematic plan of educational special course on “Fundamentals of legal clinical practice” was defined.

The result of Ukrainian Association of legal clinics cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and the International Renaissance Foundation was adopted of the Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine dated 03.08.2006 No 592on Approval of Typical Provision on Legal Clinic of Institute of Higher Education of Ukraine, thanks to which there were consolidation of legal status of legal clinics at the national level.

According to the last researches there are more than 60 legal clinics in Ukraine. For ensuring the quality of their services the new edition of Standards of legal clinics in Ukraine was adopted in 2014.