The Second Vasyl Ovsiienko Human Rights Debate Tournament gave law clinic students an opportunity to engage with current human rights issues, develop their argumentation skills, and experience the value of teamwork. Over the course of three days, 16 teams from across Ukraine debated human rights in the context of European integration, addressed complex legal issues, and learned from leading human rights experts.

For the team representing the Veritas Legal Clinic at Lutsk National Technical University, which won the Tournament, the experience did not end with the announcement of the results. The main prize for the team members, Diana Shelest and Ivanna Prymak, was an internship at the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, which gave them an opportunity to see human rights work from the inside.

In their blog, the participants share their impressions of the Tournament and the internship. They discuss the challenges of debating, the power of teamwork, their new professional discoveries, and how this experience shaped their understanding of their future legal careers.

While working at the legal clinic, we have always sought not only to apply the knowledge gained during our studies but also to find new opportunities for professional development. Therefore, when we learned about the human rights debate tournament, we decided to take part. It was our first experience of a competition in this format, so we were nervous. At the same time, we understood that it was a valuable opportunity to test our knowledge in practice, learn to defend a legal position through well-reasoned arguments, and gain new experience.

Preparing for the Tournament required time, careful attention, and coordinated teamwork. We analysed human rights issues, developed arguments, discussed the possible positions of the parties, and planned our debating strategies. During the debates, we realised how important it is to listen carefully, respond quickly to the arguments presented by opponents, and work as a single team.

Teamwork was one of the main factors behind our success. We quickly reached common decisions, complemented each other during both the preparation and the debates, and could always rely on each other’s support. This enabled us to progress confidently through every stage of the Tournament and achieve a result that became a welcome reward for our joint efforts. The experience once again demonstrated how important it is in the legal profession to work effectively as a team, trust one another, and take shared responsibility for a common task.

We would also like to highlight the atmosphere of the Tournament. It was interesting to meet participants from different higher education institutions, observe different approaches to resolving legal issues, and receive constructive feedback from the judges and experts. After each round, we were given recommendations that helped us better understand our strengths and identify the areas in which we still needed to improve. We were also pleased by the friendly atmosphere that prevailed even among competing teams. The Tournament became an excellent opportunity for professional communication and new connections.

Winning the debate tournament was not only a rewarding achievement but also opened the door to an internship at the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union. We saw it as an opportunity to gain a better understanding of how a human rights organisation operates, explore the practical side of the profession, and acquire experience that cannot be gained through university studies alone.

During the internship, we learned about the work of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, contributed to practical assignments, worked with legal materials, and analysed real cases. Communication with lawyers and human rights defenders was particularly valuable. They shared their professional experience, explained the specific features of working with different categories of cases, and answered our questions. This helped us better understand the nature of human rights work and see how theoretical knowledge is applied in real-life practice.

The training sessions and practical workshops organised for the internship participants were equally important. They enabled us to develop our skills in legal analysis, critical thinking, working with legislation, and team cooperation. It was particularly useful to observe how experienced legal professionals approach complex legal issues and work with real requests for legal assistance.

The internship helped us not only to improve our professional skills but also to view our future profession from a new perspective. Working on real cases demonstrated the importance of responsibility, attention to detail, teamwork, and the continuous improvement of professional knowledge. We became even more interested in the field of human rights protection and realised that practical experience plays a crucial role in shaping a lawyer’s professional outlook.

Looking back on this period, we can confidently say that participating in the debate tournament and subsequently completing the internship were important stages in our professional development. They gave us not only new knowledge and practical experience but also greater confidence in our abilities, motivation for further development, and an understanding of how important it is to make use of every opportunity for professional growth while still at university. This experience confirmed our desire to continue developing in the field of human rights protection and to make it the focus of our future professional careers.

Photo: Legal clinic “Veritas” LNTU

Diana Shelest
Ivanna Prymak
Students of “Veritas” Legal Clinic
of Lutsk National Technical University

Some events leave you not tired, but grateful and inspired. The Anti-Corruption Quest 2.0 final was one of them. After a two-month online marathon with 139 students from across Ukraine, seven teams reached the offline stage. On 16–18 September 2025 they met in person and worked through tasks set up as a real investigation. For three days the students operated in conditions close to real life: acting as detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), they ran an investigation strictly following procedures — from interviewing a witness to conducting covert investigative actions. Every step required attention to detail, critical thinking, and tight teamwork. For many, it was the first time textbook theory turned into real action — with all the difficulties, doubts, and small wins that come with it.

Finalists recall the stress, the lack of time, the complexity of tasks — and at the same time the excitement of trying themselves as detectives. These feelings capture the value of the Quest best: knowledge truly matters when you can put it into practice.

Participants’ impressions

Sofiia Kotelchuk Tteam “Control.UA”)
“The Anti-Corruption Quest was my first experience of this kind — and it truly grabbed me! The tasks were tough but really interesting: they made us think fast and act in near ‘extreme’ conditions. If you asked whether I’d take part again — without a doubt, yes!”

Artur Zhuravel (Team “Those Who Do NOT Go Quietly into the Woods”)
“From the online stage I knew my summer would be not just interesting but useful. The most engaging part was solving the quests — you really dive into the story and your choices shape what happens next… What I remember most from the offline stage was the slightly crazy Day 2, when basically every minute was scheduled for a task. It taught us to work under time pressure and brought a huge rush after submitting the final task. I also loved the evening get-togethers with the organizers and judges — you could ask any question and get a thorough answer. Thanks to the Quest our team learned about covert investigative actions, how to draft procedural documents, and in general discovered pre-trial investigation as an institution of criminal procedure. I’m sure these skills will help us in future studies and other legal competitions!”

Olha Synchyshyn (Team “Dnipro Anti-Scheme Squad”)
“Of all my impressions, the first task stands out most — that’s when I realized the pace we’d be working at in the coming days and that this was definitely not a standard competition (and yes, that’s also when our team found deer on the hotel grounds — something everyone will probably remember ). The next few days we rode an emotional roller coaster: from ‘it’s fine, we’re overthinking’ to ‘oh no, this is embarrassing, we know nothing…’. Talking with other participants showed we weren’t alone. The main takeaway: it’s not shameful not to know — it’s shameful not to learn.”

Kyrylo Zaitsev (Team “Those Who Do NOT Go Quietly into the Woods”)
“What I remember most about the offline stage was the second day — incredibly intense and exhausting. Tasks kept changing, time was desperately short, and that stressed the team. The evening conversations with organizers and experts were helpful, though sometimes answers felt general and not always about our specific questions. Overall, after Day 2 it was hard to focus on all the information. Still, some advice helped us understand how anti-corruption mechanisms work in practice. Thanks to the Quest our team gained not only theoretical knowledge of anti-corruption, but also practical skills: document analysis, decision-making in difficult situations, and working under time pressure. Despite some difficulties and overload, the experience was useful for developing practical competencies and helped us better grasp the realities of anti-corruption work. I liked the Quest as such — though I admit there were moments when I wanted to end it all and ‘quietly go into the woods’))”

Tetiana Khailo, Mariia Yarmolenko, Alina Vitsko, Oleksandra Tsesar (Team “(Non)-Corruptionists”)
“The Anti-Corruption Quest was both a real challenge and an adventure. There was the thrill, the team spirit, even a bit of adrenaline as we tried to find solutions quickly and finish on time. The atmosphere stood out — genuine, energetic, with humor, yet dealing with a very serious topic. We didn’t just run from task to task; we actually thought about how corruption affects our lives and what each of us can do to counter it. Involving practitioners was especially valuable. We felt the organizers wanted us to leave with real knowledge and experience, not just ‘tick a box’. That added depth and made everything far more meaningful. We discovered how game-based formats can help grasp serious things. And how important it is to reach decisions fast as a team, listen to each other, and support one another. It feels like we didn’t just play — we gained new experience and a charge of motivation.”

Anna Zubar (team “Kontrol.UA”)
“Simulating detectives’ work — from receiving a criminal complaint to choosing a preventive measure — is a unique experience. It let me feel like a real participant in the process and better understand how law-enforcement and the courts operate. It was engaging, dynamic, and as close to reality as possible. This format motivates you to keep growing professionally and to understand why every action matters.”

Vasyl Vasylenko (team “Anti-Corruption Corruption Committee”)
“For a law student (and not only for law students), gaining practical skills is always crucial. First, it helps you decide which field you want to work in. Second, your career growth depends on having those skills. Unfortunately, for various reasons, Ukrainian universities don’t always fully meet students’ need for real-world experience. Fortunately, there are opportunities like the Anti-Corruption Quest, which let us touch the everyday work of a lawyer. Drafting procedural documents under tight deadlines; modeling interviews, searches, and court hearings — I’m sure the sense of drive from all of this won’t leave the participants for a long time. I’m also grateful for the chance to talk with investigators, prosecutors, and judges — they completed the picture of the legal world for each of us.”

Olha Zadorozhnia (team “Anti-Corruption Corruption Committee”)
“The event was very valuable in practical terms. The tasks made us think through real corruption cases and apply anti-corruption law in practice. The Quest format is probably the best — and of course the toughest (especially for the organizers) — I could imagine. The three days of the in-person final were absolutely dynamic and exciting. The organization was excellent: a well-chosen group of experts who shared their experience, a clear timing for tasks, and moderators’ support — all of this helped participants fully focus on the process without extra obstacles. The atmosphere among participants and experts was friendly and motivating. It was great to exchange views, search for solutions together, and analyze legal aspects. I’m sincerely grateful to the organizers for this opportunity — to be part of a new generation ready to counter corruption!”

Anna Rachok (Team “Control.UA”)
“The Anti-Corruption Quest gave me invaluable experience. I improved my knowledge and met interesting, forward-thinking people who share my views and strive for growth. Over three intense days I felt how things work in practice: we gained skills you simply can’t get from books or lectures alone. That’s why projects like this are a great way for students to learn by doing. And if I had the chance to walk this path again — I’d gladly do it.”

Ilona Lukianenko (Team “Dnipro Anti-Scheme Squad”)
“I want to thank the organizers first — without their ideas and financial support, an event like this wouldn’t be possible. Special thanks to the judges and experts: I personally received well-grounded feedback on my area of responsibility in our team’s work. Despite their high professional level, we had the chance to talk with sincere, very smart people. What sticks best in memory is what was clearly explained as constructive remarks. Thank you to everyone involved for your time and for motivating us to keep growing!”

Anti-Corruption Quest 2.0 — 2025 is organized by the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine  in partnership with Bot&Partners, with support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and financial assistance from the Government of Sweden.

From my contributions in the quality monitoring tools development, there are those to be especially proud of and not ashamed of.

I don’t remember ones flawed at the designing phase (but a couple of implementation phase defected samples, when the customer ignored the starting-up recommendations). But let’s move to a happier note.

The leaders of my personal rating are:

• Quality Performance Assessment Tool for Legal Clinics in Ukraine (quality monitoring tool of legal clinics), that was elaborated partnering with Yuliia Lomzhets, in 2017. But the initial steps in such direction were Legal Clinic model studies dd.2005 (jointly with V. Stadnik) and the personal Legal Clinics quality categorization system, dd.2009.
• and the two tools for the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union (monitoring the human rights implementation by local authorities #local_human_rights_index and monitoring the LGBT rights by the police).

That is essential:

1. Understand that all previously developed similar tools help in making better the further ones.
2. Not only develop but also effectively train to take advantage in their usage.
3. Not only train but also accompany for a time to achieve a constant of quality. In fact, Legal Clinics monitoring is the one of all my made, that will go freefall.

The main recommendations under the quality monitoring tools development and implementation:

• Better to asses in scores and the best approach is 0/1 (don’t / have), otherwise subjectivity ruins the quality;
• Better to do the minimum possible indicators. The more – the longer, more difficult and controversial. How not to lose the assessment quality with a small number of indicators – is to evaluate only the final indicator of quality, if intermediate ones are needed to get it. I know all this is difficult to understand, one day I will explain the details.
• Do not evaluate for the grade or penances. It should be done for providing the assessing effective activity. This is the so-called friendly monitoring approach concept. For the Legal Clinics monitoring was made a “2.0” format, that includes a cooperative development and implementation of the development plan under assessment results.

Author:

Andrii Halai, Member of Board of the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine

An average Ukrainian person, when going over the artistic and scientific works of foreign filmmakers formed a distinct idea about the bank soundness and exceptional value of its services. Unable to explore the bank activities identity from inside and put into its work specifics, we stereotypically draw the bank in our own thinking as a big, large safe, filled with gold bars. Such a “safe” can be individualized and personalized as a safe deposit box for family jewels.

The question you ask yourself: “Who has not dreamed that in the near future will succeed and will have own safe in a bank safe deposit box?” Almost everything can be kept in such a safe: currency values, precious stones, bank metals, securities, privacy correspondence and so on.

The main measures of a bank safe for us are confidentiality of owner data, confidentiality and security of the safe’s contents.

Let’s try to figure it out, if it’s really so, if there are any imponderables.

As is well known, banks in Ukraine operate accordingly the special law – the Law of Ukraine “On Banks and Banking” dd. 07.12.2000 № 2121-III, that is aimed on legitimate interest protection of depositors and bank clients.

This Law defines the types of banking activities, that are combined with financial (banking) services and other types of non-financial services, one of which is the keeping of valuable goods and property lease providing of an individual bank safe.

For those clients, who use the individual bank safe rent service, the main pull factor, is for sure that its usage and realization is included into the bank security content that requires special legal mode. Banks are obliged by law to maintain bank secrecy.

Under the bank secrecy are provided:

• clients bank account details;
• bank transactions in favor or on a behalf of a client, performed deals;
• financial-economic client status;
• security system for the bank and client protection, etc.

Bank-client system, according to the individual bank safe rent is determined and regulated under the agreement of the parties. Beyond the terms and amount of payment for the rented safe use, also included the following essential conditions, such as the safe access order procedure, for the client or his authorized person (safe deposit box), also assurances from the bank about the inviolability of the safe contents by third parties.

It may seem, after the agreement is signed, the client is absolutely protected and can keep his property in a bank safe, without worrying, only about prompt payment for such services.

Though the traps may occur.

In the Unified State Register of Court Decisions, is general local, appeal and Supreme Court decision in the case № 372/4948/15-c, in which the claimant (an individual) tried to receive compensation from the bank for loss suffered, that was caused by improper agreement about personal safe deposit usage from the bank part. According to the case circumstances, it happened once, the client, who has visited his safe deposit box, discovered that there were no deposited currency values. According to his application, criminal proceeding was registered under the Article 185 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (theft) and pre-trial investigations were initiated.

In this process, as part of civil legal relations, by the courts were not found grounds to satisfy the bank client claim. In my opinion, the court decisions in this case are absolutely lawful, in terms of that the claimant did not provide adequate and admissible evidence of the funds presence in the rented personal safe. At the same time, according to the purpose for which the client rents the safe, there could not be such evidence, because the inner safe deposit box property should only be known to the client.

For sure such decisions do not support the right in the judicial system. However, even considering the fact that the bank in a particular case is not obliged by the court to pay a certain financial compensation in favor of the client, the very presence of information about this case in the public is a serious reputational and image loss of the bank.

It is clear that at the legislative level such a situation is not resolved. At the same time, there are ways to solve this problem. So, it can be agreed and leveled directly from the bank side, by the setting and implementing of certain effective regulations of secure access to clients and ones to the depository safe area. Therefore, the current (ongoing) regulations in this bank proved to be ineffective.

So, what are the lessons?

Before signing an agreement of an individual bank safe rent, a potential client should carefully review with the bank secure system and access to the client’s cells, and only

On 13-14 March 2020, the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine All-Ukrainian Forum 2020: Responsible Business and Human Rights took place in Kryvyi Rih.  The Forum happened right before the start of quarantine and the threat of an epidemic of coronavirus infection in Ukraine. In particular, the Government  introduced restrictions on holding mass events of 200 or more people.

The Forum Coordinator Kateryna Datsko prepared a blog to share what challenges faced the organizers during the preparation process, and of course, what achievements succeed to gain.

“Firework of emotions” – this is exactly what you feel being Coordinator of the Forum of the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine because you become a part of something big and important that inspires new accomplishments for legal clinic education growth.

Naturally, each organizational stage is about challenges and achievements that in summary create quality and successful events. This time, preparation of Forum was accompanied by force majeure, which I have to comment separately.

Force majeure: two days before the Forum both Poland and Ukraine governments announced the enforcement of quarantine measures due to coronavirus infection as it did not decrease spreading throughout the world. Such circumstances did not allow our foreign colleagues to travel and questioned the Forum at all. New work reality (online) allowed communication with foreign speakers and individual candidates to the members of the Board of the Association. In turn, having not lost productive mood and inspiration, and following the Ministry of Health of Ukraine hygiene recommendations, the participants gathered together in Kryvyi Rih, “a town of life length”, for resolution of strategic issues of the Association.

Now, I would like to comment on the main organization stages of the Association successful event under the motto “Despite everything!”.

Stage 1. (major) – Preparation of Forum Program

Challenges: Establishing communication with foreign and Ukrainian speakers as well as create an agenda in the way for their presentations logically complement each other and seek to reach the Forum goals. We also tried to do not forget the excursion program which would harmonically draw into event information content.

Achievements:

• Satisfied participants who received useful information for further growth of the legal clinics they belong to;
• 6 methodical Street Law course developments ready to be implemented to the legal clinics’ practice;
• Project of a concept of a topic Responsible Business and Human Rights by the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine.

 Personally, for me, the experience of establishing effective communication with speakers, their orientation for needed result despite circumstances or work conditions, was unquestionably priceless.

 Stage 2. (communication-logistic) – Communication & Logistics of the Forum participants

Challenges: To be in contact in any possible way (telephone, e-mail, Messenger, Viber, Telegram), especially in the frame of quarantine measures announced in Ukraine; to plan participants logistics to the place of the Forum correctly counting that Kryvyi Rih for them does not seem so easy orientation as personally for me.

Achievements: All participants were provided with the necessary organizational information on the Forum and were not late. After two working days during the Forum, they did not stop to thank for hospitality and appropriate organization.

Plus, my Facebook friends list added 15 new friends.

 Stage 3. (Promo products of the Forum)

Challenges: Good ideas almost always come right before the event or to be exact, a week before. It is when we have to think of everything, print and deliver to the place of the Forum. Nevertheless, the Association communication team is used to working 24/7 and we managed to be everything we wanted. What we did not – will be a surprise for the next events.

Achievements:

• Participants received new branded products of the Association;
• Established connection when local polygraphic centers could understand us with no words;

 Stage 4. (excursion)

Challenges: Catch on the excursion, and therefore strictly follow the timing of the event. Participants’ self-discipline and all organizer’s teamwork helped us follow this too.

Achievements: Getting acquainted with a work of ArcelorMittal University created an image of responsible business in its attitude to staff and the town.

 Stage 5. (Forum conduction)

Challenges: Too much of everything you have to do simultaneously: to meet guests, control catering, registration lists, technical elements of the event (participants presentations, online connection), other small but important tasks. In such a case it is really hard to overrate the word “Team” which is definitely characterizes both the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine and my native Law Faculty of the Kryvyi Rih Economic Institute of the Vadym Hetman Kyiv National Economic University.

Achievements: The confirmed value of teamwork and even doubled teamwork experience for everyone anyhow connected to the organization of the ALCU Forum 2020.

To be present at any of the ALCU events it always an honor and responsibility because every year it gathers the best speakers and leaders of legal clinic education not only from Ukraine but foreign ones. Change of events locations (regions, towns, universities) positively influences the development of the network as that is how we can share experience, culture and history between different Ukrainian regions. I am happy that the Forum of the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine 2020: Responsible Business and Human Rights turned out to be in Europe’s longest town of  Kryvyi Rih, and I was honored to be its coordinator.

Author:

Kateryna Datsko, Coordinator of the Forum of the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine 2020

This publication is prepared with the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development according to the agreement with the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine in the frame of a grant provided by the USAID Financial Sector Transformation Project (FST). The author’s thoughts expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Agency for International Development or the Government of the United States of America.

Bold ideas have a right to be realized because legal clinic education is a form of legal education that allows implementing innovative techniques, extraordinary methods during law studies. In turn, the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine is the community capable to develop legal education through more interesting education of future lawyers. Adding international & national partnership and a legal clinic longing to develop new projects, we receive a key to breathtaking and effective events.

Project “UP” is exactly one of those bold ideas and a symbol of growth. It aims creating opportunities of legal education innovative methods realization and teaching students the skills needed to modern lawyer through learning trend topics in law.

 Why is the project unique?

The project unites learning, real practice research and competitive element – everything that the legal clinics students like and what makes them better than others.

This year, the project is designed for students and including International Students Internship, a part of legal vector of the III International Scientific Congress Society of Ambient Intelligence 2020 on the topic “Responsible Business and Human Rights”.

The goals of Internship are:

• to support understanding the meaning of responsible business that acts with respectto human rights in the university community;
• to involve the legal clinics students to practical researches and resolving a real cases in this topic.

As the first stage of the internship was already conducted (National – writing and presenting a legal essay) we are looking forward for the end of quarantine to conduct the most interesting stage – international in Warsaw that includes resolving real legal cases, participation in masterclasses and workshops.

 The Association plans to continue developing professional internships both for the legal clinics students and professors. Each legal clinic has its identity which is proved by the ALCU monitoring. Realization of this project gives a chance to unite the Association’s experience and partnership with the efforts of the legal clinics, together creating opportunities for our students, the true heart of each legal clinic.

The legal clinics of the Capital region have joined efforts to introduce innovative and effective legal education topics for various target audiences on current legal topics. All of them jointly implemented the regional project “Strengthening Regional and Cross-Sectoral Cooperation of Legal Clinics of Kyiv Region”, and the autonomous initiative “Innovative Teaching Methods in Law Education Activities of Legal Clinics for Secondary School Students”.

Olga Nastina, project manager and curator of the “Law and Practice” Legal Clinic, told the Association of Legal Clinics about the idea of ​​such an initiative, stages of implementation, and the benefits of the regional project for legal clinics, student youth and the legal clinical movement.

The idea of ​​the project “Strengthening Regional and Cross-Sectoral Cooperation of Legal Clinics of Kyiv Region” did not appear out of nowhere. In 2018, the Legal Clinic “Law and Practice” of Bila Tserkva National Agrarian University was successfully monitored by experts of the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine, and we were able to “assess” our own potential, see our strengths and weaknesses: the first was that we lacked experience in the internal work organization with new and modern approaches, the strengths for us were in the established communication with partners in communities. So, we decided to take advantage of this!

Working for over 17 years with students in the legal clinic at Bila Tserkva National Agrarian University, I am familiar with all stages of formation, the history of the legal clinical development, achievements, successes and challenges that still remain relevant for most legal clinics. Therefore, the announcement of the competition of initiatives from ALCU was perceived by the clinicians of our legal clinic “Law and Practice” as a call to action, because the International Renaissance Foundation always supports the search for innovative, new and modern solutions to combine theory and practice in developing the legal capacity of Ukrainians and legal young people in particular.

We decide to take a chance of bringing our old dream to life:

• introduce networking of legal clinics in the way of visits for exchange of experience,
• to study the best practices of legal clinics work,
• share our own successful cases.

Students have long noticed that working in a law clinic, we communicate little with colleagues from other universities, each clinic stuck in its environment and may make mistakes that others have already learned, or on the contrary when there is something to share, but communication between clinicians of different clinics is almost absent.

The experience of Bila Tserkva Legal Clinic in building cooperation with partners in the city is unique, and therefore we had something to tell others. In fact, that’s how it turned out – we became the winners of the competition, and the ambitious idea to develop a “Legal clinics` stakeholders map” for a wide range of clinicians, partners and colleagues is now embodied in the project results.

It was gratifying that we were joined by such leading legal clinics of the central region as Educational and Practical Laboratory “Legal Clinic” of the University of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine – they became the main co-executors of the project. Also joined the project activities:

• “Educational legal consultation” of the Academy of Advocacy of Ukraine,
• Law Clinic “Astrya” of the Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University,
• Legal Clinic “Protection and Justice” of the National University of Bioresources and Natural resources of Ukraine,
• Legal Clinic “Adiutorium” of the Chernihiv National University of Technology.

Therefore, all products of the project are joint collective work. It is very honourable and significant for us that our ideas have united so many like-minded people.

The first network event, “Workshop of Legal Clinics of Kyiv Region: Establishing Intersectoral Cooperation” at the PRAVOKATOR Law Club in Kyiv, turned out to be extremely powerful. The workshop allowed clinicians to make new friends, discuss the development of the legal clinical movement, present their own clinic, as well as talk with practicing lawyers, human rights activists of well-known public organizations of Kyiv region, experts and specialists of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, Legal Aid Coordination Centre, Legal Development Network, Ukrainian Legal Aid Foundation and the Association of Public Advisers of Ukraine. It was there that the development of the Legal clinics` stakeholders map began – a practical tool for building sustainable cooperation between legal clinics and partners on the ground. The developed material is the basis of the booklet “Maps”, which is the result of the collective work of students, partners and stakeholders. And we are proud of that.

Other project activities were no less useful and unifying, namely:

• Experience exchange visits to partner legal clinics,
• education for schoolchildren and students on the principle of equality,
• practical trainings with a psychologist,
• developing your own Stakeholder Map,
• creation of a “Clinician’s Guide to Working with complicated clients”.

I would like to separately recall the visits of student consultants and teachers to the legal clinics of the University of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine and the Academy of Advocacy of Ukraine. These meetings provided an opportunity to share experiences and unite clinicians. Colleagues “inspired” us to review the internal procedures in the clinic, gave a vision of new approaches to building interaction between clinicians and clients, the introduction of online consultation, registration of clients in electronic journals, remote formation and archiving of clients’ cases.

In my opinion, it is network projects that provide an opportunity to reveal the high potential and creativity of student youth, to develop their creative and professional abilities. Joint activities for students with mentors and partners, when they sit side by side at the same table with legal professionals and strategize together, discuss the content of the future booklet or methodological development – strengthen the creative potential of clinicians, give faith in themselves and their abilities, motivate self-improvement and self-development, and that, most importantly, educate true law-conscious young people.

I am sure that we have managed to start a network of legal clinics, unite partners and stakeholders, and get new ideas that are sure to be translated into the next interesting and no less ambitious initiatives.

So dream, because dreams come true!

Author:

Olga Nastina, Project Manager “Strengthening Regional and Cross-Sectoral Cooperation of Legal Clinics of Kyiv Region”

The project “Development of regional leadership and establishing a model of coordination of the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine” conducted by the Association of the Legal Clinics of Ukraine with the financial support of the International Renaissance Foundation.

«Modern man still is anxious and tempted to surrender his freedom to dictators of all kinds, or to lose it by transforming himself into a small cog in the machine, well fed, and well clothed, yet not a free man but an automaton.»

Erich Fromm

Foreword

It is quite paradoxical to have a fear of freedom. We are ready to fight for our rights to the last. World history and repeated uprisings against oppressive governments are prooves of this. But on the other hand, world history demonstrates many examples of the formation of authoritarian and tyrannic regimes. Sometimes, it is still convenient for us to obey others in order not to feel responsible for our actions. As a result, do not feel fear of negative consequences. Yes, freedom is not only the pros but also cons. Perhaps that is why society is frightened by anarchy as a radical manifestation of freedom. But tyranny terrifies us too. At the very least, we want the tyrant to be gentle with us and know what we long to better than us.

The idea of longing for freedom and fear of it better be left to philosophers and psychologists. To some extent, we, as a species, are trying to overcome this problem. The institute of law is just one of the ways to solve the problem. Yes, the first way to settle existential dilemmas was religion and customs associated with the culture of a particular folk. But the laws in ancient times followed by these beliefs. It is sufficient to mention Moses with the Ten Commandments only. If you look at the mythology of different peoples of the world, you can find many similar stories. People are often too weak to believe only in themselves. That is why we are looking for something bigger than ourselves.

In the pursuit of truth, humanity killed God, according to Mr. Friedrich Nietzsche. In any case, religion and customs have receded into the background. The cultural code starts to take a position under the pressure of globalization. That is where the most breathtaking confrontation between anarchy and totalitarianism begins. In any case, the last century has been a massacre, to put it mildly. As species, we still need a division of rights and responsibilities, a system of instructions and prohibitions to stay within a civilization. Of course also, to be confident in the future, security and fair treatment of ourselves.

Therefore, yes, laws can help solve the age-old problem of society. On the one hand, competent legislation can automatically protect us from anarchy, but on the other, – a guarantee against tyranny appears. The law should not only serve as a guide for ordinary people but also be a system of deterrence and restriction of power. These ideas sound pretty good. Yes, we can conclude that lawyers are modern priests. But let us be more realistic. Professional legal activity is not so connected with spirituality and morality in general. The ideas of legal enlightenment and the laws on which society stands are not among the topics of average person interests. You can, of course, criticize society. Only ordinary people find it too difficult to navigate the law without specialized education, regardless of the level of their intellectual skills and educational level. Help from more competent people will not hurt here.

Legal Clinics

At this stage, it is a time to introduce the institute of legal clinics – a center where legal practice takes place, and a free legal aid provided to the low-income categories. In theory, this is where you can get the necessary “treatment” for injustice. Plus, this is one of the tools of the legal education of the population. To understand its role in social development, we should closely look at the history of legal clinics and what goals it pursues.

History

We can say that it all started with Professor Georg Frommhold, with his article in the German Legal Gazette entitled “Juristische Kliniken” in 1900. In the publication, he compared the practice of medicine and law students. He realized that law students lag behind doctors because others have the so-called “live practice” in clinics at educational institutions. At the same time, law students were considering fictional cases. Therefore, Georg Frommhold decided that the practice of combining education with the provision of direct medical care to patients should be projected to jurisprudence. In this case, the legal theorist will be able to communicate directly with a person in need of legal assistance. That is, even during the study, the student would deal with the direct “legal pathology”, and the introduction of legal clinics would help solve the problem of providing free legal aid to the poor. Frommhold also expressed several ideas regarding the organization of legal clinics:

1. Professional requirements for heads of legal clinics and their moral qualities, who must be highly educated and qualified specialists with a solid background of theoretical knowledge in the field of private and public law and administration, as well as to be able to understand the problems of low-income people, show patience and work with full efficiency.
2. Impossibility to combine the management of a legal clinic with other activities, the fulfillment of academic and teaching obligations, legal practice as a judge or lawyer, as it will already have to perform a considerable amount of work.
3. Observance of confidentiality in resolving legal cases and the obligation for students to attend a law clinic with a preliminary legal exam.
4. At the initial stage, the need to limit the number of active participants (consultants) with an unlimited number of students, further involvement of young assistants as curators to support the activities of the head of legal clinics.
5. A priority of acquisition of knowledge at conducting business within the legal clinic and in the absence of the established terms of its decision by students-clinicians. Because it is important not to complete the legal case sooner, but to study and analyze it more carefully.
6. The need to use the experience gained during practical work in a legal clinic to overcome difficulties in organizing the educational process.

These ideas may seem naive and somewhat outdated in some places, but despite this, they do not lose their relevance to this day. Of course, Frommhold was not the first to come up with the idea. For example, Adolf Stolzel regularly used the simulation of fictitious cases during his studies. Also at the Fourth Congress of German Lawyers in 1863, Karl-Volkmar Stoy proposed the establishment of clinics at law faculties, which were to concentrate “samples of legal acts and visual images of subjects dealing with legal concepts. “Therefore, we can conclude that the idea was not new and was repeatedly voiced. However, no one has been in a hurry to implement these ideas yet. In 1933, the American lawyer Jerome Frank raised this issue again in his article “Why not create a clinic for lawyers?” for the University of Pennsylvania Periodicals Review of Legal Issues. In any case, legal clinics received their full development around the world in the 60s of the last century. According to skeptics, they have not yet received their development.

Legal Clinics in Ukraine

The first legal clinic in Ukraine was founded in 1995. In this respect, we are still quite a young and naive country. Perhaps that is why at the legislative level legal clinics and its activities were enshrined in 2006 by the Decree № 592 “On approval of Typical instruction on a legal clinic of higher educational institution of Ukraine”. According to the Decree:

1. A legal Clinic is a structural unit of a higher educational institution of III-IV levels of accreditation, which trains specialists in the field of Law and is meant as a basis for practical training and training of senior students.
2. In its activity, the legal clinic is guided by the legislation of Ukraine, the Charter of the higher educational institution, and the Regulations about it, approved by the head of the educational institution.
3. The legal clinic is not a legal entity.
4. The legal clinic, as a structural unit, may have the appropriate stamps and forms with its name. Thus, senior students have access to practice in the clinic, but it is not known exactly which courses can be considered senior. As this understanding is quite blurred. Some may consider a bachelor’s degree to be incomplete higher education. In short, everything is quite subjective here. There are no claims to the other listed points. More important in this order is the purpose and objectives of legal clinics:

The goals of the legal clinic are:

 raising the level of practical knowledge, skills, and abilities of law students;

 ensuring access of representatives of socially vulnerable groups to legal aid;

 formation of the legal culture of citizens;

 training and educating students in the spirit of observance and respect for the principles of the rule of law, justice, and human dignity;

 expanding cooperation of higher education institutions that train legal professionals with the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, justice, public authorities, and local governments, with other institutions and organizations;

 introduction into the educational process of elements of practical training of law students in the field of legal services.The main tasks of the legal clinic:

 providing students of a legal clinic with the opportunity to acquire practical skills in the specialty;

 creation of places for students to undergo training and industrial practice;

 providing free legal aid to citizens of socially vulnerable segments of society;

 carrying out measures on legal education of the population;

 providing opportunities for students to communicate during the educational process with practitioners of judicial and law enforcement agencies, other state bodies and local governments on their activities;

 creation of an effective mechanism for the exchange of information between the population, the media, and the legal clinic, which will allow us to respond quickly to the practical needs of citizens.

If we reduce all these points to one phrase, we get: “a combination of pleasant and useful.” And it would seem that everything is simple – students get an internship and a springboard to a good professional future. At the same time, clients receive free legal aid. However, in reality, everything is a bit more complicated because to implement all the points, a higher education institution must have the necessary resource. First of all, there should be well-established interaction with the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, state authorities and local governments, and other institutions and organizations. To improve the quality of the clinic and, in the future, the passage of students and internships or employment. Unfortunately, not every school has such an extensive network of connections. If we talk about interaction with the private sector, the situation is even more complicated. Often companies do not want to cooperate with higher education institutions due to the common belief that it is a state institution, and therefore quite clumsy and financially unreliable. To some extent, business representatives can be understood. As a result of communication between students and practitioners of judicial and law enforcement agencies, other government agencies, and local governments on their activities begins to be questioned. From this follows the quality of service. Since you need to know the law, you need to know how it is implemented in practice. And situations can sometimes be unusual and you need to be prepared for them. It is good if these students have the support of teachers who can advise how to do better, but sometimes this may not be enough. There may also be difficulties with effective mechanisms for exchanging information between the public and the legal clinic. Yes, it’s not a problem to set up a feedback system. There are a thousand and one ways to do this. The question is how to make it clear to people that here they receive real help and it is better to call a legal clinic. This issue is important in our country, where the level of trust in law enforcement does not exceed 2.3%. We are still far from the rule of law.

That is where the average citizen knows their rights and responsibilities at least to a minimum. At least we have room to grow but the problem does not disappear. Also, people may be afraid to consult with students who they think do not yet know. In principle, this problem can be solved by the quality of service provision and the use of modern technologies. Quite possible that the same students can become customers. To some extent, they can also be an unprotected group. It may be necessary to use an entrepreneurial approach to develop legal clinics. Yes, it is a university unit that will not profit. But it is not a matter of the materialism of great and terrible capitalism. We are talking more about the pragmatism of the good old capitalism. Therefore, it is worth focusing on the shortcomings and potential threats, and then understand how to use them to your advantage…

Source: https://medium.com/@alexchernetsky/юридична-клініка-як-спосіб-вирішення-проблем-суспільства-та-освіти-f284da6d07ea

Note * This blog both doesn’t portray any legal clinic and portrays almost all of them at the same time. Identify yourself or think that this is definitely not about you. Just in case, I will mention – all coincidences are NOT accidental.

Vasylko’s story

There are legal clinics as old suitcases. With once invented directions and organization approaches. Seemingly correct, but a little awkward.

They can be inherited thrice. The new (or long-immutable) “owner” (head of the legal clinic) is not very happy about this, he would like to change something but perceives its organizational model as an inviolable value. Such “legal suitcases” are being inconveniently pushed, instead of fixed with a handle or wheels. Advise to Vasylko – do not be shy, fix and carry conveniently. Read the recommendations of the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine – we will tell you how.

Lola’s story

There are legal clinics out of a sense of duty (guilt). When someone burdened (unburden) them. Someone “senior to send”. And you can’t turn it down (because “the evil (good) dean”), but you don’t want to deal with it too. Hint – run, Lola, run. As soon as they turn away. Don’t push yourself.

There are legal clinics as a hobby. When you want this. This is good, right? Well, not always. They are usually of two types: the stories of Petryk and Marusia.

Marusia’s story

When you want and can. You easily meet the quality standards of the Association. You set and achieve your more complex priorities. In the end, you get respect and envy (where else without this in motherland), and financing as a bonus. Different. New goals and projects are added to this; not less interesting. This is the right hobby. We in the Association welcome this and will be happy to present new goals and opportunities.

Petryk’s story

When you want, but not quite. You want to do what you love, but don’t want what the Association asks in the Standards. You demand your own rules (usually, it means – smaller, inconspicuous and chaotic, but do not forget to praise me).

You resist any attempt to show what you are doing. According to the official version – “because they will steal ideas.” We read – “because there is nothing to show”.

This is the wrong hobby. We in the Association are against it.

What is the moral of this fairy tale? Be like Marusia, don’t be like Petryk.

Author:

Andrii Halai, Member of the Board of the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine

On April 16, 2020, the implementation results of the monitoring 2.0 recommendations by the Legal Clinic of the Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University were presented online. Valentina Maltseva, a laboratory assistant at the legal clinic, told how it really was, what she had to face, how everyone’s life changed after such cooperation, shared her experience, and showed by her example that persistence prevails over the fear of new and unknown.

 

Where did it all begin?

On 26-28 of February, the Legal Clinic of Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University opened its doors to the monitoring group. It was this step that became the driving force behind the changes that affected us. As a result of the monitoring, we saw our strengths – competent and effective legal advice for clients, and, unfortunately, our weakness – law education. It has become clear that in our time we can not do without good advertising,  as many people as possible should learn about our free legal aid. We are not used to “bring up the rear” and immediately rushed to correct the situation, followed a specific plan of recommendations, and here is what happened…

Realization of the planned:

Step 1 (organizational aspect)

2. We have developed an announcement about the activities of the legal clinic, taking into account the specialization in the field of consulting financial services consumers. Also, during the implementation, the legal clinic introduced a separate phone number to facilitate remote communication with her. Announcements were distributed among regional Free Legal Aid Centers, local authorities, partner public organizations; notes were posted on their online resources as well. Internet announcements about the activities of the legal clinic were placed on free local information resources, including social media pages on Facebook.
3. Since the conditions for providing legal advice in the clinic allow us to accept 2 or more clients at the same time, we decided to increase the number of student counselors from 12 to 15. Currently, 3 new consultants are involved in the work of the legal clinic.

Step 2 (training and law education components)

1. A system of regular studying was introduced for students-clinicians regarding the main activities of the legal clinic, in particular, was developed and implemented a plan for classes for consultants on the following topics:

• interactive methods and “Practical Law”;
• basics of customer interviewing;
• communication inside and outside the legal clinic;
• writing clear legal texts.

2. Training on interactive methods and Practical Law was held with the development and testing of the lesson on the topic: “Medical reform in Ukraine”. Students had the opportunity to cover a topic relevant to all, not in the usual format for them, but in a completely new one, using various interactive methods, a variety of game techniques, in the form of presentations and videos.

3. Nine clinical students participated in a re-training on mediation. Since our clinic has joined the project “Legal clinics – agents to promote mediation as a way to resolve disputes”, we decided to continue to improve in this direction. Realizing that this is close to our hearts, some of our student counselors have a good level of skills and character traits essential for a mediator to quickly and correctly resolve a dispute that will be mutually beneficial to each party.

4. Ten consultants took part in the specialized training “Legal clinics’ consultations for consumers of financial services”. The acquired knowledge will be undeniably of much use for them to provide qualified legal assistance to our clients.

5. Additional training in Practical Law was held, during which 2 classes were tested, on topics: “Will, contract of gift and contract of life maintenance – the content and difference” and “Marriage and family”.

In fact, we have carried out various types of law education work:

• Prepared an article – temporary employment of the unemployed (remote legal education event);
• Published a success story – the cancellation of a court order on debt collection of 26 thousand UAH;
• Conducted an online legal education event on the topic: “Marriage and Family” for students of Ivano-Frankivsk Academic Lyceum-Boarding School of Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Council (direct interaction with the audience through remote work means);
• Together with representatives of the public organization “Moloda Prosvita Prykarpattia” held an online screening and discussion of a documentary film about human rights “Roma Dream” for students of 8-A class of Chernivtsi Lyceum in Ivano-Frankivsk. Not all schools teach law subject in an interesting format. Therefore, we wanted to convey to pupils the problems of small national minorities on the basis of real people and real facts, to reach each of their hearts and encourage them to reach out.

Step 3 (consulting component)

1. Updated the form of the consultation accounting journal.

2. Introduced the practice of using a questionnaire of the citizens’ reception with the mandatory withdrawal of consent to the processing of personal data.

Challenges and surprises

The introduction of any innovations, atypical daily forms of work is always a risk. You cannot be 100% sure:

• Will you be able to cope with the tasks?
• How will clinical students react and will they be able to deal with a completely new nature of work?
• Will other organizations and schools agree to cooperate?
• Will it be really useful and informative for everyone, or possibly it is just a waste of time and energy for the whole team?

However, our fears were not in vain. In addition, due to the coronavirus, everyone was forced to take action and isolate themselves. Accordingly, there were no chances of any live communication. We thought that all our plans failed, but as we know, if a person wishes something, they will find a way out of any situation and began to act…

Achievements and fulfillment of expectations.

“Practice makes perfect”!

Finally, we started working not only in an unusual for us mode and direction but also in a completely new online format.

Modern technologies, the energetic spirit of clinicians have allowed us to unite all our strengths, ideas, experience, knowledge, and confidently implement planned actions step by step, no matter what. We realized that work is work and these extreme conditions not only did not prevent but also allowed us to reach as large an audience as possible. No one had to go anywhere spending precious time to participate in a fun, useful and rewarding activity.

Of course, live communication is most important, so we will not stop on current achievements and will continue to work effectively in the direction we have already begun. And as of now, we have a 100% result. We can definitely say that the formula for success lies in coordinated work, a good atmosphere in the team and dedication of each of us!

Author:

Valentina Maltseva, laboratory assistant at the Legal Clinic of Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University

The Project “Development of Regional Leaders and the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine Coordination Model Enforcement ” is being implemented by the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine with the financial support from the International Renaissance Foundation.