Legal Clinics in Poland Summary of the academic year 2005/2006 activity.

Legal Clinics in Poland

Summary of the academic year 2005/2006

activity

Legal clinics in Poland

Białystok – University of Białystok

Białystok – Białystok School of Public Administration

Gdańsk – Gdańsk University

Katowice – Silesian University

Kraków – Jagiellonian University

Kraków - Collegium Medicum Jagiellonian University *

Lublin – Catholic University of Lublin

Lublin – Maria Curie-Skłodowska University

Łódź – University of Łodź

Olsztyn – Academic Association of the Law and European Education Propagators „Wspólna Europa”

Olsztyn - The University of Warmia and Mazury

Opole – Opole University

Poznań - Adam Mickiewicz University

Rzeszów – Rzeszów University

Słubice - Collegium Polonicum

Szczecin – University of Szczecin

Toruń – Nicolaus Copernicus University

Warszawa - Academia Iuris Foundation

Warszawa - Warsaw University

Warszawa - Lazarski School of Commerce and Law

Warszawa - Leon Koźmiński Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management

Warszawa - Management and Law Academy (WSZiP) *

Wrocław - Wrocław University

* Legal clinic opened in 2005

Białystok

Warszawa

Lublin

RzeszówKraków

Katowice

Opole

Wrocław

Łódź

Poznań

Toruń

Gdańsk

Szczecin

Słubice

Olsztyn

Białystok

Warszawa

Lublin

RzeszówKraków

Katowice

Opole

Wrocław

Łódź

Poznań

Toruń

Gdańsk

Szczecin

Słubice

Olsztyn

Clinics accredited by the Legal Clinics Foundation

1. Student Legal Clinic in Białystok (University of Białystok)2. Student University Legal Clinic in Gdańsk3. Student Legal Clinic in Katowice4. University Legal Clinic in Kraków5. University Legal Clinic in Lublin (Catholic University)6. University Student Legal Clinic in Lublin (Curie-Skłodowska University)7. Student Legal Information Point „Klinika Prawa” in Łódź8. Student University Legal Clinic in Poznań9. Scientific Group Student Legal Clinic in Słubice10. „Legal Education Center” – Student Legal Clinic in Szczecin11. University Legal Clinic in Toruń12. Academia Iuris Foundation in Warsaw13. Legal Clinic, Student Center of Legal Aid in Warsaw (Warsaw University)14. Student Legal Clinic in Warsaw (L. Koźmiński Academy)15. Student Legal Clinic in Warsaw (Lazarski School of Commerce and Law)16. Student Legal Advice Office in Warsaw (Management and Law Academy-WSZiP)17. University Legal Clinic in Wrocław

Academic year in numbers

9833 cases were submitted to legal clinics between October 2005 and June 2006;

2397 (24%) were civil law cases; 1279 students and 179 teachers worked in the clinics; 1 teacher supervised the work of 7 students; 8 cases were solved by one student.

Comparing to the last academic year

… number of cases raised by 32,5 %,

… number of students raised by 22 %,

… number of faculty supervisors raised by 20 %,

… quality of the legal advice was kept – in 2003/2004 there was one supervisor for 9 students, in 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 there were 7 students under one teacher’s supervision,

… increase of cases dealing with NGOs (two times more than last year) number of the disabled people cases and inheritance law cases raised by 50%,

… 50% of cases are dealt with in the normal course which is maximum 14 days.

Number of cases accepted by the clinics

Total: 9833(7421 in academic year 2004/2005)

* Clinic opened in 2005

2284

980821 762 718

622 554452 393

258 253 245 241 241 175 155 131 129 120 119 100 54 26

Number of students in the clinics

Total: 1279(1049 in academic year 2004/2005)

* Clinic opened in 2005

225

141

82 80 7461 60 57 57

48 48 48 45 41 38 38 3626 23 21 14 9 7

Number of clinical teachers

Total: 179(147 in academic year 2004/2005)

* Clinic opened in 2005

20 20

17

1211

9 98 8

76 6

5 5 5 5 5 5 54

32 2

Types of cases

31

361

16389596190332

563633878

1114

1409

2397

1680 Total: 7421

Time of handling the case

Short explanation

(1-2 meetings, up to 2 weeks)

50%

1 year and more

1%

Between 2 months

and 1 year10%

Several meetings (2 weeks

- 2 months)39%

Sources of information about legal clinic

Other24%

Friends26%

Family12%

Information brochures

7%Internet

7%

Radio5%

TV4%

News-papers

16%

Women Men

Other24%

Friends27%Family

11%

Information brochures

7%Internet

7%

Radio5%

TV4%

News-papers

16%

Have the clients used professional legal advice before?

Women Men

Present status of the legal clinics in Poland

There are very few NGO based legal clinics in Poland. Almost all of the legal clinics in Poland are recognized by the Universities as a

part of the legal curriculum at our law schools (as one of the mandatory classes that are offered to the students).

Legal Clinics are present at every state law school and at almost all private law schools.

Some of the legal clinics (Krakow, Warsaw, Bialystok, Lodz) gained a status of a chair or laboratory this year

All of the legal clinics that are based at the Universities get all the office costs covered as well as the professor’s salaries paid by the Universities.

This year our Foundation and a group of legal aid NGO’s with a support of the Ombudsman drafted a new law on access to legal aid. We convinced the Ministry of Justice to include our activity as a part of the national network of institutions that will provide so called pre-trial legal advice and basic legal information to poor people.

Cooperation of the Polish Ombudsman with the Legal Clinics network

1. The Ombudsman cooperates with the legal clinics since the very first legal clinics have been established in 1997 and 1998.

2. The cooperation is based on a general agreement signed by the Ombudsman and the Legal Clinics Foundation as well as bilateral agreements signed by 14 different law schools and their legal clinics.

3. The cooperation with the Ombudsman is based on the following activities: the Ombudsman agreed to take the most difficult cases from legal clinics in order

to help the citizens and protect their rights when only it is out of the legal clinics competences,

the Ombudsman agreed to admit for traineeship in his office only students from the legal clinics,

the Ombudsman agreed to issue and sponsor brochures on legal matters that are prepared by the legal clinics (till now over 50 brochures have been published),

the legal clinics submit reports on their activity and describe cases they deal with and based on those the Ombudsman prepares his yearly reports to the Parliament on human rights protection in Poland.

Legal Clinics Foundation activity

The Foundation has the status of the public benefit organization;

Won a distinctive prize in the Best Pro Publico Bono Civil Initiative

contest;

Organizes anual Pro Bono Lawyer Contest;

Helps to build similar organizations in Ukraine, Russia, China and

provides trainings to other legal clinics in Central and Eastern Europe; Published first in Poland and in region textbook „The Legal Clinics. The

Idea, Organization, Methodology”, available also in English; next

textbooks are under preparation;

Each year organizes two National Legal Clinics Conferences as well as

workshops, train the trainers courses on psychological skills and

clinical teaching methodology;

Represents legal clinics toward state institutions and takes part in

drafting legislation on access to justice;

Granted legal clinics with material and financial means of the total

value of appr. 200 000 USD.

Thank you for your attention!

Polish Legal ClinicsFoundation

www.fupp.org.pl

Address:

Szpitalna 5 app. 5, 00-031 Warsaw, Poland

ph.: (+48 22) 828 91 28 ext.143, fax: (+48 22) 828 91 29

[email protected]

Banc account:

Bank PEKAO S.A. II o/Warszawa no.: 87 1240 1024 1111 0000 0269 4777