Clinical Legal Education in International Human Rights
Note: The clinic is only available to students enrolled in the Faculty of Law.
The IHRP was established in 1987. In 2002, under the leadership of then Dean, Ronald Daniels, the IHRP expanded from summer internships and student volunteer working groups to include Canada’s first-ever international human rights clinic.
Since 2002, the IHRP has engaged in international human rights advocacy on diverse issues. Advocacy has ranged from direct client representation to policy work, though our current emphasis is on lending our legal expertise to civil society engaged in advocacy in areas that intersect with our Faculty’s expertise and draw upon our location within Canada. The freedom to pursue a diversity of projects has allowed the IHRP to respond quickly to changes in the Canadian and international landscape and provided students with a well-rounded view of the practice of international human rights law. In 2010, the IHRP clinic received a Lexpert Zenith award for public service.
The clinic provides experiential learning opportunities for students and exposes them to the practice of international human rights law. It focuses on professionalism and the tools of international human rights advocacy, including research and fact-finding, litigation in domestic and international forums, grass-roots mobilization, and media engagement. The clinic encourages critical reflection on international human rights lawyering, including exploration of legal, procedural, strategic, ethical and theoretical issues. Wherever possible, the course will provide students with the opportunity to interact with international human rights advocates.
For more information, visit the International Human Rights Program website.
For detailed course information, see the Course List (under "Clinical Legal Education").
