Learn with us
Clinical Legal Education
Justice Centre Hong Kong is committed to investing in the future generation of human rights lawyers.
We have more than a decade of experience in delivering clinical legal education programmes to university students. We have successfully run legal clinics with institutions including the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the University of Hong Kong, University of Cambridge, Columbia University, University of Chicago, Stanford University, Kings College London, and Queensland University of Technology.
Graduates of our clinical legal education programmes have gone on to become refugee and public interest lawyers, representing protection claimants in Hong Kong’s asylum screening process, and working in public interest law issues around the world.
Our clinics run for a minimum of three weeks full-time during university holidays, to an entire semester on a full or part-time basis.
The clinical legal education programme allows students to engage in real asylum cases within a nascent and fast-developing system, where students’ work could help establish helpful precedents. Students learn about the existing legal protection framework and its gaps, and develop their legal skills in a real practice setting with their own clients. They also have the opportunity to develop professional judgment through encounters with real legal and ethical dilemmas.
Ultimately, we hope that all those who take part in our clinic programme will develop the skills to take a human rights-based approach to legal work, learn the value of pro bono practice, and contribute to a fairer and just society throughout their future careers.
Applications for our clinic legal education programmes are currently closed. Information on our forthcoming clinics will be posted here.
If you are a university and would like to partner with us to deliver clinical legal education programmes to your students, please contact [email protected].
"We were grateful for the amount of responsibility afforded to us. We all got a significant amount of client-facing time. This allowed us to really put into context the information that we had absorbed from the first week and underlined the importance of non-legal skills such as building client rapport and trust. I would definitely recommend that anyone interested in international human rights law take any opportunity they can to work with the JCHK. The scheme definitely stands out as compared to other NGO intern experiences, where students are so often tasked with the more menial and administrative work."
Young Advocates Programme
The Young Advocates Programme (YAP) is a unique programme for high school students to gain hands-on experience in a non-profit setting.
Our YAP is based on our clinical legal education programmes with universities including Hong Kong University, Stanford University and the University of Cambridge.
Through the intensive traineeship, Young Advocates can engage in all areas of our work, from the provision of legal, psychological and social welfare support to refugees, to anti-human trafficking research and advocacy. They will have the opportunity to provide support on real asylum cases, including sitting in on interviews and conducting research to support their testimony.
Each Young Advocate will design and develop their own personal interest project and we encourage this project to be developed into a real life application after completion of the programme.
Past projects have included setting up groups to help source free eye care for refugees, setting up basketball teams among refugee children and setting up an advocacy platform which also raises funds for Hong Kong’s refugees.
Young Advocates receive one-to-one personal coaching and mentorship from our highly-qualified international staff lawyers and policymakers, helping students develop important skills, knowledge, and experience as they begin applying for university.
Who can apply?
The YAP is open to students aged between 15 – 18.
Young Advocates should have a keen interest in human rights law, NGO management and refugee rights. The YAP is aimed at students interested in a career in law, psychology, social sciences, human rights or politics but it also allows those who are still deciding on potential study options to explore their interests.
Places are limited to four Young Advocates per session to allow us to offer a tailored programme to each student.
Programme dates and application process
We run four programmes per year; one in the spring and three in the summer.
Applications for the 2020 programme have now closed.
Our calendar for 2021 is being finalised and the application process will be posted here.