2000 - 2002 Human Rights Lawyers Training Program
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From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 20:25:20 +0200 (EET)
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Subject: 2000 - 2002 Human Rights Lawyers Training Program
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: Lyutova Tatyana <[email protected]>
2000 - 2002 Human Rights Lawyers Training Program
Dear Colleagues,
Constitutional and Legal Policy Institute (COLPI) has just announced a
new 2000 - 2002 session for the human rights lawyers training
program. Please, find attached more information and the application
forms.
I would greatly appreciate your help in further distributing them
among human rights NGOs in your countries. This is a highly demanding
and competitive program and your help to identify suitable candidates
would be of a great help to us.
Thank you in advance.
Kind regards
Zaza Namoradze
Deputy Director
COLPI
-------------
Human Rights Fellows Program (2000-2002 session)
The Constitutional and Legal Policy Institute (COLPI), an affiliate of
the Open Society Institute (OSI - Budapest), joins with the American
University Washington College of Law (AUWCL) to announce the Human
Rights Fellows Program. The program will be conducted by COLPI and
the AUWCL in cooperation with human rights non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) from the countries of the Central and Eastern
Europe, Central Asia and Mongolia. The aim of the program is to
support the further development of a civil liberties network of
lawyers in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the former
Soviet Union.
The Human Rights Fellows Program is a two year program of study and
practical work experience. Three lawyers from Central and Eastern
Europe and the former Soviet Union will be selected this year to
participate in the program. Applicants must be nominated by a
non-governmental organization concerned with human rights. The
applicant must demonstrate a strong commitment to human rights, a law
degree, eligibility for legal practice in his/her country and a high
degree of proficiency in English. Criteria for selection will include
the experience of the applicant, the applicant's potential to
contribute to the protection and promotion of human rights in Eastern
Europe and the former Soviet Union, and the suitability of the
applicant's proposed role in the nominating NGO. The applicant will
be interviewed, either in person or by telephone. Preference will be
given to applicants under 35 years of age. Selection decisions will
be made by April 30, 2000. Upon their selection, Fellows will be
required to sign an agreement with COLPI/OSI Budapest according to
which he/she will commit two years in the program: the first year to
be spent with the American University Washington College of Law
(including internship placements in the US); and the second year in
his/her home country working with the nominating NGO.
Human Rights Fellows will reside a total of one year in the US. They
will undertake a non-degree program in which they will be required to
audit 3 to 5 courses related to human rights at the American
University Washington College of Law during the Fall semester
(starting in August 2000) and will then spend the Spring and Summer
semesters in internships with civil liberties organizations, legal
services agencies in the US or with other organizations concerned with
human rights. To the extent possible, internships will be selected
according to Fellows' particular interests but this cannot be
guaranteed. In addition, each Fellow will be expected to complete a
research paper during the Fall term, under the supervision of Prof.
Herman Schwartz who is the academic director of the Program at the
American University Washington College of Law, on a topic relating to
human rights issues.
Human Rights Fellows will return to their home countries after the
first year, where they will spend at least one year working with NGOs
on human rights advocacy on a non-profit basis: providing legal
services, litigating test cases, training/educating in human rights,
etc. COLPI will pay a local salary during the second year that is
equal to an amount determined to be similar to equivalent work by the
nominating NGO. This amount will be provided to the nominating NGOs
in the form of a grant.
COLPI will cover a round-trip coach airfare to the US and provide each
Fellow with a monthly stipend for a period of up to 12 months, a one
time textbook allowance of $500, and medical insurance for a year
while in the US. The amount of this stipend is carefully calculated
to cover the expenses of one person in the US for the period of one
year.
Please note, COLPI and AUWCL cannot provide any financial or
logistical assistance for accompanying family members. Moreover, the
American University requires evidence of financial support for
accompanying family members. In the 1999/2000 academic year, this
amount was equal to $360 a month for an accompanying spouse and $350 a
month for each dependent child. Providing proof of the requisite
financial support for accompanying family members will be the
responsibility of the applicant.
Application Procedure
An application form is attached. Applicants must include a nominating
letter from an NGO from the region describing the need for having a
lawyer working in the organization and contractually committing to
COLPI/OSI-Budapest to hire the applicant for at least one year after
he/she returns from the twelve-month training program in the US. The
nomination letter should also indicate a monthly salary rate that will
be offered to the applicant by the NGO in the event that he or she is
selected for the program (which would be provided to the NGO by COLPI
in the form of a grant). In addition, the applicant should provide at
least one additional recommendation. Applicants should also identify a
project that he or she would like to design during the first semester
of the program. Ideas of projects with practical significance to the
nominating NGO, such as drafting a model law or designing a litigation
strategy, are encouraged. Information on the profile of the
recommending NGO and supplemental recommendations are also welcome.
The DEADLINE for receiving applications in COLPI is March 24, 2000.
For more information and application forms, please contact Eszter
Filippinyi, Program Coordinator, COLPI, Nador u. 11, Budapest 1051,
tell: 361 327-3102; fax: 361 327 3103; e-mail: [email protected] or
Zaza Namoradze, Deputy Director, COLPI, (the same mailing address),
e-mail: [email protected]. More information about COLPI and the
application forms can also be found on the Internet: www.osi.hu/colpi.
Columbia Public Interest Law Fellows Program
(2000-2002 Session)
The Constitutional and Legislative Policy Institute (COLPI), an
affiliate of the Open Society Institute (OSI-Budapest), in
collaboration with the Public Interest Law Initiative in Transitional
Societies (PILI) at Columbia Law School, is pleased to invite
applications for the Public Interest Law Fellows Program. The deadline
for applications is March 24, 2000.
The program will select seven lawyers from Central and Eastern Europe
and the former Soviet Union for two years of study and practical work
experience. Two slots in the program are specifically designated for
women's rights advocates, two slots are designated for disability
rights advocates, and the remaining three slots are undesignated.
Applicants with a strong commitment to human rights or public interest
law, a law degree, eligibility for legal practice in his/her country
and proficiency in English may apply. Criteria for selection will
include the experience of the applicant, the applicant's potential to
contribute to the development of the human rights or public interest
law field in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, and the
suitability of the applicant's proposed role in the nominating NGO.
Preference will be given to applicants under 35 years of age.
Selection decisions will be made by April 30, 2000.
The Fellows will reside a total of one year in the US, consisting of
one semester of study at Columbia University and two three-month
internships. Fellows will return to their home countries after the
first year, where they will spend at least one year working with their
nominating NGO on human rights/public interest advocacy on a
non-profit basis: providing legal services, litigating test cases,
training/educating in human rights, etc. Upon their selection, Fellows
will be required to sign an agreement with COLPI/OSI Budapest
according to which he/she will commit to two years in the program: the
first year to be spent in the US; and the second year in his/her home
country working with the nominating NGO.
COLPI will cover a round-trip coach airfare to the US and provide each
Fellow with a monthly stipend for a period of up to 12 months, a one
time textbook allowance of $500, and medical insurance for a year
while in the US. The amount of this stipend is carefully calculated
to cover the expenses of one person in the US for the period of one
year. COLPI will also pay a local salary during the second year that
is equal to an amount determined to be similar to equivalent work by
the nominating NGO. This amount will be provided to the nominating
NGOs in the form of a grant.
Please note, COLPI and PILI cannot provide any financial or logistical
assistance for accompanying family members. Moreover, Columbia
University requires evidence of financial support for accompanying
family members. In the 1999/2000 academic year, this amount was equal
to $360 a month for an accompanying spouse and $350 a month for each
dependent child. Providing proof of the requisite financial support
for accompanying family members will be the responsibility of the
applicant.
Program Description
The goal of the Public Interest Law Initiative in Transitional
Societies (PILI) is to assist the development and facilitate the
networking of public interest law communities in the countries of
Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia through
publications, electronic resources, meetings and capacity-building
programs. PILI is supported by the Ford Foundation, the Open Society
Institute-New York and the Soros network of foundations, including
COLPI.
The Public Interest Law Fellows Program is one of PILI's core
activities. In the first semester of the program, Public Interest Law
Fellows participate in a non-degree program in which they audit 3 to 5
courses at Columbia Law School, including a seminar entitled "Applied
Law Reform In Eastern Europe," which is taught by Edwin Rekosh,
Director of the Public Interest Law Initiative. This seminar - which
pairs Fellows with a select group of full-time Columbia students -
provides a practical-oriented overview of law reform issues
confronting the legal systems of Central and Eastern Europe from an
interdisciplinary perspective, with an emphasis on democracy-building,
civil society, and enhancing the promotion and protection of human
rights. Each Fellow will be expected to propose a project relating to
human rights or other public interest law issues, which will be the
subject of research and collaboration by teams formed with other
students in the seminar. The project should be related to the needs
and priorities of the applicant's nominating NGO, but may change over
the course of the semester based on the input of other students in the
seminar. Ideally, the result of the seminar will be a project plan
that can be further modified during the remainder of the year to fit
the particular needs of the NGO.
In the spring and early summer, Fellows participate in two three-month
internships at human rights, legal services, or other public interest
law organizations in the New York area. To the extent possible,
internships will be selected according to Fellows' particular
interests in the area of human rights and public interest law. Fellows
will be expected to arrive in early August in order to participate in
"US Legal Methods and Problems," an intensive course that starts prior
to other classes and provides an academic orientation for lawyers from
civil law countries.
More information about the Public Interest Law Initiative can be found
on the Internet at: www.pili.org. More information about Columbia Law
School can be found at: www.law.columbia.edu.
Application Procedure
An application form is attached. Applicants must include a nominating
letter from an NGO from the region describing the need for having a
lawyer working in the organization and contractually committing to
COLPI/OSI-Budapest to hire the applicant for at least one year after
he/she returns from the twelve-month training program in the US. The
nomination letter should also indicate a monthly salary rate that
will be offered to the applicant by the NGO in the event that he or
she is selected for the program (which would be provided to the NGO by
COLPI in the form of a grant). In addition, the applicant should
provide at least one additional recommendation. Applicants should also
identify a project that he or she would like to design during the
first semester of the program. Ideas of projects with practical
significance to the nominating NGO, such as drafting a model law or
designing a litigation strategy, are encouraged. Information on the
profile of the recommending NGO and supplemental recommendations are
also welcome.
The DEADLINE for receiving applications at COLPI is March 24, 2000.
For more information and application forms, please contact Eszter
Filippinyi, Program Coordinator, COLPI, Nador u. 11, Budapest 1051,
tel: 361 327-3102; fax: 361 327 3103; e-mail: [email protected] or
Zaza Namoradze, Deputy Director, COLPI, (the same mailing address),
e-mail: [email protected]. More information about COLPI and the
application forms can also be found on the Internet: www.osi.hu/colpi.
-----------------
Tatyana Lyutova
Constitutional and Legal Policy Institute
Program Coordinator
H-1051 Budapest, Nador u. 11., Hungary
Tel.: (36-1) 235-6176
Tel./Fax: (36-1) 327-3103
e-mail: [email protected]
internet: http://www.osi.hu/colpi/
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