Legal Clinics in Poland

Basic information on the Polish Legal Clinics Foundation activity.

Legal clinics in Poland 25 legal clinics in 15 cities

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

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. Student Legal Clinic of the Krakow Akademy of A. Frycz-Modrzewski in Krakow6. University Legal Clinic in Lublin (Catholic University)7. University Student Legal Clinic in Lublin (Curie-Skłodowska University)8. Student Legal Information Point „Klinika Prawa” in Łódź9. Student Social – Legal Advice Office „Bona Fides” in Opole10. Student Legal Clinic at the Warmia and Mazury University in Olsztyn11. Student University Legal Clinic in Poznań12. University Legal Clinic in Rzeszowie13. Scientific Group Student Legal Clinic in Słubice14. „Legal Education Center” – Student Legal Clinic in Szczecin15. University Legal Clinic in Toruń16. Academia Iuris Foundation in Warsaw17. Legal Clinic, Student Center of Legal Aid in Warsaw (Warsaw University)18. Student Legal Clinic in Warsaw (L. Koźmiński Academy)19. Student Legal Clinic in Warsaw (Lazarski School of Commerce and Law)20. Student Legal Advice Office in Warsaw (Management and Law Academy-WSZiP)21. University Legal Clinic in Wrocław

2009/2010 legal clinics activity in numbers

11 899 – cases were submitted to legal clinics between October 2009 and June 2010;

27 % (3214 cases) – were civil law matters; 1756 students and 216 supervisers worked in

clinics; 1 teacher supervised the work of 8 students; 8 cases were solved by one student per year.

Comparing to the previous year…

… number of cases increased by 6,9 %,… increase mostly in cases relating to violance against

women (154 %), social aid (40 %) and civil law(16 %),… number of students increased by 5,9 %,… supervising staff is the same in number as in the

2008/2009.

Comparing to the previous years …

9131049

1279 1302 1350

1661 1756

109 147 179 197 209 216 216

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

Number of cases in 2003-2010Number of students and supervisors in 2003-2010

students

supervisors

Number of cases accepted by the clinics

Total: 11 899

Number of students in the clinics

Total: 1 756

Number of supervisors in the clinics

Total: 216

Types of cases in the clinics

2007/2008 total: 11 075

2008/2009 total:11 899

Average time of handling the case

How did the client learn about the clinic?

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 law school in Poland. Some of the legal clinics (Krakow, Warsaw, Bialystok, Lodz) gained a status of a

chair or laboratory, which means that they became part of the university budget. 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. Our Foundation representatives 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’s achievements

The Foundation has the status of the public benefit organization.

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

Several times ELSA Poland granted the Foundation title of „Legal Education

Supporter”.

For 8 years has organized annual Pro Bono Lawyer Contest.

Granted legal clinics with material and financial means of the total value of appr.

181 000 USD (financial) and over 258 000 USD (in-kind).

Published first in Poland and in our region textbook on CLE titled: „The Legal

Clinics. The Idea, Organization, Methodology”, which is available also in English.

By the time being we published 11 textbooks and manuals on clinical legal

education, another 3 are in preparation.

Organized 15 National Legal Clinics Conferences as well as several workshops.

Actively participated in the creation of a strong clinical movement in Central and

Eastern Europe and in the transforming countries including Ukraine, Czech

Republic, Moldova, Uzbekistan, China, Russia, Serbia, Belarus and Georgia.

In 2008 Centrum Pro Bono has been opened as a program which aims to connect

pro bono legal aid offered by law firms with legal needs of the NGOs.

Legal Clinics Foundation’s supporters

Institutional Sponsors

Sponsors

Looking forward to cooperation!

Polish Legal

Clinics Foundation

ul. Szpitalna 5 lok. 5

00-031 Warsaw, Polandphone.: +48 22 828 91 28 ex.143; fax: +48 22 828 91 29

www.fupp.org.pl, zarzad@fupp.org.pl

Bank PEKAO S.A. II o/Warszawa nr: 87 1240 1024 1111 0000 0269 4777