The Human Rights Clinic was inaugurated in September 2018 by the Centre for Human Rights in collaboration with Arizona State University, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. The Clinic helps students move from the classroom to the world of lawyering. Students in the Clinic join a community of lawyers working to reduce inequality and injustice faced by marginalized communities across Pakistan. Students also have the opportunity to work on the research areas of the Centre itself. If students demonstrate exceptional interest, they can also work under the mentorship of our Research Fellows. The Clinic is supervised by experienced faculty who provide support and supervision to the students as they move from academia to practice. There is both a taught and a practical component in the Clinic’s curriculum.
The taught-component of the Clinic aims to increase knowledge and awareness of the national legal framework and essential lawyering-skills. The Clinic is an opportunity for students to explore their strengths and identify weaknesses in their working style. The taught-component varies each year but in general students are able to develop the following skills during their time at the Clinic:
Oral Advocacy
Legal Research
Drafting
Examination of Witness
Ethics & Professional
Responsibility
Client interaction / interviews
Report writing
Team Work
In its first year, the Clinic’s practical component focused only on Gender-Based Violence. During this term, law students provided research assistance to legal professionals on various policy briefs. After the first year, the Clinic expanded its research mandate to the areas of climate change, and technology.
The Centre for Human Rights is currently providing clinical education at Universal College Lahore in partnership with Kinnaird College Lahore. If you are a second or third year law student at UCL, please get in touch with the law school administration to learn about application dates and other details.
Thematic Clinic on Women’s Marriage Rights 2022 - 2023
In June 2022, the CFHR in collaboration with the American Bar Association – Rule of Law Initiative, launched the first thematic clinic on women’s marriage rights in Pakistan. The Marriage Rights Clinic offers law students an opportunity to gain hands-on knowledge of, and experience in women’s marriage rights. The Clinic aims to equip students to provide legal advice and support representation of clients on a range of issues such as khula, custody, recovery of dower, etc.
The Clinic will provide students with knowledge of the substance of marriage laws and rights contained within the nikahnama as well as providing them with insight into the process and procedure for filing such cases in court. During the course of the clinic, the students shall gain key legal skills, such as legal research, writing, and analysis, through various assignments and activities. In addition to the legal training, the students will have the opportunity to work on skills such as advocacy, client interaction /interviewing, identifying implicit bias, etc. Through the academic exposure as well as practical training at the clinic, the law students will have developed the capacity and confidence to support women in marriage rights related cases when they go on to become lawyers.
A total of 20 students from Universal College Lahore and Kinnaird College for Women participated in the first Marriage Rights Clinic from June – August 2022. Moreover, a total of 20 students from UCL, KCW, LUMS and PCL are participating in the current Marriage Rights Clinic (Legal Aid & Advocacy) – September 2022 – March 2023.
Student Testimonials
“I joined the Clinic hoping to gain more exposure, and learn various skills for which the clinic has not disappointed me. The CFHR’s Human Rights legal clinic has provided us an opportunity to have a holistic view of how the society makes a difference through research and education and how working in tandem takes it a long way. I would like to applaud the participants and coordinators of the Clinic for conducting this task with appreciable dexterity, visible harmony, organized direction, and timely assistance. I recognize being part of advancing our society positively through the Clinic. I am looking forward to participating again with the team in upcoming research.”
Roshnaina Malik
(2020-21)
“I feel very gratified and glad to be associated as a research intern at CFHR. I cannot emphasise enough how obliged I am to the clinic for the learning opportunities it has provided me with. I will forever be grateful for my clinic experience as it has given me an advantage to polish myself in numerous skills and has enhanced my knowledge specifically in the field of human rights and its scope in Pakistan.”
Sajal Khan
(2020-21)
“Being part of the Human Rights Clinic this past year was a truly memorable experience for me. We were able to shed light on the most undeveloped news of human rights violations from across the country and work towards their possible solutions. I worked on the project dealing with the impact of Covid-19 on education in Pakistan. The project suggested possible ways in which the digital divide/gap could be bridged in Pakistan, drawing from leading judicial judgments and articles from across the world and probing into the socio economic policies of the Pakistani government.”
Hassan Ali Askari
(2020-21)
"My two-year experience at the Centre for Human Rights has served to be one of the most rewarding and enriching aspects of my law school career. I was able to get an insight into the practical aspects of the legal profession and its nuanced functioning. It provided a platform for me to develop my legal writing and research skills, and these have played an instrumental role in shaping my career as a member of the legal fraternity. The mentors at the clinic allowed me to explore new avenues especially with human rights law and its significance in our society. Most notably, we compiled and presented a report at Mahidol University, Bangkok on the economic impact of gender-based violence. The overall experience has allowed me to grow personally and professionally."
Minhal Saad
(2018-2020)
"I had a very positive experience while interning at CFHR’s Human Rights Clinic and working there helped me grow both personally and professionally. One of the biggest benefits of working at the clinic was that it actively worked on improving my legal research and writing skills. There is a lack of focus on these skills in law schools, and the training I received at CFHR gave me an edge early on in my own career. The academic trip to Thailand was great in terms of exposure and apart from being informative, the whole experience was very positive and made me feel more confident in my own abilities. On a more personal level, discussions at the clinic further sensitised me to the issues faced by women in our society and encouraged me to educate myself more on the issue."
Aaqib Bashir
(2018-2019)