Refugee Law Clinic Regensburg
The Refugee Law Clinic Regensburg introduces itself
The Refugee Law Clinic Regensburg
The Refugee Law Clinic Regensburg (RLCR) is a project by students from the university and the OTH Regensburg. Founded at the Chair of Public Law and Politics under the direction of Prof. Dr. Alexander Graser, we have now grown into a family team of volunteers. Among us are not only aspiring lawyers, but also students from a wide range of disciplines who tackle the diverse tasks and challenges with great creativity.
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Information about the “Law Clinics” concept can be found here:
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Our work is intended to support refugees and asylum seekers. We would like to be a contact and advisor for all aspects of asylum law. We would like to answer questions, clarify ambiguities and find solutions together for specific legal problems. We are convinced that the questions and uncertainties of those who arrive here deserve to be answered. We would like to make our time and skills available for this. Both sides benefit from this: those seeking answers receive support and are not left alone with their questions. We learn to apply theoretical knowledge from our studies in concrete cases.
Law Clinic and University: Efficiency through interdisciplinary collaboration
From the very beginning, we paid particular attention to achieving the greatest possible efficiency. We use the university synergy and have a large team of university volunteers - primarily law students, but also students from other disciplines. Thanks to the close connection to the faculty - especially the accompanying supervision by academic staff - high-quality advice could be offered for many cases at a very early stage. The concept, which is unique in Germany in this form, was presented in detail in an article in the legal training magazine JURA (Borkowski/Helmrich, Refugee Law Clinic Regensburg - The First Year, forthcoming). We were also invited to work meetings to establish new law clinics, for example at the University of Tübingen, where we explained the design of our clinic.
Our way of working
The RLC Regensburg uses software called REDMINE to process cases. This is management software that can be used, for example, to create and edit tickets. In addition, this enables the management of an online database to organize cases. Each case is given a number and is assigned to a supervisor and several processors. In particular, all case-relevant findings are recorded here, enabling internal transfer of knowledge for more efficient work with similar cases. This is achieved via the WIKI embedded in REDMINE, in which the editors can summarize relevant knowledge as well as judgments and sources on specific topics. This combination of students working independently and high-quality support and working methods makes a law clinic of this dimension possible.
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Our goal is to offer free and qualified legal advice for refugees in order to strengthen the rule of law and give everyone an equal chance to enforce their rights. For this purpose, the Law Clinic is contacted by the refugees or their carers. Pre-selection ensures that the advising students can research and plan even without a timely deadline. The students then take on the cases and contact the person making the request themselves in order to arrange an individual appointment and to filter out the problem in detail. This way of working means that our office does not have to have rigid opening times; instead, the refugee receives individual support.
During consultations, students work in teams of two to three people. In this way, they support each other and pass on knowledge internally - supported by an online database set up specifically for the Law Clinic. Academic staff from the law faculty are available as contact persons throughout the entire consultation process. In addition, supervisors and lawyers are available to provide support, which ensures the quality of the advice. There are also collaborations with students from the psychology faculty and language students, among others.
Our training
Asylum, immigration and aliens law is not a compulsory subject at universities. Therefore, in addition to the students' independent research, optimal preparation is ensured by our clinic's program. The focus of the training is on practice-oriented, interactive workshops on asylum and migration law topics organized by relevant lawyers. They are supported by employees of the law faculty at the University of Regensburg. In addition to theoretical knowledge from lectures, the practical side of consulting work, i.e. client contact and research, is also covered.
Our internal structure
The RLC is supported by the non-profit registered association Legal Leverage Platform e.V., which is responsible for the day-to-day consulting business, while the university contributes teaching, professional supervision and scientific support. The university and the association are linked by the Law Clinic's “Faculty Council”, which consists of academic staff from the law faculty. They lead the case selection - on a voluntary basis in addition to their other academic work - and provide professional support during the consultations. Such close professional support provided by the university is - as far as can be seen - one of the unique selling points of the RLC.