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 Gdańsk 3. Student Legal Clinic in Katowice 4. University Legal Clinic in Kraków 5. Student Legal Clinic of the Krakow Akademy of A. Frycz-Modrzewski in Krakow 6. 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 Łódź 9. Student Social – Legal Advice Office Bona Fides in Opole 10. Student Legal Clinic at the Warmia and Mazury University in Olsztyn 11. Student University Legal Clinic in Poznań 12. University Legal Clinic in Rzeszowie 13. Scientific Group Student Legal Clinic in Słubice 14. Legal Education Center – Student Legal Clinic in Szczecin 15. University Legal Clinic in Toruń 16. Academia Iuris Foundation in Warsaw 17. 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 – 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 … Number of cases in Number of students and supervisors in students supervisors

Number of cases accepted by the clinics Total:

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: /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 professors salaries paid by the universities. Our Foundation representatives and a group of legal aid NGOs 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 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 Foundations 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 USD (financial) and over 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 Foundations supporters Institutional Sponsors Sponsors

Looking forward to cooperation! Polish Legal Clinics Foundation ul. Szpitalna 5 lok Warsaw, Poland phone.: ex.143; fax: Bank PEKAO S.A. II o/Warszawa nr: