legal clinic
VSA has been working with the Legal Clinic Human Rights and Migration Law of Ghent University since 2019. This pro bono initiative is led by Johan Heymans, assisted by Yasmina El Kaddouri.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world, indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." – Margaret Mead
purpose
The aim of the Legal Clinic is to immerse a limited group of driven Master students with a profound passion for human rights in the world of human rights law for an entire academic year. The Legal Clinic is a highly intensive and practice-oriented programme that, through one-on-one coaching, creative brainstorming sessions and with the input of civil society, gives the lawyers of tomorrow a unique opportunity to sharpen their (creative) reasoning, knowledge and communication and writing skills by working on concrete human rights cases.
In the past, students have worked on various discrimination cases, on the Turkey Tribunal, on a complaint for the International Criminal Court, and so on.
vision
VSA hopes to inspire young human rights lawyers and to show them that, with the necessary dedication and knowledge, anyone can tackle important human rights issues and bring about social change. Even after completing the work at the Legal Clinic, VSA tries to act as a catalyst to encourage these alumni students to continue fighting for human rights in their legal careers.
Contact
For further questions regarding this initiative, please contact johan.heymans@vsadvocaten.be.
