Intersection of CLE and Pro Bono in Changing Time of Myanmar
Date
28 May 2023
Time
13:30 – 15:00 (Bangkok Time)
Format
Online session
Session Description
To expand access to justice for marginalized population in Myanmar, IBJ is implementing high-quality criminal justice legal aid and strategic advocacy through its justice centers and pro bono networks in the five locations: Mandalay, Taungoo, Hpa-an, Taunggyi, and Naypyitaw since 2017. IBJ values the role of legal practitioners, lawyers, and youths in delivering criminal justice legal aid representation. To bridge the criminal justice legal aid and clinical legal education, IBJ Myanmar designed paid Internship Program that creates clinical legal education and learning opportunities for law students in 2019. IBJ cooperated with the university law departments, Law Students’ Associations, and legal education groups in the program. The IBJ Law student Internship Program has created learning opportunities, incremental legal knowledge to the career growth of 150+ law students from Yangon, Mandalay, Taungoo, Taunggyi, Mawlymyein, and Hpa-an universities.
During the dual crisis in 2021 and 2022, the opportunities for law students to learn quality clinical legal aid were impacted to reduction. The paid internship programs of IBJ could fill this gap to its best level through online and in-person hybrid methodologies. The outcomes of paid internship programs reflected the needs of criminal justice legal aid because the law students proactively participated in pro bono legal aid such as early access and intervention of clients in detention, juvenile justice, and material assistance for detainees.
Through a combination of sharing of experiences through presentations, brainstorming, ideation the participants will have an improved and methodological understanding of the steps required to build and sustain an inclusive, peer-led CLE program that can foster pro bono legal service providing in their communities.
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