Migration Law Clinic - Semester 2

Course Objective

1. Analyse complex legal questions concerning international, European
and national migration law (and the interaction between them)
2. Independently conduct high quality legal research
3. Write a well-structured and comprehensible legal argument
4. Present and discuss complex issues of migration law
5. Give constructive feed-back on the work of others
6. Cooperate with others in a project
7. Act professionally (students learn to communicate effectively with
external clients, to work under time pressure and to deal with
requirements of confidentiality)
8. Reflect on their work and the process of writing an expert opinion
Course objectives (eindtermen): 1, 2, 7, 10, 14-15.

Course Content

The Migration Law Clinic is a typical Law in Action course. It offers
selected students the opportunity to
develop their personal and legal skills by writing professional legal
advice for legal practice in real cases. The cases are mostly provided
by lawyers and are pending before the Court of Justice of the EU or the
European Court of Human Rights. Students conduct research in a group on
complex questions of European migration law. Their work is intensively
supervised by the members of the Amsterdam Centre for Migration and
Refugee Law. A strict system
of peer review (by fellow students and supervisors) will guarantee the
high quality of the written advice. The expert opinions written by the
Migration Law Clinic are sent to and taken into account by the European
courts.

Additional Information Teaching Methods

From February until July Clinic meetings will take place every two
weeks. Students are required to attend all these meetings and need to be
available during the whole academic year. During the meetings students
will get an introductory lecture on the topic of their project, discuss
the content and progress of their project, have a guest lecture by a
person working in the field of migration law or train practical skills
(such as presentation and writing skills). Students work on projects in
groups. They meet regularly in order to discuss progress and give feed
back on each other's work.

Method of Assessment

Students will be graded (fail, pass or good) on the basis of the legal
advice they have written, self-reflection reports, participation in the
Clinic meetings and their work attitude.

Literature

Literature will be placed on Canvas.

Additional Information Target Audience

Students who take part in the VU master track International Migration
and Refugee Law will be given priority. The course is also available
for:
Master students from other universities/faculties
Exchange students

Courses from a master at the faculty can only be taken as a secondary
course if you have a diploma that gives access to the relevant master/
specialization and if you are enrolled in a master.

Additional Information

See for more information about the Clinic and the application procedure:
www.migrationlawclinic.org

Custom Course Registration

Students(master students in Law and Criminology and exchange students)
will be selected for the Migration Law Clinic in January 2023 on the
basis of the following criteria:
- Interest in/affinity with migration law and/or European law or human
rights, evidenced by the student's choice of courses or activities
- Whether the work for the Migration Law Clinic fits into the student's
study programme
- Motivation
- Good writing and research skills
- Study results
- English language skills
- Availability during the Clinic meetings during the whole academic year

Students of the master specialisation International Migration and
Refugee Law will be given priority. Students who have participated in
the Migration Law Clinic in the previous semester also will be given
priority.

See for more information: www.migrationlawclinic.org