YSU contributes to the cooperation of legal clinics of RA universities

The workshop aims to create a national cooperation network of legal clinics operating in RA, to expand cooperation between clinics to discuss sectorial issues, get to know each other's activities, and exchange experience.

Knarik Vardanyan, Associate Professor and the director of the Legal Clinic of YSU Faculty of Law, stressed the importance of legal clinics, "Thanks to legal clinics, students get the opportunity to apply the theoretical knowledge acquired during their studies in practice while meeting real clients and trying to solve their legal problems with the coordination of professors. This is how their professional practical abilities and skills develop."

Knarik Vardanyan emphasized that the YSU Legal Clinic also organizes various discussions and training on human rights to deepen and expand students' knowledge, as well as implements the "Law for All" program, discussing various law-related topics with schoolchildren.

David Eile, senior program officer at the Swedish Raoul Wallenberg Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, noted that the partnership between the two universities has a long history and aims to strengthen legal clinics and legal education in general, as well as to promote research in the field of human rights.

"YSU has a key role in the fields of education and research. The YSU Legal Clinic is the oldest and the leading one in RA, so we are happy to cooperate," said David Eile.

Referring to the legal clinics of YSU and Raoul Wallenberg Institute, he emphasized, "The main goal of the legal clinics of the two universities is the same, as there are similarities in terms of organizing education and engaging students, but the clinic models are different. At the Raoul Wallenberg Institute, we cooperate with civil society organizations, while the YSU Legal Clinic, showing an individual approach, invests its efforts in providing a proper solution to the client’s legal problems."

Knarik Vardanyan, Associate Professor and the director of the legal clinic of the Faculty of Law of YSU, Thamar Gurchiani, Director of the Legal Clinic of Ilia State University (Republic of Georgia), Maria Tipiashchuk, Mentor of the “Pro Bono” Human Rights Legal Clinic (Ukraine) and others, delivered thematic speeches in online and offline formats during the workshop. They addressed the current state of clinical legal education in Armenia and Georgia, challenges and opportunities, features of the national network of legal clinics, advantages, and other important issues.

During the interview, Knarik Vardanyan mentioned that before the organization of the workshop, a mapping of the legal clinics operating in RA was made, inviting representatives of existing legal clinics and from those universities that intend to establish one in the future.

Representatives from YSU, Swedish Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Gavar, Goris, Shirak State Universities, Gyumri "Progress" University, RA Police Educational Complex, RA Academy of Advocates, Northern, Haybusak and Eurasia International universities participated in the workshop.