Are you a master student or exchange student and do you want to write expert opinions in real migration law cases? There are still a couple of spots open for participation in the Migration Law Clinic and its new pilot programme, the EU Citizen Rights Corner, so we have extended the deadline for applications to 25 January 2023!

The goal of the Clinic is not only to produce legal research for clients, but also to offer talented students the opportunity to develop their legal skills. Under the supervision of researchers of the Law Faculty, the students will conduct research and write legal advice on a professional level. The Clinic is offered as a master course awarded with 6 EC credits for each semester.

The Clinic currently offers two options for participation: the general Migration Law Clinic and the EU Citizen Rights Corner.

You can apply to either one of the projects. You can also find more information regarding them on the website of the Migration Law Clinic: migrationlawclinic.org.

The general Migration Law Clinic

Over the past ten years, the Migration Law Clinic has provided high-quality and independent legal advice on complex issues in the field of European migration law to external clients such as (practicing) lawyers and non-governmental organisations, including third party interventions and expert opinions for cases pending before the ECtHR and the CJEU.

The Migration Law Clinic is looking for talented students who are interested to participate in the Clinic starting from February 2023. The Clinic is open to master students in law or criminology and exchange students of the Vrije Universiteit and other universities in the Netherlands. Students of the LLM International Migration and Refugee Law have preference over other students.

Students are selected on the basis of the following criteria:

• Motivation to participate in the Clinic;
• Interest in or affinity with migration law and/or European law/human rights, which should be demonstrated by elective courses or ancillary activities. Knowledge of migration law is an advantage, but not necessary;
• Good study results demonstrated by a list of grades;
• Good writing and research skills which should be demonstrated by papers/assignments/thesis; and
• Good English reading and writing skills demonstrated by papers/assignments/thesis written in English and/or the application letter.
• Whether the Clinic fits into the curriculum;
• Availability on Tuesday afternoons and during at least one semester.

To apply, students need to send a letter stating their motivation, CV, list of grades and a written paper, assignment or article in English to the course coordinator, Janna Wessels (migrationlawclinic@vu.nl) by 25 January 2023. If you do not have a written paper, assignment or article in English, you can write a comment to a judgment of the ECtHR or CJEU about migration law of your choice (max 1-2 pages).

EU Citizen Rights Corner

As of February 2023, the VU Migration Law Clinic is expanding. This year we start with a pilot project specifically focused on giving case-by-case legal advice to organisations working with EU citizens. We call this the EU Citizen Rights Corner.

The EU Citizen Rights Corner will provide advice and advocacy support to organisations who are working with EU citizens and their (former) family members on such questions as access to social benefits and public services. In other words, we will not provide advice directly to clients. Instead, we provide so-called ‘second-tier’ advice to organisations as diverse as charitable organisations, legal advocacy groups, homelessness organisations, social councillors (sociaal raadslieden) or national/local members of parliament, who are faced with legal question concerning the rights of their clients under EU law.

The EU Citizen Rights Corner is open to master students in law or criminology and exchange students of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and other universities in the Netherlands. For the EU Citizen Rights Corner, master students of the VU specialisation European and International Law will have preference over other students. We aim to select five students.

Students are selected on the basis of the following criteria:

• Motivation to participate in the Clinic;
• Interest in or affinity with European Union Law and/or migration and/or human rights law and/or Dutch administrative law, which should be demonstrated by elective courses or ancillary activities.
• Good study results demonstrated by a list of grades;
• Good writing and research skills which should be demonstrated by papers/assignments/thesis; and
• Good English reading and writing skills demonstrated by papers/assignments/thesis written in English and/or the application letter.
• Dutch reading and writing skills are an asset. The final team should consist of at least two Dutch speakers to translate the cases and advice back and forth to the organisations (who work in Dutch).
• Whether the Clinic fits into the student’s curriculum;
• Availability on Tuesday afternoons during at least one semester.

To apply, students need to send a brief letter stating their motivation, CV, list of grades and a written paper, assignment or article in English to the coordinator of the EU Citizen Rights Corner, Dion Kramer (dion.kramer@vu.nl), before 25 January 2023.

You can find more information on the EU Citizen Rights Corner on the website of the Migration Law Clinic: https://migrationlawclinic.org/eu-citizen-rights-corner/.