Legal Education for Rights of the Child

1. Legal institutions for the rights of the child

The main mandate of the legal institutions for the rights of the child is to promote the rights of the child through knowledge dissemination as children need special attention and protection to ensure their rights. Advocating for the rights of the children should be evidence-based and inclusion of awareness-raising. Following legal institution for the rights of the child plays a think-tank role in their respective country, regional and international commitment toward the protection of the rights of the child.

  • Department of Child Law, Leiden University is a knowledge centre dedicated to academic research and education for both students and professionals in the field of child law and children’s rights. The Department of Child Law accommodates the Leiden Children’s Rights Observatory, which is an open access online database on international children’s rights jurisprudence, focusing on the decisions of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communication Procedure. Furthermore, the Department of Child Law conducts scientific research projects for governments, international organisations, including UNICEF, the Council of Europe and different institutions, including the Dutch children’s ombudsperson. Please refer  https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/law/institute-of-private-law/child-law for more information! 
  • Center for Child Law of Law Faculty at the University of Pretoria was established in October 1998 and contributes towards establishing and promoting the best interests of children in our community through education, research, advocacy and litigation. The Centre’s mission is to work towards the development of child law and the realization of children’s rights in South Africa, within a regional and international context.  For more information, please refer https://centreforchildlaw.co.za/about/

2. Legal programs and trainings for the rights of the child

If you are a novice to child law and the rights of the child and willing to learn about the rights of the children, following online courses will help you to meet your needs of learning. The great advantage of the online course is complete to course your own pace and time.   

  • Online courses

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  • Classroom and face to face training programs

Class-based courses give you learning and travelling opportunity plus interaction with other participants and learn from their experience of various countries and issues. Here are the classroom based training courses on the rights of the children which organized on an annual basis.

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3. Legal Clinics for children

Many law schools have legal clinics to provide their students with the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in real cases through researching, drafting legal arguments and meeting with clients. Those clinics are mostly managed by law school professors and offer pro-bono services to clients in need. In recent years, law schools are opening specialized legal clinics in coordination with schools of respective disciplines to motivate their students to specialized in respective areas including child rights and human rights.  Following universities are running legal clinics for the rights of the child.

  • Child Law Clinic by University College Cork, Ireland

https://www.ucc.ie/en/childlawclinic/

According to the American Bar Association, in the total following, 64 universities have child dedicated law clinics. 

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/committees/childrens-rights/directory/legal-clinics/

  1. Child and Family Law Clinic
    University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, Arizona
  2. Civil Clinic
    University of Arkansas School of Law, Arkansas
  3. Center for Children’s Rights
    Whittier Law School, California
  4. Center for Juvenile Law and Policy
    Loyola Law School, California
  5. Children’s Advocacy Institute
    University of San Diego School of Law, California
  6. Children’s Legal Issues Clinic
    University of Southern California Law School, California
  7. Disability Rights Legal Center
    Loyola Law School, California
  8. Juvenile Law Clinic
    University of Colorado School of Law, Colorado
  9. Advocacy for Children and Youth Clinic
    Yale Law School, Connecticut
  10. Center for Children’s Advocacy, Inc.
    University of Connecticut School of Law, Connecticut
  11. Criminal Justice Clinic
    American University, Washington College of Law, Washington, Dc
  12. Juvenile and Special Education Law Clinic
    University of the District of Columbia, Washington, Dc
  13. Juvenile Justice Clinic
    Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, Dc
  14. Children and Families Clinic
    Barry University, Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law, Florida
  15. Children and Families Clinic
    Shepard Broad Law Center, Nova Southeastern University, Florida
  16. Children and Youth Law Clinic
    University of Miami School of Law, Florida
  17. Children’s Advocacy Center
    Florida State University College of Law, Florida
  18. Center on Children and Families
    University of Florida, Levin College of Law, Florida
  19. Juvenile Justice Center
    Barry University, Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law, Florida
  20. Children & Family Justice Center
    Northwestern University, School of Law, Illinois
  21. Edwin F. Mandel Legal Aid Clinic
    University of Chicago Law School, Illinois
  22. Loyola Civitas Childlaw Clinic
    Loyola University of Chicago, Illinois
  23. Valparaiso University School of Law Clinic, Indiana
  24. Viola J. Taliaferro Family and Children Mediation Clinic
    Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Indiana
  25. Middleton Center for Children’s Rights
    Drake Law School, Iowa
  26. Children and Family Law Center
    Washburn University School of Law, Kansas
  27. Juvenile Litigation Clinic
    Tulane University Law School, Louisiana
  28. Juvenile Justice Program, Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic
    University of Maine School of Law, Maine
  29. Child Advocacy Clinic
    University of Baltimore School of Law, Maryland
  30. Child Advocacy Program
    Harvard University Law School, Massachusetts
  31. Juvenile Justice Center and Child Advocacy Clinic
    Suffolk University Law School, Massachusetts
  32. Juvenile Rights Advocacy Project
    Boston College Law School, Massachusetts
  33. Child Advocacy Law Clinic, Juvenile Justice Clinic, Pediatric Advocacy Clinic
    University of Michigan Law School, Michigan
  34. Child Advocacy Clinic
    Hamlin University School of Law, Minnesota
  35. Children’s Law Clinics
    University of Minnesota Law School, Minnesota
  36. Family & Children’s Law Center
    Mississippi College of Law, Mississippi
  37. Child Advocacy Clinic
    University of Mississippi School of Law, Mississippi
  38. Children’s Rights Clinic
    Washington University School of Law, Missouri
  39. Civil Clinical Law Program
    University of Nebraska College of Law, Nebraska
  40. Thomas and Mack Legal Clinic
    University of Nevada, William S. Boyd School of Law, Nevada
  41. Children’s Law Clinics
    Rutgers School of Law-Camden, New Jersey
  42. Children’s Law Clinics
    Rutgers School of Law-Newark, New Jersey
  43. Juvenile Justice Clinic
    Seton Hall University School of Law, New Jersey
  44. Center for Children, Families and The Law
    Hofstra University School of Law, New York
  45. Child Advocacy Clinic
    Columbia Law School, New York
  46. Child Advocacy Clinic
    John’s University School of Law, New York        
  47. Children’s Law Clinics
    New York University School of Law, New York
  48. Children’s Rights Clinic
    Syracuse University College of Law, New York
  49. Children’s Law Clinic
    Duke University Law School, North Carolina
  50. Family and Youth Law Center
    Capital University Law School, Ohio
  51. Justice for Children Project
    Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, Ohio
  52. Child & Family Advocacy Clinic
    Willamette University, Oregon
  53. Children’s Advocacy Clinic
    Penn State University, Dickinson School of Law, Pennsylvania
  54. Interdisciplinary Child Advocacy Clinic
    University of Pennsylvania Law School, Pennsylvania
  55. Education Law Practicum & Youth Justice
    University of Tennessee College of Law, Tennessee
  56. Child and Family Litigation Clinic
    University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, Tennessee
  57. Children’s Law Clinics
    University of Texas At Austin School of Law, Texas
  58. W. Caruth, Jr. Child Advocacy Clinic
    Smu Dedman School of Law, Texas
  59. Child Advocacy Clinic
    University of Virginia School of Law, Virginia
  60. Children’s Law Clinics
    University of Richmond, Virginia          
  61. Children & Youth Advocacy Clinic
    University of Washington School of Law, Washington
  62. The Child & Family Advocacy Clinic
    West Virginia University College of Law, West Virginia
  63. University of Wyoming Legal Services Program, Wyoming
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