The pilot legal clinics program for students from two Montenegrin universities saw its completion on 25 July 2018, with the simulation of a trial on Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention).

The legal clinic, that included 6 thematic modules, provided students with hands-on legal experience on Article 3 of the Convention, on prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, and its practical application along the lines of the developed case-law by the Strasbourg court. The case studies provided a beneficial learning environment and enabled students to develop and hone essential lawyering skills, including oral advocacy, fact-finding and research.

The simulation of trial was based on the real case law of the Court in Strasbourg, during which the students have shown ability to transpose university-based education into working in a more practical environment. They have shown strong command of human rights standards, litigation language and strategic thinking.

The students who obtained the best results are offered the opportunity to visit human rights institutions in Strasbourg in autumn.

The activity was organised in close cooperation with the European Law Students Association – Montenegro branch, as well as with the Universities “Donja Gorica” and “Mediteran”, within the framework of the Council of Europe Action entitled “Fighting ill- treatment and impunity and enhancing the application of the European human rights case law on the national level” which is being implemented in Montenegro under the joint Council of Europe and the European Union programme “Horizontal Facility for Western Balkans and Turkey”.