Law Clinic
Acquiring knowledge in the field of law and creating decent conditions for raising the level of legal culture of the population, active and conscious participation of citizens in the implementation of legal reform is today the primary task of the state and society on the way to building civil society and the rule of law in Ukraine.
Creating the necessary conditions for broad sections of the population to acquire legal knowledge and skills in their application, ensuring citizens' access to sources of legal information, protecting their inalienable rights and freedoms, at the National Aerospace University "Kharkiv Aviation University" (hereinafter - the University) created a Low Clinic, which functions as a structural unit of the Department of Law (702) of the Humanities and Legal Faculty of the University in the form of an educational and practical legal aid laboratory.
In its activities, the Low clinic is guided by the provisions of the laws of Ukraine "On free legal aid" dated June 2, 2011 No. 3460-VI; "On appeals of citizens" dated 02.10.1996 No. 393/96-VR; "About information" dated 02.10.1992 No. 2657-XII; "On Advocacy and Advocacy" dated 07.05.2012 No. 5076-VI; The order of the Ministry of Education and Culture of Ukraine "On the approval of the Standard Regulation on the legal clinic of a higher educational institution of Ukraine" dated August 3, 2006, No. 592; the Code of Ethics of the Legal Clinic in Ukraine, adopted at the Congress of the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine on August 25, 2005; Standards of activity of legal clinics of Ukraine, adopted at the Congress of the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine on June 19, 2014; The charter of the National Aerospace University "Kharkiv Aviation University"; The Regulation on the Legal Clinic, approved by the rector of the University and other current regulatory and legal documents.
The activity of the Low clinic is based on the following principles:
1) legality – in their activities, the participants of the legal clinic must act in full accordance with the current legislation;
2) humanism – the activity of legal clinic participants should be based on the principles of respect, benevolence, understanding of the client's problems and mutual understanding;
3) independence – when carrying out a client's assignment, consultants and other employees of the legal clinic must be guided only by the law, the instructions of the manager and curators of the legal clinic, as well as their own idea of the optimal solution to the case;
4) confidentiality - information received by the consultant from the client, as well as about the client (in particular, regarding his person) or other persons in the process of providing consultations, can be used only for educational purposes;
5) the priority of the client's interests - in their activities, the participants of the legal clinic must proceed from the priority of the client's interests over their own interests and the interests of other persons;
6) fully informing the client about the rules of operation of the legal clinic - participants of the legal clinic, upon accepting a mandate from the client, must fully inform the client about the rules of operation of the legal clinic in a form that is accessible to the client, the client must have the opportunity to familiarize himself with such rules;
7) competence and professionalism - the consultant and other employees of the legal clinic are obliged to provide legal assistance competently and in good faith, with knowledge of the relevant legal norms, taking into account all the circumstances related to the execution of the client's order and the possible consequences of such execution.
8) inadmissibility of representation of clients with conflicting interests - the clinic is not allowed to conduct cases of clients whose interests are mutually conflicting, or with a high degree of probability may become so, as well as cases in which the client's opponent is a higher educational institution or faculty at which the clinic operates, or a public organization – the founder of a legal clinic;
9) gratuitous – participants of the legal clinic are not entitled to receive material benefits for providing legal assistance;
10) honesty and decency - the consultant and other employees of the legal clinic must be honest and decent in their activities and private life. It is not allowed to use the circumstances of the case and (or) information received from the client in connection with the execution of the assignment in one's own interests or in the interests of other persons, except the client.
The purpose of the creation of the Low Clinic is to train highly qualified specialists with a higher education degree "bachelor" and educational qualification "bachelor of law", whose competences meet the modern requirements of employers and the perspective of work on the labor market, who are able to solve complex specialized tasks and practical problems in the field of professional legal activity or in the process training that involves the application of certain legal theories and methods of legal activity and is characterized by the complexity and uncertainty of conditions. Participating in the work of the Low Clinic is one of the effective ways to develop the skills necessary for further employment with the regulatory framework, the ability to apply the legislation of Ukraine in real cases, to communicate with people who need legal assistance.
Consultants of the Low Clinic can be students of senior years of the University who have expressed a desire to work in the clinic and have passed a competitive selection process. Legal assistance by students-consultants is provided under the guidance of teachers-curators.
The Low clinic, within its competence, provides citizens with the following services:
- counseling of low-income groups of the population (children under the age of 18, pensioners, low-income, unemployed, veterans, disabled, persons who do not have the financial ability to receive paid legal services, etc.);
- conducting affairs on behalf of citizens;
- legal assistance to University students;
- conducting legal education work among the general population;
- drafting of legal documents;
- delivering lectures, organizing round tables, presentations on legal topics, etc.
The Low clinic consults the population on issues of family, inheritance, labor, housing, civil law, as well as on issues of protection of children's rights and social security.
Financing of the Low Clinic is carried out at the expense of the University, grants from international and Ukrainian organizations, charitable contributions of citizens and organizations, and other sources not prohibited by the current legislation of Ukraine.
The Low Clinic establishes stable external relations with the following organizations and state bodies:
- Regional center for providing free secondary legal aid in the Kharkiv region, participation of consultants in court hearings of criminal proceedings as listeners;
- The first Kharkiv local center for providing free secondary legal assistance. Memorandum on joint activities regarding the provision of free legal aid;
- The main territorial administration of justice in the Kharkiv region: participation in seminars and other events on the basis of administration;
- Bar Council of the Kharkiv region. Cooperation agreement;
- Kharkiv Regional State Administration: participation in the work of the interdepartmental coordination and methodical council on legal education of the population at the Regional State Administration;
- League of students of the Association of Lawyers of Ukraine: participation of consultants in master classes and trainings.
The head of the Low clinic of the University is Olena Savchuk, candidate of legal sciences, associate professor of the law department of the humanitarian and legal faculty of the National Aerospace University "Kharkiv Aviation University".
The Low Clinic of the National Aerospace University "Kharkiv Aviation University" is included in the register of legal clinics of Ukraine and is an active participant in any events within Ukraine.
Areas of work
of the Low Clinic for the 2022-2023 academic year,
taking into account the introduction of martial law in Ukraine
and the use of remote platforms in its work
Ensuring the acquisition of practical skills by law students of the University with the help of:
1) conducting a competition for legal students, with the involvement of practicing lawyers;
2) career guidance of schoolchildren (graduates) regarding legal issues, clarification of their rights and obligations;
3) counseling of teachers of a higher education institution, employees of the University, students of higher education on legal topics;
4) participation of consultants in judicial proceedings of criminal proceedings as listeners on the basis of Regional Centers for the provision of free secondary legal assistance;
5) participation in webinars-workshops of leading lawyers;
6) participation of consultants in master classes and trainings held by the League of Students of the Association of Lawyers of Ukraine;
7) active participation in events organized by the Association of Low Clinics of Ukraine.