25/01/2021
ENEMLOS trainings held in December 2020
The ENEMLOS project (Legal Clinics in the Service of Vulnerable Groups: Increasing the Employability of Law Students through Practical Education), in addition to its main goal and activities related to the introduction of practical teaching in the higher education system, provides training for academic and non-academic partners from Montenegro and Kosovo who are starting to get acquainted with the concept and manner of work and functioning of legal clinics. The trainings were to be realized in the form of study visits of representatives of partner institutions from Montenegro and Kosovo to international partners who already have extensive experience and successfully deal with clinical and legal education that handles real clients, i.e. the Faculty of Law of the University of Zagreb, Regent University of London and the University Center for Legal Clinics in Warsaw.
However, due to the Corona virus pandemic during 2020 it was not possible to implement training activities in the planned manner, i.e. through study visits. However, in order to alleviate the delay in the implementation of the project caused by force majeure in December 2020 two trainings were successfully organized via the Zoom web application. The trainings were performed by professors and students of the Faculty of Law in Zagreb, led by prof. Dr. Alan Uzelac. The trainings presented models of clinical education in the world, but primarily focused on clinical practice and the experience of the Law Clinic of the Faculty of Law in Zagreb. The advantage of such trainings was the inclusion of a much larger number of participants than the one that could be included through study visits.
The first training was organized from 7th to 9th December 2020 for representatives of partner institutions from Montenegro. The training was hosted by the Faculty of Law of the University of Montenegro, which is also the initiator and the coordinator of the entire project. All participants of the training were greeted by the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Prof. dr. Aneta Spaić and the Project coordinator Prof. dr. Biljana Đuričin. The training was attended by 60 participants approximately, including representatives of the faculty, the Montenegrin judiciary and prosecutor's office, the Bar and Notary Chamber, the Chamber of Public Executors, the Mediation Center, as well as students.
The second training was held from 14th to 16th December 2020 for Kosovo. The invitation to the participants was sent by Haxhi Zeka University (UHZ), and the training was jointly moderated by the staff of the University of Zagreb and UHZ. The invitation for the training was sent to the academic staff and students of UHZ, the University of Prishtina and Kadri Zeka University of Gjilan, as well as the staff of the Kosovo Bar Association, the Kosovo Law Institute (NGO) and the Kosovo Free Legal Aid Agency. In total, some 60 participants attended.
At both trainings, the number of participants varied, because they were organized according to the concept that made possible inclusion of registered participants at their will. The training was interactive, with presenters and participants sharing information on the state of the regulatory framework for establishing legal clinics, providing free legal aid and related issues. The legal and financial challenges related to the establishment and operation of legal clinics were presented to the participants from Montenegro and Kosovo together with the fact that the sustainability of a clinic largely depends on the voluntary efforts of the actors involved. Also, the need to adapt the model of clinical work to local conditions was noticed.
Regarding the training held for Montenegrin partners, the Bar Chamber of Montenegro (BCM) at the end of December 2020. published an "Abstract" in the form of an electronic edition, prepared by Dr. Nina Radulović, an attorney at law and the Project manager for the BCM. The abstract summarizes the main elements of the presentations and discussions from the training in a permanent, written form.
