Cross-Clinical Collaboration: HIRC visits Charles Darwin University in Australia

Sabi Ardalan (left) and Jeswynn Yogaratnam from Charles Darwin University

This past August, HIRC’s Sabi Ardalan traveled to Australia to help Charles Darwin University (CDU) in Australia’s Northern Territory set up their own clinical program.  Jeswynn Yogaratnam, a law lecturer at CDU, initiated the plan for an immigration and refugee law clinic in hopes of training a new generation of humanitarian lawyers while addressing increasing demand for legal services as rising numbers of asylum seekers in the territory face detention and deportation.

Sabi met Jeswynn last November when he came to Boston to meet with clinic staff and students at Harvard and GBLS to learn about the clinic.

During her trip this August, Sabi led a two-day workshop at the Charles Darwin University School of Law with law faculty and community partners to discuss the evolving role of clinical legal education in the US and Australia and set the groundwork for a clinical program at CDU.  During her time there, Sabi also spoke at the Northern Territory’s Law Society about the current challenges of the US asylum system as record numbers of people arrive at the US Border and adjudicators place increasing emphasis on credibility and corroborating evidence.

CDU hopes to officially launch their immigration and refugee clinical program at the beginning of next year.

For more information on HIRC’s collaboration with Charles Darwin University visit ABC News.