English
- Human Rights and Refugee Law Legal Clinic
The “Human Rights and Refugee Law” Legal Clinic has been active within the Law Department at Roma Tre University since the 2017-18 academic year, under the supervision of Prof. Mirko Sossai and Dr. Alice Riccardi.
The Clinic’s first project involves the creation and publication of reports which gather Country of Origin Information (COI Reports). COI Reports are freely available at this webpage. This project was entrusted to the Clinic by the Tribunal of Rome in order to help judges make informed decisions on international protection cases. The online publication of the COI Reports facilitates access to a wider audience, including judges, lawyers, researchers, public bodies, NGOs and even migrants seeking international protection. The Reports include an executive summary both in English and French to help non-Italian speakers to navigate their content.
The Clinic, which is autonomous and independent from the Tribunal of Rome, uses the following methodology to prepare the COI Reports:
First, the research is carried out (i) with the use of a pre-established table of contents, which identifies the general research questions and the sub-research questions. As a result, when (ii) information about a given topic is not found, this will be specified in the Report.
Second, regarding the selection of sources, (iii) only public sources will be used. Furthermore, (iv) sources are preferred when they have a well-known reputation and are renowned for their neutrality, reliability, independence, objectivity and seriousness with regard to their methodology of collecting information. Insofar as it is possible, (v) the sources used are differentiated (international organizations, inter-governmental organizations, governmental sources, non-governmental sources, media and academia) according to a non-hierarchical criterion of choice.
Third, the information used will (vi) be the most recent information found on a given topic; (vii) will always refer back to its source, through footnotes and hyperlinks included in the report; (viii) will preferably be factual; and (ix) is always corroborated, except for cases of well-known facts.
Fourth, the information is presented: (x) according to a thematic criterion; (xi) in an objective fashion, and, as far as it is possible, avoiding the use of technical-legal terminology; (xii) in a manner conforming to the original source and (xiii) concisely.
Fifth, (xiv) each report is subject to a peer-review procedure run within the Clinic. Furthermore, (xv) technical terms and acronyms are always explained in a glossary at the beginning of the Report. If (xvi) further reading is deemed appropriate, it will be available in the footnotes when it is immediately relevant; otherwise, it will be contained in the bibliography. When considered useful (xvii), the text will be accompanied by maps and graphs.
The students participating in the Clinic in the 2017-18 academic year are: Anne-Lea Berger, Clara Delarue, Francesca De Rosa, Arianna Di Maulo, Maria Cristina Di Mauro, Claudia Langianese, Adriana Macchia and Camilla Peraldo Neja.
- Observatory of the case law
A list of relevant case law litigated before Italian courts which addresses issues related to international protection can be found here. The list has been created and is continuously updated by the students of the Legal Clinic on Rights, Immigration and Citizenship within the Law Department at Roma Tre University.
French coming soon!