Human Rights Law Clinic
The Human Rights Implementation Centre (HRIC) offers through its Human Rights Law Clinic the unique opportunity for students to work with international, regional and national organisations engaged in the promotion and protection of human rights law. Being involved with the clinic is of tremendous benefit to both students and partners.
About us
Founded in 2009, the Human Rights Law Clinic integrates students into the HRIC's work and helps them acquire knowledge and experience in international human rights law and practice. Each year the HRIC appoints around seventy members to the clinic. Being appointed as a member of the clinic is a fantastic opportunity to work with the Centre.
Our partners
Members of the clinic are allocated to teams, overseen by a student team leader. The teams work with partners, organisations at the national and international levels.
Our research
The Human Rights Law Clinic enables students to provide pro-bono legal research assistance to organisations working on human rights legal issues.
Each team works on a project, all of which are international in scope, yet also have an impact at the regional and local levels.
By the end of their time on the clinic the students will have produced a series of high-quality reports, each of which will provide partners with crucial, up-to-date research that will feed directly into ongoing litigation and policy drafting, as well as informing future projects. It is the role of the team leader (a student) to liaise directly with the partner organisations throughout the research and to ensure that all the final outputs are of the highest quality.
Applications for the Human Rights Law Clinic 2025/6
Applications for the Human Rights Law Clinic are now open. Please find the full advert Human Rights Law Clinic Application 25/26 (Office document, 127kB). Students who wish to apply for the Clinic must submit to law-exec@bristol.ac.uk the following, as one document, by 5pm on 15th November 2025:
• A CV
• A two-sided personal statement outlining your motivations for volunteering for the Law clinic, your experience of researching or working in human rights and a short discussion of a human rights case / situation and why it interests you.
Please note that membership of the Human Rights Law Clinic is only open to students registered in the University of Bristol Law School for an Undergraduate (Year 2+) or Postgraduate degree. Students must have undertaken or be currently undertaking one of the following modules in Human Rights or international law:
- LLM:
LAWDM0021 Individual Employment Rights
LAWDM0026 General Principles of International Law
LAWDM0089 Human Rights in Law, Politics and Society
LAWDM0112 Migration Law and Policy
LAWDM0123 International Law and Human Rights
LAWDM0149 Workers, Unions and Collective Labour Rights
LAWDM0158 International Law and Armed Conflict
- LLB:
- Human Rights in Law, Politics and Society
- General Principles of International Law
- British immigration, nationality and citizenship law
Eligible modules for students on the MA programme are the same as those for undergraduates (LLB).
If students on any of the above programmes have human rights or international law experience from previous degrees or work, they are encouraged to apply and should outline this in their application, even if they are not taking one of the required units. Applications will be considered from students with previous equivalent experience in human rights outside of the University. Each application will be considered holistically on its merits. Please provide details of your experience in your application. Students must have a very good standard of written legal English.
Applications will be considered, and successful candidates informed by 5 December 2025, so that the Clinic can start taking its first projects in January 2026.