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Hub for Crossdisciplinary Learning
Hub for Crossdisciplinary Learning

Photo: UHH/von Wieding

Hub for Crossdisciplinary Learning

Refugee Protection in the United States

The research project is part of an exchange between the students of the Refugee Law Clinic (RLC) Hamburg and the student-initiative Columbia Society of International Law (CSIL), in cooperation with the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic at the Columbia Law School in New York. Groups of students work voluntarily one week each in a research project of the partner city, which is established by a local NGO and from which it will profit. The framework of each program research project includes discussions with local actors, presentations and excursions. The cooperation has been established in 2018. Eric Ives, a former student der Columbia Law School initiated the first run, in order to expand the Columbia Spring Break Pro Bono Caravan Program. Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic the exchange had to be cancelled in 2020. This year (2021) it has been executed digitally or on the Hamburg side hybrid. During the run in 2021 the University of Münster joined the exchange as a further cooperation partner.

Exchange on asylum law in Germany and the USA

The first part of this year’s exchange took place in March 2021. Six students of the Columbia Law School worked in a research project on Push-backs at the EU external borders for the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights. Apart from that, they participated in different virtual events and got to know the German asylum procedures and law as well as the legal advice of the RLC Hamburg. The second part of the exchange took place in October 2021. Two groups of law students from Hamburg and Münster worked on research projects for the New York NGO Human Rights First. The projects consisted of the writing of Country of Origin Reports, which are of an important practical relevance in asylum procedures, as well as the compiling of a reports on developments in Immigration Detention under the Biden-Administration. A framework program of different and lectures has been organized, which served the support of the theoretical as well as practical understanding of the legal situation of refugees in the USA.

Developing leadership competence, getting to know Case Law, improve language competence

The exchange is organized and executed by students on both sides. Two students of the CSIL are responsible for the organization in NYC every year. Complementary to this support of student leadership competence, Jara Al-Ali is in charge of the organization in Hamburg since 2019, Marlene Stiller is in charge in Münster. Professional support has been ensured by the mentors Judith Papenfuß (UHH) and Prof. Dr. Nora Markard (Münster). The project offers an insight into the so called „case law“-system and the special features of the legal training at American universities to German law students. Furthermore, comparing legal work helps to question and understand the own legal system, which has been perceived as obvious. Seeing how the law works elsewhere often enables a much clearer view on eventualities, possibilities and boundaries of the own system.

By working in research projects supporting NGOs in the field of refugee work new legal contents will be opened up independently by cooperative, explorative learning and supplement the transfer activities of the RLC Hamburg at the same time. The whole program is held in English statt and thus supports the technical language competences, too.

Student research group

  • Jara Al-Ali
  • Lea Bittner
  • Louisa Hadadi
  • Francesca Mazzali
  • Alena Rathke
  • Claire-Marie Richter

Mentors

  • Judith Papenfuß
  • Prof. Dr. Nora Markard