Providing Legal Skills Instruction to African Human Rights Lawyers
In collaboration with DLA Piper’s South African affiliate firm, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, New Perimeter provided training on general lawyering skills to legal staff at the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), South Africa’s national human rights institution. Developed by a New Perimeter team specifically for the SAHRC, the course covered topics including interviewing skills, information gathering, legal drafting, factual and legal analysis, alternative dispute resolution, and procedure and practice in South African courts. The training took place in Johannesburg, South Africa on September 27-29, 2011.
The training team included lawyers drawn from DLA Piper’s US, UK, Australia, and South Africa (Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr) offices, as well as an independent advocate with experience litigating in South Africa’s Equality Court. The training was aimed at refining general lawyering skills through interactive sessions and participation in legal drafting exercises and a mock mediation session. The team used teaching hypotheticals involving fact patterns of alleged human rights violations, including xenophobia and discriminatory practices toward albinos, two topics of importance in South Africa. Approximately 30 SAHRC staff members participated in the teaching program, all of whom work for the SAHRC’s Legal Services Programme and most of whom are admitted attorneys or advocates.
The SAHRC was established in 1995 as mandated by the South African Constitution. Its constitutional mandate is to: (a) promote respect for human rights and a culture of human rights; (b) promote the protection, development, and attainment of human rights; and (c) monitor and assess the observance of human rights in South Africa. The Legal Services Programme (LSP) is a division of the SAHRC staffed by lawyers who investigate human rights abuses and secure appropriate redress for human rights violations. New Perimeter is currently working with the SAHRC to develop follow-up training.
