The Transnational Justice Clinic is recruiting one Fellow to join its team from early May 2026 through April 30, 2027. The Fellow will be involved in legal research and drafting, both independently and as part of a team, to support the Clinic's research activities in general, but with particular focus on a project with the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent.
The Clinic was founded in 2023 as part of the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism and provides legal research and writing support to partner organizations. Our work to date has included researching and drafting amici curiae briefs, preparing policy submissions for domestic and international government bodies, and conducting case law research and analysis for legal organizations and tribunals. You can see samples of the clinic's work here.
The selected student will receive a Fellowship with a $2,000 honorarium. We anticipate the work will average 5-10 hours per week, with some more intense periods closer to deadlines and some quieter periods. Following the Clinic鈥檚 past work, the selected student is expected to work on projects involving Canadian, foreign, and international law.
If you are interested in participating, please and upload all required documents by April 29, 2026.
For any information, don鈥檛 hesitate to reach out to the Co-Directors, yuri.romana-rivas [at] mail.mcgill.ca (Yuri Roma帽a-Rivas) and myrto.leivadarou [at] mail.mcgill.ca (Myrto Leivadarou).听听
The Transnational Justice Clinic is a hub for legal research, analysis and drafting affiliated with the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism. Since launching in 2023 thanks to a generous donation from alumni Richard Adams and Ken Burke, the Clinic strives to contribute to transnational justice, broadly understood. The Clinic undertakes legal and policy work such as amicus briefs and interventions to international and domestic courts and tribunals, policy submissions for domestic and international governance bodies, and a range of research support for domestic and international NGOs, governments, and UN organizations.听
Building on the Centre's expertise, the Clinic works with both existing partner organizations and new partners. We welcome hearing from organizations interested in discussing potential projects.听Please contact one of the Clinic Co-Directors听yuri.romana-rivas [at] mail.mcgill.ca (Yuri Roma帽a-Rivas)听or听myrto.leivadarou [at] mail.mcgill.ca (Myrto听)myrto.leivadarou [at] mail.mcgill.ca (Leivadarou).
In the 2024-2025 academic year, the Clinic is undertaking the following work:
- Support for the UN Special Rapporteur on truth, justice and reparation.
- Research on illegal mining with the Environmental Law Clinic at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.听
Illegal Mining: A Canadian Perspective (English and Spanish). - Research and analysis for the Law Commission of Canada.
- Preparations for the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
In the academic year 2023-2024, the Clinic completed the following work:听
- Submitted a response to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights' call for input related to Investors, ESG and Human Rights. OHCHR Call for Input - Transnational Justice Clinic Submission.
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Drafted听a joint amicus curiae brief听related to a youth climate justice case filed in Peru, with the Environmental Law Clinic at Pontificia Universidad Cat贸lica del Per煤.听We are also co-authoring an academic paper about the role of transnational collaboration among legal clinics in the climate litigation movement.听Amicus Curiae听(Spanish).听听The Peruvian Constitutional Court cited the amicus curiae (see para 3.22). Although dismissing the case, the Constitutional Court took the extraordinary measure of ordering government departments to take steps to reduce deforestation of the Peruvian Amazon.
sentencia_caso_alvarez_et_al_v._peru.pdf -
Based on this collaboration, the clinics jointly drafted an article
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Researched a potential听Charter听challenge related to indigenous women and girls' access to housing.
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Analyzed case law from bodies in the African Human Rights System to assess national-level implementation.
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Prepared a memorandum analyzing issues in international criminal law for the Special Jurisdiction for Peace in Colombia (Jurisdicci贸n Especial para la Paz, JEP).
