From: Mariela Puga
To: <gaje@list.vanderbilt.edu>
Date: 9/29/04 1:11AM
Subject: First year of a Legal Clinic in the Northwest of Argentina
First year of the Public Interest Law Clinic of
Facultad de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales
de la Universidad Nacional de Tucumán
Argentina (FDCS - UNT)
In the City of San Miguel de Tucumán, cradle of the Independence of
Argentina, approximately one year ago began the first project of public
interest law clinical education of the Northwest area of Argentina. This is
also the first time that a National Public University includes a clinical
course on Public Interest as part of its graduate legal program which is in
charge of its own faculty. The following paragraphs contain a detail of the
evolution of the clinical project along the last year:
October, 2003 - Official Launching of the Public Interest Law Clinic .
As a part of a pilot project that began in September, 2003, in the orbit of
the Secretary of Institutional Management, the Public Interest Law Clinic
of the FDCS- UNT was officially launched. Twelve (12) students of the
Institute of Investigations "Benjamín Gorostiaga", seven (7) faculty
members, and (1) Directress hired to that effect, started a round of
meetings in order to establish the guidelines of working of the Project.
" September 13, 14, 15, 2003 - Presentation of the Public Interest Law
Clinic in the 4th National Congress of Sociology of Law, San Miguel of
Tucumán.
Fernando Ganami and Marcos Arias Amicone, professors of the Law Clinic,
presented the report "Law Teaching. Economic, social and institutional
Impact" authored by Mariela Puga, Directress of the Clinic. During the
debate , it was discussed with the specialists in Sociology of Law on the
traditional mechanisms of law teaching and the possibility that the Law
Clinics serves a s an alternative to the traditional methodology. Clinics
were also considered as an instrument for the development of the law as a
socially outstanding practice, and as institutional vehicles for the
aspirations of social commitment of the Public University.
" November, 2003 - The Clinic presents its project in the Latin American
Congress of Actions of Public Interest in the University of the Rosario,
Bogotá Colombia.
This way, the Law Clinic joins the Latin American Net of Public Interest
Actions, together with all the Latin American Clinics.
" December 10, 2003 -08:00 hs. a.m. - The first judicial demand of the Law
Clinic is filed.
The very same day that the first 10 years of democracy were completed in
Argentina, the Law Clinic FDCS- UNT filed a lawsuit before Judge Salvador
Ruiz requesting a mandatory injunction, invoking the right to life and
health of a three year-old baby with grade three of malnutrition who lives
in the department called Juan Bautista Alberdi, located at 102 kilometers
of San Miguel de Tucuman. This was the first time that a case of infantile
malnutrition was taken to the courts in the Argentina.
December 10, 2003 - 5 hs. p.m. - Judge granted a mandatory injunction
ordering the immediate internment and treatment of undernourished girl.
Only three hours after the motion of the Law Clinic was filed, the Judge
issued a writ to the Ministry of Health of Tucumán giving the
Administration a 3 hours term to inform about the situation of the girl's
health. And only seven hours after, Judge Ruiz granted a mandatory
injunction without precedents in the courts of Argentina ordering the
immediate internment and treatment of the undernourished girl.
Tucumán is one of the provinces more affected for the lash of infantile
malnutrition, and after the last national crisis of 2001, the indexes of
infantile malnutrition in Tucumán became sadly famous worldwide. The local
and national mass media echoed the transcendency of this judicial decision
during the whole next week. See, among others, the first notes of
newspapers Clarín and La Gaceta at:
http://old.clarin.com/diario/2003/12/12/s-04102.htm
http://www.lagaceta.com.ar/vernota.asp?id_nota=60509
" December 16, 2003 - The Governor of Tucumán apologizes to the Law Clinic.
Support from the Dean of FDCS, the Students Association and the Bar of
Lawyers.
Secretary of Human Rights of the province meets with the Law Clinic to
present Governor's excuses for his statements to the press the same day the
Clinic filed its motion in behalf of the undernourished girl. Governor's
comments on the case caused immediate reaction from the Dean of FDCS. In a
letter published in the local newspapers, he stood up for the activity of
the Law Clinic, and the same attitude displayed the Students Association of
FDCS , the Tucuman Bar Association, and many local scholars.
See: http://www.lagaceta.com.ar/vernota.asp?id_nota=60760
March 2, 2004 - The academic program of the Law Clinic is approved - the
first official Clinical academic program of Argentina - and the Law Clinic
is included in the official graduate legal program of FDCS according to
Resolution Nº 550 - 003 of the Honorable Directive Council of the FDCS of
the UNT.
March 17 2004 - Recovered, Rosario, the former undernourished baby, returns
back home.
Three months after from her entrance to the CERENU (Center of Nutritional
Rehabilitation) ordered by Judge Salvador Ruiz, the three year-old girl,
whose parents were counseled by the Law Clinic in order to file suit to the
Provincial State for her daughter serious level of malnutrition, returned
to her home in Alberdi, provincia de Tucumán. With a state of stable health
(first grade of malnutrition) the girl showed a remarkable recovery from
the critical situation she was at the moment the Law Clinic filed its
motion (third grade of malnutrition). The case is pending. The local press
covered this news thoroughly. See the note of LA GACETA at :
http://www.lagaceta.com.ar/vernota.asp?id_nota=69855
March 18, 2004 - Selection of new members for Clinic.
As a result of a selection process that involved several interviews with
a considerable number of applicants, the Law Clinic enrolled twelve new
students (six women and six males). This new group will be part of the
Clinic during the academic year 2004, together with to the first group of
students that joined the Clinic in September, 2003.
April, 2004 - Launching of the Legislative Lawyering Area of the Clinic.
Following in part the model of Georgetown Law School, and taking into
account local needs, six Clinical students and two Clinical teachers (Oscar
Flores and Laura Casas) started a new clinical area: legislative lawyering.
Legislative lawyering combines the knowledge of the political realities
with a complete understanding of the legal topics in order to develop
legislation according with the goals pursued by the Clinic of changing
public policies that violate human rights. At the same time, legislative
lawyering seeks to stop or modify legislation that is contrary to the
principles and objectives of respect for human rights pursued by the
Clinic.
May, 2004 - First videoconference between Tucumán Law Clinic and the Law
Clinic of the University of Medellín, Colombia.
In order to improve the institutional relations and work together, it took
place for the first time a teleconference beetwen students, professors, and
coordinators of both Clinics. During the communication - that lasted two
hours- the participants debated about cases, problems, impressions,
implementation obstacles and combined projects. The Dean of the Law School
of University of Medellín, Dr. Juan Carlos Vásquez Rivera, and the
Secretary of Institutional Management of the FDCS of Tucumán, Dr. Pablo
Buccianti, manifested their support to the initiative.
May of 2004 - First Workshop on PUBLIC INTEREST LAW for students of second
year of FDCS- UNT directed by Law Clinic professors.
The workshop was structured in three days, with sessions of three hours
each, with activities intended to the identification of cases of public
interest. It was presented, among other, the case "Rosario" as a leading
case for analysis. The coordination was in charge of Clinical professors
Fernando Ganami and Marcos Arias Amicone, and Clinical students Augusto
Moeykens and Florencia Sanna.
May 28, 2004 - Presentation of the Project of Investigation on
Environmental Public Interest of the Law Clinic of the University of
Medellín and the Law Clinic of Tucumán, before COLCIENCIAS (Colombian
Institute for the Development of the Science and the Technology).
In Bogotá, Colombia, was presented an investigation project on the
development of a method for the identification and selection of cases of
environmental public interest. The project is carried out together by the
Law Clinic of FDCS of the University of Tucumán, and the Clinic of
Environmental Law of the Law School of the University of Medellín.
June 1, 2004 - Arrives to Tucumán the First Clinical intern.
Sergio Roldán Gutiérrez, student of the Environmental Clinic of Public
Interest of the University of Medellín (Colombia), joins the Law Clinic of
FDCS - Tucumán to work for a two months period, as part of the projects of
clinical development in collaboration that these two Latin American Clinics
take ahead.
June 8, 2004 - Simposium: "Enviroment Week". Visit of Andrés Napoli of FARN
Foundation
Commemorating the "World Enviroment Day", the Area of Environmental Public
Interest of the Law Clinic of Tucumán, together with the Environment
Agency of the province of Tucumán, the Natural Resources and Enviroment
Foundation (FARN), and the Students Association of FDCS, organized a
Conference on "The right of Access to the Environmental Information". The
main lecturer was Dr. Andrés Nápoli, Director of the Civic Participation
Area of FARN. The coordination was in charge of Clinical professor
Florencia Sayago.
4 June of 2004 - SECOND CLINICAL CASE: Petition to the local Public
Administration, requesting the identification of indigent people.
The Clinic presented before the Provincial Civil Registration the demand
carried out by people of a neighborhood of high levels of poverty - Los
Vázquez -, to obtain that the official agency takes the necessary measures
for the inscription, upgrade and regularization of the situation of those
inhabitants before the Registration, guaranteeing the delivery of the
documents in their homes, free of charge. This action demands the right to
the personal identification, without which it is impossible the access to
health, education, justice, labor rights, credits, etc. Particularly, the
motion emphasizes the economic obstacles of the neighbors of Los Vázquez to
attend the offices of the Registration, to pay the photographies, fees,
etc., which, up to now, have shorten their right to the identification.
June 21, 2004 - Launching of the "Clinic of Environmental Public Interest"
Area.
Investigations for the development of an identification method and
selection of cases of Environmental Public Interest began, together with
the "Environmental Clinic of the University of Medellín". At the beginning,
this will be a sort of pilot project to develop the patterns of a practice
that conjugates: to) the Law Research, b) Interdisciplinary research, and,
c) Public Interest Clinics.
June of 2004 - Judicial Approval of the agreement reached between the Law
Clinic and the Province of Tucumán in the case of the undernourished girl.
The SIPROSA and the Secretary of Health of the Province of Tucumán
recognized the genuineness of the petition to protect the right to health
of undernourished girl and assumed the obligation to fulfill the provision
of medical care and nutritional needs, medications, vitamins and transfers
that Rosario requires until her complete recovery. This agreement puts a
successful end to the lawsuit that the Law Clinic filed representing the
girl's parents.
June of 2004 - The Law Clinic filed three simultaneous claims requesting
right to access to Information of the Government of Tucumán.
A student of the Clinic, in his own name and representing the Clinic,
requested before the Official Bulletin of the Province, the Agency of
Legislation and Ordinances and the SIPROSA, information on the content of
the so called "Vital Plan" launched by the Government of the Province in
February, 2004, in the context of a strong public discussion on the
provincial politics concerning malnutrition after the judicial
intervention.
Julio 7, 2004. Inner seminar in the FDCS on "The case Rosarito: the
judicialization of the infantile malnutrition in Tucumán".
In the seminar, the members of the Clinic presented brief conclusion papers
and discussed the public impact, the matters concerning the relation with
the clients and with the administrative and judicial institutions, the
comparison with similar cases that were not taken to the courts, the impact
of the case in the public politics of malnutrition, among other aspects of
this case.
The first case of the Clinic meant at the same time the first time that the
infantile malnutrition in the Argentina was taken to the courts. The
mandatory injunction that established the obligation of the State in front
of the infantile malnutrition constitutes a leading case for the
development of the public interest law in Argentina, and the success of the
agreement reached with the Government demonstrates that the strategy was
guessed right.
September 2 - 5, 2004 - Workshop on Interest Public Law and Law Clinics in
the National Congress of Students of Law.
Thousand of students from all over the country arrived to Tucumán to attend
the most important academic event of students in the year. With the
coordination of the faculty and students of the Law Clinic of Tucumán, the
Congress included a workshop intended to discuss the necessity of including
Law Clinics for Law Teaching and the new conceptions of Public Interest
Law. The clinical spirit begins to spread in the whole country.
Five new students' incorporation to Law Clinic.
The new selected students will worked in the Law Clinic from September 2004
to June, 2005.
September 4 - October 10, 2004 - The Law Clinic represents the FDCS in the
Exhibition of Schools of National University of the Tucumán.
Between September 4 and October 10, 2004, It will be carried out the
"Exhibition of Schools" in commemoration of the 90 anniversary of the
National University of the Tucumán. The axis of the exhibition is the
reflection of the academic units in the society. The Public Interest Law
Clinic was designated to represent the FDCS, as a recognition for its work
during the year and the repercussion obtained in the society.
Announcements
- At the end of October 2004 will be available the new web site of the Law
Clinic at http://www.derecho.unt.edu.ar/clinicajuridica/index.htm
- At the beginning of November 2004 will take place a meeting of Clinical
students of the National University of Tucumán and students from Córdoba
who are taking ahead a similar pilot project.
Contact us:
clinica.juridica@derecho.unt.edu.ar
mariela.puga@derecho.unt.edu.ar