A human rights lawyer is an attorney who specializes in issues related to human dignity, equality and civil rights. Human rights lawyers work to shape the law, challenge unjust behavior and ensure that every person has access to the basic rights of privacy, safety and health.
What Human Rights Lawyers Do?
A human rights lawyer, also known as a civil rights lawyer, defends the basic rights of individuals. Many lawyers who focus in this area deal with international concerns impacting people’s fundamental rights. For example, an international human rights lawyer may defend the rights of refugees, migrant workers, or racial and ethnic minorities.
Where can you study human rights law?
London School of Economics Centre for the Study of Human Rights. The Centre for the Study of Human Rights at the London School of Economics in London, UK, grants a Master of Science in Human Rights.
Are human rights law?
It lets you defend your rights in In South African courts and compels public organizations – including the Government, police and local councils – to treat everyone equally, with fairness, dignity and respect.
Below are steps to Become A Human right Lawyer In South Africa
To become a human rights lawyer, you first need to gain extensive legal education to ensure you have all the tools to help your clients. Explore the path to becoming a human rights lawyer by browsing these important steps:
Earn your undergraduate degree
To start your legal education, sign up for an undergraduate program where you can prepare for your law degree. While not all human rights lawyers study law when completing their bachelor’s, choosing a law-related major can help you meet the prerequisites to start law school.
Some schools have pre-law programs, but majors like international relations, political science and sociology can also be ideal for preparing for your graduate degree.
Sign up for humanitarian and legal internships
Positions as human rights lawyers are highly competitive, so it’s critical to volunteer, intern and gain as much relevant experience as possible. Apply for internships working with humanitarian groups and charities to learn more about the types of direct legal aid your future clients might need.
Study for the LSAT
Most law schools require candidates to take the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) to apply. The LSAT determines your preparedness to study law by testing your reading comprehension, logical thinking and writing skills. The LSAT is a challenging test, and many aspiring lawyers start studying years before they apply to law school.
Choose a law school with a strong human rights program
Next, you have to apply to law schools that can help you specialize in human rights. Prepare a list of law schools that interest you and research what kinds of courses they offer, looking for topics like refugee law and discrimination protections.
Look for schools that have designated human rights programs, degree concentrations or certificates. When meeting with school officials, ask about what kinds of hands-on legal opportunities the program provides.
Skills for human rights lawyers in South Africa
Human rights lawyers use a range of professional skills when advocating for their clients. Some of the top skills for human rights lawyers are:
Public speaking: Human rights lawyers should be excellent public speakers who can eloquently express complex ideas, argue for their clients in court and persuade and audience with their presentations.
Research: Preparing for legal cases requires human rights lawyers to have expert investigation and research skills. This allows them to find all of the details they need to argue their case.
Strategic thinking: Human rights lawyers need to be able to think strategically and plan ahead based on the effect of their actions. When working on a case, human rights lawyers use strategic thinking to plan for the best outcome.
Time management: Most human rights lawyers are extremely busy balancing multiple cases at once. They need to have time management skills to balance all priorities and give their full attention to each case.
Dedication: The legal process is tedious and time-consuming, so human rights lawyers need to have the dedication to follow-up on complex cases for months or even years.
How long does it take to become a human rights lawyer in South Africa?
An LLM and MPhil in Human Rights Law is a 1-year programmed of full-time study and enables students to study human rights law, its relevance and application, nationally, regionally and internationally.
How long does it take to train to be a human rights lawyer in South Africa ?
You could complete an undergraduate law degree, followed by a one year Legal Practice Course (LPC). After that you’ll need to be trained ‘on the job’ on a two-year training contract with a law firm. If you don’t choose law as your undergraduate degree it is still possible to train as a human rights lawyer.
Where can I study human rights law in South Africa?
LLM Programs in Human Rights – South Africa
University of South Africa (UNISA) – College of Law.
University of Pretoria.
University of Cape Town (UCT) – The School for Advanced Legal Studies.
University of Pretoria – Centre of Human Rights.
University of Western Cape.
How much do human rights lawyers earn in South Africa?
South African Human Rights Commission Jobs by Salary
| Job Title | Range | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Job Title:Attorney / Lawyer | Range:R244k – R2m (Estimated *) | Average:R744,446 |
| Legal Services Officer | Range:R193k – R569k (Estimated *) | Average:R369,437 |
What laws protect human rights in South Africa?
Bill of RightsChapter 2, Section 7-39
Rights.
Application.
Equality.
Human dignity.
Life.
Freedom and security of the person.
Slavery, servitude and forced labour.
Privacy.
Are human rights law?
The Human Rights Act is a UK law passed in 1998. It lets you defend your rights in South Africa courts and compels public organizations including the Government, police and local councils – to treat everyone equally, with fairness, dignity and respect.
What do human rights lawyers fight for?
Human Rights Lawyers are at the forefront to tackle human rights violations around the world. They take on cases that concern the inherent dignity of their clients. They protect the rights of vulnerable populations, marginalized groups, women, children, indigenous peoples, refugees, LGBTI communities and others.
What skills do you need to be a human rights lawyer?
Choose this if you have
Resilience, persuasion and advocacy skills. Human rights lawyers may have to convince those who have different political or social views. An awareness of international affairs. Human rights issues often span frontiers: a good knowledge of another language may help
What field of law is human rights?
Human rights are an individual’s rights and freedoms, which form the basis for the relationship between the government and the individual. Human rights, EU and public law were brought into English law under the Human Rights Act