ECtHR Intervention Clinic

"The ECtHR Intervention Clinic was a unique opportunity to apply my knowledge in a practical context, learn how third-party interventions work, and receive feedback from Dr Husovec. Through the drafting process and discussions, we learned beyond what a class could teach. On top of learning about human rights protection, the experience was beneficial in teaching me to write arguments not only academically relevant but more importantly interesting for the Court.  I gained valuable insights which I am confident will serve me in many other contexts. Last but not least, the Clinic is an occasion to contribute significantly to an important case often impacting the rights of many individuals." 

"Being part of the ECtHR Intervention Clinic was an opportunity I had long researched and sought to be involved in prior to starting my LLM program. Although my professional career is focused on corporate commercial law, I have always been keen to explore and contribute to the field of international law, particularly in relation to the protection of fundamental rights. Working under the esteemed leadership of Dr. Husovec, benefiting from his expertise and supervision, was an extraordinary experience that greatly enriched my learning.During this project, we concentrated on the issue of generic website bans as interfere with Article 10 of the ECHR, thoroughly analyzing the principles of prescribed by law, necessity, and derogation under Article 15. Our work involved detailed legal research and in-depth discussions on how the ECtHR interprets these criteria. This opportunity allowed me to review a wide range of ECtHR decisions, drawing comparisons across various judgments, and to engage in a thorough legal analysis of emerging issues in human rights law. The experience also provided practical insight into how international courts balance freedom of expression with other public interests. In conclusion, this is an invaluable experience that every legal professional should have the opportunity to engage with."

"Joining the LSE ECtHR Intervention Clinic was a truly unique and rewarding experience. It provided a rare chance for us as lawyers to engage directly with the European Court of Human Rights on issues at the intersection of technology and human rights. Knowing that our work could be reviewed and cited by ECtHR jurists and influence judicial decisions was highly motivating. As someone from outside the EU, the ECtHR can sometimes seem remote and inaccessible, but the clinic offered a brilliant and transformative opportunity to engage directly with the court and contribute meaningfully to its work. Working with peers from diverse legal backgrounds, under the guidance of Dr. Husovec, challenged us to refine our perspectives and arguments. Together, we created an intervention that could potentially shape the Court’s judgments. Our focus in the Boyarov v Ukraine case addressed the impact of national security measures and website censorship on freedom of speech and access to information. By highlighting the importance of necessity and proportionality, our intervention supports the global fight for digital rights and fundamental freedoms. I strongly encourage others to apply for the clinic, as it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my time at LSE."

“The ECtHR Intervention clinic was an exceptional experience for three reasons: First, the clinic presents a fantastic opportunity to shape the development of the law in novel contexts. We had the unique opportunity to adopt a principled approach for what the law should be, and why the law should evolve in this manner.Second, having previously worked in the field of dispute resolution, the clinic still provided me with an interesting platform to add to my portfolio of advocacy. The considerations in crafting an effective intervention application are different from those that are conventionally applied in drafting pleadings or memorials on behalf of disputing parties. To me this presented an interesting new challenge. I benefited immensely from the guidance provided by Dr. Husovec in this regard in navigating this challenge.Third, the clinic requires critical evaluation of the law in a time bound manner that requires the team to work towards (tight) deadlines. This was reminiscent of working in a multi-cultural professional setting. It also enabled the forging of bonds with my peers on the LLM programme early into the autumn term, which was rewarding in itself.”   

"The ECHR clinic was an incredibly unique experience during my LLM, which I would thoroughly recommend. We engaged directly with a legal case at the forefront of digital rights issues, which raised difficult questions for us to grapple with as a team. I really appreciated the opportunity to apply what we have learned in class to a real case, with the knowledge that our work would be put forward to the ECtHR itself. This was an opportunity to feel like there was potential for real, significant impact in a manner which can be rare for students. We were also incredibly lucky to have access to great support and feedback both for this project and for future work. This kind of support is invaluable for building real life experience and gaining feedback. The Clinic allowed us to develop independent research skills, managing the work alongside our degrees, while also having access to meaningful and constructive support. Finally, the clinic was an opportunity to work with a dynamic team with a variety of perspectives and legal backgrounds, which meant we could collaborate across fields, disciplines and jurisdictions. I learned so much from my fellow team members, as well as from this experience as a whole and could not recommend it more highly."

"The ECtHR intervention clinic is an excellent opportunity to work on an ongoing case before the European Court of Human Rights, relating to the violation of freedom of speech in the digital space. This year’s clinic filed an intervention application in the case of Sanchez v. France and suggested an alternative application to the Delfi test applicable to digital intermediaries.

As a part of the clinic, one gets to interact and work closely with Prof. Martin Husovec and a group of 5 other students from different specialisms, who bring different views and perspectives to the table. Prof Husovec’s insightful feedback on our drafts would always drive us in the right direction. It encouraged me to learn about an increasingly important field of law, with a fun group of people, and creatively apply these learnings to an actual case! Not having a thorough knowledge of the European Court and European Human Right law, I could not have asked for a better way to learn it. 

It bridges the gap between academic learning and practical application of the law. Participating in it allowed us to expand our knowledge and made us contemplate arguments that are not just academically sound, but also appeal to and convince a court of law. It is also extremely satisfying to see one’s work have the potential to contribute to the development of jurisprudence in a particular area of law.

Prof Husovec also arranged a meeting with Daphne Keller (she directs the Program on Platform Regulation at Stanford’s Cyber Policy Centre, and was formerly the Director of Intermediary Liability at CIS) to get her feedback on the draft, which allowed us to pick her brain on the effects the digital intermediary liability has, both within the digital ecosystem and outside it."

"The European Court of Human Rights Intervention Clinic proved to be an immense opportunity to put in practice part of the knowledge developed during the master. I got the chance to go even beyond that point by looking into the influence and impact of technology and the advancement of the digital era over human rights in Europe, which I believe can spread and become an example for other regional and domestic courts, being therefore important to get the best possible outcome when approaching these issues that require a balancing between freedom of expression, responsibilities and the actual possibilities of States to guarantee this right in the digital space. For anybody interested in international law and human rights practice, this is the main project to look into."

"The ECtHR Intervention Clinic was one of the most exciting experiences on my LLM and it is something I will cherish for years to come. It encouraged me to engage with genuine facts and issues in an effort to alter the fabric of principles that guard our inalienable rights in the digital space. It was a rare opportunity that allowed us to create an argument which may alter the trajectory of a case and may be cited by the Court in its judgement. 

The Clinic involved numerous weeks of planning, research, discussion and drafting. It was a team effort and each step had to be carefully coordinated. For example, we would call almost every week and signpost our progress through numerous Google Docs on a shared Drive folder. We also acquainted ourselves with precedent from numerous jurisdictions, ECtHR case-law, and works of academics and think-tanks. The Clinic brought together students from different legal backgrounds, allowing for many types of arguments to be debated back and forth. Additionally, Dr Husovec’s understanding in the field is unmatched and his guidance illuminated the shortcomings of many ideas found in the field today.  

As the Council of Europe is debating social media platform regulation, working on this intervention is highly relevant and extremely rewarding. Moreover, given that Sanchez v France is the first case of its kind and its effects may trickle down to everyday situations, we had to consider the potency of our proposals in each step of the process and think of whether we truly want the Court to ascribe duties to social media users."

"The ECtHR intervention clinic was probably one of the highlights of my LLM for three key reasons.

First, we were able to apply what we had learned in our courses to a very intriguing and at the same time highly relevant case. Although we all had different backgrounds, we were able to link the work on the brief back to some of the readings and discussions we had in our seminars. While these can sometimes feel slightly removed from real world cases and problems, the Clinic filled them with a new, more practical meaning.

Second, drafting an amicus curiae submission allowed us to practice a different type of writing: as logically rigorous as in academia, but more focused and tailored to a specific audience, which was both challenging and interesting.

Third, and most importantly, working in a team of incredibly smart people with similar interests was truly inspiring and a lot of fun. Although we only got to work together for a relatively short period of time, we built a real team spirit which certainly helped with (and in fact was reinforced by) the at times tight deadlines we were facing.

Overall, I will cherish the Clinic as a very good memory and I would encourage anyone who is interested to apply."

"The clinic is an opportunity to work with Assistant Professor Martin Husovec to prepare an intervention for a significant case before the European Court of Human Rights.

I would definitely recommend the clinic. Firstly, you gain a rare opportunity to learn first-hand how a professor brainstorms for, structures and edits a piece of work. Those skills came in handy when I wrote my essays and dissertation. Relatedly, as a master’s student on a one-year course, there wasn’t much opportunity to get to know a professor well. The clinic provided a good opportunity to work closely with Martin and get to know him as a person.

I also learned how to interpret Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which was very useful for the copyright law, digital rights, and environmental law courses that I took.

Sometimes, experts are invited to share their thoughts with us, which was very interesting and eye-opening. For example, we had a zoom call with an IT security expert who not only explained the mechanics of end-to-end encryption, but also ended up teaching us how people could hack into our phones and computers and recommended the safest communication apps, phone and computer we should use.

Lastly but perhaps most importantly, the clinic is a great chance to make friends and bond with a group of like-minded students who are smart, driven, and passionate. The clinic didn’t take up too much of our time, and Martin was very conscientious when it came to leaving us enough time to prepare for exams and dissertation, so overall, it was a rewarding investment of my time and effort."

"LSE’s Technology Law Clinic gave me the valuable experience of co-producing an academic piece in an international team. Moreover, the Clinic illustrates how (legal) academia does not operate from within an ivory tower, but is very much connected to all that happens in the world. With this judgement, the European Court of Human Rights will further develop its case-law on the lawful scope of state surveillance when the aim of national security is invoked. As governments all over the Council of Europe seek to curtail freedom of expression and privacy, participating in this clinic has been an exciting, relevant, and intellectually fulfilling experience."

"The Clinic is a rare opportunity to embrace your desire for intellectually demanding legal work and innovative thinking. Dealing with the case, you need to analyse the facts, study various legal opinions, and critically assess the conclusions. I was very inspired to contribute to protecting privacy and freedom of expression, working in a team with other students.

My task was to research Russian law and analyse the documents issued by the national authorities. Despite the independent nature of the work, our team had zoom calls almost weekly, where we discussed our drafts and supported each other during the pandemic. Moreover, I was excited to work under the supervision of Martin Husovec, who always guided our research and clarified any issues we had.

The Clinic is not monotonous research but rather engaging teamwork on a challenging legal matter. For a better understanding of the technological aspects, Martin organised a session with a leading encryption expert. Furthermore,  a Russian lawyer, Martin's colleague, attended every team meeting to provide valuable advice on Russian law and practice.

To sum up, by participating in the Clinic's research, I gained a unique opportunity to contribute to human rights protection, working with the initiative, passionate students and leading lawyers from all over the world."