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Call for Applications Justice Initiative Fellows Program Department of Legal Studies, Central European University Budapest (Hungary) (2007-2009 session) __________________________________________________ Open Society Justice Initiative +1 212-548-0157 [email protected] www.justiceinitiative.org The Open Society Justice Initiative, an operational program of the Open Society Institute (OSI), joins with Central European University (CEU) to announce the Justice Initiative Fellows Program for 2007-2009. The aim of the program is to support and expand a network of lawyers and activists working internationally on human rights-related issues. Established in 1996, the Justice Initiative Fellows Program has graduated 155 fellows from more than 20 countries. The Justice Initiative Fellows Program is a two-year program of study and practical work experience. In 2007, a maximum of ten applicants will be selected to participate in the program. Applicants from the following regions are eligible: Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Africa, East- and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Central/South America. Applicants must be nominated by a non-governmental organization concerned with human rights. The applicant must demonstrate a strong commitment to human rights, have a university degree and be able to certify a high degree of proficiency in English. Criteria for selection will include the applicant's experience, his/her potential to contribute to the protection and promotion of human rights, and the suitability of the applicant's proposed role with the nominating NGO. Upon selection, Fellows will be required to sign an agreement with the Justice Initiative committing themselves to the program for two years. The first year is spent at Central European University, the second in the applicant's home country, working with the nominating NGO. The Justice Initiative Fellows will reside for one year in Hungary, at CEU Legal Studies Department. They will undertake a degree program (M.A. or LL.M. in Human Rights, dependent on their undergraduate degree), in which they will be required to fulfill the requirements of the Human Rights Program at CEU. One requirement for completion of the degree program at CEU is participation in a three-month internship placement with leading NGOs in Europe from January through March of 2008. The Fellows' first year will be administered by the CEU Legal Studies Department in partnership with the Justice Initiative. Financial conditions will be identical to CEU policies for full scholarship students. After completion of the CEU degree program, the Justice Initiative Fellows will return to their nominating NGOs where they will spend at least one year working in human rights advocacy on a non-profit basis: providing legal services, undertaking human rights litigation, or providing training and education, as approved and described by the NGO in the nomination letter. The Justice Initiative will pay a salary during this second year in line with other salaries paid by the nominating NGO. This amount will be provided to the nominating NGOs in the form of a grant. Application Procedure Please note that applicants must submit their applications to the CEU Admissions Office (1051 Budapest, Nador street 9, Hungary). They must meet the general CEU Admissions Requirements, which can be viewed online (http://www.ceu.hu/admissions.html), as well as the CEU Legal Studies Department Requirements (http://www.ceu.hu/legal/admissions.html). In addition, applicants must include with their application: 1. A nominating letter from an NGO describing the reasons for nominating the applicant, the expectations the NGO has of the project, and contractually committing (to the Justice Initiative) to hire the applicant for at least one year after s/he returns from the twelve-month training program in Hungary. The nominating letter should also indicate a monthly salary gross rate in USD (including all taxes and fees) that will be offered to the applicant by the NGO in the event that s/he is selected for the program (provided to the NGO by the Justice Initiative in the form of a grant). 2. A copy of the applicant's Bar Association membership (if applicable), or the date scheduled for examination. 3. Proof of English proficiency. No alternative language test dates are accepted: the only date is January 13 at the advertised test sites. Candidates staying out of the testing region are required to submit official score reports. For applicants from the former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe, language tests will be carried out by local Soros Foundation/Open Society Institute coordinators. For all other applicants, the relevant sections of the general admissions guidelines apply (see: http://www.ceu.hu/addmissions_apply.html) 4. A statement of purpose for applying to the Justice Initiative Fellows program. 5. A proposal of project activities that the candidate plans to work on with the nominating NGO during the second year of the fellowship. The DEADLINES for receiving applications at CEU are: 1. Wednesday, November 1, 2006: Early Application Deadline (CEU has introduced an early application deadline for candidates who wish to apply to participate in the CEU-administered admissions examinations). The list of test sites can be found on the CEU online application form. 2. Friday, January 5, 2007: Application Deadline for: candidates who submit complete application including proof of English proficiency, if required, but are coming from countries where CEU does not administer admissions examinations. For these applicants the essay test will be administered by e-mail on Saturday, March 3, 2007. If you have questions regarding the first year of the program, please contact: Anna Mentsl Special Programs Coordinator, Legal Studies Department, Central European University, Nádor u. 9, Budapest 1051, tel: +361 327-3205, e-mail: [email protected], web: http://www.ceu.hu/legal For more information about the overall program and the second year commitment, please contact: Anna Fischer Fellows Program Coordinator at the Justice Initiative, Oktober 6. u. 12, Budapest 1051, tel: +361 327-3108; fax: +361 327 3103; e-mail: [email protected], web: http://www.justiceinitiative.org For more information about this program please visit http://www.justiceinitiative.org/activities/lcd/fellows/ceu_fellows and http://www.ceu.hu/legal/osji_prog.html. __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://cal.polylog.org
