The Armenian Bar Association offers an Internship Program for its members in the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office of the Republic of Artsakh. The program’s objective is to provide hands-on experiences and real-life opportunities to law students, recent law school graduates, and new attorneys who have a demonstrated keen interest in human rights and a personal commitment to the ideals of Artsakh.
*Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Please contact us for more information at [email protected]
The Human Rights Ombudsman is an independent Constitutional official, who observes the maintenance of human rights and freedoms on the part of state and local self-government bodies and officials, contributes to the restoration of violated rights and freedoms and improvement of the laws and regulations related to human rights and freedoms, deals with human rights issues related to the Karabakh conflict, and answers to the National Assembly (Parliament) of the Republic of Artsakh. Any individual, regardless of ethnic origin, sex, citizenship, residence, race, age, political or other affiliation and activity can apply to HRO.
The HRO’s office may also:
- Visit without restriction or primary announcement any public institution or organization, military unit, and detention facility;
- Demand and receive necessary materials, documents and explanations in connection with a complaint;
- Apply to the Supreme Court with a human-rights-related complaint;
- Report its findings to the state, local governmental institutions, and their officials in order to restore the violated rights, as well as initiate a disciplinary proceeding.
Below are the links of the Artsakh HRO’s latest reports:
- Visit without restriction or primary announcement any public institution or organization, military unit, and detention facility;
- Demand and receive necessary materials, documents, and explanations in connection with a complaint;
- Apply to the Supreme Court with a human-rights-related complaint;
- Report its findings to the state, local governmental institutions, and their officials in order to restore the violated rights, as well as initiate a disciplinary proceeding.
Below are the links of the Artsakh HRO’s latest reports:
http://www.ombudsnkr.am/Interim_Public_Report_NKR_Omb_FINAL.pdf
http://www.ombudsnkr.am/en/docs/Report_PUBLIC.pdf
Responsibilities
Daily responsibilities will depend on the individual’s background, the intern’s assigned office, as well as the internship period. The intern will be under the supervision of the Ombudsman.
Daily duties may include:
- Assistance in drafting and preparing official documents, including public reports;
- Attending and summarizing conferences and meetings;
- Document, legal and internet research and analysis;
- Accompany the HRO and his team on the on-the-spot visits;
- Monitor and analyze open-source information on human rights;
- Compile statistics;
- Media analysis
Education
To qualify for the internship with the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office of the Republic of Artsakh, an applicant must be enrolled in a US based law school and have completed at minimum the first year at the time of the start of the internship. Applications from recent graduates awaiting bar results and new attorneys are also encouraged.
Languages
Armenian is the working language of the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office. Fluency in English (both oral and written) is required for the internship program. Knowledge of the Armenian language would be an asset.
Application Process
Interested applicants should submit the following application materials for the summer session on a rolling basis to [email protected] with the title “Artsakh Internship” in the subject line:
- Cover letter outlining the reason for your interest in the work of the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office of the Republic of Artsakh;
- Résumé;
- Writing sample; and
- Current law school transcript (unofficial is fine)
Selection Process
- Armenian Bar Selection Committee conducts screening interviews with select applicants and identifies a limited number of finalists to be interviewed by Ombudsman.
- Finalists are then selected for placements.
- Start-dates may vary with each applicant.
Students accepted into the program may receive public service hours or may qualify for independent self-study project as approved by the student’s law school requirements.
Final Selection of Interns
Screening interviews, administered to aid in evaluating applicant qualifications, will be conducted on a rolling basis. We will attempt to interview applicants in the city where they attend school and conduct such interviews in-person. Applicants will be contacted by their assigned screener to schedule the interview.
Only qualified applicants will be advanced to the round of ombudsman interview and will be notified when they are moved forward to the next level.
Ombudsman
The Ombudsman will determine his own protocols and processes for interviews and ultimate selections. To be clear, not all applicants will be granted an interview even after the Armenian Bar Selection Committee forwards its candidates.
The Ombudsman, in his individual discretion but with input from the Armenian Bar, will determine which applicants he will interview and ultimately hire. If an applicant has been selected for an interview, she or he will be notified either by the Ombudsman or by the Armenian Bar staff.
The Ombudsman interview will be conducted over the internet. The interviews are slated to last approximately 30 minutes.
If an applicant has individual constraints on her or his summer availability, she or he must inform the Armenian Bar prior to scheduling an interview. The Ombudsman will determine the exact length of the internship, and he may expect applicants to stay longer than the four-week minimum.
If an applicant declines an offered position, she or he will be removed from consideration for other positions unless there are extenuating circumstances.
If an applicant is accepted into the program, the applicant warrants that she or he is committed to participate and fulfill the requirements outlined by the program.
Meet Our 2018 Interns
Testimonials
Contact
[email protected] for more information.