The Refugee Law Clinic Bonn e.V. (RLC Bonn) is a non-profit organisation that was founded in summer 2023 by law students of the University of Bonn. The aim of the association is to support migrants, especially asylum seekers and refugees, by providing free legal advice, assistance with asylum hearings and visits to the authorities.

The idea of Law Clinics originally comes from the Anglo-American legal system. They offer free legal advice to marginalised people who cannot afford legal assistance. The legal advice is provided by (law) students, who are thereby given the opportunity to put their theoretical knowledge into practice. The concept of Law Clinics is now also widespread in Germany. There are Law Clinics for various areas of law such as tenancy and environmental law or – as with the Refugee Law Clinics – for asylum and residence law.

Our legal advice services are primarily aimed at refugees. People with refugee experience are often unable to exercise their rights due to language, financial or structural barriers. This is where our work comes into play, giving them access to their rights by providing free legal advice.

The Refugee Law Clinic is not in any way in competition with the legal professions. On the contrary, given the large number of people seeking help, the work of Law Clinics is a welcome addition for lawyers. We also work closely with lawyers together: Our training is conducted by experienced lawyers in migration law who teach the content in a practical manner. In addition, our advisors are supervised and supported by lawyers when working on their cases.