COMPLEJO METALURGICO ILO

In this part a discussion will first be provided on the growth of PLS/WLC. Following on this a description of the present structure of PLS/WLC will be provided. From 2000-2012 the information is taken from the authors own experience in PLS/WLC. From 2000-2004 the author was appointed as a Senior Tutor96 _{— essentially a clinician with academic}

status. From 2004 -2011 the author continued to be employed in PLS/WLC but as the Director of the programme. In 2012, the author was deployed to Law School and was allocated a smaller teaching role in PLS/WLC.

From 2000-2004 Adjunct Professor Willem De Klerk was appointed as the Director of PLS/WLC. During this period the clinic witnessed a number of significant changes, including a shift to an integrated curriculum97, stronger emphasis was placed on teaching as opposed to client services and an increase in funding for the WLC98. A significant event during this period was the promotion of three senior clinicians to Adjunct Professor. The event marked the arrival of PLS as a respected academic course and was continuously noted by many South African academics as an extremely

95 _{Ibid at 1.}

96 _{Up until 2012 the University of the Witwatersrand employed academic staff either on the lecture track or}

tutor track. Lectures are required to teach and research, however tutors were employed to concentrate their energies on teaching as opposed to research. Appointment as an academic within PLS/WLC was

historically cast on the tutor track. This track offered the following positions, Senior Tutors, Principle Tutor and Adjunct Professor. Since 2012 the position has changed and the tutor track will in the future be

absorbed into the lecturer track. Of course the primary reason for the change is motivated by the need to increase publication numbers of academics.

97 _{The integrated curriculum was introduced in 2000. Further discussion on this will be led in chapter six.}

98 _{Whilst funding from LAB and AFF continued, funding was also received from the Rural Legal Trust}

which funded the Land Claims Clinic, the United Nations Refugee Project (UNHCR) which funded the Refugee Clinic and the International Commission of Jurists (Swedish Section ICJ) which partly funded the criminal project.

106 progressive step forward within Law Faculties.99 _{A formidable explanation for change}

rested on the change in leadership. Professor De Klerk proved in subsequent years to be an extremely strong advocate for advancing the educational elements that CLE as a methodology should embrace.

From 2004-2008 several events influenced the direction of PLS/WLC; these included the appointment of a new Head of School Professor Glenda Fick, the appointment of a new Director for the Clinic, the implementation of the University’s ten year Vision plan, an increase in scholarship on CLE, the hosting of an international conference on CLE, continuous funding received from the LAB and AFF and additional funding received from other organisations and lastly, the drafting of a Vision and Mission statement for the PLS/WLC. Each of these influences will be discussed with respect for all the role players’ input.

The appointment of Professor Glenda Fick marked the first attempt at strengthening relations between Wits Law School and PLS/WLC. Prior to this — particularly with reference to financial security — the relationship between Law School and the PLS/WLC continued to be relatively isolated. PLS/WLC struggled to maintain its financial status (beyond the core salary support for the clinicians) and was often described by others as the stepchild of the Law School. Professor Fick — in line with the Wits Vision — took it upon herself to strengthen relations, provide moral as well as financial support and considered the growth of PLS/WLC as a priority to be undertaken by Law School. Motivation was further provided for the drafting of the PLS/WLC Vision and Mission Statement. (See annexure I)

The Vision and Mission statement represented the first written attempt by clinicians at Wits to understand what the core purpose of the programme is. The Vision and Mission statement was drafted in 2006 in line with the Wits mission statement, titled Wits 2010.100 _{The Vision promotes that PLS/WLC aspires to be recognised}

internationally for its excellence in teaching, research and professional services. The Mission in line with the Vision promotes the following: to develop and provide an

99 _{Subsequent to this many other clinicians have been promoted to Adjunct/Associate Professor level across}

a number of universities in South Africa. In fact at both KZN University and more recently at Rhodes University we have witnessed the employment of the Director of the Law Clinic as Dean of the Law Faculty.

107 effective Clinical Legal Education programme for students, to promote published research by clinical teachers, and to provide quality legal services to the community. In theory both the Vision and Mission sound ambitious, however, in practice a handful of clinicians have not aspired (or even lack the knowledge) to work towards these goals, preferring rather the option of advancing access to justice, as opposed to promoting the educational needs of our students.

In line with the Wits Vision and much probing from Professor Fick, scholarship on CLE at Wits increased. This further led to the clinicians being encouraged to participate in International Conferences, presenting papers and publishing articles in both local and international journals.101 This was particularly important as the University’s increased emphasis on research and scholarship was impacting on the Law School itself at this point in time.

The support — both financially and morally — for the hosting of the fifth International Conference on Clinical Legal Education at Wits in 2007, further marked the commitment of the Law School to embrace PLS/WLC. The conference was sponsored and co-hosted by the University of the Witwatersrand, University of Johannesburg, AULAI and Northumbria University, the latter which publishes the International Journal of Clinical Legal Education. The theme of the conference was ‘Unity in Diversity’. On the last day of the conference a significant presentation was delivered by Professor Cora Hoexter, a Senior Professor in the Law School, on the topic of Research, Writing and Publications. The presentation was delivered to all South African clinicians aimed at encouraging further research and publication about CLE. A significant outcome of the conference was the publication of a special edition by the University of the Free State in Journal for Juridical Science. A number of papers that were presented at the conference — specifically by South African clinicians — were published in this edition.102

During this period the LAB and AFF continued to fund PLS/WLC and further funding was received from Atlantic Philanthropies (AP). AP donated R 3 million over a period of three years towards litigation projects specifically earmarked for the Refugee

101 _{See Willem De Klerk ‘Unity in Adversity: Reflections on the Clinical Movement in South Africa’}

(2007) International Journal of Clinical Legal Education 95–104.

108 Unit. With this money, the WLC was able to expand on its resources and engage in a number of successful public interest litigation matters.103

From 2008-2012 despite the change in leadership at the School of Law to Prof Angelo Pantazis and then Prof Jonathan Klaaren, the commitment embraced by Professor Fick towards PLS/WLC continued. This period has witnessed two significant events, one the engagement of two academics towards their PhDs on CLE — including the present thesis — and a dissertation by Adjunct Professor Riette Du Plessis. Secondly, the new skills based curriculum was introduced at Wits Law School. A detailed discussion on the new curriculum and its significance in relation to this thesis will be presented in chapter eight.

A description of the present structure of PLS/ WLC will now be provided as explication of the features of the course.