<http://www.justiceinitiative.org> 	

*+1 212–548–0157*
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*www.justiceinitiative.org*

*Central European University
Department of Legal Studies
/CEU Budapest/*

*Call for Applications:
Justice Initiative Fellows Program at Central European University 
(2007 - 2009 session)*

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: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>, 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: 
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>, 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.