Friday, June 14, 2013

Call for Applications for the Natural Justice Legal Researcher Fellowship in India

Natural Justice (Lawyers for Communities and the Environment) is a pioneering international team of legal practitioners. We do cutting edge work on environmental and human rights law, support communities and provide technical advice to governments to secure environmental and social justice. Natural Justice currently works in Africa, Asia and Latin America and has offices in South Africa, Ivory Coast, United States, India and Malaysia.

Natural Justice has been working with communities, civil society organizations and the government in India since 2009. It has its India office in Bangalore and a field office in Bhubaneswar.

Natural Justice is calling for applications for a one-year Legal Researcher Fellowship. The Fellowship offers an exciting opportunity to lawyers who are passionate about legal research in the area of environmental law with a focus on facilitating communities to assert their rights over resources. The Fellowship will allow the legal researcher to work in a multidisciplinary environment with an opportunity to integrate design thinking and visualization of the law as an integral part of his/her approach. The Fellowship will give the legal researcher an opportunity to provide teaching assistance to an interdisciplinary course in environmental law and policy to be taught at the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology. Over the year the Fellowship will also facilitate learning networks for the Legal Researcher that will include community based organizations, non-governmental organizations, legal practitioners, academics, designers, activists, interdisciplinary research centres, intergovernmental and international organizations.
Applicants would be required to have:
  • Good writing and research skills with the ability to critically analyse environmental law and policy issues;
  • Willingness to innovate and experiment with the creative use of different disciplines, methodologies and mediums in the research process and outcomes;
  • A keen interest in advancing the rights of communities to their territories, and natural resources;
  • A passion for learning, networking with partners, initiating new work and innovating on existing research work;
  • Good communication skills that can be used to effectively collaborate, share and exchange information with the extended Natural Justice team and its partners;
  • A degree in law, humanities or other allied discipline with an interest in the law and a basic understanding of the Indian legal system;
  • A willingness to travel on a regular basis as well as an ability to work for extended periods with communities and CBOs/NGOs in remote areas;
  • Fluency in English with the ability to engage in research, draft reports and legal documents; and
  • Fluency in Hindi and any other Indian language with an ability to engage in discussions with communities and run workshops where necessary.
Natural Justice is a close knit and nurturing collective that places a high premium in facilitating opportunities for the professional and personal growth of its fellows. Besides this, joining Natural Justice will offer the individual a chance to work with a passionate and highly professional global team and gain valuable international experience.

Duration of Fellowship: One year

Honorarium: The Legal Researcher will be provided with an honorarium of fifteen thousand rupees a month along with a sufficient travel, activity and communications budget.

Job location: Bangalore

The selection process would involve two stages. At the first stage applicants are required to send a letter of interest, a resume with two referees and a writing sample. A Natural Justice panel will interview shortlisted applicants at the second stage before a final decision is made.

Interested candidates are invited to send their applications to arpitha (at) naturaljustice.org before the 28th of June 2013. For more information on Natural Justice see:

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