Community Lawyering: Legal Education From and for the Territories
Fundeps once again participated in the Federal Interuniversity Chair on Community Lawyering, an initiative that brings together universities and social organizations to train legal professionals with a human rights and community-based approach.
Since 2024, the Argentine Network of Community Lawyering has coordinated the Federal Interuniversity Chair on Community Lawyering, with the participation of universities from across the country. This year, in its second edition, Fundeps is once again part of its implementation.
The Argentine Network of Community Lawyering is a federal space made up of multiple civil society organizations and activists, focused on legal empowerment. Since its creation in 2021, Fundeps has been part of the Promoting Group, through which projects centered on community lawyering have been developed. Within this framework, and together with the Latin American School of Community Lawyering and Legal Activism (ELAC), the Federal Interuniversity Chair on Community Lawyering was established.
This initiative is now in its second edition, with the aim of training legal professionals from a human rights perspective, in favor of—and alongside—individuals, communities, and collectives affected by dynamics of systemic and structural inequality and exclusion.
During the first edition, held in 2024, more than 100 students from 12 universities participated. In this new edition, the Chair is supported by 15 universities from 11 provinces and includes the participation of Latin American lecturers with extensive experience in community lawyering and human rights.
As part of the practical experiences cycle on Community Lawyering, Fundeps contributed by teaching two classes. These sessions addressed the experience of environmental litigation alongside the Lake San Roque community for the remediation of the watershed, as well as the trajectory of Law No. 27,610—from social mobilization and legislative reform to defensive litigation.
Participating in the training of legal professionals through community-based experience allows us to continue strengthening a form of lawyering that serves communities and advances the protection of human rights.
Documentary Series on Community Lawyering
In November 2025, the Argentine Network of Community Lawyering premiered the documentary series Community Lawyering. Across three episodes—Knowing the Law, Using the Law, and Transforming the Law—the production explores experiences of lawyering in the territories and shows how different initiatives put the law into action as a tool for social change.
Contact:
Luz Baretta, luzbaretta@fundeps.org
