A large gap exists between Polish citizens' need for and access to the law. Victims of crimes and other wrongs are often unaware of their rights and an attitude of fear and mistrust toward the legal system prevents many citizens from seeking the legal help which they need. By conference close, an overwhelming majority of participants affirmed their willingness to support legal clinics and aid in implementation. In March 1997 the Jagiellonian faculty senate voted to award the legal clinic official status as a unit of the law school. The clinic was provided with office space within the law school, and seminar courses are conducted in university classroom space.
Students receive credits for participating in the year-long clinical program.
The Jagiellonian Clinic consists of three sections - civil, criminal and human rights law. Each section is headed by a Jagiellonian law faculty member, with a team of students working under his or her supervision. There are 18 positions available in the clinical program for which students receive university credit, but a total of 26 senior-level students participate in the program, eight working as volunteers. After a competitive application process in which students applied to a section of the clinic of their choice, Jagiellonian clinicians chose the top 26 candidates from the almost 100 applicant, based on academic performance and work and volunteer experience. One of the motivating factors behind starting the Jagiellonian Clinic was repeated comments from local NGOs on the lack of proper legal support for poor people living in Krakow.