Rebecca Moore

As a recent law graduate from the University of Leeds, an internship with the Mental Disability and Advocacy Center has been an invaluable experience for me, both from a personal as well as a professional point of view. Upon hearing of this opportunity I was immediately drawn to the human rights litigation that MDAC is involved with, especially in regard to mental health and social care institutions, and I was eager to learn how I could improve upon the skills necessary to excel in this specialized field; I truly believe that my internship has afforded me the opportunity to do so.

Upon starting with MDAC, I was assigned a supervisor who provided a task list outlining my assignments for the six weeks that I would be working at the organization. I found this to be extremely beneficial in that from the outset I knew what to expect, as well as what would be expected of me. In summary, these tasks were challenging and to say that I didn’t experience a steep learning curve would be misleading, but the collegial working environment that MDAC fosters and the helpful and encouraging staff goes a long way to putting you at ease. One of my assignments was to help with the compilation of material for a pamphlet MDAC will be distributing at the upcoming Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in New York City on how States Parties can effectively implement Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It was a very rewarding experience as I not only learned about the Convention and how the transition from institutions to community living for persons with mental and psycho-social disabilities can be realized through deinstitutionalization, but my efforts and input were respected and valued throughout the process, as well as with the editing of the final product.

In addition, much of my time was spent assisting the Litigation Director with organizing case files and case dockets for MDAC’s pending cases before the European Court of Human Rights. This involved cross-referencing case-dockets compiled by the legal monitors in their respective countries with the correlating files here at the office and charting themes present within those countries. Building upon this I also researched other ECHR judgments regarding mental disability, guardianship, detention and forced treatment, exploring how they have been litigated to assist MDAC’s in its strategic litigation planning. I was also very fortunate that my first two weeks as an intern overlapped with MDAC’s Summer Academy Mental Disability Law in Practice where I had the opportunity to attend lectures, including those on litigating under the CRPD and was even able to help judge a moot court.

Since coming to MDAC I have acquired a better understanding of international mental health law and what is involved in litigating cases before the European Court of Human Rights. Through the assignments I completed, the staff meetings and conference calls I participated in, I can say with authority that this has been the greatest internship a budding human rights lawyer or aspiring advocate can become involved with. Not only has my time at MDAC taught me practical case management skills and improved my overall international mental heath law comprehension, but it has left me feeling inspired to pursue a legal career in this field in the future. And as an added bonus, Budapest is a beautiful city to spend one’s summer with so many sights and activities to take part in. This has been an experience I won't soon forget!

Rebecca Moore

Intern with MDAC, summer 2010