The “Highly Commended” Award to Bristol and Cardiff was in the category “Best Contribution by a Law School”. It recognises their on-going partnership to develop the sustainability of Innocence Project pro bono activity by students in the UK, through the vehicle of the Innocence Network UK (INUK), at the heart of which is the relationship with the practising criminal legal profession also assisting on a pro bono basis.
Innocence Projects are ‘live-client’ student-led specialist clinical legal educational ventures which centre upon the study of the possible wrongful conviction of the innocent. They attempt to find legal grounds for alleged innocent victims of wrongful conviction to achieve a successful referral back to the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) (CACD) or, if they are a second or out-of-time appeal, via an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). There are presently seven active university Innocence Projects affiliated to the INUK, including the University of Bristol Innocence Project (UoBIP), with about ten others under development.
Bristol and Cardiff are pleased to have formal recognition and credit within the pro bono legal community for their contribution to encouraging collaborative pro bono ventures in other UK law schools.