Abstract

This paper affirms the need not to take for granted the transformative and criticallegal elements which are usually declared as structural characteristic of the clinical-legal education, along with its roots in legal realism and the promotion of social justice. While underlining the inclination of many Italian legal clinics to take this position, the necessity to declare it as a choice among other possible alternatives is therefore sustained. In the second part, the experience of the Migration and Rights Legal Clinic of the University of Palermo is described as an example of this positioning, by taking into consideration, in particular, the interventions carried out in the case of the hearings of asylum seekers at the Territorial Commission for the Recognition of International Protection.