Legal & advocacy

The JRS legal team provides information and legal assistance to asylum seekers in detention centres, open centres and in the community. Detainees are unable to obtain these services from other sources because they are deprived of their liberty and cut off from the outside world. JRS also provides detainees with information on the legal channels available for them to challenge government policy in the area of detention.

The aim of this service is to help people to understand the procedure and to obtain the protection to which they are entitled. People access the JRS legal services through the team’s outreach in detention, outreach in open centres, through our phone line and referrals from other organizations.

JRS Malta also offers in-depth legal assistance to a limited number of asylum seekers. Most cases involve asylum claims, family reunification, access to benefits, employment and other issues related to integration. A few cases deal with human rights and other protection related issues, such as trafficking.

Furthermore, the legal team regularly advocates on behalf of asylum seekers and beneficiaries of protection, both on a national and regional level. The aim of this is to ensure that Malta’s laws and policies are brought in line with international legal obligations, and that government institutions and policy-makers consider the rights and lives of the forcibly displaced.

For more information, or to contact the Legal Team, please send an email to info@jrsmalta.org. Alternatively you can call on +35621442751 or +35699214445 (WhatsApp number).