2008 PRT News
Rule of Law Triumphs over Violence in Iraq
(Baghdad Law School celebrates milestone)
By Teeta Manson
Special Correspondent
Baghdad – The triumph of rule of law over rule by violence was highlighted here with the recent celebration of the founding of Baghdad University’s law school more than three generations ago.
On October 20, 2008 the Baghdad University College of Law reached a milestone as it celebrated its 100th anniversary with more than 1,300 people in attendance. The festivities, partially funded by the Baghdad Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), also highlighted the modernization of the law school curriculum, which is a work in progress that will impact all public law schools in Iraq.
The Baghdad University College of Law was founded in 1908 and is the oldest law school in the Middle East. Graduates include His Excellency
President Jalal al-Talabani and Chief Justice Medhat Mahmood.
Honored guests at the anniversary celebration included top Iraqi education officials as well as Baghdad University administrators, faculty and students.
The Dean of the College of Law, Dr. Ali Kadhum Aziz Al-Rufaie thanked the PRT for its help and included a special thanks to Baghdad PRT team member Major Athurine Jones, who was instrumental in putting the project together.
Patricia Butenis, U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission, read a letter from Ambassador Ryan Crocker congratulating the Baghdad University College of Law for what he termed, “a landmark event in the College’s long and proud history.”
Crocker’s letter continued: “As the oldest and most prestigious law college in Iraq, the Baghdad College of Law has been a beacon of light in the face of those who had no respect for the rule of law. Educating Iraq’s new lawyers who will ensure the continuation of the legal principles you and your colleagues so ably defended is one of the most important tasks of a society governed by the rule of law.”
The new curriculum overhaul is the brain child of the PRTs Rule of Law Section and is the culmination of months of work with Iraqi law schools, deans, and Ministry of Higher Education officials. The up-to-date curriculum features a Socratic teaching methodology, complete revision of course offerings, and will run on a semester system, which will allow for easier student exchanges with international colleges.
The Socratic teaching style more closely mirrors U.S. law schools where an emphasis is placed on class discussion, question and answer periods, and active participation on the part of students. Practical projects such as mock court sessions will become the norm.
Additionally, course offerings will expand to cover a host of new classes including: civil liberties, international trade law, environmental law, research and drafting, public contracts, and international economic law. A program designed around these new courses will more easily allow Iraqi students to transfer credits to foreign universities in order to participate in educational exchanges.
Dean Rufaie touched on that point saying, “We want to follow these countries (United States and France) and make our colleges equal with theirs.” He went on to thank the PRT for its partnership and assistance with the curriculum reform process.
The modernization effort will also greatly expand the legal research centers and libraries at law colleges and provide training for the current faculty. Computer labs are being installed and will connect the law schools to other ministries including the Ministry of Justice.