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Meetings & Forums

WHO WE ARE

The International Association of Law Schools is a private, non-political, non-profit, volunteer, collaborative, learned society dedicated to serving the worldwide legal education community. It is an association of more than 250 law schools and departments from over 60 countries representing more than 12,000 law faculty members. Our primary mission is the improvement of legal education throughout the world. The idea for an international association of law schools emerged from several meetings of legal educators from around the world who recognized the growing inter-relationship of norms from transnational legal systems. The first such meeting was held in Florence, Italy in the year 2000, and consisted of 50 invited legal educators from twenty-seven countries. This meeting led to additional meetings of international legal educators, and during the May 2004 meeting in Hawaii, 130 legal educators from forty-seven different countries unanimously adopted a resolution to form the International Association of Law Schools. In May 2005, a select group of legal educators from fourteen different countries, representing all types of the world’s legal systems, gathered in Istanbul, Turkey, and agreed to the terms of a charter for the International Association of Law Schools. In October 2005, the IALS was incorporated under the laws of the District of Columbia in the United States of America. 

WHAT WE DO

Since its transition in 2014 to a new charter and an independent Board of Governors, the Association has embarked upon an ambitious and innovative agenda of developing a global consensus on the fundamental principles, guidelines, and outcomes of a legal education. To that end we have convened over 65 meetings, forums, conferences and workshops to ensure that all voices of our worldwide community of law teachers be heard and respected. These foundational documents could only have been concluded through such cooperative and consensus-building efforts. Our discussions and decisions are informed by the mission and experiences of all our members. These discussions have resulted in the adoption of the: Singapore Declaration on Global Standards and Outcomes of a Legal Education, Madrid Protocol on the Principles of Evaluation of a Legal Education, Judicial Standards on a Legal Education. They have also created the Doctrinal Study Group Program and Evaluation, Assessment, and Certification Program, along with more programs and committees.

WHAT PEOPLE SAY

I look forward to furthering the goals of the IALS , especially enhancing the three main pillars of legal education “Knowledge, Skills and Values,” and deepening our engagement with this great and prominent institution.
The IALS is a forum for the world’s leading law school leaders to discuss issues that are essential to law school development, such as the global standard for legal education and curricula by considering the needs of different cultures.
Law is a notoriously jurisdiction-specific profession. Yet legal educators and researchers have a great deal to learn from one another through their shared and divergent experiences.
Since joining IALS in 2018, I have attended our meetings in Qatar, Madrid and Gdansk and have actively contributed as well as cooperated with colleagues. These have proven to have been both enjoyable and valuable experiences, for which I sincerely thank all of my IALS colleagues.
The engagement of scholars and practitioners from all over the world, with the scope of solving ancient problems and discovering new horizons, will promote justice and the common good in all nations.
After participating in IALS, I have experienced an astonishing expansion in my network of professional friends and linkages with many institutions around the world. I now have reliable contacts in almost every corner of the globe and have been invited to many Universities to deliver scholarly papers.