Newswise — A unique partnership agreement between the University of Baltimore School of Law and the University of Tikrit School of Law was signed today by representatives of both institutions. The agreement is believed to be the first such affiliation between an Iraqi and U.S. law school.
The initiative is the result of months of efforts between school officials, members of the diplomatic corps of both countries and the military to exchange students, faculty and academic programs, collaborate on special projects, and foster an atmosphere of mutual respect and collegiality. The UB School of Law's involvement was led by the Center for International and Comparative Law, working in close collaboration with a School of Law graduate, Andrew Norman, J.D. '78, an assistant U.S. attorney currently on assignment in Iraq as a legal adviser.
"This presents an opportunity to strengthen the rule of law in a region where that is of critical importance," said UB President Robert L. Bogomolny.
Norman, a UB School of Law graduate, began working in Iraq in October 2006 as a resident legal advisor in the Salah ad Din Province. Over the past year, Norman led numerous initiatives focused on legal issues, including the establishment of a Major Crimes Court to handle proceedings in terrorism cases. At the same time, Norman focused on identifying ways to link University of Tikrit School of Law with learning institutions in the United States. Because of his relationship with his alma mater, Norman reached out to the UB faculty to discuss opportunities that would be mutually beneficial, the result being the fruition of the UB-Tikrit agreement.
The University of Tikrit School of Law is the only learning institution in the Salah ad Din Province and has an enrollment of 700 students. The UB School of Law is the 8th largest public law school in the country, with 1,091 students. Its areas of specialization include international and comparative law, family law, tax, criminal law, IP, and a number of areas such as community development and immigration law where a clinical approach is preferred.
Both the University of Baltimore School of Law and the University of Tikrit School of Law will begin efforts to collaborate where appropriate. Areas where such collaboration might take place include international comparative law and an assessment of Iraqi secular and Islamic law. The exchange of textbooks and other educational materials is also likely to occur, and in the coming semesters there is the potential for Iraqi and American law students and faculty to trade places as a singular learning opportunity.
"Working with those who teach the law in a country in the midst of rebuilding is precisely the kind of thing we as a public law school can and should be doing," said UB School of Law Dean Phillip J. Closius. "Whatever our beliefs about the war, we can all agree that the rule of law is the first thing you must have in order to establish civility and move forward as a society."
Currently, the UB law school has study-abroad programs at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, the University of Haifa in Israel, and in an international and comparative law program on the Caribbean island of Curaçao in collaboration with Hofstra University, Erasmus University Rotterdam and the University of the Netherlands, Antilles.
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the School of Law, the Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts and the Merrick School of Business.
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