Legal Education Support: Pakistan And Mexico

In partnership with the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, the International Rule of Law and Security (IRLS) seeks to strengthen legal education as a long-term effort to improve the rule of law in countries around the world. The IRLS program draws on ASU’s expertise in education to assist on topics ranging from investigations, specialized training for prosecutors and judges, advocacy training for civil society organizations, human rights research and reporting, legal education (including practical training such as clinics, moot courts, legal research and writing), and development of laws and implementation plans.

The IRLS led the Legal Education Support Program in Pakistan, funded by the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). The project improved the practical legal skills of Pakistani law students, including increasing the quality of legal research and writing, strengthening professors’ knowledge of curriculum development and teaching methodology, and expanding legal clinics, moot court programs, and law journals. The Legal Education Support program produced better trained, more effective lawyers whose practical experience in research, writing, and advocacy will enable them to be strong advocates.

The IRLS participated in another INL-sponsored project in Mexico, which draws upon the program’s expertise in the clinical law field to implement reforms to Mexico’s criminal justice system. Through the project, the IRLS developed and implemented programs at each of Tecnológico de Monterrey’s five largest law school campuses to train law students, professors, and administrators, as well as civil society practitioners, in the effective use of Mexico’s new oral advocacy system.