CIVIL LAW AND THE LEGAL EDUCATION CULTURE IN THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA: ALTERNATIVE ASPECTS

Abstract

This dissertation is principally devoted to addressing significant aspects of the Saudi Arabian legal education system by comparison with countries who have established strong reputations in the field of legal education. It identifies and examines various international law schools’ current instructional methodologies to better determine negative issues and difficulties encountered and how they were addressed. It is the hope that the results will produce viable information of use to the further development and improvement of Saudi Arabian law schools. While the dissertation is not intended to be an empirical study of either Saudi or international law school curricula, it does attempt to expose existing, and potential problems within the Kingdom’s various law school programs. The goal is to present and perhaps assist in the implementation of substantial updates to modern law school education that will provide the nation with well trained, critical thinking, skilled legal experts dedicated to the law, the land, and the people they serve. Above all else, this paper is an attempt to present comprehensive proposals designed to challenge the disparity between expectation and reality in the education of Saudi Arabian legal professionals—; with an ultimate goal of producing lawyers equipped with extensive training in the vast and complicated system of Saudi Laws. Furthermore, it is envisaged that it will assist in confronting critical issues of modernizing legal curriculum and syllabi while making legal programs more inclusive with the incorporation of international legal education models.