Concept and Purpose

It is widely agreed that the ongoing crisis in the rule of law throughout the Arab world is one of the major obstacles frustrating the sustainable economic and social development of the region. Three major shortcomings within the Arab legal profession necessitate legal reform today:

• Lack of commitment to the rule of law, good governance and anti-corruption principles;
• Lack of technical skills to advance the legal framework necessary for a strong, transparent and efficient market economy; and
• Lack of appreciation for Islamic legal pluralism necessary in bringing Islamic law to bear on questions of democracy, human rights and gender equality.

Dr. Ibrahim Shihata singled out legal education as the core obstacle to advancing the rule of law and ensuring the region's development. In his words, the main problem relates to the system of education and its impact on lawyers' training:

Because of the method of admission to universities, law schools receive the least qualified high school graduates. And because the method of teaching in those law schools is based on lectures, there is hardly any open discussion, debate or research. The result is too many law school graduates with too little training.

The LL.M. Program seeks to address this problem by providing world-class legal education in key areas of international and comparative law. The Program is designed to provide students with the knowledge and legal skills needed today to push forward and increase participation in international political and economic life and institutions. In particular the LL.M. Program seeks to:

• Provide Egypt and the Arab World with legal professionals committed to the advancement of the rule of law and good governance through excellent training in international and comparative aspects of liberal legal reform on the economic and social levels.
• Provide the region with the necessary legal expertise for the advancement of market-oriented legal reforms and the encouragement of foreign investment.
• Create a space of academic excellence where the region's pluralistic traditions of Islamic law can come to bear on legal reform projects, especially in the areas of democratization, gender equality and human rights.

Admission Requirements

To be considered for full admission, students must have a first law degree (Licence en droit, LL.B., J.D. or equivalent) with a grade of gayyid (or 2.75 overall grade point average). Students lacking this level may be eligible for admission on a provisional basis by decision of the Law Faculty Committee, which may stipulate prerequisite work.

English proficiency is required as demonstrated on a TOEFL test score of 550 or above. Students who fail to achieve the required score must bring their English proficiency up to the required level before they secure full admission. The LL.M. Program offers special legal English training courses for those whose TOEFL score is high enough to benefit from it.

Application forms are available at the Office of Graduate Studies and Research of the American University in Cairo.

LL.M. Scholarship available providing Partial Tuition Waiver

To apply, please fill in the application and submit it in person to the Department of Law with a copy of your university acceptance letter.

LL.M. Scholarship Criteria:

The LL.M. program offers a number of scholarships to students applying for the LL.M. Degree every semester. The program will conduct interviews with applicants for the scholarship and applicants will be assessed competitively to determine eligibility and the scholarship amount.

Scholarship Criteria:

1. Academic Merit: The main criterion is academic merit. The stronger the academic record of the applicant, the higher his/her chances are for a scholarship.
   
2. Personal Skills: During the interview conducted with the committee, Department Chair, LL.M. Director, and Professor, the student will be assessed on his personal skills and his/her potential to contribute to the field.
   
3. Financial Need: Although this scholarship is primarily based on academic record and personal skills, financial need will be taken into consideration in case more than one of the applicants are equal on the above criteria.