Micheline Laflamme
“I have news!” With a twinkle in her eye, Dean Nathalie Des Rosiers is discussing her recent talks with Faculty of Law professors at the Université Aix-Marseille III. Negotiations have been ongoing for some time now, but it seems that an agreement is within reach.
Dean Des Rosiers is known for her boundless energy, an energy that is reflected throughout the Civil Law Section. Over the last two years, a number of initiatives have been launched. The dean has overseen summer schools in Aboriginal territory and has put in place a program on international development, international law and globalization, responding to a growing desire among law students to work with international organizations.
In the fall of 2008, an anticipated 20 students will begin the Faculty of Law’s new Canadian law program, giving them two bachelor’s degrees in three years, one in civil law and one in common law. These undergraduate initiatives fall under the Section’s objectives “to continue to meet the needs of today’s society and attract quality students who are enthusiastic about law and its increasingly complex role in society,” says Dean Des Rosiers.
There is also plenty going on in graduate studies. Discussions are underway with the Université Paul Cézanne d’Aix-en-Provence for a combined program that would allow students to obtain a double degree at the master’s level. The Civil Law Section has entered into two similar agreements with the Université Paris X-Nanterre and Washington College of Law of the American University in Washington. Graduate studies provide an opportunity to explore significant issues of our era and familiarize students with other legal systems.
Dean Des Rosiers believes that inter-university agreements help develop creativity in legal thought. “A comparative law approach is essential for delving deeper into one’s own law and generating new ideas,” she says. Agreements help students pursue international studies by allowing them to concentrate on learning rather than on dealing with the red tape of each country. Agreements also enrich the university experience by promoting networking, which is extremely useful in practicing the profession.
The doctoral program will also be getting a facelift. Responding to the objectives of Vision 2010, the program will be restructured to respond to the needs of students who, as experience has often shown, are devoting themselves to research and teaching. This new program should begin in September 2008.
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