ATTENTION
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Created in October 1995, IJALS has the responsibility of developing vocational legal education, promoting research and providing technical assistance in an applied legal context. The Institute works closely with the School of Law by contributing to the certificate and degree programmes through the provision of clinical and skills and practice based learning.
IJALS also complements the Law School initiative by providing a professional practice course (the Diploma in Legal Practice) to prepare participants for admission to the legal profession in the South Pacific Region’s jurisdictions. The LLB degree of U.S.P. Law School and the Diploma in Legal Practice offered by IJALS are the main prerequisites to entry into legal practice in the region.
As well as preparing candidates for legal practice, the Institute also addresses the need for continuing legal education (CLE) in the form of training programmes for private practitioners, government law officers, members of the judiciary and magistracy, court administrative staff and the general public. CLE courses have been offered during the year to the Fiji Young Lawyers’ Association, the Ministry of Justice (in Western Samoa) and to the Prison Service (Fiji). A course for the magistracy in Vanuatu began in July 1996 and completed in June 1997.
The School of Law and IJALS are together structured and targeted to provide a continuum of legal education that provides substantive knowledge and lawyering skills in the varied cultural context that is the South Pacific. The past 12 months have seen the design and implementation of the Law Clinic, a hands-on experiential learning module that requires students to undertake live and simulated legal work as a base for learning law and analysing its operation. The year has also seen the accreditation of the Diploma in Legal Practice. This programme will be offered for the first time in February 1998 to coincide with the emergence of the USP’s law graduates.
In addition, to its teaching and learning role IJALS also has a research and technical help brief. In the past 12 months a detailed survey of judicial and related training needs in the region has been conducted. This was recently endorsed by the South Pacific Judicial Conference and is likely to attract substantial funding to give a strategic approach to the future training of the courts’ judicial officers and their staff. Other research projects are on-going and include disability issues, ethics and professional responsibility, criminal justice, human rights education, legislative drafting and law reform concerns.
IJALS has also been active on the publishing and communications fronts with the Laws of the South Pacific book series, the South Pacific Law Bulletin, IJALS Update and the South Pacific Law listserve. Conference and discussion papers have been presented at a variety of venues including Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, United Kingdom, USA and Vanuatu.
Should you require any more information please contact us.
Director: Mere Pulea: email: pulea_mp@usp.ac.fj
Administrator: Mere Sigabalavu Schuster: email: sschuster_m@usp.ac.fj
Fax : 679 314 274
Telephone : 679 313 900Staff Profiles are available of IJALS staff.
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Robynne Blake, Internet Project Manager, The School of Law, The University of the South Pacific or fax: (678) 27785Last Update: Monday, June 02, 2003 08:20
