Baroud, Najjar inaugurate first Beirut Law Institute
The first Beirut Law Institute was inaugurated on Monday by the head of the Beirut Bar Association Ramzi Jreij, whose mandate expires on November 15. The opening ceremony was held on Monday at the association’s lecture hall at the Palace of Justice in Beirut and was attended by Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar, Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud and an array of judicial figures.
Jreij considered the opening of the institute as one of the most important steps the association has taken to benefit Lebanese lawyers. He said that the system of oral and written exams for lawyers, which was being used, was very useful but that it was no longer sufficient on its own.
Jreij explained that the institute would provide lawyer interns with the training they needed to become lawyers at the court of appeals and that enrolment at the institute was obligatory for interns registered at the Beirut Bar Association. “In addition to training interns, the institute helps all those who wish to register at the association in presenting the oral and written exams that allow them to become interns,” he said.
Member of the board of the Institute of Judicial Studies Michel Torzi also stressed the importance of the new institute, saying it reflected Beirut’s history and legacy in the judicial field. He also called on professors of the new institute not to only teach judicial studies but to focus on the ethics of the profession.
As for Beirut Bar Association board member Farid al-Khoury, he said that the new institute did not represent an extra school years for university law students but was rather complementary to university studies. “It gives lawyers, especially fresh graduates, the chance to be up to date with all the judicial developments in the world,” Khoury added.