RIYADH, 9 May 2006 — The Kingdom is planning to introduce a second Master’s degree course in international trade as part of its effort to develop a cadre of young Saudis able to deal with the challenges of global trade.
“It will be a second postgraduate course — in English — as they already have a similar Master’s degree course in law,” professor Michael Davis of the University of Kansas School of Law explained.
Davis arrived here from the United Arab Emirates on a four-day visit.
Universities in the UAE have sought his help in instituting a Master’s degree course in international trade. “I have a good deal of experience in the US as dean of a law school for 10 years. My colleague, Raj Bhala, also from the University of Kansas, is an internationally known WTO expert,” he said.
Davis said a number of people that he had spoken to realized the need to “deepen the courses that are available to Saudi students if they are going to play a future role in the international field.”
The US professor arrived here at the invitation of Prince Muhammad Al-Faisal, president of the Al-Faisaliah Group. He met Minister of Justice Dr. Abdullah Al-Sheikh, Deputy Minister of Commerce for Technical Affairs Fawaz Al-Alamy and a number of Saudi lawyers.
During his talks with Al-Sheikh, he was briefed on the measures the government had taken to raise the standard of lawyers. “We also talked about teaching Islamic law at Kansas University. The minister showed interest in the proposal and spoke about the Islamic Law Center in Bologna (Italy). We spoke on the importance of exchanging visits for promoting better understanding and I invited the minister to visit our country.”
Davis continued, “The justice minister is interested in knowing how the US and other countries have developed business, trade and international law to such a sophisticated level. What sort of curriculum and legal structure is needed? What should the regulations be for licensed lawyers?”
The US professor also met Saudi lawyers and academics to discuss topics relating to regulations for practicing lawyers and legal education. They dwelt on the need for a legal system to address the emerging needs of the Kingdom within the framework of the WTO regime as well as the need for a statutory code for lawyers.
In reply to a question on the recommendations of the Riyadh Economic Forum calling for transparency in the Saudi rules and regulations, Davis said transparency is necessary not only at the top but also in the middle and at the lower end of the corporate structure. “If you want people to understand and appreciate what is going on, then you have to be transparent. This is one of the issues that needs to be addressed.”
