International and Comparative Law (LL.M.)

The Ibrahim Shihata Memorial LL.M Program in International and Comparative Law

Dr. Ibrahim Shihata, in whose memory this LL.M has been established, made significant contributions to the development of international economic law.   In addition to his positions of Senior Vice President and General Counsel with the World Bank, Dr. Shihata also served as Secretary-General of the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes; he was principal architect of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA); and he was responsible for the World Bank Guidelines for the Legal Treatment of Foreign Investments.  Other positions included first Director General of the OPEC Fund for Economic Development and General Counsel of the Kuwait Fund.  He was instrumental in establishing the Inter-Arab Investment Guarantee Agency, and he was the founder of the International Development Law Institute in Rome.  Indeed the entire career of Dr. Shihata was devoted to the infrastructures that assisted development.  The LL.M program itself, as well as individual courses, are directly concerned with law and development.  In Dr. Shihata’s words: “Law, as the formal instrument of orderly change in society, plays a pivotal role, even though this role has not always been readily recognized.”

The Master of Laws (LL.M) Degree in International and Comparative Law is intended for law school graduates who seek legal training that will enable them to work effectively in Egypt’s developing free market economy, whether in courts, government offices, the foreign service, or public and private business sectors, with commitment to the rule of law from increased knowledge about the laws that govern market economies and liberalized societies, nationally and internationally.  Accordingly, the new program offers basic courses and courses in specialized areas designed to increase capacities to promote economic, social, and legal development.

Admission

Students seeking to enter AUC to work for the LL.M degree must have a first degree in Law with a grade of gayyid (or 2.7 / B- grade point average) or its equivalent for full admission.  Students lacking this level may be eligible to be considered for provisional admission (as specified in the AUC catalogue supra).  Acceptance is by decision of the Law Faculty Committee, which may prescribe prerequisite work.  English proficiency is required as demonstrated on the TOEFL test. If students are enrolled in the AUC English Language Institute (ELI), they cannot begin study in the Law Department until any ELI coursework is completed.