Law event
Clinical Legal Education in Iran
Arpeeta Shams Mizan
It was the land of Rumi, it was Ferdousi, it was Shahnama, yet it was also more than that- it was the place which will be taking the torch forward that has been kindled in my motherland- Yes, it is the first summer school in Iran, the kingdom of Darius. This year from 23rd to 28th October the Khorasgan Islamic Azad University held its first Summer School on Clinical Legal Education in Isfahan, jointly organized by Azad University, Mofid University of Qom and ELCOP (Empowerment through Law of the Common People), Bangladesh.
ELCOP is the pioneer of Human Rights Summer School in Bangladesh, a 10 day-residential training program intended for grooming future rebellious lawyers. But clinical legal education as a concept is rather a young one in Iran. Mofid University started its first in Iran in 1990, and since then it has been nourishing itself to turn the legal clinic into a more efficient, more pro-people institute. Last year 2 students from the Mofid University participated in the 9th HRSS in Bangladesh, and became interested in holding a similar workshop in Iran. The initiator was Professor Dr. Seyed Mehdi Allameh, director of the Legal Clinic of Khorasgan Islamic Azad University. With his inventiveness, a joint venture was created among Azad University, Mofid University, Rhodes University (South Africa) and ELCOP, Bangladesh.
The team from Bangladesh flew to Iran on the 21st October, consisting of 4 members- Rumana Islam, Assistant professor of Law at Dhaka University, Dr. Rahmat Ullah (Director, ELCOP), Dr. Mizanur Rahman (Executive Director, ELCOP), and the writer, a student, LLB 2nd year at Dhaka University and Active Street Lawyer, ELCOP.
The workshop was divided into 2 parts- one for the teachers and one for the students. The workshop for the teachers was held from 23rd to 25th October. The participants were learned senior professors and practicing lawyers of Iran. It was literally amazing to see how these fine educators, so much experienced themselves, were thirsty to learn more about the CLE. They were given small group exercises, usually intended for students, but their brainstorming was just same as of university pupils in their twenties.
The focus point for both the workshops was the same- how to strengthen the CLE to groom efficient lawyers. But The mode of conducting the sessions were different- while the workshop for teachers focused on how teachers should train themselves to of instruct the students properly, the workshop for students emphasized on how a student should change his/her perspective as to the intrinsic meaning of clinical legal education in order to train himself/herself into an efficient lawyer right from the period of the Student hood. The sessions included discussions on client interviewing, ADR, Family laws, Mock trials, Moot courts, Street law, Drafting etc. The final day had a daylong session on Forensic science conducted by the Iranian Professors.
Professor Jobst Bodenstein from South Africa and Dr. Mizanur Rahman From Dhaka University made excellent illustrations of various modes of client interviewing, emphasizing on the sole point that if the lawyer fails to show the integrity, the client will never open up himself and the whole story will remain untold. They performed a number of small role-plays which simultaneously entertained the students, motivated them to be more interactive and embedded the core message deeply on the brains of the participants.
Dr. Rahman discussed how ADR creates a Win-Win situation while in the court litigation is a Win-Lose situation where one party will always lose where “Winner takes it all”. He also made a comparative study between the Iranian and Bangladeshi situation, pointing out how ADR in a society (where the social infrastructures are not too strong) leads to a more desired consequence, while court litigations often direct towards wastage of huge resources and time.
Ms. Rumana Islam and the writer together conducted sessions on Moot courts and Street Lawyering. Ms. Islam laid down the theoretical aspects of these two topics, how mooting can be the best practical experience of a court situation a student can get before joining the Bar, while the writer discussed the topics from a student's practical and technical perspective, laying out the issues of presentation before the judges, court manners and personal skills.
Street Law was another success in Iran. While South Africa puts the best example of street lawyering, ELCOP leads the way of the concept in the Subcontinent. The writer discussed how Street Law creates future responsible citizens, sharing her personal experiences as a Street Lawyer in Bangladesh. It gave immense enthusiasm to see how the participants took active part in preparing Street Law lessons appropriate for their social structure, with flip charts, dramas and posters. Their different approaches have taught us a few new techniques which we can also implement in our Street Law programme.
The outer exposure of Iran is often distorted by the media, but when one penetrates deep inside, one shall realize the true picture is much different. In Professor Bodenstein's words: “Re-realized a few things after my short trip to Iran- people throughout the world, whilst differing in social approaches and belief systems, have the same basic needs and desires- the international press paints an unacceptably negative picture of a country which has a proud history and presence.”
The social structure of Post-Revolution Iran is a quite rigid one: the women have to maintain a strict seclusion from the rest of the society. But that doesn't prevent them from taking a strong role in moulding the society. They are in all fields conscious about their rights, and are eager to make a difference by taking an active position in the state organ. The conversations I had with them showed how same we all are, how perfectly our dreams and thoughts harmonize! It is after all, indeed, one world with only one race!
The writer is a student of Law, University of Dhaka.
