Pluralism in Legal Education at the American University of Afghanistan
Nafay Choudhury, "Pluralism in Legal Educational at the American University of Afghanistan" 37 Suffolk Transnational Law Review 249, 2014
41 Pages Posted: 11 Oct 2014
Date Written: August 1, 2014
Abstract
This paper provides an overview of the new law program at AUAF, from the establishment of the first law courses to today's full law degree. One significant observation to take from AUAF is that the law program pursues a uniquely heterodox and poly-jural approach to legal education where civil law, Islamic law, and traditional justice each form integral components of the curriculum. Hopefully, detailing the law program will provide insights for similar rule of law endeavors in developing and conflict regions. Part II of the Article provides an overview of legal pluralism in Afghanistan. Even a cursory glance at Afghanistan's legal history reveals the normative legal tensions between civil law, Islamic law, and traditional justice. Each of these traditions commands a certain level of authority in Afghanistan. Part III of the article explains how the notion of legal tradition, rather than legal system, serves as a better basis for legal education. By temporarily leaving the jurisdictional constraints on law in Afghanistan and entering the realm of legal traditions, students can view law as part of a vast repertoire of normative information, where no tradition has pre-eminence and conversations across traditions are possible. Part IV of the article details the law program at AUAF. Significantly, the program is poly-jural, providing students with significant exposure to civil law, Islamic law, and traditional justice. AUAF does not adopt the approach of many Afghan universities where instruction follows a law-as-rule approach. Rather, by utilizing the notion of legal traditions, students are encouraged to reflect on the analytical ambiguity inherent to law that facilitates its ability to change and evolve. The article ends with some preliminary reflections on the challenge of implementing the program at AUAF.
Keywords: Afghanistan, legal pluralism, legal education, law, sociology, anthropology
JEL Classification: K10, K19
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation