The Ministry of Justice had recently celebrated the release of the second issue of the Libyan Journal of Judicial Bodies at the Tripoli Court of Appeal during which it honoured several consultants and employees in this sector, in the presence of the Minister of Justice, President of the Supreme Judicial Council, and the Attorney General.

Among those honoured was Professor of International Law at the University of Tripoli, Souad Salem Abu Saad, who was honored for her initiative "Developing Legal Education in Libya."

In her interview with The Libya Observer, Professor Souad says that she tried in her initiative to present a forward-looking vision for developing the educational process in this field as technology evolves.

She explains that her initiative arose out of the wishes of students.

"Technology has its awe-inspiring impact on the current cohort of young people as they have come up with it as their life was forming. In addition, the need to shift to e-learning has become more urgent in light of the coronavirus pandemic."

Her idea focuses on shifting to cooperative education instead of classic lectures via e-learning and using more mental maps, besides encouraging students to translate the information they acquired into practice.

"The practical training means establishing moot courts within the facilities teaching legal science, including security science collages, law faculties, the Judicial Institute, and the Sharia science faculties, in addition to setting up a legal clinic that provides free legal advice... Unfortunately, the content and methods of education at the law colleges in Libya remain academically focused."

Speaking on the challenges, Professor Souad said she began practicing the idea individually by converting the educational curriculum into electronic lectures and mental maps.

"I had to carry my own computer and projector from hall to hall because the college was suffering from a lack of resources and could not provide the means for such lessons, not to mention the frequent power cuts."

"I provided my needs at my own expense despite not being paid since 2016." 

"The work was very strenuous, but what motivated me was the positive impact on my students and how the new method helped them absorb productively all the information presented."

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Higher Education hailed her work as a true milestone in the development of legal education.

The initiative was close to being implemented, but the change occurred, and now it's awaiting approval from the new government, Professor Souad notes.

The initiative got approval from the College of Sharia Sciences and obtained intellectual property from the Ministry of Culture.