Skip to content | Change text size
 

Law semester in full swing at Monash University's Prato Centre in Italy

18 April 2007

Associate Professor Judd Epstein at Monash University's Prato Centre in Italy.

The law program opened for it sixth successive year at Monash University Prato Centre on April 16 with a unique international student cohort.

70 students from Monash have enrolled in the program along with 40 students from Monash Law School's international partner institutions Osgoode Hall Law School (Canada), the University of Tel Aviv and University of Florence.

This year's program comprises thirteen units taught intensively at the Centre from April through to July, together with the new unit Italian Legal Culture, which is being delivered in English at the nearby University of Florence.

The program, which emphasises international, comparative and European perspectives, is being delivered by experts from the University of Florence, Osgoode Hall, Tel Aviv and Monash universities, together with legal practitioners and current and former members of the judiciary.

Associate Professor Judd Epstein, the program's leader and principal architect, explained the thinking behind it.

"Law is now practiced globally. Even lawyers who intend to work in Australia will be dealing with international transactions and lawyers in other countries. Through our program we aim to sensitize students to the different thinking they will encounter when dealing globally -- thinking that's shaped by different traditions, legal systems and procedures," Professor Epstein said.

"This has major implications for some of the fundamental aspects of how companies and other organisations manage their affairs. Litigation procedures, for example, mean that company records are organised very differently in Australia, the UK and the US in comparison to mainland Europe.

"The instruction the students receive from experts from other countries ... develops their sensitivity and appreciation to what these differences mean for global legal practice."

Director of the Prato Centre Dr Annamaria Pagliaro said she was "delighted to have Law back at Prato".

"It is an excellent educational model that continues to underscore the international approach of Monash," Dr Pagliaro said.

"Graduates of the program are now working at some major international organisations such as the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNICITRAL), the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT), and the International Chamber of Commerce, along with many in NGOs and major law firms."

Further details on the law program at Prato are available from the Monash Law faculty website.