Founded in 2015, HBKU’s College of Law is a graduate-level law school located in Qatar Foundation’s Education City. The College of Law offers four degrees: Juris Doctor (JD), Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International Economic and Business Law, Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International Law and Foreign Affairs, and Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.)

Mission

A world-class provider of legal education with an international reputation for quality and innovation in teaching and research whose graduates contribute positively to shaping the legal profession and society in Qatar and beyond.

HBKU’s College of Law provides its students with professional legal skills to bolster the sectors vital to Qatar, the region, and the world. These sectors are many and include the most dynamic aspects of a society such as Construction, Courts, Energy, Environment, Finance, Healthcare, Infrastructure, International Investment and Trade, Media, Sports, and Technology (including Intellectual Property).

Four qualities distinguish learning at the College of Law:

• The curriculum balances theory with practical application. Each course integrates aspects from the profession, industry, government, and society sectors which the college is dedicated to serving.
• Courses have a strong international and comparative law focus. College of Law faculty, who come from around the world, teach by using the disciplines needed to understand the three diverse legal systems – civil, common, and Shari’a – that inform Qatari law.
• Education occurs extensively outside of the classroom, as students learn from leading legal academics from around the world, practicing lawyers, and government officials.
• Driving all aspects of the educational experience is the steady volume of high-level and societally relevant research produced by the faculty and students, which addresses contemporary problems in law and related disciplines.

College of Law students have abundant career prospects in Qatar and globally. The college encourages students to participate in internship programs and moot court competitions to gain professional experience. In addition to enabling students to gain substantive knowledge and develop their advocacy skills, these activities help students build long-lasting networks, all for their professional benefit.

Students and Alumni:

College of Law students have undergraduate and graduate degrees from around the world as well as diverse work experience.

Recent JD graduates have been admitted to outstanding LL.M. programs in the United States, Canada, and Europe, such as:

• Columbia Law School
• Duke University School of Law
• Georgetown University Law Center
• Harvard Law School
• New York University School of Law
• The Graduate Institute, Geneva
• University of Toronto Faculty of Law

Faculty and Research Areas: 

The college’s faculty members are graduates of the world’s best universities:

Europe/United Kingdom:

• University of Athens
• University of Cambridge
• University of Glasgow
• University of Grenoble
• University of Heidelberg
• University of Liverpool
• University of Oxford
• Kings College London
• The Graduate Institute, Geneva
• London School of Economics and Political Science

North America:

• US:
  • Harvard Law School
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • University of Texas
  • University of Virginia
  • Yale Law School
• Canada:
  • University of Calgary

Asia:

• The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Faculty members have published in top academic presses:

• Cambridge University Press
• Edward Elgar Publishing
• Oxford University Press
• Routledge
• Springer Publishing Company

Faculty have served as advisors to:

• Council of Europe
• European Union
• Government of the People’s Republic of China
• Federal Government of Nigeria
• International Development Law Organization
• Ministry of Public Health in Qatar
• Qatar Research Development and Innovation Council
• African Union
• The World Bank
• United Nations Development Programme
• United Nations Environment Programme

College of Law faculty

College of Law programs: 

The Juris Doctor (JD) degree is a unique model of graduate legal education designed to meet the needs of Qatar and the Middle East. The JD is the first-of-its-kind graduate law degree in the MENA region; courses are taught in English, so graduates are prepared to work locally as well as in the international legal market.

The LL.M. in International Economic and Business Law is a one-year program designed for recent or established university graduates in law. It is ideal for lawyers working or aspiring to work in international business, private practice, academia, government, and the judiciary.

The LL.M. in International Law and Foreign Affairs is a one-year program that offers world-class academic and professional training in international law and foreign policy decision-making on pressing global challenges facing today’s world. Owing to its unique position in terms of culture, business, and geopolitics, Qatar is at the heart of a region that requires leaders who can manage multi-faceted relationships that span different legal systems.

The Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) is the College of Law’s most advanced law degree. The program is one of the first full-fledged research-intensive doctorate degrees in the MENA region and one of the few of its kind outside of the United States. Dedicated to scholarship and teaching, the program aspires to create a vibrant community of legal scholars, who will assume teaching positions in universities and government positions in institutions in Qatar, the MENA region, and beyond.