Chief-in-Editor  Prof. Badria A. Al-Awadi

Distance legal education is not a new or novel thing for universities around the world. Many Western universities have been providing remote legal courses. These courses have been organized, recognized and approved within the courses required for graduation and obtaining academic degrees, through laws, legislation, administrative regulations and others. Therefore, a large number of universities in the world did not face major obstacles in moving from in-Person to distance education, due to the repercussions of the spread of the Corona virus pandemic, and in compliance with the emergency measures imposed by governments in the context of dealing with the pandemic, which require social distancing and reducing gatherings.
The technological infrastructure that was established and developed in many of these countries has contributed to the success of the transition to distance legal education, which is an infrastructure that includes a fast internet (4G or 5G) networks, by extending optical fiber networks that ensure a reliable connection, as well as educational applications and software. Most of the faculty and students in these universities use desktop and personal computers in their academic work, including courses, research, and assignments, which also greatly contributed to the success of the complete transition towards distance legal education, allowed continuity to be achieved and eliminated all obstacles that could deprive students of their educational attainment.
Contrary to the above, legal education in Arab universities was faced with disorder and many problems due to the absence of prior governmental vision to deal with public disasters and emergencies. Study was completely suspended. Planning and reporting on the next steps took many weeks and months, which constituted a heavy loss for all parties, especially students, who were prevented from completing their education. While this matter can be justified for some Arab countries due to their economic conditions, weak technological structures, the absence of legal frameworks, and the lack of qualification of faculty and students, it cannot be justified in relation to other capable countries with considerable financial capabilities.
The initiatives of private universities in Kuwait, including Kuwait International Law School, to resume study from remotely in a speedy and orderly manner were a step in the right direction and a sound strategic decision in dealing with emergency situations. The School benefited from the proper and advanced technological infrastructure in the country, as well as from its academic program which includes computer courses and academic research based on utilizing global electronic encyclopedias, and from its laboratories equipped with the latest computer hardware and software.
The School was also keen to develop the capabilities of faculty members in dealing with computers, distance education programs and applications, which allowed for the successful completion of the second semester of the 2019-2020 academic year. It will also allow the summer semester to be completed as scheduled.
What is remarkable about this special experience in Kuwait is that it encouraged officials of the government university to do the same. They took the initiative to issue a decision to adopt distance education for all its colleges, and preparations began with the formation of technical, administrative and academic committees for that purpose. Many Arab universities have moved in the same direction as well after taking weeks and sometimes months, which should be avoided in the future.
The challenges raised by the Corona virus pandemic for distance legal education in Arab universities are many, including the following:
First- The necessity of updating the legal, administrative and regulatory frameworks for the systems for teaching legal courses remotely, as well as amending the conditions for recognition of academic degrees and the percentage of courses that are conducted remotely, in the context of confirming and preserving the quality and distinction of education and degrees.
Second- The necessity of updating distance education curricula for legal courses, so that they include interaction with students and involving them in discussions, seeking their views on the raised issues, and assigning them to conduct analytical research.
Third- Faculty members’ substantial effort in explaining the materials and the academic courses in line with the nature of this type of education, as well as setting and conducting exams.
Fourth- Legal universities’ growing need to enable online access to their libraries in order to help their students and researchers, while observing and respecting the laws of intellectual property protection.